Covid-19: On The Run In America

I recently saw a sign at a medical facility that advised, “Even if you are vaccinated, you should wear masks in public and keep your social distance.”  That is medical misinformation. It does not even come close to what the national medical authorities are saying.

I have no problem if people want to wear masks in public for any reasons – even unnecessary ones.  But the misinformation provided by the medical facility is a problem. It suggests to people that there is a medical or public safety purpose to wear a mask and socially distance if you are vaccinated.

Let’s be perfectly clear.  According to the statistical data regarding the vaccine and the advice of the major medical professionals, there is no reason to wear a mask if you are vaccinated … period.  Yes, there is a very remote possibility that a person can contract the virus after being fully vaccinated.  But it is EXTREMELY unlikely.  And even in the impossibly rare chance that you should contract it, you would only suffer the mildest of symptoms, if any at all.  And so far, no fully vaccinated person has died from Covid-19.

What the sign does is create unnecessary fear in those who do not delve into the data or listen to the medical authorities.  They wear masks because they are led to believe that they are still in danger.

The sign also leads the mask wearers to believe that those of us who have abandoned the face covering outside and indoors — and engage in crowded activities and even shake hands — are being irresponsible and pose a threat to public health.  It is no longer a mutual respect between those who choose to wear the masks and those who do not feel the need to do so.

I still see folks with masks on at the bank, grocery store and drug store – but fewer and fewer.  There seem to be a growing number of people who take the most preposterous position of all.  They wear the masks below their nose – making the mask totally ineffective. That included a doctor I met in a local emergency room.

The 65-plus million people in America who have not gotten at least their first inoculation – which offers a degree of immunity – and the almost 30 million people who have recovered from Covid-19 have little to fear from the virus at this point.  The date on the duration of immunity is not yet complete, but early indications are for long-term protection.

The latest variant of concern, the Delta, does increase the level of transmission for the unvaccinated.  Those fully vaccinated are safe.  Those with one shot – that had an efficacy of about 60 percent from the initial virus —  have an efficacy rate of only 30 percent against the Delta variant.  That should make for an easy decision.  If you are not fully vaccinated, go get the shots.

So, what about those currently unvaccinated? 

For obvious reasons, that is heavily proportioned toward the young people – those between 12 and 55.  The proportion of younger folks contracting the virus is simply a matter of calculation.  The percentage is higher because so many of the seniors are already vaccinated. 

Since they are not as likely to have serious cases, we are seeing a precipitous drop in hospitalizations and deaths. And that has led a lot of young folks thinking the shot is unnecessary because of the significantly reduced risk. They are not wrong – although I still recommend they get the shots.

In terms of the pandemic, itself … at the time of this writing, there are only 5,077,777 people who have Covid-19 – and only 3,958 listed in government statistics as “serious/critical” —  in all of America.  And just yesterday, the number of new deaths per day has dropped to below 100 – 86 to be specific. That is down from 176 the previous day.

Yes, unvaccinated individuals have contracted Coved-19. But that number compared to the number of vaccinated individuals is insignificant in terms of establishing public policies or determining risk. But even if you are not vaccinated, your chance of coming into contact with a person who is actively infected and capable of transmission is remote.  And yes, that varies from location to location.

According to the government count on Fathers’ Day, 21 states had no new cases that day. And 31 states reported no new deaths on that day.  That includes here in Florida.  California still leads the nations in the most new cases and the most new deaths per day. But even those numbers have fallen to 624 and 23 respectively.

For two-thirds of Americans, the Pandemic is essentially over.  

In America, we are basically safe to go about our lives much as we did before Covid-19.  Those unvaccinated have to assess their personal risk.  Unvaccinated seniors need to take the greatest precautions – and get vaccinated, of course.  The youngest – even though they are not vaccinated – can be heading back to school without undue fear or anxiety. 

As a person who has studied the hard facts throughout the Pandemic, it is my opinion that we went too far in shutting down. This caused great harm and even death to too many people.  In America, we tended to myopically deal with Covid-19 without sufficient consideration of the profoundly serious ramifications of the shutdown.  It is not a small irony that as we move past the Covid-19 virus, we will have to be dealing with the terrible consequences of the shutdown for months and years to come.

So, there ‘tis.