The vaccination rhetoric is heating up considerably of late, as fear of the so-called Delta variant consumes those who don’t believe in natural immune systems. Some people appear to be losing their minds over the idea that Americans would choose not to submit themselves to an unapproved vaccination with as-of-yet unknown long-term side effects. Yet, these vaccines are less than completely effective against a virus that is statistically unlikely to kill or seriously harm the vast majority of people who contract it.
Alabama’s Republican governor, Kay Ivey, has even said: “But it’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down.” So, the unvaccinated are now different from regular people, whatever that’s supposed to mean. The city of Montclair in California will make its employees wear stickers that say, “I just got my COVID vaccine,” if they choose to come to work without a mask. But can any rational person take this wailing and gnashing of teeth seriously when the wailers and teeth-gnashers express not a single word of concern about what is happening at America’s southern border – a situation that a February 26 article in Scientific American rightly described as a “COVID superspreader”?
Never mind that if the vaccines work, then those who have received one have no reason to fear those who have not. Never mind that natural herd immunity – something that has saved the human race from extinction for thousands of years – would have solved the problem already had it been allowed to take its course in the first place. Never mind that forcing people to subject themselves to medical procedures is something the civilized world supposedly put a stop to decades ago.
What We Know About the Delta Variant
Just how dangerous is the Delta variant of COVID-19, anyway? The truth, at this point, is that nobody really knows. This strain of the virus has not been around – or, at least, identified – long enough for there to be credible data indicating that it is any more or any less dangerous than the original virus. Unfortunately, most of what one reads about COVID-19 and the various vaccinations developed against it is contradicted by other sources, even among various medical journals and studies. Thus, it is difficult for the average American to determine what is and is not “misinformation” regarding the virus. For example, many media reports have suggested that the Delta variant is significantly more contagious than the original strain. One article from NPR even uses the term “hyper-contagious” – yet this could well be misinformation. The CDC website says: “Evidence suggests that [Delta variant] is potentially more transmissible than other variants.” Hardly a firm assertion of anything and not exactly a validation of NPR’s hyperbole.
The statement is based on preliminary data that suggests people who contract the Delta variant are becoming contagious earlier than those who have contracted other strains of the virus. There is as yet no data showing that the Delta variant is more deadly – something that appears to be implied by certain news media outlets reporting that this strain is once again driving up COVID-19 deaths. In reality, this is because the Delta variant is now allegedly the dominant strain in the U.S., but statistical resources do not indicate that the COVID-19 fatality rate is increasing overall. In fact, as the NPR report acknowledges, “initial hospital data shows that it doesn’t increase the risk of hospitalization compared to other strains, according to Dr. Monica Gandhi, who studies infectious diseases at the University of California San Francisco.”
Nevertheless, the renewed panic in certain circles has led to talk of a return to lockdowns and mask mandates, and, of course, this Delta variant has provided a convenient opportunity for the vaccination enthusiasts to redouble their assault upon those Americans who choose not to take part in the global medical experiment.
So, Only Americans Spread COVID?
(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
One would have thought that if this health crisis were as serious as the American public is being told, then the very first logical step would be to ensure that not a single unvaccinated person enters the U.S. from any other country. Yet, this is not happening, and those people who self-righteously berate the unvaccinated do not care, apparently, that tens of thousands of individuals – who may or may not have caught COVID-19 and may or may not have been vaccinated – are crossing the southern U.S. border and, in many cases, being bussed or flown to various parts of the country. Is this somehow a different situation? Because these people are coming to the U.S. to escape poverty, crime, or persecution – and because they are part of a minority group – are Americans supposed to look the other way and not be concerned about the unknown health status of these migrants?
No verified data exist to indicate that illegal aliens are causing or contributing significantly to the spread of COVID-19 but, then again, no data exist to suggest that they are not. Given the alleged seriousness of the threat posed by the virus, should not the U.S. government err on the side of caution? Should the Biden administration not insist that every individual who crosses the southern border, if not immediately turned back, is tested for and vaccinated against COVID-19?
According to a report in the New York Post, which cites an official from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), almost a third of illegal border crossers have refused the vaccine. As of July 21, according to ICE, there have been nearly 1,400 cases of COVID-19 found among detained migrants – and that’s just the known cases. Customs and Border Patrol, on its website, says that since the pandemic began, “more than 8900 CBP employees have tested positive for covid-19 and 33 have passed away.” Why does that health crisis seem to be of no interest to those who are intent upon bullying every American into vaccination?
So many things about the way this pandemic is being handled don’t add up. It is just not possible to be outraged that so many Americans are declining the vaccine but, at the same time, have no concerns that, every month, tens of thousands of mostly unvaccinated migrants are entering the U.S. and traveling or being transported all over the country. Until federal, state, and local government officials are compelled to explain this disparity, no American citizen should be expected to believe a single word they say about the alleged threat posed by COVID-19.
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Read more from Graham J. Noble.
