I am angry with some of you. I mean those of you who have not yet gotten the COVID-19 vaccine. You are putting the health of all of us, including children, at risk. You also are risking our economic recovery by restarting the pandemic.
Your decision to forego the vaccine is not a personal one, however you want to rationalize your thought process. If you get sick, you may get medical care from the government via Medicaid or Medicare, which my taxes help pay for. Some of you also will require emergency care that insurance won’t cover. If you get the care—and I hope you do—the hospital will absorb the cost of your unpaid bills. This undermines its ability to offer health services to the rest of us.
Some of you may wonder why I get so worked-up. The answer is the Delta Variant. Call it COVID-19 Version Two if you want. I call it the biggest threat to our country since Version One showed up a year and a half ago.
The Delta Variant is a new strain of the coronavirus that is now dominant in the U.S. It is more contagious and more likely to infect children. Proof of its potential to restart the pandemic may be found in the rising infection and hospitalization rates in the states with the lowest vaccination rates.
I am very afraid of the Delta variant. I am joined in my fear by the CDC, the mayor of Los Angeles and a lot of Wall Street investors. You may ask why we should care about them? The answer is reflected in the 900-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday. It appears that sophisticated investors have concluded that there is sufficient risk of the Delta variant crashing the recovering economy to justify selling stocks.
When Wall Street talks, it is worth listening. When the Street shouts, as it did on Monday, we need to listen. The Street tells us that we could again have massive unemployment, lockdowns, and closed schools. What the Street didn’t say directly yesterday, is that the new crisis is, or should I say, was, avoidable. Had everyone had access to the vaccine gotten it, you would not be reading this column. You also would not have to start worrying about reliving 2020.
I got my vaccine in March after trying several weeks to get one. When I finally got an appointment, I showed up an hour early. I wasn’t going to risk a screw-up. My primary motivation was self-preservation, but I also did not want to infect anyone else.
In the last 10 days, we have learned that Los Angeles has reimposed a mask-mandate. We are watching the sad circus of the 2020 already-postponed Tokyo Olympics. We see baseball games postponed because players have contracted the virus. And we see many small business owners getting nervous again just as the crowds start to return.
Earlier this week I went to Lowe’s to pick up a few items. Having just listened to an NPR story about the Delta variant, I decided to wear a mask when I entered the store. Once inside, I noticed that few people were masked. Ironically, most of the masked customers, like me, were older. Most of them, I suspect, have been vaccinated. What about the younger people in the store, the ones without masks? Are they vaccinated? I don’t know. That worries me.
How is Maryland doing? The CDC tells us that 76.2 percent of those of us 18 or older have received at least one shot. Approximately 56.4 percent have had both shots. That is good, but not great. We need to do better, don’t you think?
For more information:
Dorchester County: https://dorchesterhealth.org/covid-19/
Kent County: https://www.accesskent.com/Health/coronavirus.htm
Talbot County: https://talbotcovid19.org/
State of Maryland: https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/
J.E. Dean of Oxford is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant writing on politics, government, birds, and occasionally goldendoodles
Marian says
I’m angry with the people who have not followed the science of this disease but instead refuse the shot because of Fox news, social media or whatever catches their attention and convinces them not to take the vaccine. They are proof of Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” so a lot of them will eventually prove his theory which is their choice, but unfortunately they are now infecting even vaccinated people and children and dragging them down their ignorant and dangerous path.
Stephen Schaare says
Hi Marian, Thank you for checking in on this matter. Fox news has presented the pros and cons of the vaccine issue. Unlike the CNN and MSNBC you watch.
With my own eyes and ears, I saw then candidates Harris and Biden declare they would never be vaccinated because Donald Trump was involved in the process. No doubt, you shall denounce me as a liar.
You see, to his enormous credit, Mr. Dean did not repeat the myth that pro Trump Republicans are the root cause and greatest number of “non vaccine” americans. The demographic with the lowest percentage of “shots in the arm” are the brown and black communities, especially in urban areas. No racism, just the facts.
