Sub-variant on the Move - BA.4.6

Vaccine Update: https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/100482?xid=nl_mpt_Nursing_update_2022-09-01&eun=g2122517d0r%3Fxid%3Dnl_mpt_Nursing_update_2022-09-01&eun=g2122517d0r


Here is a summary from the Daily Beast.

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-ba46-covid-variant-is-shaping-up-to-be-a-deja-vu-nightmare

It appears to have a minimum of a 10% advantage over BA.5, our current dominant variant. There is another in India that is wreaking havoc, BA.2.75. I will keep an eye on that. MAPS will be run this weekend with the best data I have at the moment to look at the temporal trajectory over the next couple months. Keep in mind that we have several factors that could magnify the severity of the outcome from BA.4.6. These include:

  • Back to school time
  • Mass gatherings at events with little or no mitigation requirements
  • More indoor time as fall arrives
  • Little public alarm to what is going on resulting from mixed messaging (see latest CDC reorganization)
  • Horrible booster rates
  • Vaccination among the very young remains paltry
  • Building infrastructure for HVAC systems largely the same
  • Global vaccination/booster rates nearly stagnant
Much of this is the result of mixed signal guidance, politics, and $$$'s over people. It is time to buckle down and revive a sense of community and the need for some personal inconvenience. Magic bullets do not exist. We are a new class of variant from a large scale disaster. Do do not think for one moment the virus has a conscience and will continue to mutate towards milder acute illness (and mental health) outcomes. To keep thinking this way is dangerous and akin to having faith in something intangible that science cannot validate.

Stay safe and be an MVD (Mask/Vaccinate/Distance)

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