July 16, 2021
Dear Members of the Baylor College of Medicine Community,
The number of COVID-19 cases is ticking up in the United States and around the world. COVID has become a disease of the unvaccinated, and many of them are young. The appearance of the Delta variant has added to the concern, as it is highly transmissible. The Delta variant represents more than 60 percent of the cases in the U.S. now, while the country still has less than 50 percent of the population fully vaccinated.
The message to get vaccinated and to get fully vaccinated (meaning both doses if you are getting a vaccine developed for two doses) has never been more important. One county in Alabama reported 95 percent of the deaths reported in June were due to COVID.
In this week’s video, I review these stats, as well as look at the decreasing life expectancy brought on by COVID. The United States is now No. 46 in life expectancy in the world. The impact has been even higher among some minorities.
In 2020, deaths increased by 32 percent in Texas.
The video also covers a great deal of science news this week, including a couple of studies on the effectiveness of CoronaVac to reports of rare symptoms from the J&J vaccine and studies concerning the vaccines’ effectiveness against the Delta variant.
In closing, I present the latest info on the Olympics, which is poised to become a super spreader event. Lily is competing early, showing her skills to you this week, with no spectators but a large viewing audience.
Have a great weekend. See you next week.
Paul Klotman, M.D.
President & CEO
Executive Dean