Would you care to redirect your statement ” their ignorant and dangerous path”? Be well-Steve
Rick Skinner says
Thank you, Mr Dean, for expressing so clearly my similar view on the refusal of some to be vaccinated against COVID and the Delta variant. The pandemic cannot be tamed until the virus is unable to spread to unvaccinated persons. Without that result, we will witness additional unnecessary deaths, hospitalizations, medical complications, family separations, restrictions on travels, and on and on. We (those of us who survived) together lived through what is now 17 months of confinement, dislocations, millions unemployed, schools closed or operating fitfully, and nearly reached a point where sufficient numbers of us could fend off the virus because of vaccinations. Do we now wish to extend this chapter further?
Go, be vaccinated; you will be protected and the rest of us will also be.
John Dean says
Thank you for your comment. You captured this issue better than I did.
Thanks for reading and contributing to the discussion.
Rev Julie Hart says
Way to go!! I somewhat jokingly told my husband that I wanted to sue the unvaccinated, en groupe, for the reasons you laid out. Of course that’s not possible. We are not “A People” nor is there a sense of community responsibility. Where is patriotism? Getting the vaccine is not just about self preservation, it’s the American patriotic thing to do. Yes, of course I know that there are those who cannot be vaccinated for various medical reasons.
But it is time to lay aside the Un-Holy Trinity of, “Me, Myself, and I.” Get this done people! For the good of all Americans, of all ages; as well as migrant workers,immigrants, and those visiting our shores. And if we need to wear a mask again, if directed, well just do it. Care for someone beyond yourself.
John Dean says
I hope this doesn’t get me in trouble, but “Amen!”
Thanks for your comment. It would be nice is more were listening.
Francine De Sanctis says
Wow, you are spot on! Why should those of us who are responsible, have to continue to wear masks to protect others? I’m sorry if the unvaccinated don’t want to be singled out, but it’s so much better to put your friends lives in danger? Relying on people’s honesty about being vaccinated is living in a fool’s paradise. If the unvaccinated aren’t worried about spreading a deadly virus to their fellow human beings, why would they care about lying?
And now innocent children are paying the ultimate price!
John Dean says
Thank you for your comment and for contributing to the discussion. I could not agree with you more.
Stephen Schaare says
Hi Mr. Dean, Yes, I too want to see all residents of the U.S. vaccinated. Sadly, we both realize that will never be the case.
There will always be contrarians, rebels, and people who simply a different viee( the fleeing Texas legislators come to mind).
Thank you for not repeating the myth that Trump supporters , red staters, are the demographic most responsible for vaccine refusal. I appreciate this. Thank you, Steve
John Dean says
Thanks for your comment and your kind words.
This issue is too important for politics. Attempting to assign political blame does not move us closer to a solution.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Well, actually the “red states” are the areas responsible for the spike in Covid. That said, there are many on the left
who apparently refuse the vaccine. Fools, all of them, unless medically they cannot take the vaccine. These people
probably will end up in the ICU, putting at risk our healthcare workers and straining our healthcare system.
I really believe without social media, everyone would be vaccinated, as in every other instance in the 20th century.
Vaccines were standard and expected. We traveled abroad frequently when I was younger and I carried
a yellow vaccine card with my passport. Everyone did.
David D Reel says
J.E. Dean and Marian (who chooses not to share her last name)– YOU are angry? I am more than angry with a Talbot Spy guest columnist and letter writer denigrating fellow citizens who have not and will not get covid injections.
You have no idea what may have led to this decision. I know of at least one situation where people chose not be vaccinated because one of their children got a medically recommended injection in high school. The day after that injection, that child woke up in unbearable pain and was bedridden, unable to move. After a battery of tests were conducted, the child was finally diagnosed with a crippling, permanent and chronic autoimmune disease. That child, now an adult, is disabled for life. While it cannot be proven, the fact that this condition occurred immediately after a so called safe vaccination, makes one wonder forever about the ill effects of any “safe” vaccines. Bottom line is, a once vibrant young child was robbed of her mobility and hope for a normal physical life. I vividly remember that young person asking –“What’s it like to be able to run and jump?”
