I suspect that “breakthrough” infections with Delta are far more common than is currently known, because most people don’t have much in the way of symptoms, if any, and aren’t being tested.
That’s both good news and bad news. It’s good, because vaccinated people aren’t getting very sick. It’s bad because the Delta variant is REALLY good at infecting the nasopharynx, where there isn’t very good immune surveillance, and can rapidly multiply and make the possibly asymptomatic person a veritable Covoid Mary, spewing 1000 times as many virus particles when they breathe, speak, cough, and sneeze. I don’t know whether the infection is snuffed out more quickly in vaccinated people, or it just doesn’t spread to the lungs or other organs as easily.
But “breakthrough” is really a misnomer - immunologists know that vaccines don’t PREVENT infections, they prevent people from getting SICK (or AS sick) from the infection, because you will have a premade set of defenses (antibodies) ready to fight the infection off. But while you’re infected, you are still contagious, especially with a respiratory infection, because you’re spewing out virus even as your body is fighting it off.
And both vaccinated and unvaccinated people are spewing about 1000X the virus particles with Delta compared to Alpha, the original virus. So infected asymptomatic vaccinated people are just as dangerous as a coughing unvaccinated person.
WEAR YOUR MASKS AT ALL TIMES IN PUBLIC! ESPECIALLY INDOORS, but look at what is coming out of Manchin’s little shindig, which was supposedly outside. Covoid Lindsey.
That’s both good news and bad news. It’s good, because vaccinated people aren’t getting very sick. It’s bad because the Delta variant is REALLY good at infecting the nasopharynx, where there isn’t very good immune surveillance, and can rapidly multiply and make the possibly asymptomatic person a veritable Covoid Mary, spewing 1000 times as many virus particles when they breathe, speak, cough, and sneeze. I don’t know whether the infection is snuffed out more quickly in vaccinated people, or it just doesn’t spread to the lungs or other organs as easily.
But “breakthrough” is really a misnomer - immunologists know that vaccines don’t PREVENT infections, they prevent people from getting SICK (or AS sick) from the infection, because you will have a premade set of defenses (antibodies) ready to fight the infection off. But while you’re infected, you are still contagious, especially with a respiratory infection, because you’re spewing out virus even as your body is fighting it off.
And both vaccinated and unvaccinated people are spewing about 1000X the virus particles with Delta compared to Alpha, the original virus. So infected asymptomatic vaccinated people are just as dangerous as a coughing unvaccinated person.
WEAR YOUR MASKS AT ALL TIMES IN PUBLIC! ESPECIALLY INDOORS, but look at what is coming out of Manchin’s little shindig, which was supposedly outside. Covoid Lindsey.
