When the vaccines became available, everyone was hoping for a return to normal in 2021. Although the start was great and we witnessed cases going down and vaccination rates going up, the second half of 2021 has been ridden with challenges. With variants like Delta and Omicron being more transmissible and vaccine evasive, humans are in the battle of the century and the only way to tackle COVID-19 is to be an active part of community safety – get vaccinated and follow safety measures.

In a press briefing on December 17, 2021, experts provide perspectives on where we are now and how we can navigate 2022.

From left to right: Dr. Ben Neuman, Chief Virologist, Global Health Research Complex, Texas A&M University; Dr. Dali Fan, Clinical Professor, UC Davis Health Science: Dr. Tung Nguyen, Stephen J. McPhee, MD Endowed Chair, General Internal Medicine, UC San Francisco; Peter Maybarduk, Director, Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines Group; Dr. Roshni Mathew, Clinical Assistant Professor, Stanford Children’s Health
From left to right: Dr. Ben Neuman, Chief Virologist, Global Health Research Complex, Texas A&M University; Dr. Dali Fan, Clinical Professor, UC Davis Health Science: Dr. Tung Nguyen, Stephen J. McPhee, MD Endowed Chair, General Internal Medicine, UC San Francisco; Peter Maybarduk, Director, Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines Group; Dr. Roshni Mathew, Clinical Assistant Professor, Stanford Children’s Health

Speakers include:

  • Tung Nguyen, Stephen J. McPhee, MD Endowed Chair in General Internal Medicine and Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco
  • Ben Neuman, Ph. D, Chief virologist at the Global Health Research Complex at Texas A&M University
  • Dali Fan, University of California, Davis Health Science Clinical Professor, and volunteer vaccinator at California Northstate University in Elk Grove, California
  • Peter Maybarduk, Director of Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines group, Director of Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines group
  • Roshni Mathew, pediatric infectious diseases physician and Co-Medical Director of infection prevention and control at Stanford Children’s Health

Where are we today?

Looking at the overall pandemic on a national level, more Americans have died in this pandemic than all the wars in the last 120 years including World War 1 and World War 2. We are concluding the second year of this pandemic with over 800,000 deaths in the US and experts warn that the next wave is here with expectations of about record COVID cases per day in the US, according to Dr. Tung Nguyen. Dr. Roshni Mathew points out that pediatric COVID cases have been increasing recently. Compound this with medical professionals being stretched to the point of burnout and depression and the current outlook of the COVID-19 virus looks worrisome.

On the vaccines front, a little over 60% of the US population has received what was considered a full dosage of the vaccine. Reports suggest that the 2-dose vaccine provides lower protection from Omicron and every expert on the call urged everyone to get booster shots. Dr. Mathew emphasizes the importance of vaccinations and boosters for children. Taking a jab at vaccine hesitancy, Dr. Mathew points out that millions of adults have been vaccinated and they are safe. Although we witnessed some adverse effects from the vaccine, it is better than getting COVID-19. The data seen from adult vaccinations is a strong assurance of vaccine effectiveness on children.

If you are keeping up with current treatments for COVID-19, you might be asking: Don’t we have a pill for COVID-19 now? The answer is yes, but there is a caveat. The Pfizer pill is 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths, according to a press release. There is, however, no mention of the pill striking down COVID-19 and we have yet to see the long-term effects of the medication. Pills are a good offense and are a good way to fight the infection when it happens. Vaccines provide defense mechanisms against the virus entering the body.

What are the next steps?

To simplify our current situation, experts explain the cyclical process of a virus and vaccines. It is like we are playing ping pong from one side to another. To combat COVID-19, safety measures were implemented. We saw cases decrease when vaccines started rolling out and people started getting inoculated. Then we noticed new variants that can evade vaccine protection. To combat that, we are advised to take booster shots. The simple formula is this: higher spread of COVID-19 will cause more mutations that can evade vaccines purpose-built for certain variants.

Every expert emphasized the importance of getting vaccinated and getting booster shots. Dr. Ben Neuman called for vaccine mandates and simply followed Nike’s motto: “Just do it!”  Along with the vaccines, experts encouraged masking and utilizing rapid testing as we get a more consistent supply. Dr. Neuman also cautions against waving off Omicron. It is a variant of concern and could potentially have long-term health impacts.

Proper distribution of vaccines and information will also play a huge role in curbing infections.

Addressing global vaccine equity, Dr. Ben Neuman set the record straight. “We need to work together/come together to fight the virus. We are all in this together. Vaccine equity is the only way out.” Peter Maybarduck goes more in-depth and signifies the need for predictable consistent supply for low/middle-income countries. He also spotlights the issue of vaccine quantity vs. quality and emphasizes that every country must coordinate efforts and supplies so that the public health infrastructure of low-middle income countries can adapt and vaccinate their population.

On the topic of proper information, Dr. Dali Fan shared his input on where we are and how we can facilitate conversation to get the right message across. Essentially, he focused on the idea of sensationalism. Focusing on the bigger picture and providing the right information is more important than engaging in sensationalism and trying to get the highest number of hits. He also cautioned that just raw facts and data don’t work sometimes and embracing a personal relationship is needed when communicating with the vaccine-hesitant community. Dr. Nguyen pinpoints that the problem stems from rapid change and the spread of information. This causes mistrust. The reality is that COVID-19 is an evolving situation and new scientific discoveries are the main cause of the rapid changes in information. An approach to follow would be to “stay humble.” Essentially, we should focus on what we know in the present and that this information can change in the future. Being negative, stigmatizing the conversation, or being too definitive is detrimental to proper information spreading.

A question raised by Ethnic Media Services Executive Director, Sandy Close, highlights the impact of COVID-19 on our unsung heroic medical care force. “What do we do about the exhausted, depleted medical care force?”

Dr. Fan: No good answers. You try to rotate as much as possible.

Dr. Nguyen: Community can give us hope and reduce our workload. If we have fewer cases and people not being resistant. More breaks would be helpful. We need to help each other out.

Dr. Mathew: Vaccination is not for the individual, but it’s for the community. It is everyone’s duty. Health care workers continue to be resilient. Less burden is helpful.

If you got nothing from this article, I want to leave you with this one quote from Sandy Close, “It is up to us to keep our health care workers healthy. If we don’t protect ourselves, we will lose the whole ballpark.” That sums up where we are and what we need to do to move forward.