So a “willfully unvaccinated” person who works from home or is retired and rarely interacts with other people in person, they are “the cause of deaths in america now”. Yeah that makes a lot of sense. I would like to know who exactly it was that they hurt or killed.
If they can stay alive, then they aren't contributing to the COVID death rate. The one they hurt or kill would be themselves if they misjudge matters, misjudge their degree of contact and the risk to them of any human contact at all given the delta variant's pathogenicity.
People who say that they never interact with other human beings generally don't actually do that.
We did. My wife and I were able to do so, but only because we're retired, live with no small children, have no nearby family (we're expats), and have access to delivery of groceries, dried goods, medications, and packages. Money was left on the terrace outside the glass front door. Our front gate can be unlocked electronically from the house.
Even our vet made house calls. And we were lucky to not need delivery or repair people in the house before we were vaccinated (propane tank outdoors)
It is literally true that the only time either of us was within 20 feet of another human being without a barrier between us was the one time we needed gas (we drove around weekly with the windows up to keep the car battery charged and the moving parts lubricated) was when we rolled down the window to pay for the gas, and even then, it took about 3 seconds (no change, thank you).
Our local friends could have done the same except for a handful that couldn't afford to add delivery charges to their orders and went into shops, but everybody else we know had human contact. Our friend Martha would tell you that she has almost no human contact, yet she went out to shop, and had a gardener and housekeeper during the pandemic. She either never acquired COVID, or it was asymptomatic if she did.
But this year is different for the unvaccinated (we were all that last year during the milder variant of coronavirus circulating then). The fraction of people infected at any given time is much higher, meaning that this year, with the delta variant predominating, Martha's helpers would be much more likely to bring the virus to her home, and if they did, she would be several times more likely to acquire it from them. And her vet. And her shopkeepers.
This is a different disease in 2021. We've learned that it is more contagious, is making younger patients sicker, and is more fulminating (severe and rapidly progressive). Martha may already have had a very mild or asymptomatic case since becoming fully vaccinated. If so, she survived it, as would be expected for as long as her immunity hold or until a worse variant that can break through vaccines with severe illness or death arises. That applies to all of us. We feel safe for now, venturing out for outdoor restaurants, having vaccinated friends over in small numbers, ordering delivery meals (we avoided them prevaccination to minimize the number of people coming to our home), and my wife has been taking ukulele classes (six people, outdoors, all with proof of vaccination).
And guess what? She had a mild case of COVID - sore throat, headache, low grade fever, and fatigue for about 5 days. We discontinued going out for ten days, but returned to our new level of activity thereafter.
Many people are unaware of the fact that their experience last year doesn't translate to 2021. My friend Howard didn't recognize that. He had COVID last August before vaccines were available, and survived it without hospitalization or long-haul symptoms. He chose to not take the vaccine, thinking that the only difference now was that he has post-infectious antibodies, so why take a vaccine? The unvaccinated are the ones dying. Not all of course, but the COVID death rates are over 95% unvaccinated (I've seen 99% of deaths are in the unvaccinated).
It's not that there was any contraindication to vaccination for him. He simply made a medical decision against recommendations like so many people who now see themselves as qualified to decide for themselves what's best for themselves, and I don't know if he's dead or alive now. He became severely ill this month with COVID, and his family came to Mexico to medevac him back to the States for care about a week ago. Nobody's heard from him since. I hope he's home and comfortable, but we probably would have received an email from him if he could have sent one (the family don't know who his Mexican friends are or how to reach us, and we don't know who they are, either). Howard may have been "a cause of death in America now," although I would consider his death a Mexican death if he dies or has died.
So yeah, COVID deaths are occurring in the unvaccinated, and those who choose to be unvaccinated are adding to that death count, as are those who would like a vaccine but can't get one before acquiring delta COVID and die.
The good news is that the unvaccinated are really only a threat to themselves. They could only hurt the rest of us if they were allowed to occupy all of our local hospital beds. But that can't happen, since COVID cases are transported to a major city an hour away. So, while I don't see them as an imminent threat to my wife, me, or my vaccinated friends, I can still say that I consider them foolish.
The point is that the virus is much more likely to be acquired by even the most casual human contact as was the case with us (if I had the virus, it was asymptomatic, although I did have a sore throat for about a half day during my wife's illness), and the experience is much likelier to be lethal with delta. Also, people who say that they have no contact with others are almost certainly wrong about that as they were last year, when they did fine before delta was here and before vaccines were available. And for me, that's what makes this whole, "I won't get this, I can't give it to anyone, and even if I did, I'll be fine" narrative so dangerous for those who rely on isolation and natural immunity to avoid the ICU or morgue.
Good luck to all of the unvaccinated trying to get through 2021 and delta. A lot will make it, but many will go through hell for no good reason. Some (or their loved ones) may be on the news telling others not to underestimate this virus and to go get a vaccine. We're telling them now, but in vain, as are the ones on the news. Anybody that can learn from words alone already has and has already taken the vaccine if possible. Those that can't are still unvaccinated and won't listen to those like them who only learn from experience. They have to experience the horror of wakeful suffocation or see it to learn that there is a very real threat to them out there.
much more useful analogy
