8 fully vaccinated healthcare workers caught COVID-19 at a Vegas pool party.

[TomCADem]

This article illustrates several continuing and common misconceptions about COVID.

1. Vaccines are not a fucking force field. If you go to some mass social event like a Las Vegas pool party, then your risk of infection will increases.

2. Just because some people who are vaccinated can still get COVID does not mean that vaccines do not work. Notably, the folks got tested because they were experiencing cold like symptoms. 99 percent of people who are hospitalized due to COVID are unvaccinated.

In Los Angeles, COVID hospitalizations are going up again and it is almost entirely attributable to folks who are not vaccinated. Yet, you still have Republican media still pushing this deadly anti-vaccine messages that would be laughable if they were not so deadly.

https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-vaccine-breakthrough-infection-delta-variant-fully-vaccinated-las-vegas-2021-7

Eleven healthcare workers caught COVID-19 at a pool party in Las Vegas — and eight of them were fully-vaccinated.

At least 10 of the 11 people caught the highly infectious Delta variant, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported, citing emails from the local health district.

Todd P Sklamberg, chief executive officer at the Sunrise Hospital, told the Las Vegas Review Journal that the outbreak came from an off-site private party that all eleven attended on June 7.

Sklamberg said that the 11 health workers got symptoms similar to allergies or the common cold and chose to get tested. They then self-isolated, and didn't spread the virus to anyone else, a preliminary investigation requested by Southern Nevada Health District found, per the Review Journal.

[JohnSJ]

1. I really wish these stories about breakthrough infections would provide more details, such as

which vaccine were they given

At least I am glad they mentioned that the symptoms were similar to a common cold or allergies

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

13. I also wonder how many had one or more preexisting conditions.

[JohnSJ]

14. It would help to know those details

[SergeStorms]

24. And WHEN they were vaccinated....

and had their vaccinations reached peak efficacy before they were exposed to the delta variant.

[dickthegrouch]

2. Laughable? Why not criminal?

“Yet, you still have Republican media still pushing this deadly anti-vaccine messages that would be laughable if they were not so deadly. “

If it’s illegal to exhort someone to commit suicide, why isn’t it at least as criminal to feed them information that’s likely to kill them?

Is there any way to hang these lies and all the others on right wing media and the GOP? Force them to correct everything and begin to repair their non-existent integrity?

[RKP5637]

7. One major problem is there are never any repercussions for spreading lies and destructive

information to the masses on the massive megaphones many of these organizations have. I think we take the concept of free speech too far in the US. We need responsible free speech, but not endless lies and distortions inflecting death on thousands of people.

[RKP5637]

3. I just don't get WTF is wrong with Republicans, why they choose to blast out lies and

destructive information. It's a medical situation, not a damn political situation, yet they turn it into that. Have we become that dumbed down a society that people can no longer think for themselves. I really fear for the future of the US and what it will be.

[Midnight Writer]

19. I bet there is an interesting money trail here. Some enterprising journalist should follow it.

In my area, there are antivax billboards. This is a coordinated effort and I'd like to know who is paying for it.

[TheBlackAdder]

4. I would question if an anti-vaxxer nurse gave them saline or something instead of the vaccine.

[Hugin]

6. Since they are all health care workers, it could also be most or all of them caught it at work.

Lots of ifs.

[Ms. Toad]

25. This seems to be tied to a specific event.

Specifically, a pool party.

[Ms. Toad]

23. See point #1.

"Vaccines are not a fucking force field."

No matter how much people on DU, or at the CDC, are pretending they are.

Given the Delta's increased level of ability to infect (up to 60%), and the mRNA vaccines increased effectiveness (at best 88%), an mRNA vaccine is only about 80% as effective in protecting you against getting Delta COVID as no vaccine was against the original COVID. So - if you had the mRNA vaccine, and the same exposure that would have given 10 unvaccinated people the original COVID, approximately 2 vaccinated individuals will get Delta.

It is closer to 50% for J&J (assuming NO reduction in effectiveness).

[Hugin]

5. All along, infection with the COVID virus has been strongly associated with how high of an...

inoculation dose a person is exposed to.

So, yeah, you are correct. Even if you are vaccinated, don't go looking for the 'rona.

The vaccines work exceptionally well. Cases such as this are exceedingly rare enough that they make it into the news and I think it should be kept that way.

[LifeLongDemocratic]

8. Reaction to vaccination

I would like to know how they reacted to the vaccine. I had a very strong reaction to both the first and second Moderna shot. It would be nice to know if that means that I am less susceptible to catching COVID than someone who had no reaction to the vaccine.

[Klaralven]

9. The WHO still wants you to wear a mask, even if the CDC doesn't

A month and a half ago, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that fully vaccinated people no longer needed to wear a mask outdoors, or in most indoor situations, to protect themselves and others against Covid-19.

The news was received with relief, but it raised concerns, too. After all, there’s yet to be conclusive evidence that vaccinated people cannot spread the virus, and the US population, though ahead of most of the world in the percentage of immunization, is still shy of herd immunity.

As it turns out, yes—it was too soon. The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on June 25 that vaccinated people should continue to wear masks, especially as a protection against the highly contagious delta variant.

https://qz.com/2025962/who-guidance-is-to-wear-masks-against-delta-variant/

So masking and social distancing should still be the norm, since the Delta variant has arrived.

