Month: May 2021

Produced by Adam Lance Garcia, edited by Ron Douglas. Click here for transcript. (video link)

Fresh from our talk with Warhammer remembrancer Dan Abnett on the unsolved mysteries of the Warhammer universe, we now turn our attention to a science fiction property with a bit less grimdark: the one where a polymath with an eidetic memory invents time travel and things go, as they say, a little kaka. Grab your handlinks and step into the imaging chamber because it's time to talk about Quantum Leap.

We were lucky enough to snag some time with legendary TV producer Donald P. Bellisario, whose name has graced the closing credits of some of the most influential and popular TV shows of the '80s and '90s—including Airwolf, Magnum, P.I., and of course Quantum Leap. Though he's now retired, Bellisario gamely agreed to allow an Ars film crew—with props!—into his California home to badger him with occasionally obscure questions about what is easily the best time-travel show ever to grace television.

On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the latest data on breakthrough COVID-19 infections, which are infections among people who have been fully vaccinated against the disease. Yet again, the data suggests that the vaccines are highly effective against infection, as well as severe disease and death. The data breakdown also hints that vaccines are winning the race against variants, which don’t seem to be breaking through at higher rates than expected.

Among approximately 101 million vaccinated people in the US as of April 30, the CDC collected reports of 10,262 breakthrough cases from 46 states and territories. That works out to about 0.01% breakthrough cases among the fully vaccinated. This number is almost certainly a significant undercounting, the CDC acknowledges.

Breakthrough monitoring is passive and voluntary; vaccinated people who had asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 infections may not have gotten tested or reported their cases. Only about 27 percent of the 2,725 cases tallied by the CDC were considered asymptomatic. Transmission of COVID-19 was also very high during the monitoring period reported, with about 355,000 COVID-19 cases reported nationally in the week ending on April 30.