 So we've seen a lot of positive news regarding COVID-19, both cases and deaths are down. We are seeing vaccine hesitancy decrease and vaccine numbers take up. So this is all really positive. But there are two things that actually threaten the progress that we've made. One is states easing restrictions too soon as they see the number of cases and deaths decrease. And two is whether or not the vaccines are effective against new variants. Now it seems as if the main variant that we're worried about currently, the UK variant, which is said to be the dominant strain in the United States, the vaccines, at least the Moderna and Pfizer and beyond vaccines are actually effective against that variant. But when it comes to the South African variant, we have some very, very bad news. And I'm going to link you to this study down below in the description box. It's a sample of the study, but we're not going to read that. It's a little bit too dense, but for a concise explanation, we will go to the Hills Alexandra Kelly, who explains, despite the increase in global circulation of COVID-19 vaccines, the variants of the virus that emerged in late 2020 may disrupt the world's mission to achieve herd immunity, according to a new study approved for publishing in the journal Nature. Researchers specifically look at the South African COVID-19 mutation, scientifically dubbed B.1.351, analyzing whether or not these pathogens are more resistant to immune responses prompted by the available vaccines. Samples of biological fluids, namely convalescent plasma and vaccine serum, were collected and studied for the volume of COVID-19 neutralizing antibodies contained among volunteers who recovered from a documented COVID-19 infection. This highlights concern for potential reinfection. When analyzing volunteer vaccine serum or fluid from individuals who had been fully vaccinated, the results were similarly grim. Neutralizing activity was significantly lower against B.1.351, regardless of which vaccine patients received. Moderna's vaccine candidate was found to be 12.4 times less effective against the South African variant, and Pfizer's was found to have a reduced effectiveness by about 10.3 times. A silver lining could be that both vaccine candidates held up well against the UK variant of COVID-19. So this is needless to say, very, very depressing news. The South African strain has already been found in the United States. Now at this time, it is not the case that we are expecting the South African variant to be a dominant strain here. It is a variant that exists, and it does pose a threat to the progress that we've made. But what this tells us is that even if we are fully vaccinated, that doesn't necessarily mean that we stop following the proper protocols. Although the same day we got this news, the CDC issued new guidelines for vaccinated people that kind of suggest that if you are vaccinated, you can visit other unvaccinated or vaccinated people rather without masks. This is what they said on the same day we learned about this study. In this scenario, CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people can visit with other fully vaccinated people in small gatherings indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing. Remember here we are talking about private settings where everyone is vaccinated. So what does this mean? If you and a friend or you and a family member are both vaccinated, you can have dinner together wearing masks without distancing. You can visit your grandparents if you have been vaccinated and they have been too. Now I want to talk to you about another more complicated scenario. It involves vaccinated people visiting with unvaccinated people. When fully vaccinated people visit with unvaccinated people, we have to consider the underlying risks of the unvaccinated people and any unvaccinated members of their household. We take this approach because all of our guidance is rooted in making sure we are keeping people safe. So CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people can visit with unvaccinated people from one other household indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing as long as the unvaccinated people and any unvaccinated members of their household are not at high risk for severe COVID-19 disease. Yeah. So this was released again on the same day that we learned about this study, which is peer reviewed, by the way. And the question is what now? Because it seems to me that because of the threat that the South African variant poses, it's more transmissible. Can we still do this? Is this still recommended? Because if you ask me, I'm not going to feel comfortable when I'm fully vaccinated, meeting with other fully vaccinated people, if these vaccines aren't effective or aren't as effective against the South African strain. Now, I'm sure that they're going to have to revise their guidelines as we get more information about the prominence of the South African variant. But this is it's it's really frustrating. It's, you know, I don't want to be too doom and gloom yet. This is going to be one of many setbacks that I'm assuming will face as we try to fight COVID-19. But, you know, it shows that even if we're vaccinated, we can't necessarily, you know, get reckless. Now, the good news is that you have companies like Johnson and Johnson who just released or got their single dose vaccine approved by the FDA. They are developing boosters to try to fight against these variants. And new boosters can actually come into play that are perhaps more effective against the South African variant in the event it does become a bigger issue. But for now, we just we just need to be aware that the South African variant means that even if you're vaccinated, still might want to be a little bit careful or a lot careful, actually. And I'll just say, I don't think I've talked about the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. It isn't as effective as the Moderna and the Pfizer and Biontech vaccines in terms of stopping like the spread of COVID. But it's still really, really important in the fight against COVID-19. And if the Johnson and Johnson vaccine becomes available to me, I 100% would take it without without question because it still stops serious infections of COVID-19. So I think that what we have to do is everything in our power, get as many people vaccinated as possible. And we just have to keep fighting and we have to arm ourselves with information. We can't bury our heads in the sand and pretend as if everything is going to be OK. You know, we've got a lot of good news lately. We've made a lot of progress. This is a setback. It might not necessarily mean that all of our progress is undone. But what it means is that you need to factor this new information into the way you behave. And I'll be doing the same. You know, that's all that we can do. Just keep monitoring the situation and hope for the best. And more importantly, take the proper precautions to make sure we end this pandemic once and for all.