[MisterNiceKitty]

18. Just to amplify yours and OPs point

CDC says fully vaccinated people are "safe." But

"The World Health Organization is urging people to continue wearing a mask and social distancing—even if they are fully vaccinated against COVID—amid the spread of a concerning new variant and high levels of community transmission in many places. While most COVID vaccines are thought to largely protect against all known variants, none is 100 percent effective.

The WHO also advises vaccinated people to keep taking precautions such as staying in well-ventilated areas and avoiding crowds. “This still continues to be extremely important, even if you are vaccinated, when you have a community transmission ongoing,” said Mariângela Simão, the WHO’s assistant director general of access to medicines and health products, in a recent news briefing.

“What we’re saying is once you’ve been fully vaccinated, continue to play it safe because you could end up as part of a transmission chain,” added Bruce Aylward, senior advisor on organizational change to the WHO’s director general."

Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/who-urges-vaccinated-people-to-wear-masks-cdc-still-says-no-need/

In addition to Delta and Delta+ there is also the Lambda variant.

According to WebMD most doctors and nurses blasted the CDC mask guidance.

National Nurses United, the largest union of registered nurses in the United States, released a statement saying the shift puts people, especially front-line workers, in danger.

“This newest CDC guidance is not based on science, does not protect public health, and threatens the lives of patients, nurses, and other frontline workers across the country,” said Bonnie Castillo, a registered nurse and executive director of the union. “Now is not the time to relax protective measures, and we are outraged that the CDC has done just that while we are still in the midst of the deadliest pandemic in a century.”

Source: https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210527/doctors-nurses-blast-cdcs-mask-guidance-change

Israel is reporting a decrease in Pfizer vaccine effectiveness over time.

"Israel reported on Monday a decrease in the effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in preventing infections and symptomatic illness but said it remained highly effective in preventing serious illness.

The decline coincided with the spread of the Delta variant and the end of social distancing restrictions in Israel.

Vaccine effectiveness in preventing both infection and symptomatic disease fell to 64% since June 6, the Health Ministry said. At the same time the vaccine was 93% effective in preventing hospitalizations and serious illness from the coronavirus."

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-sees-drop-pfizer-vaccine-protection-against-infections-still-strong-2021-07-05/

Finally, testing is on a major downturn with CDC saying it's not necessary to test vaccinated people and yet testing is crucial for surveillance.

From the NY Times https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/13/world/us-covid-testing-coronavirus-outbreak.html

"Experts warn that the drop in U.S. testing will make it harder to track outbreaks."

[Bad Thoughts]

10. Isn't this a numbers game?

The longer you are exposed to something, shouldn't the chances of catching it go up?

The vaccines are obviously working, but I don't think people grasp how they work. I would think it is logical that prolonged and frequent exposure would make it easier to get CV19 than shorter exposure. (Of course, it's worse without a vaccination.)

[Hugin]

11. Precisely.

As the OP says, vaccines are not a force field.

[TomCADem]

17. Video of a Memorial Day pool party in Missouri sparks outrage amid the pandemic (2020)

Remember how at the start of the pandemic, people were outraged with how folks work still getting together at mass super spreader type events:

Well, just because you are vaccinated, this does not mean that people should go out to some mass super spreader events like a large pool party with a bunch of strangers.

I get it, that because you are vaccinated, you are less likely to get COVID and even if you do, it most likely will just feel like a cold. However, a lot of people are still not vaccinated, and the longer COVID continues to linger, the more likely variants will develop and spread as explained by Vox:

[roamer65]

12. It absolutely is a numbers game.

Titer of neutralizing antibodies, duration (time) and concentration of exposure...etc, etc.

Filtration of air, ie a MASK, increases duration (time) in a contaminated environment by lessening the viral concentration inhaled.

Rather similar to dealing with radioactive contamination...like Fukushima Dai’ichi.

[wnylib]

26. The amount of virus that you are exposed to

even in a single encounter with one infected person can increase the likelihood of catching covid. That's part of rhe reason why the delta variant is so contagious. Delta replicates much faster than previous variants, so an infected person carries a higher viral load and sheds much more virus than happened with earlier variants. It also attaches more easily and firmly to cells that it comes in contact with. This might be why there are more breakthrough cases with delta than with the original virus or the alpha variant.

I went to the supermarket this morning and noticed that, besides me, the only other people there who wore masks were seniors (more vulnerable than others) and young children who are too young to get vaccinated. I saw one mother without a mask whose daughter, about 5 years old, wore one.

[madville]

15. Sounds like the vaccine did a great job

They only had mild cold-like symptoms, going forward COVID will simply be an annoying sniffle at worst for most of the vaccinated.

[MisterNiceKitty]

16. it will until it isn't

[Traildogbob]

20. Covid

Is probably the more friendly of diseases you get in a Las Vegas pool. Why not take a dip in the county waste water treatment plant. Some things do not stay in Vegas, especially shit you get from a pool there.

[Warpy]

21. "Private pool party" sounds like somebody's backyard pool

and there are a hell of a lot of those in Las Vegas.

[INdemo]

22. I see Newsmax reporter that gives me the reason to claim ..probably false