Covid-19 Cases Rise, As Vaccination Rates Remain Low

The new XEC variant

A new hybrid Covid variant, XEC, has emerged in 25 states across the US, and experts predict it will cause a surge of COVID-19 cases this fall. Updated mRNA vaccines — Pfizer and Moderna — are now available, along with the reformulated Novavax. But are the new vaccines able to detect and protect against XEC?

At a September 27 Ethnic Media Services briefing, experts provided insights on the new hybrid COVID variant and its potential impact in the US. They also addressed the efficacy of updated vaccines, and how to overcome vaccination hesitancy and weariness in some communities.

Dominant strain this fall

The new hybrid COVID variant XEC that has emerged in 25 states is expected to cause a surge in fall cases said Dr. Peter Chin Hong, an infectious diseases specialist at University of California, San Francisco. He described XEC as a recombinant variant that combines features of the KS1.1 and KP3.3 strains of COVID. The latter “has this mutation called q4, 90, 3e, that allows the cell to just kind of bite on to the host cell and not let go, so it probably leads some more attachment,” he said. This characteristic may be why the XEC variant is on the rise in Europe particularly in Germany, where it’s about 15% of cases, but its impact in the US may be mitigated by high population immunity noted Dr. Chung. While XC is a recombinant variant, he said it should not be feared, because vaccines still will protect against serious disease, hospitalization, and death.

Patients may exhibit the usual symptoms of sore throat congestion, headache, muscle aches, and shortness of breath in some people after a few days; this time some patients also are experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea or nausea and vomiting.

“Some of the symptoms that enable people to go to the hospital, and that’s what we’re trying to prevent,” added Dr. Chin Hong.

Effectiveness of updated mRNA vaccines and Novavax

Updated mRNA vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax are extremely effective against the XEC and new subvariants, said Dr. Benjamin Neuman, Professor of Biology at Texas A&M University. He explained that the FDA had presented data supporting the updated vaccines and emphasized the importance of updating antibodies in vaccines due to the virus’s rapid change. “The antibodies are going to protect against infection,” he clarified.

Comparing the mRNA vaccines and Novavax, Neuman noted that the mRNA vaccines are more recent and likely to provide better protection against the current virus strains. “You are likely to get more mileage out of one of the two mRNA vaccines only because they’re a little bit closer in time to the virus that is circulating now.”

Low vaccination rates in minority communities

Dr. Daniel Turner-Lloveras, co-founder and CEO of Salud con Tech and the Latino Health Innovation Alliance, said that misinformation and disinformation have played a significant role in creating vaccine hesitancy among Latino and Black communities; this was further exacerbated by barriers such as access and trust.

“In communities of color, what we’re really talking about is access, trust and equity, right? These communities aren’t just hesitant. They’ve been overlooked, and there have been victims of misinformation, disinformation, just like many other communities.”

He explained that people want to protect themselves and their families, but the barriers to the vaccines and reliable information are real. “It’s easy to look at the numbers and think, why won’t people just get vaccinated? But if you’re in a community where transportation is an issue, where there’s only one clinic for thousands of residents, and where if you go to a clinic, everything is essentially in hieroglyphs, it’s very difficult to be able to accept that vaccine, since you’re not familiar with it, and the information coming to you is not as reliable.”

Dr. Turner-Lloveras explained that people also feared the side effects of vaccines but warned that this fear was outweighed by the risks of COVID-19 infection, which can be much more severe.

The panelists also addressed the reliability of government-issued free test kits, explaining that there may be batch-to-batch variations and results could depend on when one takes the test. “If you test too soon, you may not have enough virus to be detected by the test, and that’s because you know your immune system is active already,” said Dr. Chin Hong. He encouraged repeat testing adding, “That’s why you don’t want to stop at one negative test if you still have symptoms, you probably want to do another one in a day or so.”

Danger of misinformation

Dr. Newman described that misinformation about the benefits of vaccines grew from a pushback against new developments in the pharmaceutical industry. “I see vaccine hesitancy as the new face of technophobia. When there are developments, there’s always pushback. This is the pushback. There are powerful lobbying groups, … and these are specifically targeting the message that vaccines are unsafe toward minority, Black, Asian, yeah, Pacific Islander communities with disproportionately bad effects in those communities.” He reiterated that vaccines are essential to preventing severe illness and long-term health issues.

I mportance of community-led initiatives and more frequent vaccine updates

The panel also addressed the need for sustained public health messaging, stressing that governments need to renew their commitment to public health messaging and improve communication around vaccines and testing.  They emphasized the need for consistent, evidence-based messaging and the importance of funding for public health initiatives to help improve vaccination rates. Community-driven solutions and representation and equity in public health initiatives would be key to improving healthcare outcomes related to the COVID-19 virus the panel agreed.

Dr. Turner-Lloveras explained that community-driven solutions such as mobile vaccination clinics and pop-up sites, and sustained funding for community-based organizations, could help address health disparities associated with transportation and language barriers.

There also was a need for diverse messaging platforms and the role of trusted sources in combating misinformation he added. Clear communication about the vaccine’s role in preventing severe illness and a personalized approach could help address vaccine hesitancy and alleviate these fears, said Dr. Turner-Lloveras. He stated that reliable information and community leaders had a role to play in building trust and increasing vaccination rates in vaccine-hesitant communities.

Dr. Neuman reiterated that public health services and vaccines have an important role in saving lives. “Taking the vaccine now gets you through the holiday season, hopefully without any damage to you or your loved ones. And I think that is definitely a price worth paying.”

In California, explained Dr. Chin Hong, success was achieved through the alignment between public health, politicians, and academia and individualized messaging to different communities.

Politicization of a major public health issue

The speakers were concerned about how politics has infiltrated the discourse on COVID-19 as a public health issue.

“It’s just really heartbreaking for me,” said Dr. Turner-Lloveras, and” it really just leaves minority populations further behind.” He pointed out that just like misinformation targeting a minority community has a disproportionate effect on that group, the political stance on COVID-19 and the vaccines is “really impeding our ability to take care of people right now.”

Dr. Neuman added, “I don’t know why your politics would care about Covid. This is just a condition like a rock falling on your head, and there is no political solution. There’s only getting out of the way of the rock. Get a vaccine.”

The post Covid-19 Cases Rise, As Vaccination Rates Remain Low appeared first on India Currents .