Despite continuous efforts to pull people to the vaccination centers by projects like vaccine lottery and vaccine passports, a multitude of people are not ready to get vaccinated.
As the Delta variant of COVID-19, which originated in Mumbai, India, invades the United States, the situation is unfolding as the “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
The top health organization, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is worried about this invasion and for all the right reasons.
With an immediate rise in Delta variants cases in the USA, the COVID-19 positive cases are rising alarmingly.
This is one of the reasons for growing calls to increase the vaccination pace all across the nation.
According to Dr. Walensky, who coined the term “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” more than 95% of patients diagnosed positive for the virus are unvaccinated people.
Why is the Delta variant of the coronavirus concerning, and how can the pandemic of the unvaccinated bring the world to a chokehold once again? Let’s see.
Delta Variant: The “Variant of Concern” is No Joke
The pandemic of the unvaccinated is an all-out assault of the Delta variant, which is more severe than the rest of the variants.
Data suggests that the Delta variant is more vulnerable to hospitalizing the patients. Not only this, but it is also highly transmissible, having the capability to infect more people in less time.
This “variant of concern” does not come alone. In India, for instance, the spread of the Delta variant triggered a “Black Fungus” epidemic as well, which is a curse in itself.
While an explicit connection between Delta variant and black fungus has not been established yet, however, more than 85 percent of people having fungus attacks were COVID-infected in India.
The slow vaccination process is troubling the health experts as well as government officials.
The rising hospitalizations and deaths worried Vice President Kamala Harris as well, who said the Delta variant is “no joke.”
The lack of enforcement of COVID protocols is also causing rising deaths and hospitalizations.
Red States in Danger: The Emerging Pandemic has a Pattern
Dr. Anthony Fauci claimed that more than 99% of deaths in recent weeks occurred among unvaccinated individuals.
Jeff Zients, the Coordinator of the White House COVID-19 response team, also confirmed that unvaccinated Americans account for the recent surge in hospitalization and deaths.
Despite launching various schemes, more than half the states are yet to achieve a 50 percent mark of fully vaccinated people.
Apart from the low vaccination states, another thing is common among the states having high hospitalization rates; all of them are red states.
This fact leaves no doubt that vaccine hesitancy is higher in people having a record of support for COVID-ignorant Donald Trump.
For instance, Wyoming, Arkansas, Missouri, and Mississippi are among the worst impacted by the Delta variant’s outbreak. All of them voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential elections.
These are not the random numbers in the air. They suggest that Trump’s ignorance is still costing Republican states their peace and resources.
If this pandemic’ of the unvaccinated turns out to be a pandemic of the red states, only Republicans’ ignorant policies would be responsible for that.
Vaccine Misinformation: The Biggest Reason of the Emerging Pandemic
The biggest reason for the prevalence of the pandemic of the unvaccinated is the denial groups spreading misinformation about the vaccines.
To find the reasons why people don’t vaccinate themselves, the US Census Bureau initiated a household pulse survey.
According to the survey, misinformation is the biggest cause for the abandonment of vaccination.
Despite having the results of clinical trials and favorable data, almost 46% of people think vaccines are useless.
The pandemic outbreak has also unveiled the dark side of social media, as the data suggests that it is the largest single factor of vaccine conspiracies in the US.
Final Thoughts
The Delta variant is here to stay for some time; the only thing that could suppress it is the rapid vaccination drives to help achieve herd immunity.
It remains a threat for the rest of the world as well, as the virus could mutate itself even further, resulting in new variants.
Red states need to be proactive in gauging the imminent damage that could put a strain on their resources. Otherwise, it could result in yet another political tussle soon.
Eli is a Political Data Scientist with over thirty years of experience in Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Marketing. Eli uses his expertise to give the latest information and distinctive analysis on US Political News, US Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, and Racial Justice equipping readers with the inequivalent knowledge.