If you are unvaccinated, you are 120 times more likely to die of Covid than if you are vaccinated. The vaccines prevent over 99% of Covid deaths and as much as 95% of Covid hospitalizations. Almost every Covid death (a little less than 300 a day currently) is entirely preventable. At this rate 100,000 Americans will needlessly die this year, more if a variant starts spreading. Please get vaccinated and encourage your loved ones to do so!
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I have been shocked by the fact that hardly anyone under 12 is wearing a mask except on the buses. There are soooo many people here! At home (at least before we left ) most people was were still wearing masks indoors. I do not like being around so many people. All I can think is what germs are flying around? Although it wrecked my health ironically I didnât get any colds during the pandemic! Iâll be one of those people masking indoors for the rest of timeâŚif I go inside anywhere again! Iâm glad my unvaccinated nephews are not on this trip!
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Delta is doubling every two weeks, so highly likely it will be the dominant variant in the US by mid July.
Israel is ahead of the US in vaccinations (57% vs 47% fully vaccinated) so itâs interesting to see how Delta is impacting them.
The good news is it looks like the vaccines ARE still effective at preventing severe illness even with Delta. The not-so-good news is that the vaccines may not be as effective at preventing infections as theyâve been with the other variants.
So anyone unvaccinated that was counting on everyone else getting vaccinated to bring the spread down, that plan may be out the window.
Israelâs 7 day average of new cases per day was under 20 total nationwide for almost 3 weeks (population of 9M). Now itâs back over 100 again. And the early data is that 40-50% of the new cases are in people who have been vaccinated. Itâs still early, so that could be just a temporary blip, but bears watching.
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YLE helped create this in case itâs helpful to anyone else. She also did an interesting analysis of a study regarding the risk of birthday gatherings.
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The numbers of people who continue to get infected there is concerning, especially since they are highly vaccinated. As youâve said, the vaccines still seem to protect against hospitalizations and deaths, however. Multiple stories this week about doctors noticing deaths occurring only in the non-vaccinated. Cases are beginning to rise in some places, with correlation to vaccine rates.
But as has been warned for months, we are staring at a wholly preventable tragedy caused primarily by obstinacy for obstinacyâs sake.
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Based on the context of the rest of the post, I think he just meant to say "un"vaccinated. 
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I think you should correct this obvious typo before an anti-vaxxer takes this and runs with it.
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YIKES! Fixed. whew.
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Thatâs what I hope b/c I donâtâ need anymore insecurity in my life right now 
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and I deleted my question to not add to the confusion 
This thread was a big factor in getting myself and my family vaccinated when we did, so thank you everyone for helping me evolve a bit on this. As many have said, itâs a very minor thing to go through for proven high level protection. I respect everyoneâs choice, and especially for those who had covid and have antibodies, the remaining risk can be hard to calculate. But at this point I honestly feel bad for the unvaccinated who get covid the same way I feel bad for people with financial trouble who keep going to the casino. Itâs their right, but itâs a gamble that can backfire.
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Agree with you 100% here. Itâs sad to see people getting really sick and dying when they could have prevented it.
I donât think this is entirely fair. There seem to be a lot of people who genuinely fear the vaccine. To me, it doesnât seem helpful to characterize them as obstinate.
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I would characterize it more as confirmation bias. There seems to be a lot more weight given to any source that supports their position, while sources that donât are disregarded. (We all have a natural tendency to do this, so awareness can really help balance it.)
Not that all sources should necessarily be given equal weight, but they should at least be evaluated on their merits, not on whether they support the position one prefers.
It really might be to their benefit to try to sit down and take a fresh look at the reputable data pro and con.
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RE confirmation bias: my uncle. He has rheumatoid arthritis, and is worried that it will flare up with a vaccine. He just had his regular appointment with his dr., who he trusts to give him an infusion of strong drugs on a regular basis. He asked the CNA who took him back if they were seeing anyone whose arthritis flared up after a shot, and she said: âoh yeah.â Then his doctor asked him if heâd been vaccinated, and when he said âno,â she said âwhy not?â and proceeded to STRONGLY advise, by her experience and research, that he should get vaccinated. (Heâs in his 70s.) But hey, the CNA said it was a problem, so heâs not getting a vaccine. 
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This is key. I do agree with you and wish more people I know got vaccinated, especially the older folks. There are quite a few that I know (well up there in age) that have not gotten the vaccine. Iâm assuming most of them never will. I donât know all their reasons, but I have questioned some just once, and then accept it. I gave them some of my thoughts, but also tried to remain as neutral as I could out of respect. I do have an aunt with severe lymeâs disease problems who canât handle any type of vaccination. Some have also told me that they will accept what happens to them, even if itâs death, as they are full of faith and eagerly looking forward to whatâs to come after this life.
One thing for everyone to understand is that the vaccine is not the be all and end all for a good number of people. We donât live in a perfect world, we live in the real world. I understand and mostly agree with telling everyone you know to get the vaccine, but itâs just not that simple. And Iâm not going to think any less of the folks that refuse to get it. While I may think someone is just being stubborn, it could be for a very legit reason. Iâm not that person and donât know whatâs going on in their mind, itâs personal choice.
I will say that at this stage of the pandemic, Iâd rather see the vaccines going to older folks in underprivileged nations than healthy young people here. I realize that is quite a task and not easy, but here we are us Americans, arguing about how many trillions to spend on this and that and fighting about it. 
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Sorry, was feeling less than charitable when I read that vaccinated folks are getting the disease because Delta is so contagious. Even if itâs a mild case, Iâve done everything I can to avoid getting it. Who knows the longterm effects of even a mild case?
And itâs all avoidable. Everyone might know someone who has a legit reason to be hesitant. But there are some states at less than 35% vaccine uptake rates. Why is that? And because we cannot wall states off from each other, it affects everyone.
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I sincerely hope that is and remains true, and they understand the reality of what that means and wonât have any regrets nor will their loved ones. Because my stepdadâs stance was something along those lines, and it very much changed once he was hospitalized. He ultimately was vocally not as âfine with whatever happensâ as he thought he would be. Which has been a burden to several family members second guessing various decision points. (I think it was more he was in denial of it actually happening.) And the details around his death itself arenât pleasant. Dying of Covid is not a peaceful way to go meet your maker. I donât doubt his faith in the slightest, I just donât think he had faced the reality of how it would actually play out and that it was a very real possibility.
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Somewhere up in this (or the other) thread, I suggested that we needed to see more real life stories on the news, that perhaps weâre being too protective of audiences by not offering the horrific and graphic truth of death (or life) by Covid. Itâs a tough call to make, because protecting privacy is important, as is limiting our childrenâs exposure to content theyâre not ready for, etc.
But someone who has lived through 2020 might mistakenly believe Covid is a peaceful way to go, because they just havenât seen what itâs like to be intubated or to have oxygen starvation. Would we have taken in more seriously if we had all been subjected to more videos / images of people suffering? (Rhetorical question - this is probably to grim to delve into.)
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This is a very good reason to not get vaccinated.
That would be great if these people stayed home and didnât risk infecting other people. The problem with this line of reasoning with Covid is that their decision could also significantly impact people like your aunt who are not able to get vaccinated.
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Or at least wore masks where requested. Almost everyplace here that I frequent has gone to the âhonors systemâ.
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