Each morning I wake up to more and more buzz about the dangerous Delta variant. Today, I woke up to an article suggesting those who are vaccinated should wear a mask indoors and in crowded places, in a reversal of CDC guidelines. A rage sparked within me - not at the thought of having to wear a mask again - I am completely fine with making that small sacrifice for the greater good - but because this could have all been so simple. If people just got vaccinated, we would have averted this situation. But since this country touts individualism and conspiracy theories have become rampant, less than half of Americans have been vaccinated.
I became enraged at how people are still refusing to get the vaccine despite the surge in cases in states where the vaccination rates are especially low. The data is clear that states with higher vaccination rates have a lower case rate. And yet the distrust of the media is leading people to deny these facts and abstain from getting vaccinated.
While COVID-19 was emerging last year, we saw the reluctance to mask wearing and over a year later, we are dealing with the same resistance to getting the vaccine, and thus dealing with the consequences of more infections and deaths. I am not surprised by this pattern - this is a nation of freedoms that in some situations is great to have, but in this case, is keeping the population from creating safer communities. While I am proud to live in a free country, people are taking advantage of this freedom in a way that will continue to spread a deadly virus and its new variant.
After many campaigns and ways of trying to get people vaccinated - the president and celebrities speaking out, discounts and lotteries, Biden will announce vaccination requirements for federal employees. I hope this becomes more commonplace as we cannot trust people to get vaccines on their own. I do believe people should have the freedom to do what they want with their bodies, just not in a way that will spread harmful diseases that are completely preventable. The reality is that freedom is not always going to bring positive outcomes.
For people to have this idea of freedom no matter what, they are not opening their minds to the unintended consequences. In requiring vaccinations, I do not see it as a freedom being taken away, but instead the freedom of being given a healthier life and a safer way to coexist.
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