Is Your Vacation Spot an Immunization Wasteland?
Overwhelming evidence suggests that immunization is a highly effective preventive tool for COVID-19 disease, With the delta variant now the leading strain circulating in the US, risk of infection is now higher than with previous strains and those immunized are somewhat less well protected. Thankfully, complete immunization does still protect well against serious disease; partial (single dose) immunization with either of the mRNA vaccines is not so great protection.
Much of the DC metropolitan area (the DMV) enjoys a high immunization rate, though some zip codes or wards have extremely low rates. But how about traveling beyond the DMV for summer vacation? I recently found a nice web site, US COVID-19 Vaccination Tracking, originating from Georgetown University. You can check out their interactive map to see if your dream vacation site is full of unvaccinated local residents, though only down to county-level detail. I'm not suggesting you change your vacation plans based on this, but at least you'll have some idea how much to worry when you go to the local grocery store.
Prior SARS-CoV-2 Infection Doesn't Give You a Pass on Immunization
This fact has been apparent for a few weeks now, though only from relatively difficult-to-decipher non-peer-reviewed sources. Now we have a peer-reviewed article in Nature with more easily accessible data. This dilemma is all thanks to the delta variant. If you happen to run across anyone declaring they don't need a vaccine because they already had COVID-19 infection, plus set them straight and encourage them to be immunized.