Opinion: Outbreak pandemic of unvaccinated

We’re now entering crisis territory with the Delta variant, and collectively, it’s our own damn fault.

Maybe we should call this latest variant “COVID-21” because it’s more contagious, and therefore more dangerous, than the 2019 version. Thankfully, the vaccines are proving themselves effective against it, and despite some “breakthrough cases” — vaccinated people who get the virus but with milder symptoms — this latest outbreak is mostly “a pandemic of the unvaccinated” that makes the vaccinated majority less caring about it.

Don’t expect any enthusiasm for putting on our masks again, and that includes me. As someone who willingly donned a mask back when COVID was running hot and heavy throughout the U.S., I now resent having to worry about the people who are selfishly and irrationally refusing to get their shots. Why should the rest of us be punished for their negligence?

According to reports, somewhere around 90 million people remain unvaccinated in America. Not counting those under age 12 (who haven’t been approved to get the vaccine yet), the unvaccinated fall into two groups: those who vehemently oppose and adamantly refuse to get their shots and those who are “hesitant” and still trying to decide.

According to what I’ve read, those who firmly oppose getting their shots outnumber the merely hesitant two to one. Thanks, anti-vaxxers, for dragging the rest of us down with you.

Talk about a divided nation. If we could all get on the same page, we could beat down this virus, but there’s just enough media out there casting unfounded doubts to fuel baseless suspicions against anything the government and our national health advocates say.

The rest of America, the reasonable majority who can actually disseminate the truth from the lies, are tired of all this nonsense. I know I am. There are much bigger issues that need to be addressed, but instead we’ve got to focus once again on fighting back a virus that should have been defeated by now.

To counter the stubborn resistance to vaccines, the president has issued an order that all federal employees must be vaccinated or undergo strict testing and masking requirement. And New Mexico’s governor has followed suit: She’s ordered all state employees to either be vaccinated or show negative test results at least every other week; plus, unvaccinated state employees must mask up whenever they’re working indoors.

Sounds good to me. I’m in favor of making it a real hassle to be unvaccinated. After all, they’re turning it into a hassle for the rest of us.

Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at:

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