Re:New Zealand to open quarantine-free “travel bubble” with ...
by rob74 on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @05:40AM
(#26709918)
> when everyone has had a chance to be vaccinated
If that happens before a mutation spreads which renders the vaccines useless. And, seeing the pace at which vaccination is progressing in poorer countries, I'm not really optimistic about that. On the other hand, there is still hope that the vaccine will at least keep you from getting seriously sick if you get infected with a vaccine-resistant strain...
Re:New Zealand to open quarantine-free “travel bubble” with ...
by roca on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @05:57AM
(#26710008)
There is no reason to believe a mutation is going to render major vaccines useless. The real-life results of the mRNA vaccines against the major variants are very encouraging (see e.g. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pfizer-says-trials-sugg...). Many of the scary lab results were only testing the virus against antibodies, not the full power of a vaccinated person's immune system.
Re:New Zealand to open quarantine-free “travel bubble” with ...
by rob74 on Tuesday April 06, 2021 @06:34AM
(#26710243)
I'm not saying the vaccines aren't effective against the current variants of concern, but the situation with part of the population vaccinated and mass transmission in the unvaccinated part of the population may favor the emergence of a new vaccine-resistant strain.
See also https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/06/global-rollout...
So the pandemic will end for NZ the same way it will for every other country: when everyone has had a chance to be vaccinated. That should be some time this year for NZ. Some other countries will get there first, but the timing depends entirely on vaccine supply and uptake, and has nothing to do with how far COVID has spread through the population.