Vaccines save Provincetown after COVID outbreak that sparked CDC mask U-turn



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A famous conservative columnist who lives at the epicenter of the last Delta COVID cluster in the United States said of the “Let It Rip” virus after seeing how mild the symptoms of his vaccinated friends were.

Writer Andrew Sullivan says the COVID-19 outbreak in Provincetown, Massachusetts, which has infected around 900 people and triggered the CDC’s mask turn around was sparked by July 4 indoor parties after the pride week.

This outbreak was behind the CDC’s sudden backlash on mask recommendations for vaccinated Americans to wear masks inside COVID hotspots.

But now Sullivan says his friends’ first-hand experience with illnesses has shown the Indian Delta variant to pose little risk to those vaccinated – and has called for the restrictions to be lifted once and for all.

Writing his popular blog, he said: “Take rational precautions – a strong vaccine – and go about your business the way you always have,” Sullivan wrote.

“We are at a point in this pandemic where we are trying to persuade the recalcitrant – disproportionately white Republicans / Evangelicals and urban African Americans – to get vaccinated. How can we do it best?

Andrew Sullivan, an influential journalist and Provincetown resident, said the COVID-19 outbreak in his town which has infected around 900 people and triggered the CDC's mask turn was sparked by parties inside 4th of July savages

Andrew Sullivan, an influential journalist and Provincetown resident, said the COVID-19 outbreak in his town which has infected around 900 people and triggered the CDC’s mask turn was sparked by parties inside 4th of July savages

People walking through Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts on July 20

People walking through Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts on July 20

A sign at a Heaven cafe in P-town encourages patrons to wear masks until they are seated

A sign on a P-town Heaven cafe encourages patrons to wear masks until they are seated

“Endless, condescending harassment won’t help. Coercion is not an option in a free country. As the vaccinated also seem capable of transmitting the virus, the vaccine passports lose their power to suppress all risk.

“Forcing all responsible people to start restricting their daily lives again for the sake of vaccine aversion is both unfair and actually weakens the incentive to get the vaccine, as it reduces the overall risk of receiving it in the near future. society at large.

“So the obviously correct public policy is to let the increase in disease and the increase in deaths focus the minds of the holdouts. Let reality persuade the delusional and deranged. He has a strong enough record to do just that.

Sullivan said many had just come out of Pride parties in New York City and crowded into bars and dance clubs.

One of the bars is like a “dang dungeon where sweat drips from the ceiling and mold hits the walls,” Sullivan said.

“It may have been designed for viral transmission,” he added.

But all of the friends he described in his article on The Weekly Dish showed mild symptoms after testing positive.

General Manager Andrew Morse has confirmed that most of the 900 people linked to the COVID outbreak in Provincetown have mild symptoms. Only seven have been hospitalized and no one has died, Morse said.

Morse – who was one of 900 infected – said the popular vacation spot is safe and expects life there to return to normal in the coming weeks.

The small town on the tip of Cape Cod – with a population of around 3,000 – is known for its quirky, LGBTQ-friendly party atmosphere that Sullivan says draws more than 40,000 people during peak season.

Walking around the fishing and whale watching town has a Bourbon Street feel in New Orleans.

Dressed in Maxine the Vaccine, Poppy Champlin encourages pedestrians to get vaccinated against Covid-19 while promoting her comedy show on Commercial Street in Provincetown

Dressed in Maxine the Vaccine, Poppy Champlin encourages pedestrians to get vaccinated against Covid-19 while promoting her comedy show on Commercial Street in Provincetown

Only four of those vaccinated were hospitalized, two of whom had underlying conditions, and there have been no deaths showing that the vaccines are effective even against the Delta variant, which now accounts for 83% of all new infections.

Only four of those vaccinated were hospitalized, two of whom had underlying conditions, and there have been no deaths showing that the vaccines are effective even against the Delta variant, which now accounts for 83% of all new infections.

