Covid Alert

Last Saturday, CPA Board Trustees agreed that it would be appropriate to remind Castle Parkers that the Covid pandemic is not over. With a late start, all I could do was put up notices at the Castle, prior to the July Jubilee and OTR. Bob Palmer, MD, read one and we talked. He has made a project of to keeping up with Covid news. His comments go beyond the daily Covid news so I asked him to write down for me the key points of his concerns. Here they are:

1) While vaccination is quite effective in preventing serious COVID illness, it is not nearly as effective in preventing infection, which can then be spread.
2) The Delta variant increases the viral load about 1,000-fold over previous strains, increasing the risk of asymptomatic infection (which can then be spread) in vaccinated individuals. This is just starting to be quantified.
3) We have NO information on the potential long-term consequences of asymptomatic infection in vaccinated individuals. Remember polio! (Delayed paralysis showing up decades later.)
4) Until we get more information I recommend a) vaccination, if not already vaccinated, and b) masking indoors when more than a few people are present – or any, if either you or your close contacts have substantially increased susceptibility.

Thanks, Bob, for the comments.