Do We Have a Duty to the Unvaccinated?

We're once again being confronted with "a crisis." The Delta variant of Covid is more contagious than the original and this is inducing a panic in some quarters.

Some media precincts are excited about "breakthrough" cases in which a fully vaccinated individual nevertheless comes down with the disease. Demands for mask mandates, even for children, and talk of lockdowns are being bandied about because we must "do something" to "save lives."

It should be noted that people who contract the Delta variant don't get any sicker and are no more likely to die than if they contracted the original Covid, but, even so, the impression is given that this form of the virus is much more virulent than the form that afflicted the world in 2020.

It is more contagious, though, and that has stoked fears that even vaccinated people are at risk and need to wear masks, most of which offer only marginal protection, just like unvaccinated people. This is nonsense as an ABC News analysis of the CDC data makes clear:

More than 99.99% of people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 have not had a breakthrough case resulting in hospitalization or death, according to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC reported 6,587 Covid-19 breakthrough cases as of July 26, including 6,239 hospitalizations and 1,263 deaths. At that time, more than 163 million people in the United States were fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Divide those severe breakthrough cases by the total fully vaccinated population for the result: less than 0.004% of fully vaccinated people had a breakthrough case that led to hospitalization and less than 0.001% of fully vaccinated people died from a breakthrough Covid-19 case.

In other words, a vaccinated individual has less chance of being hospitalized due to Covid than they have of being struck by lightning (.0065%).

Moreover most of the breakthrough cases -- about 74% -- occurred among adults 65 or older. So, if you're not in that age group and are fully vaccinated your chances of getting the disease are even lower.

Here's a graphic posted on VP last week that illustrates the chances of a fully vaccinated individual suffering a breakthrough case. The graphic uses slightly different numbers but their significance is the same as those used in the ABC report:

Nevertheless, CDC leaders have updated the agency's mask guidance, recommending that fully vaccinated people also wear masks indoors when in areas with "substantial" and "high" Covid-19 transmission to prevent further spread of the Delta variant. But why?

Why should people who have chosen to get vaccinated who have little risk of getting seriously ill, endure the inconvenience of wearing an all but useless mask to "protect" those who've chosen not to get vaccinated.

If someone chooses not to be vaccinated that's their choice (Isn't it the left which insists, "My body, my choice"?), but why should everyone else be obliged to accommodate them and protect them from the possible consequences?

Why do some people insist on treating their fellow citizens like children?