This is happening in Canada, where at least 1 dose of vaccine was 83.0% as of October 9, 2022. If it is happening here, you can bet it is likely going to be worse where you live. See charts/maps https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/vaccination-coverage/ We may have been late in the vaccine game... however, "On a per-capita basis, Canada has secured access to more vaccines than any other country in the world due to agreements with Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Medicago, Sanofi-GlaxoSmithKline, Novavax and J&J." https://globalnews.ca/news/8492863/covid-19-vaccine-and-booster-tracker-coronavirus-canada/
And yet...
Some of the hundreds of subvariants being tracked by WHO are already in the U.S. and Canada with BQ.1.1, BQ.1, BA.2.75.2 and XBB increasing in numbers. Those Omicron subvariants are able to sidetrack much of the immune defense that previous vaccines were upholding to a great degree.
"It's like a whole bunch of horses in the race at the moment and they've each gathered these different mutations," said Sally Otto, a University of British Columbia evolutionary biologist and virus modelling expert at the Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response Network. That means it's playing a different game, it's evolving in different ways and that is to masquerade from our immune system."
Everyone needs to get the word out to friends and family AND on social media to get the bivalent vaccine as it has 2 different strains it can help defend against. (as well remind about the flu vaccine! Our diligence with increased cleanliness and personal hygiene, space and masks has kept it at bay, but this year people are letting all of their defenses down, sadly)
I have diligently been reminding my family and friends and they will be totally vaxxed and boosted up by the end of the month. Sure those who tried to pooh pooh needing it find me annoying, but they know I want them around for many more years to come.
Kiki added more from Eric Topol, physician-scientist, HERE which leads to his excellent and free home page here: https://erictopol.substack.com/p/a-booster-is-your-best-shot-now
G-man posted about anti-boosters, HERE, and the comments are most interesting.
A new Covid variant erupted in Maine this summer. Looks like it's spread across New England since Sept.
Naturally, my right wing relative & wife booked a cruise from Massachusetts to Maine in the first week of October. They then drove through upstate NY and Vermont. Surprise, surprise, they came down with Covid again (3rd time?). Somehow they decided to come home a week early. They are vaxxed and boosted but wouldn't dream of wearing a mask. They also decided to skip the bivalent shot. Oops.
Thanks for reposting the Topol link as well as this disheartening news. The number of people taking any precautions is so low it's staggering. When I got my bivalent booster last week, it felt so strange to see people wearing masks in the clinic. Fucking NO ONE is masking anywhere else. I'd love to be wrong but I think this winter will be very, very ugly.
Melania read of this, too. Much scary. Melania now demand mask again vwhen getting pounded face to face. Doggie style, not so much. Be best.