A Message from the President
The Environment and Covid-19
by Cindy L. Russell, MD
SCCMA President
www.sccma.org
Summertime… and like a lazy dog day afternoon the pandemic seems quiet. A little over a year after the onset of COVID we now are able to attend graduations that can be outdoors, and travel to vacation destinations with “precautions”. The pandemic, however, is still not over. COVID-19 is still rumbling around and causing smaller third surges in other states and countries, with an unprecedented and puzzling reemergence in India. This could be due to highly transmissible variants in combination with large crowds in celebration resulting in tragic consequences. As of this date vaccines have now been administered to about 42% of the population of the U.S., with 135 million fully vaccinated. John Hopkins reports that about 33 million people in the U.S. have had confirmed cases of COVID-19 with many others unconfirmed and thus immune from the virus. Herd immunity is now apparent. New interim guidance by the CDC as of May 28, 2021, stated that because hospital and death rates are so low now, fully vaccinated people can “resume activities without wearing masks or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance; and resume domestic travel and refrain from testing before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.” Planes and trains and other forms of transportation still require masks as do physician’s offices. Not all agree with shedding our masks and argue the incidence of COVID-19 is still higher in communities of color where vaccination rates are lower. In addition, there are still a small number of people who are getting COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated. A study of 6,710 health care workers in Israel found that eight had symptomatic and 38 had asymptomatic breakthrough COVID infections after being fully vaccinated. The CDC reported a total of 10,262 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine breakthrough infections from 46 U.S. states and territories as of
April 30, 2021, where 27% were asymptomatic, 10 % were hospitalized and 2% died. Small numbers indeed but it still highlights that a level of precaution still seems warranted. Academic data show that about 3-4% of the population has an impaired immune system, due to disease or organ transplants or cancer treatment or immune suppressive medications. Research has shown that a significant number of these patients do not mount an immune response and others may safe harbor the virus which can multiply and evolve, as was found in the New York B.1.256 variant in a patient with advanced AIDS. Research continues to reveal the mysteries of COVID-19, long haul and vaccinations. It will be a while before we know all the answers. In the meantime, appropriate and considerate masking and social distancing seem sensible. The Environment and COVID-19 The COVID pandemic has underscored the environmental impacts of human activities, from air pollution to climate change to chemicals in consumer products that can cause immune suppression (PFAS). Environmental issues still loom large. This issue of the Bulletin highlights the SCCMA Environmental Health Series 2021 with discussions by experts in climate change, children and technology, children’s environmental health, and food and the environment. All of these webinars have been recorded and are available on the SCCMA. org website and You Tube. All are supremely educational, inspirational and worth watching and sharing. Environmental Health Series 2021 Climate Change: Our series began on Earth Day, April 22, 2021, with the topic of climate change, featuring Dr. Santosh Pandipati, a fetal maternal specialist, and Amory Lovins, a leading international advisor to governments on addressing climate change. Dr. Pandipati provided a rivThe Bulletin | Second Quarter 2021 | 7
