The Gamma variant of the coronavirus--responsible for the devastating second outbreak of COVID in Manaus, Brazil earlier this year--is already four times more common than Delta in, for example, Illinois. And while initial evidence is that the RNA-based Pfizer vaccine protects against Gamma, the CDC released yesterday an alarming report out of South America:
An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 caused by the Gamma variant of concern infected 24/44 (55%) employees of a gold mine in French Guiana (87% symptomatic, no severe forms). The attack rate was 60% (15/25) among fully vaccinated miners and 75% (3/4) among unvaccinated miners without a history of infection.
It's the bolded bit that is rather startling: the majority of vaccinated miners were infected, and almost as many fully vaccinated miners, as unvaccinated ones, were infected. Of course, miners work in conditions that are cramped and poorly ventilated, and perhaps that's the explanation. But it's not an encouraging data point.
Although the worst of the pandemic may be behind us, I suspect that COVID-related disruptions are going to be with us for much of the fall, and maybe longer.
