What happened
Even as the U.S. saw a continuing
steep drop in Covid-19 cases this
week, health officials expressed grow-
ing concern about the accelerated
spread of new coronavirus variants
and their resistance to vaccines’ pro-
tection. Maryland and South Carolina
reported five cases of the South Africa
variant, or B.1.351, which has over-
whelmed South Africa and spread to
at least 32 countries—and appears to
be reinfecting people previously sick-
ened with Covid. The B.1.1.7 strain,
or U.K. variant—which spreads up
to 70 percent more easily than earlier
strains and may be 30 percent more
lethal—has been detected in at least 30 states. A case of the P.
strain that has devastated the Brazilian city of Manaus (see Inter-
national Columns, p. 15) was reported in Minnesota. University of
Minnesota epidemiologist Michael Osterholm warned the variants
would cause a “category 5” hurricane of new cases in about six
weeks. “We are going to see something like we have not seen yet in
this country,” Osterholm said.
The warnings came at the same time vaccines have brought hope
for an end to the pandemic. Johnson & Johnson unveiled trial data
showing its single-dose vaccine is 66 percent effective in preventing
illness, and 100 percent effective in preventing deaths and hospi-
talizations. Novavax released preliminary results showing nearly
90 percent effectiveness in a British trial. But both vaccines showed
somewhat reduced effectiveness against the South African variant,
as did Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines. “The implications are really
worrisome,” said Peter Hotez, the dean of the National School of
Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
New U.S. infections continued a drop that cut new cases by nearly
40 percent in recent weeks, as the holiday surge waned and new re-
strictions on indoor gatherings were put in place. Vaccination rates
were up, with the nation averaging over 1.3 million shots daily, with
Johnson & Johnson soon to apply for emergency authorization and
Pfizer promising to delivery 200 million
doses by May instead of July. But with
many months to go before widespread
vaccination is achieved, public-health
officials beseeched the public to triple
down on masking, distancing, and other
safety measures. “It is a pivotal mo-
ment,” said virologist Shane Crotty.
What the editorials said
The virus variants demand an “urgent
response” on the federal level, said The
Washington Post. Genetic sequencing
technology that can track virus muta-
tions “has developed rapidly”—but
the U.S. is “way behind other nations”
in using it. Building a “massive cross-
country genomic virus surveillance net-
work” should be a pressing priority for
the Biden administration, “so we aren’t
flying blind into the next storm.”
As the national rolls up its sleeves,
emerging evidence of racial ineq-
uity in vaccination “should sound
warning bells,” said The Houston
Chronicle. Early data show that
black and Latino Americans—who
are three times more likely to die
from Covid-19 than whites—are
being vaccinated at rates up to
three times lower. Fighting this
will require outreach campaigns
to overcome vaccine hesitancy,
locating vaccination sites in poorer
neighborhoods, and improving
“labyrinthine” registration pro-
cesses that shut out those lacking
“computer savvy.”What the columnists said
The vaccine news is “better than many people realize,” said David
Leonhardt in The New York Times. “All five vaccines with public
results have eliminated Covid-19 deaths” and “drastically” cut
hospitalizations. The vaccines may work less well against the vari-
ants but still appear to prevent serious illness and death. Vaccines
can turn Covid into a manageable illness, so “children can go back
to school” and “grandparents can nuzzle their grandchildren.”Brazil’s massive outbreak from a new strain raises the possibility
that the coronavirus “might be outracing our efforts to contain it,”
said David Wallace-Wells in NYMag.com. It will take up to three
years to vaccinate a majority of people in the developing world,
and as the virus continues to spread and replicate, more mutations
will arise. The worst-case scenario is that some will emerge that
achieve “immune escape”—meaning that antibodies from previous
Covid cases and vaccines no longer work.President Biden needs to stop blaming the “coronavirus catas-
trophe” on Donald Trump and step up, said Robert Zubrin in
NationalReview.com. Instead of waiting on Moderna’s trickle
of new doses, his administration should license that messenger
RNA vaccine, developed with federal money, “to every qualified
company that can produce it.” And the
FDA must stop “dragging its heels on
approving” the Johnson & Johnson
and AstraZeneca vaccines—the latter
of which “has already been given to
over 1 million people in the U.K.”We’re caught between rising hope and
looming catastrophe, said Leanna Wen
in The Washington Post. Vaccina-
tions are underway, but the spreading
variants could derail school openings
and make more lockdowns inevitable.
“The race is on” to beat back the
virus with vaccines before the variants
overwhelm us—“but we know how
to win it.” If we slow transmission
with masking and distancing, “we will
slow variants.” Whether we’ve passed
“our darkest hour,” or “calamity” lies
ahead, “is up to us.” Get
tyTHE WEEK February 12, 2021
4 NEWS The main stories...
New virus variants raise alarm
Illustration by Howard McWilliam.
Cover photos from Newscom, Getty (2)What next?
The emergence of variants marks the start of “a
new phase in the battle against the SARS-CoV-
virus,” said Matthew Herper in StatNews.com.
It “raises the possibility that vaccine makers will
have to develop booster shots to protect against
it”—which Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson &
Johnson are already at work on. “This is a fight
that could go on for a long time,” said Robert
Langreth in Bloomberg.com. Vaccines that are ef-
fective now“may fade in the future unless strong
booster shots are devised” to combat new muta-
tions. In the long run, Covid-19 may morph into
“something akin to influenza, requiring periodic
booster shots” to keep it at bay. There are more
dire scenarios, though. Asked what keeps him
up at night, Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top
infectious-disease expert, responded, “A mutant,
where it really escapes everything.”Filling syringes with vaccines at Fenway Park in Boston