Mr. Dean and Marian — you want to get covid shots, have at it. Don’t shame or criticize those who choose not to do so. Mr. Dean — don’t blame this decision for any changes in the stock market. Wall Street always has and always will regularly experience ups and downs due to a wide range of ever changing circumstances including Presidential Executive Orders and related economic policies that, as we speak, are resulting in significant increases in the inflation rate. The guest commentary conveniently does not include the most recent news that stocks rallied again today (Wednesday, July 21) adding gains for a second consecutive day as investors calibrated a resurgence of COVID-19 cases against a red-hot economic expansion that continues to show momentum. This news does not advance doom and gloom predictions. Rather than being angry, I suggest you acknowledge there are valid reasons for many not to get a shot. They do not merit your anger or disdain. They do deserve greater respect and less anger about their decision.
I cannot speak for all of them, but I can speak for myself by expressing my anger and fear on invasions of my privacy from spending my tax dollars on sending government bureaucrats door to door, “encouraging” citizens to get covid shots. That strikes more fear in my heart than getting sick from covid or subsequent covid variants. The renewed push for shots and mask shaming has to stop now. We are still calculating the tremendous negative impacts on America’s mental and emotional health from isolation and fear. If anyone got the shots and still fear those who are aren’t already vaccinated, that only reinforces a concern that unproven vaccines don’t simply do not work as promised. Let those who choose otherwise, live in the freedom we are promised.
John Dean says
Thank you for reading the piece and commenting.
As you might imagine, I am not in agreement. More than half-million Americans have died. If the worst fears about the Delta variant prove correct, there will be a lot more.
America is in crisis.
I continue to believe that if everyone did their part–getting vaccinated as a means of decreasing the risk of infecting others–we would be seeing the pandemic end. I am at a loss how some of us are okay knowing that their decision not to get vaccinated might result in someone else dying.
That having been said, thanks for reading the piece and adding a different perspective to the discussion.
Christopher Thomas says
Some people will always use single data points or anecdotal evidence to justify their beliefs, which is unfortunately because they weren’t taught the value of data analysis in their schooling.
Linda Baker says
I’m with you David Reel. I too had a reaction-to the H1N1 vaccine given in 2009. I had severe immunity response, neurological issues, thought I had Lymes, but all tests were negative. I saw many, many specialists who had no idea what was wrong with me. I felt like something was attacking my body. After 4 years and getting worse, I found treatment thru natural treatments. When I started hearing things about the Covid vaccine I decided to research the H1N1 and to my horror read about the study that Sweden did regarding it having parasites in the actual vaccine and it causing neurological and immunity disorders. I had taken a natural oil that killed parasites as part of my regimen of treatment a few years back and that’s when I begin to get better. I still have the neuropathy but can walk better, think better, and function better. I have vowed to never take another vaccine, especially one that is not FDA approved. I put all my trust in the Lord!
None of these people wanting to sue, fine, lock up unvaccinated others has any idea that person’s reasoning for abstaining from the shot. This is not Germany and I for one won’t be dictated by Nazi’s. I am a Patriot! That means I do not control people, I love America and the Freedom that comes with it! How can people call themself a Patriot and want to “dictate” to others and “demean” them for not “conforming”! Wrong Country! If you got the shot that’s all YOU have to worry about! And by the way, the “Delta” is just Covid. If you got the vaccine you’re more susceptible to getting it. I already know 2 people who have gotten the shot and got sick with Covid! I take natural remedies and Vitamin D and haven’t been sick in 5 years.
Deirdre LaMotte says
Fine. Then wear a mask please.
Sandra Rowland Hack says
Thank you
I totally agree