Anti-Vaxxers & Leadership: Delta Variant Taking Lives That Were Preventable

 

A very concerning growing trend

First this background reminder (from July) from the NY TIMES Morning Newsletter this headline – then more afterwards:

“Vaccine Persuasion”

Many vaccine skeptics have changed their minds. Why?

When the Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a poll at the start of the year and asked American adults whether they planned to get vaccinated, 23% said no. But a significant portion of that group — about one quarter of it — has since decided to receive a shot. 

The pollsters recently followed up and asked these converts what led them to change their minds. The answers are important, because they offer insight into how the millions of still unvaccinated Americans might be persuaded to get shots, too.

A few weeks ago, it seemed plausible that Covid-19 might be in permanent retreat, at least in communities with high vaccination rates. But the Delta variant has changed the situation. The number of cases is rising in all 50 states.

Although vaccinated people remain almost guaranteed to avoid serious symptoms, Delta has put the unvaccinated at greater risk of contracting the virus (massive hospitalizations and more deaths). 

The CoVID death rate has been significantly higher in states with low vaccination rates. Nationwide, more than 99% of recent deaths have occurred among unvaccinated people, and more than 97% of recent hospitalizations have occurred among the unvaccinated *CDC numbers.

President Biden said: “The only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated.”

Three common themes that helps move people to be vaccinated:

1. They see millions of Americans safely vaccinated.

2. They hear pro-vaccine messages from MD’s, friends, & relatives.

3. They learn un-vaccinated prevents them from doing many things.

Now this update from The Atlantic with this headline – same subject:

“Vaccine Refusers Don’t Get to Dictate Terms Anymore”

Now more than 70 percent of eligible Americans have now received at least one dose. Since January, public-health researchers, news reporters, and pollsters have all tried to unearth the reasons that a significant fraction of American adults have not yet gotten a shot. Why? 

How soon people forget the past

(Repeating itself as predicted)

(1) Some are broadly misinformed; (2) others are afraid of needles, (3) afraid of potential side effects; (4) others are deeply suspicious of the medical system; and (5) some have had COVID-19 already believe that the level of natural immunity they have developed is enough. 

All-in-all, many refusers say they definitely won’t get vaccinated, and others say they haven’t gotten it yet.

Specific feelings and concerns of vaccine refusers should be largely irrelevant to vaccinated people who are eager to move on with their lives. Americans are entitled to make their own decisions, but their employers, health insurers, and fellow citizens are not required to accommodate them. Why? 

The vaccinated have for too long carried the burden of the pandemic, and in theory, unvaccinated people should be taking greater precautions.

For example, a recent poll conducted for The AP found that vaccinated adults have been more likely than unvaccinated ones to wear masks in public settings, refrain from unnecessary travel, and avoid large group settings.

Meanwhile, public-health officials can keep trying to figure out ways to persuade the unvaccinated to get shots, and maybe at this late point they can still discover some new message that succeeds where all others have failed. If so, it would be fantastic. However, begging people to get the shot is not a strategy.

It also is not a coincidence that many of the entities pushing hardest for mandatory vaccination are in industries, higher education, travel, and entertainment. All have been badly disrupted by unpredictable waves of infection and are existentially threatened by a pandemic that goes on without end.  

When a ship is going down, passengers aren’t given the luxury of quibbling with the color or design of the life vest, and they can’t dither forever about whether to put one on or not.

Emergencies invariably force people to make some choices that they might not consider ideal, but asking everyone to get vaccinated against a potentially lethal virus is not a big imposition.

Ironically, by talking as if everyone, given enough time, will eventually choose the shot, public-health agencies may have understated the urgency of the matter and invited the vaccine-hesitant to dwell on the decision indefinitely.

A Rick Perry “Oops” won’t suffice – sorry, time’s up.

Two related Texas CoVID death stories: 

One of an avid anti-vaxxer. 

The other due to ICU bed shortages based on Gov. Abbott’s policy stubbornness.  

In 2021, paper cards that can easily be lost, damaged, or falsified are an outmoded way to keep track of who has gotten a shot. 

Even establishments that check their patrons’ vaccination status are doing so in makeshift ways — for instance, by asking patrons to show a driver’s license alongside a picture of their vaccination card on their phone.

Some states are moving forward with their own vaccination-verification apps, but the failure to plan a national system will be viewed, in time, as a costly concession to a vocal minority.

Employers are being creative with some of their requirements, creating so-called leaky mandates. Rather than fire noncompliant employees, for example, Delta Airlines opted for a financial penalty.

These approaches may make particular sense in industries where a rapid round of terminations will hurt a business’s ability to function, but it also acknowledges the free will of vaccine refusers: They can keep rejecting the shot, as long as they accept the consequences.  

My 2 Cents: The proverbial bottom line.

Unless for documented medical reasons, or a deeply-held religious reasons, okay, maybe no shot, but they must follow prevention guidelines now in place since no one has the right to infect another person, cause their illness, or death; no one as that right, period.

Thanks for stopping by.