Now that we had those two interruptions (Memorial Day and my blogiversary), let’s go back to the discussion we were having last Friday.
Too many of us are living under a false sense of security.
Of what am I talking? We think that the CDC guidelines and the immunization of our population has demonstrated that we are on the road to normalcy.
And, the answer is some of us are. But, then, again, there’s a great big swath of America that is DEFINITELY not on the road to normalcy.
You notice I said half of us are vaccinated (when I discussed our return to normalcy last week). But, that’s not uniformly distributed across the USA. And, when you start to adjust for those regions where folks are rarely vaccinated, a whole different story emerges. Why? Because folks who are not vaccinated have almost a 70% higher risk (OK, 69% to be exact) risk to contract COVID-19. 
And, when you look at those who are unvaccinated, you realize that our “greatly reduced death rate” is chimeric. Because the death rate for those who are unvaccinated is exactly the same as it was in February and March- and is NOT decreasing. (The decrease we note nationally is due to the fact that the vaccinated folks are not contracting COVID-19 nor are they dying from the disease.) The same applies to the hospitalization rates for those who are unvaccinated- those rates are the same as when we began vaccinating Americans.
(Actually, these findings are really not that surprising. There is no need to believe that the virus would magically attenuate and not be as virulent as before. But, when we include populations that are immune to the disease in our denominator, we improperly report a much lower incidence.)
This trend- the COVID-19 incidence rate- is actually worse since, in mid-April, we were vaccinating some 3.3 million folks a day- now that number is about 1.4 million a day! The second chart below also shows why so many younger folks are now reporting positive COVID-19 results- their populations are barely vaccinated.
Still willing to forgo your mask?
I’ve noticed that our local evening news has greatly reduced the amount of Covid talk and the number of cases and deaths. The big talk is about tourist Sean’s is open us and restaurants are open without masks. We still do not go in crowds and still wear masks. (If we haven’t put our mask on by the time Lia gets hers on, she always reminds us, “don’t forget your mask” 🤗
Hopefully, folks in your region are fully vaccinated!
I see a lot of commercials trying to get people to get their shots here in Texas. I am in the Houston media market so that doesn’t surprise me. People believe that the crisis is over and I guess it is for some of us. Good post and something to keep an eye on…
Dominique recently posted..The Benefits of Choosing Inner Peace when Surrounded by Chaos
You are going to see even more advertisements, Dominique. We are in a big push to increase the number of vaccinated by 50% over the next month!
I’m fully vaccinated but: No indoor dining. No crowds. Still wearing masks in stores. But I shudder at what I am seeing around me. I’m taking baby steps but not ready to resume a pre-pandemic life. And now I know I was wise not to.
Alana recently posted..Sweet Rocket #WordlessWednesday
I worry about the folks in the big box stores, where the firms are no longer requiring masks. They qualify as crowded public places, Alana.
Good info, Roy. I sat outside at a coffee shop with friends and it was wonderful. But, we aren’t dining in or being in crowds and we’re wearing masks. Will it ever be safe to dine in? I hope so.
Victoria Juster recently posted..Love Never Dies
It will be safe once we reach herd immunity- someplace upwards of 70% inoculation.