Anti-vax

This is regarding all the anti-vax people.  In the United States, this was originally around 20% of the population but now it might be slightly less.  (https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/12/26/heres-how-covid-19-vaccine-hesitancy-has-and-hasnt-changed-over-2021/?sh=7ffac54673ba)   There are some unwilling to take the COVID vaccine who otherwise would not be anti-vaccine.  However, around 40% of the U.S. population is still not fully vaccinated.

An individual who is anti-vax might not catch the disease, or if they do they might not spread it to other people, but statistics say that they do catch the disease then they are likely to spread it to multiple people.  The anti-vax crowd as a whole is causing more people to get sick and die by spreading the disease, but also by spreading a great deal of misinformation.  I routinely get emails from friends with completely absurd statements about the vaccines that are not backed by science and are easily debunked.  People follow this information like it was the gospel truth.  So-called experts lacking any form of relevant credentials promote this information without backing it up with any convincing evidence or peer-reviewed studies.  When you look at the particulars of the claims being made, they fall apart quickly.  Yet, if you try to confront people with evidence, they just double down on their anti-vax position.

My frustration with the anti-vax crowd is turning to anger.  I have more than one family member who would most likely die if they were to catch COVID-19.  The anti-vax people care a great deal about their risk with the vaccines, which is so minuscule that it is hardly worth mentioning, but they don't seem to care at all about the much greater and very real risk to other people.  If the death rate of the disease were around 25%, I don't think that we would be having this discussion, but since the death rate is only around 2% for known cases, it is in an area where people start to think that it is not important.  Because the disease mostly kills the elderly and people with comorbidities, I often hear the excuse that those people would have died anyway.  However, those people's lives still matter, and they most likely would live years with whatever medical conditions they have.  They don't deserve to have their lives cut short by a mostly preventable disease.

In the year 2020, we had 20% more deaths than normal. 

There is much misinformation floating around about how the vaccines don't prevent you from getting the disease, nor prevent you from spreading it.  However, the data shows that vaccinated people are much less likely to get the disease, spread it, have severe symptoms, get hospitalized, and die.  Getting any vaccine is playing the odds; it doesn't fully protect you, but it is far better than nothing.

People are confused because the immunity from the vaccines has waned over time and the vaccines are less effective against the variants.  However, we always knew that any form of immunity would wane over time and that eventually we would need boosters.  The vaccines were designed to combat the original COVID-19 disease, against which they are incredibly effective.  We always knew that variants could arise and that we might need different or modified vaccines.

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Best wishes,

John Coffey