Remember being thrust into that Salvador Dali painting? Aisle after aisle of empty store shelves melting into bleak oblivion … finger paintings cracking in abandoned classrooms … blue industrial gloves in the supermarket …
We knew squat about the new virus sweeping the planet three years ago. Our hopes for normalcy — nay, for survival! — hung on the development of new vaccines to keep the beast at bay. In a stunning triumph, science delivered. But millions, to this day, refuse the needle — a refusal that researchers say has resulted in hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths.
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Public Health reveal a disturbing, if predictable, pattern: Vaccination status goes hand-in-hand with education and income, in near lock-step.
More modest Southern California is vastly less-vaccinated than wealthier Northern California, with perhaps a slight under-performance by Santa Clara County.
This would all be a numbers game except for one thing: Unvaccinated people are about three times more likely to die from COVID-19 than are vaccinated people.
As we toss our masks — even in healthcare settings — and reclaim pre-pandemic normalcy, we should understand that it comes at a price: The lives of our parents and grandparents.
The overwhelming majority of COVID-19 deaths in the Golden State — 72% — are among those 65 and older.
“We’re saying, ‘This pandemic is over; older adults, tough luck,’” said Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases and vaccinology at UC Berkeley. “Older adults have to take responsibility for themselves because they can’t count on society to protect them. That is a sad thing.”
More than 1.1 million Americans have died of COVID-19 — some 267,000 last year — and we’re on track for another 100,000 or so to die this year as the unavoidable price of returning to normal. That toll far exceeds even the worst flu season, and…
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