We're Going In The Wrong Direction

 

We WERE doing good.  No more masks. Indoor gathering restrictions were lifted.  Life was looking good.

Today I can't say that.  Here in NJ, there has been an increase in Covid-19 cases.  (According to the data I'm looking at we've had a 198% increase over the past 14 days.)  That's not good. All over the country the numbers are increasing.  Is it time to put the mask back on?  Maybe.

What the heck is going on? 

We know that the new Delta variant (if you didn't know by now viruses are adaptable little buggers that mutate and change) is more contagious.  It's spread rapidly.  And that's obvious in the numbers.  83% of Covid cases in the US are of the Delta variant (at least as of last week according to The New York Times.) At 83%, it's the predominant strain and it seems to me that it's anxious to keep spreading as quickly and violently as it can.

What can we do to protect ourselves?  As it has always been, wearing masks, staying socially distant and frequent hand washing are good things.  It's a good way to protect yourself.

The BEST way to protect yourself? GET VACCINATED!  You've heard it before.  Why?  Because it works.  All three of the currently available vaccines ARE effective against the Delta variant.  Let me repeat myself...They ARE effective.

But Bfth, you may say, I read that 49 people in NJ who were vaccinated, DIED of Covid.  Sadly this is true.  Additionally, as of last week just over 1,100 people in the United States who WERE vaccinated died of Covid.  It is possible to get the vaccine and then get Covid.  HOWEVER, as tragic as it is that 49 people died even though they were vaccinated (and I can't imagine the pain that their families are going through), over 4.8 million people in the state alone have been vaccinated.  So that's 49/4,800,000.  (I'll leave you to do the math, if you want to give it a try.)  So yes, there is a smaller than small risk for those who are vaccinated.  (It's also important to point out that all those who did die, had underlying conditions that made them more vulnerable.)

Let's talk about those who aren't vaccinated.  Currently the unvaccinated make up 98 - 99% of all Covid hospitalizations in the United States.  Or as CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said late last month “nearly every death, especially among adults, due to COVID-19, is, at this point, entirely preventable.”

I suppose if you want to play Russian roulette with your own life, that's your choice.  But if you are NOT going to get vaccinated, you need to isolate yourself or run the very real risk of infecting (and possibly KILLING) someone else.  Who would that person be?  How about a child (as the vaccine is not YET approved for use under the age of 12)?  How about someone who is immuno-compromised (Like someone who has just successfully completed a course of chemotherapy and is now cancer free)?

We CAN and we WILL get through this pandemic.  You can choose to make it more difficult for yourself and for the world OR you can be like 161 million Americans and get vaccinated and help us move forward, instead of backing up into disaster.