A milestone
Where vaccine-resistance gets us:
The United States surpassed 700,000 deaths from the coronavirus on Friday, a milestone that few experts had anticipated months ago when vaccines became widely available to the American public.
An overwhelming majority of Americans who have died in recent months, a period in which the country has offered broad access to shots, were unvaccinated. The United States has had one of the highest recent death rates of any country with an ample supply of vaccines.
Why? Because we also have one of the highest rates of stupid.
The new and alarming surge of deaths this summer means that the coronavirus pandemic has become the deadliest in American history, overtaking the toll from the influenza pandemic of 1918 and 1919, which killed about 675,000 people.
That’s absolute numbers though, so it’s debatable whether the rona is the deadliest. Deadliest in absolute numbers but not per capita.
Not that that’s anything to brag about.
“This Delta wave just rips through the unvaccinated,” said Howard Markel, a medical historian at the University of Michigan. The deaths that have followed the wide availability of vaccines, he added, are “absolutely needless.”
This is why I stare in disbelief at Twitter warriors raging at vaccination.
The recent virus deaths are distinct from those in previous chapters of the pandemic, an analysis by The New York Times shows. People who died in the last three and a half months were concentrated in the South, a region that has lagged in vaccinations; many of the deaths were reported in Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas. And those who died were younger: In August, every age group under 55 had its highest death toll of the pandemic.
…
Vaccines have been proven highly effective in preventing severe illness and death, and a study from the C.D.C. that was published in September found that after Delta became the dominant variant, unvaccinated people were more than 10 times as likely to die of the virus as the vaccinated were. The study, which spanned from April to mid-July, used data from 10 states, New York City, Los Angeles County and King County, Wash., which includes Seattle.
But the Twitter warriors shout that it’s the government wanting to control us.
But the recent deaths have left families and friends, some of whom said they had thought the pandemic was largely over, stunned and devastated. Weary doctors and nurses voiced frustration that many of the patients whose lives they were now struggling to save had shunned vaccines.
I’d be voicing more than frustration.
Vaccine mandates have begun to take effect in some states and within some companies, and on Friday, California became the first state to announce plans to add the coronavirus vaccine to other vaccinations required to attend school, starting as early as next fall. But only 65 percent of the eligible U.S. population is fully vaccinated. The nation’s vaccination campaign has been slowed by people who say they are hesitant or unwilling to get shots, amid a polarized landscape that has included misinformation from conservative and anti-vaccine commentators casting doubt on the safety of vaccines.
But why? That’s what I’ll never get. It’s like saying doctors are the enemy, or fire departments are stealing our souls, or clean water is the devil’s work.
It is immensely frustrating for everyone, but especially for those who have dedicated their lives to care for others. They must be even more upset at those of their colleagues who have joined the insane side on this.
As for the ex-commenter, I used to think that he had a rational head on his shoulders. I have only once before encountered someone with just such an extreme change of personality, and it was because of marijuana-induced psychosis. The person I knew gave up the dope and recovered and is now a productive member of society; I can only hope that our once-friend does likewise.
I knew it.
I knew something was going on when he threw shade on reports that Asians were being attacked by people due to the “China Virus.” He made noises about the media sowing hysteria so the government could do something about it. Is it the pot? I know that I would get a bit paranoid that everyone knew I was stoned when I was out in public, but “They’re coming for you next” is a bit extreme for even most imbibers.
But, no. Josh. They don’t want people obedient or dead. They just want to stop a pandemic. How low can one sink to think that eveyone in charge is Borg? It must be a very dark world for him.
My, how dramatic Disaffected is. If I saw Cluster B personality disorders everywhere, I might armchair-diagnose histrionic personality disorder.
latsot@2:
DAMMIT latsot, you need to tell us when you realize this, not long after the fact when it’s already too late and we are all doomed!
Our family just lost a longtime friend, someone who moved back down to Kentucky many years ago to be with her mother’s kin. She refused to be vaccinated (she just became a new grandmother, too). She said the vaccines hadn’t been sufficiently tested and were unsafe.
She was a school bus driver.
Oh lord. How sad.
If it weren’t for the forest fires, I’d move to Portugal.
What A Maroon: I live in California Their fires can’t compete. Off to buy my LOTTO ticket! Cascais would be a lovely place to retire!
We’ve discussed retiring in Portugal, and Cascais would be on the top of our list. They’ve got the second highest rate of vaccination in the world, behind Gibraltar. My wife is from the Basque County in Spain, so it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch (though Spain is doing well, too).
Six magic numbers!
One of my favorite YouTube channels is One Cyclist in Lisbon. Amazing countryside. I do love California, but the drought is worrisome.
Of course, the other option is Tennessee. The Governor just declared next Monday (the 11th) a day of prayer and fasting. THAT should solve the State’s record-beating Corona surge, no? I mean, “Thoughts and Prayers” is always so effective. Especially against a virus that, since we are all creationists here, must have been deliberately created by Gawd, amiright?
And there’s Greenwald.