A rocky road ahead

Aholiday season beckons, but as much as we would like to be finished with this pandemic, it is not finished with us. Colder weather is driving people indoors, and new waves of infection have appeared in the United States and Europe. Unvaccinated people combined with waning vaccine efficacy are leaving room for the virus to spread. Booster shots for all adults makes good sense.

In the United States, new daily cases fell from a September peak of 164,000 on a seven-day average to about 64,000 in late October, but have now inched back up to 83,671. In Colorado, hospitals are seeing a flood of new patients and 94 percent of intensive-care unit beds are occupied, although 72.8 percent of eligible residents ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated.

Minnesota has the highest levels of new cases since April, although 79.8 percent of those 18 and older are fully vaccinated. Vermont, which had a few cases per day over the summer, now has over hundreds, even though 74 percent of residents age 5 and up are fully vaccinated.

In Europe, the nearly 2 million new weekly cases reported earlier this month were the most since the pandemic began. Countries in eastern Europe with lower vaccination rates, such as Romania, where about 30 percent are fully vaccinated, are hard hit, but infections are also rising in Germany, with 67 percent fully vaccinated.

Studies demonstrate that when vaccine efficacy wanes, booster shots work. Although some scientists and government regulators earlier expressed reservations about the wisdom of boosters for all adults, rising case numbers in the United States should banish any doubt when the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention look at the matter this week.

California, Colorado, New Mexico, Arkansas, West Virginia and New York City have endorsed boosters for all adults, and more states might follow. In many locations, boosters are already available for those who ask.

Face masks, hand hygiene, better ventilation and avoiding crowded indoor spaces all remain essential. But as long as some political leaders, such as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, continue to undermine mask and vaccine mandates, the road out of the pandemic will be a lot rockier than it has to be.