Common Sense Reality Check: Covid Variants, Vaccines and the Return to Normalcy
When
5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Where
Who can attend
Limited capacity: Registration Closed
Price
Organizer
While we're all excited about the thought of experiencing things that we used to take for granted like unmasked smiles, hugs, and movie theaters, we are not out of the woods yet. But this Zoom event is definitely not about gloom and doom.
Dr. Jay Levy returns to provide another reality check and a healthy dose of common sense so that together we can do our part to ensure Covid-19 does not continue to wreak havoc on our lives, even if it may still take awhile for us to feel comfortable going to large group gatherings or to take a cruise.
Dr. Levy will explain what is currently known and not known so that we can make our decisions based on knowledge, rather than fear. While the vaccines are still relatively new and we don't have long term data on some basics like how long immunity will last, he will provide a candid explanation about what current scientific data shows, even if it will be awhile for longitudinal studies to be completed about immunity and whether or when you'll need a booster shot. Notably he will emphasize the emergence of variants and whether they pose a future challenge in terms of a new surge and whether vaccinated people are immune to these new modified viruses.
Dr. Levy will also discuss why it's not a bad thing to have a reaction to the vaccine and address the "long haulers" (people contending with myriad debilitating symptoms even after they no longer have Covid-19, such as chronic fatigue syndrome).
On a slightly more mundane note, but on everyone's mind, until the planet reaches our goal of herd immunity to reduce the chance of spread and variants, how should we set our expectations?
- When will vaccine be available to everyone who wants it (unfortunately it's not a simple answer)?
- When can we plan postponed vacations and should we set our sights on international destinations or enjoy all the USA has to offer?
- When can we go to the symphony?
PRESENTER: Dr. Jay A. Levy is Professor of Medicine and Director of the Laboratory for Tumor and AIDS Virus Research at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He obtained his M.D. from Columbia University after graduating from Wesleyan University and joined the UCSF Department of Medicine and the Cancer Research Institute in 1972. Dr. Levy co-discovered HIV in 1983 and during the last 3 decades has dedicated his efforts to developing anti-HIV therapies, an AIDS vaccine, and potentially a cure. He also discovered a novel immune response that controls HIV infection through the production by CD8+ lymphocytes of an antiviral factor, CAF. Dr. Levy has published 14 books and over 600 articles in virology, immunology and infectious diseases.
This event is done in partnership with the Stanford Club of San Francisco.