A new CDC report has detailed 469 cases of COVID-19 linked to an outbreak in Provincetown, Massachusetts between July 3 and July 17, 74% of which were in fully vaccinated people

A new CDC report has detailed 469 cases of COVID-19 linked to an outbreak in Provincetown, Massachusetts between July 3 and July 17, 74% of which were in fully vaccinated people

In a good news-bad news situation, it’s scary to think that about three-quarters of people who have contracted the virus have been vaccinated, but the epidemic is proof that vaccines are working.

Dr Ashish Jha, epidemiologist and dean of public health at Brown University, said in a thread of nine tweets that he felt the situation was “reassuring.”

While the Delta variant is “more contagious than Ebola, the Spanish flu and possibly chickenpox” causing breakthrough cases in those vaccinated, the “vaccines prevent the vast majority of infections, transmission and almost all hospitalizations (and ) deaths, ”Dr Jha tweeted.

“Yeah, the delta variant is bad. Like really bad. Our vaccines are good. Like really good. Breakthrough infections occur. Sometimes they can spread to others. But if enough people get vaccinated, the pandemic is over.

Provincetown: How the 4th of July weekend turned the New England party playground into the center of a Covid cluster

Located near the northernmost point of Cape Cod, Provincetown – or P-Town – is known for its beaches, performers, and as a popular vacation spot for the LGBT + community.

It has a population of just under 3,000 people year round, but that figure can reach 60,000 during the summer months.

Young revelers descend into the city to enjoy the plethora of bars and clubs that can be found along its famous Commercial Street.

The affluent tourists typically found in nearby cities such as Boston and Manhattan will often use the city as a playground to spend their hard-earned money – or that of their parents.

But a week after the crowd descended to celebrate July 4 – the holiday President Joe Biden hoped to mark the country’s liberation from COVID-19 – the director of the seaside town of Cape Cod said he was aware of a ‘handful of covid cases among people who spent time there’

Within weeks, the outbreak grew rapidly until on Thursday 882 people were linked to an outbreak in the city, with 74% of them receiving both doses of the vaccine. Seven people were reported to have been hospitalized, ABC News reported.

Prior to that, health officials assumed that it was rare for a vaccinated person to be infected with the virus, and if they were, they likely wouldn’t infect others.

The hypothesis was based on studies of an earlier virus, not the new Delta variant, which was first detected in India earlier this year.

This outbreak is said to be part of the new evidence behind the decision to make masks mandatory indoors again, even though they received both doses of the vaccine.

The owner of Marine Specialties, a longtime Army and Navy store, had been wary of those responsible for dropping virus security mandates before what many expected a busy summer season. He even tried to force customers to hide in his store all summer, before finally giving in in June.

“If we had stayed with masks from the start, I don’t think we would have this conversation,” said Patrick, adding that he had demanded that all his staff be masked and vaccinated. “They’re not entirely fun, but we wore them all last summer and didn’t have a single case in Provincetown. Now see where we’re at.

It’s a brutal and possibly controversial take, but Sullivan has made a career out of it.

The longtime journalist and conservative columnist, gay and HIV-positive, has been widely read and enjoyed great success, with fans including Barack Obama.

But he was eliminated as a columnist for New York Magazine after four years in 2020 and ripped the cancellation culture in his way.

He wrote in his latest column that staff editors who were out of step with the “awakened” issues regarding race, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity “were actively and physically harming their colleagues. simply by existing in the same virtual space ”.

“In fact, attacking, and even mocking, the ideas and methods of critical theory, as I have continually done in this space, is therefore out of step with the values ​​of Vox Media,” Sullivan wrote. “That’s, to the best of my understanding, the reason I got out of here. “

He is one of the most influential journalists and columnists since the late 80s / early 90s and known for his opposing views.

While he was editor-in-chief of The New Republic magazine in 1994, Sullivan published a cover story titled “Race and IQ,” which saw him face continued criticism for an article that many have. described as racist.

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