The Unvaccinated

Watching some of the progressive cable shows, most notably MSNBC, one might get the impression that the only thing happening in the world is Covid-19 resurgence with the Olympics maybe coming in second.

The big concern about Covid is that so many people decline to be vaccinated, and some in the media seem to want us to believe that these refuseniks are all MAGA maniacs. Whenever the topic is discussed, which is pretty much continuously throughout the day, someone on the show reminds us that Covid cases are spiking in lots of red states like Texas, Florida and Missouri.

Of course, the fact that the Biden administration has pretty much invited the rest of the world to cross our southern border without so much as a temperature scan might have something to do with the numbers in Texas, but even so, the assumption that conscientious objectors to vaccination are all Trumpsters is quite likely wrong.

Jim Geraghty provides some helpful statistics at National Review. Geraghty suggests that the relevant metric isn't the statewide vaccination rate, but the vaccination rate in our major cities which, of course, are only sparsely populated by Republicans.

He writes:

[S]ignificant percentages of the residents of the deepest-blue cities in America are still unvaccinated, and simple math demonstrates that there just aren’t enough Trump voters around to make up the not-yet-vaccinated-and-in-no-hurry demographic in those places.

For example, as of this weekend, 41 percent of New York City residents were not vaccinated. Trump won 22 percent of the vote in NYC.

• In Chicago, 43 percent of residents are not vaccinated. Trump carried 24 percent of the vote in Cook County.
• In the city of San Francisco, about a quarter of residents are not vaccinated. Trump carried about 12 percent of the vote in the city last year.
• In Los Angeles County, just under 30 percent of residents are not vaccinated; Trump won 26.8 percent in 2020.
• In Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Phoenix, 52 percent of residents are not vaccinated; Trump won 48 percent of the vote there in 2020.
• In Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston, about 48 percent are not vaccinated; Trump won 43 percent in that county in 2020.
• In Philadelphia, Pa., about 37 percent of residents are unvaccinated. Trump won 17.9 percent of the vote there in 2020.
• In Multnomah County, which includes Portland, Ore., just under 63 percent have at least one dose, meaning that 37 percent are unvaccinated. Trump won under 18 percent in that county in 2020.
• In Milwaukee County in Wisconsin, 61.6 percent have at least one dose, meaning 38.4 percent are unvaccinated. Trump won 29.4 percent of the vote in 2020.
• Detroit has vaccinated just under 40 percent of its residents; Trump carried 5 percent of the vote in that city.

Geraghty goes on to add the obvious:

Even in the absurd hypothetical scenario where every Trump voter from 2020 in these cities and the surrounding counties refused to get vaccinated, the unvaccinated group would have to include significant numbers of people who voted for Biden or other candidates.

Why are we hearing so little criticism of this specific rejectionist demographic? Why are those who lustily criticize Florida, Texas and Missouri largely mute about the numbers of those who disdain vaccination in our major cities? Geraghty opines:

A lot of social-media users who are comfortable — or even enthusiastic about — showing anger and disdain at Republicans in Florida, Texas, or Missouri wouldn’t allow themselves to show the same sentiment toward unvaccinated Biden-supporting or non-voting residents of New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, etc.

A lot of people who sneer or take glee at infections among Trump voters in rural areas would perceive infections among residents of Portland, Milwaukee, or Detroit quite differently.

A lot of America’s remaining unvaccinated live in big cities, but most of the news coverage wouldn’t lead you to that conclusion. There are Democrats and independents in America who are not vaccinated — and not particularly interested in getting vaccinated - and they're at risk, too.

Quite so, but I have a question that's been nagging at me for some time. Why are progressives so adamant about vaccinations, even to the point of talking about making them mandatory? If the vaccines work, and we're told they do, then anyone who wishes to be protected against serious illness can easily receive the inoculation.

Those who choose not to do so are a risk only to themselves and others who, like them, choose not to be vaccinated. And once these folks contract the virus most of them recover and have a measure of immunity.

So why do our liberal nurse Ratcheds demand that those people get the vaccine whether they want it or not?

Perhaps there's a good answer to this, but I haven't heard it explained, certainly not by Dr. Fauci, who never really seems to explain anything, nor by any of the other commentators on television. If you can help me with this please use the contact button above and clear it up for me. Thanks.