This column, from the weekly opinion piece MATTER OF FACT, first appeared on BrooklynReporter.com, the Home Reporter and Spectator dated July 16, 2021
With the summer in full swing and the pandemic situation in a much better place than it has been since lockdowns began sixteen months ago, more and more, things are going back to normal. People are out, getting together, attending ball games with no capacity restrictions. It is extremely important, on multiple levels, to get back to something that is close to normal, but it is still imperative that we not go about our lives as if COVID is behind us.
As of July 13, new COVID cases across the country had tripled in less than three weeks, COVID deaths had tripled within one week, and new hospitalizations were not just increasing, but the average age of those being admitted is becoming younger.
Of Americans 18 years of age and older, 57 percent are fully vaccinated, while the rate for seniors is 62 percent. However, of 12 to 15-year-olds, only a quarter of that age group are fully vaccinated. We are not seeing the horrific figures we did before vaccines became available, but numbers are ticking up and there are two demographics that account for most new case now: young people and/or the unvaccinated.
Only three states reported less new cases this past week than they did the week before. All but five states have seen their case rates increase by at least 10 percent from the prior week. 34 states saw an increase during that week-to-week span of 50 percent or more. It is clear, that where vaccination rates are low, cases are increasing.
“The bottom line is, we need to get vaccinated. Yes, it is your freedom not to, but it is an extremely poor health decision, with no upside.”
There are nearly 1600 counties across the United States with vaccination rates below 40 percent. The overwhelming majority of counites with new case rates that are more than double the national average, have also vaccinated less than 40 percent of their population.
The numbers across New York City match the trends in counties across the country. There is typically overlap between zip codes where new cases are increasing and where vaccination rates are low, and the particularly low vaccination rates in younger age groups is leading to the average ages of those contracting COVID or becoming hospitalized from it, are skewing younger than ever before.
The bottom line is, we need to get vaccinated. Yes, it is your freedom not to, but it is an extremely poor health decision, with no upside. For nearly a year, when everything was closed down, the far-off promise of a vaccine was what people spoke about as the one thing that could end the nightmare we were all stuck living in and the great thing is, it is here now.
Most poor health choices do not affect others. With something like smoking, which does affect others’ health, we implemented restrictions on where smokers could light up, to protect those who do not smoke. No comparable solution is available to stop the spread of COVID-19, so we are all reliant on the hope that most will get vaccinated.
With the Delta variant now the dominant strain across the country, as well as here in New York, the need to be fully vaccinated is more important than ever. The extremely effective vaccines seem to still provide a great deal of protection against the delta variant, but preliminary studies indicate the protection is somewhat less. Breakthrough infections are uncommon, but the more virus that is circulating means we will see more of those in some fully vaccinated people.
Still, over 99 percent of all recent hospitalizations are of people who are not vaccinated. Continuing to forego the vaccine puts yourself and anyone else who is unvaccinated in great jeopardy. It also increases the possibility that a very small percentage of people who did the right thing for both the health of themselves and of others, by getting vaccinated, may become infected.
Despite what some media outlets might say, the government has no ulterior motives and they are not going to force a shot into your arm. But they would not need to knock on doors and implore people to get vaccinated, if more would just do what is best for them and all of us.
