The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 261 (761)

Ever done a breath test for alcohol-impairment? Neither have I ... yet (that's Son #2 talking). A covid breath test has been given Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA. The device is about the size of an airplane carry-on meaning it could easily be taken to mobile testing sites or, in the vein of the opening question, an automobile. It's called the InspectIR Covid-19 Breathalyzer. In testing, it correctly identified 91 percent of negative samples and almost 100 percent of positive ones. It works by separating and identifying five compounds; the result comes back in about three minutes. I can't help but think that if this had been available earlier, how many more people might have gone in for testing. Blowing into a balloon is so much less invasive than a giant q-tip up one's nose. Positive tests should still be confirmed by the PCR test's giant q-tip, but negative tests are good to go.

Remember herd immunity? That utopia or nirvana we talked about reaching earlier in the pandemic? That's now just a dream. We aren't going to get there. Says Dr. Fauci, "The concept of classical herd immunity may not apply to Covid-19." This means we are not going to be without SARS-CoV-2 in the population for an unknown period of time. Using measles as an example, it takes three things to eliminate a disease. First is an extremely effective vaccine. Second is a virus that does not mutate. Finally, there has to be a successful childhood vaccination campaign. Despite having all three in respect to measles, WHO warned in 2019 that measles could become endemic again if enough people refuse to get vaccinated. 

Looking at those factors in relation to covid, well, the vaccines we have at least in the Western world seem to be effective though we're still working out the booster picture as well as a vaccine dose for children under the age of five. The measles virus may not mutate, but the coronavirus certainly does. We've had five variants important enough to have recognizable names: Alpha, Beta, Delta, Omicron, and BA.2. As for a childhood vaccination program, that won't come until there's a successful adult vaccination campaign. A parent who won't get vaccinated won't vaccinate the children in the family. Also, covid vaccines do not create sterilizing immunity in which the immune system eliminates the infectious particle before infection begins. Vaccinated people can still transmit the virus.

Have a good weekend! That sentiment doesn't mean I won't be posting tomorrow, though. Any coronavirus news I can't find can be replaced by war or weekend news.