The vaccinated are worried and scientists don’t have answers

Anecdotes tell us what the data can’t: Vaccinated people appear to be getting the coronavirus at a surprisingly high rate. But exactly how often isn’t clear, nor is it certain how likely they are to spread the virus to others.

Though it is evident vaccination still provides powerful protection against the virus, there’s growing concern that vaccinated people may be more vulnerable to serious illness than previously thought.

There’s a dearth of scientific studies with concrete answers, leaving public policy makers and corporate executives to formulate plans based on fragmented information. While some are renewing mask mandates or delaying office reopenings, others cite the lack of clarity to justify staying the course. It can all feel like a mess.

“We have to be humble about what we do know and what we don’t know,” said Tom Frieden, a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the head of the nonprofit Resolve to Save Lives. “There are a few things we can say definitively. One is that this is a hard question to address.” …

Research out of Israel seems to back the idea that protection from severe disease wanes in the months after inoculation, and more recently, that breakthrough cases may eventually lead to an uptick in hospitalizations. The information is preliminary and severe breakthrough cases are still rare, but it bolsters the case that some people will need booster shots in coming months.

The response of the American government and our media to covid-19 is revealing a lot about our society and ourselves. It is showing us how quickly the world can change, how much we take our rights for granted, and how much or how little we value truth.

covid-19 was the subject of the first speech Joe Biden gave after entering the White House. He recounted how countless Americans have lost their jobs, businesses and homes; how school closures have set children back a year; how graduations, weddings and family reunions have been canceled. He portrayed these people as victims of covid, when in reality, they were victims of government-imposed lockdowns. He then stated that if Americans would obey the newest batch of restrictions, the government might let them enjoy barbecues in their backyards with their families by, ironically, Independence Day.

Intentionally or not, it highlighted the fact that the government’s gigantic, oppressive “cure” has been worse than the disease. But nobody in the radical establishment will say that. Mainstream media outlets, predictably, praised the speech. They continue to support the government’s radical agenda by emphasizing their covid coverage and prominently displaying their death trackers. They are helping scare and shame Americans into wearing masks, then two masks, standing like chess pawns on floor markers 6 feet apart, staying inside their homes, giving up their businesses and incomes, and sacrificing their constitutional rights.

The campaign is coordinated by liberals in politics, big media, Big Tech, big business and beyond. Many of its most virulent supporters call their political party “the party of science.” They accuse those who do not believe in their cause of ignorance, hatred and lying (see “Is Lying Always Wrong?”).

Now the campaign has transitioned to pressure everyone to get vaccinated. It includes a mix of feel-good advertising, shaming and fear-mongering. And it is marked by the same propagandistic and deceitful techniques that were used for the lockdown campaign.