Coronavirus vaccine and Delta variant updates for 9-27-2021

<p>This is Vaccine 411, the latest coronavirus vaccine information for September 27th, 2021.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Health officials in the U.S. say supply isn’t a problem. There are more than 40 million doses of vaccines available, so that’s enough to give qualified older Americans boosters and the first rounds for young children when the vaccine is approved for them. More than 70 million Americans remain unvaccinated.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Breakthrough cases in the vaccinated are still rare but growing less rare. In fact, experts expect them to be even more common in the near future, saying most people will become infected at some point in their lives. But the appeal is still that vaccines will help keep cases from being severe. The CDC’s latest data found unvaccinated people are 10 times more likely to be hospitalized from the virus.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>So if healthcare workers keep quitting, some of them because of vaccine mandates, who’ll take care of patients? In New York, the possible answer is The National Guard. They’re looking into that, as well as bringing in professionals from other states and countries, and reactivating retired nurses. Some 16% of the state’s hospital staff have not been fully vaccinated.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In California, first responders also remain disproportionately reluctant to get vaccinated. Public health officials have identified more than 200 outbreaks at police or fire agencies throughout Los Angeles County since the start of the pandemic. Vaccination rates for LAPD an LAFD employees generally lag behind the 68% of eligible county residents who’ve gotten their shots.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Also, lots of vaccine reluctance in the NBA, a league that’s trying to figure out what to do about it. There are 10% or so of players that are still holding out. And that doesn’t make basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar too happy. He says “there’s no room for players” who pass on the vaccine. And as influencers, he says they’re “failing to live up to the responsibilities that come with celebrity.” <