Vaccination has become one of the key components to the ongoing drop in COVID-19 cases and deaths in the U.S. Despite progress with vaccine distribution the first year of the tragedy can’t be reversed. Over 500,000 people have died. Over 28 million people have been infected. Most experts believe both figures are low. This is particularly true with infections. Scientists think the figure could be closer to 70 million because of people who were never tested but had the disease.
The vaccination process has been slower than hoped. The Trump Administration said it would get off to a fast start in January. Instead, less than 14% of adult Americans have been given at least one shot. Only 6% of adults have received two doses. At this point, 82,114,370 doses have been distributed and 65,032,083 shots have been given. President Biden says there will be enough doses to vaccinate Americans by the end of May. These are the states where vaccination levels are the worst.
As a larger percent of the population gets both doses, there is still confusion about whether they should continue to restrict their behavior, social distance, and weather masks. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are approximately 94% effective. That still leaves 6%. And, it is not certain whether people who are vaccinated can still spread the disease.
Recently Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s primary medical advisor on the COVID-19 pandemic laid down some new rules.
Click here to see what Dr. Fauci says about places to avoid, even with both doses of vaccine
Dining In
Americans have been able to get restaurant food throughout the pandemic because of takeout or delivery. It has been a lifeline which has saved many from shuttering. Nevertheless, the industry remains one of the hardest hit, because with restrictions on indoor dining, waiters and waitresses are not necessary.
Some states have “opened up” and allowed outdoor dining and indoor dining with social distancing restrictions. Dr. Fauci says that these more relaxed rules will not change his habits. He recently told a press conference: “I still do not do dining indoors and I still do takeout. I want to continue to support the restaurants in my neighborhood that I would normally go to.”
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Spread Though The Air
Even with social distancing, there is a risk for dining at restaurants. Healthline reports that “According to the paper sent to the WHO, previous evidence suggests that Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and the flu can also be spread through microdroplets that can potentially travel far distances indoors and be inhaled.” There is even evidence that when people speak to one another at a distance of over six feet, particles can spread from one person to another.
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Spread On Surfaces
Early in the spread of COVID-19, advice from the WHO and other medical organizations was that the disease could be spread on plastic, metal, and cloth surfaces. This led to a rise in the use of disinfectants. Questions have arisen about how real these dangers are. Restaurants would present a danger if surface spread were a large component of the rise in COVID-19 cases.
New research sheds light on the role of surfaces in spread. According to CDC guidance, covered in the journal Nature, surfaces are “not thought to be a common way that COVID-19 spreads”. However, since some risk remains, establishments like restaurants continue to be ordered to carefully clean surfaces touched by staff and customers.
Can The Movie Theater Industry Recover?
The movie industry has been decimated by the pandemic. AMC, the largest theater chain in America has nearly gone under. It has tried to convince customers that it keeps its theaters extraordinarily clean, but audiences have stayed away. This has driven a huge uptick in streaming services on which Americans can watch movies at home.
Dr. Fauci’s opinion of movie theaters is similar to restaurants. Until much more of the population is vaccinated, he views any venues such as theaters unsafe.
This is when Americans can stop wearing masks, according to Dr. Fauci
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