[Newbiesaukee]

Until a few days ago the scientific consensus was the advantage of vaccination
is:

1. You were extremely unlikely to die or become seriously ill in the unlikely event you contracted Covid.

2. If you contracted Covid it was very unlikely you would transmit it to anyone else.

Therefore: The vaccinated presented small risk to the unvaccinated.

With the overwhelming number of new cases with the delta variant, it seems that even the vaccinated, whether symptomatic or not, easily transmit it to the unvaccinated.

This has serious consequences:

A. #2 above is no longer true so the unvaccinated are at a markedly increased risk of contracting Covid AND therefore at an increased risk of dying. Almost all the recent Covid deaths have been in the unvaccinated.

B. The longer the pandemic exists, the more likely that an even more dangerous variant will arise with the possible consequence that the vaccines may be less effective.

C. Although NH is in a relatively good position now, largely as a result of the vaccination rate; this certainly doesn’t mean it can stay that way. The delta variant is much more transmissible.

So basically, the vaccinated have been protecting the unvaccinated and the unvaccinated continue to put everyone at risk. And probably the greatest risk is the rise of variants.

I realize that not everyone will agree with this and certainly stuff is arguable. And I do make generalizations. But my opinion is that the messaging about the pandemic has been lousy for multiple reasons. If this helps to clarify the situation a bit, it’s worth it.

And finally, the argument is made that the present death rate even for the unvaccinated is acceptable. Maybe, but the real risk is the rise of variants which is much more likely as time goes on and COULD produce a more deadly virus, which could have been prevented by more widespread vaccination.

Yes, there are a lot of “coulds” and “maybes” but predicting the future is tough and we have to rely on the best guesses made by the people ( not me) who have spent their lives dealing with these issues.