Mandatory face mask restrictions are returning as the delta variant spreads across the country. COVID-19 vaccines are remarkably effective against the delta variant, but unvaccinated people are getting infected with the new, more infectious strain of coronavirus. Far too many people still just don’t seem to get it.
There is a lot of talk lately about how anti-vaxxers—ranging from Trumpist conspiracy theorists to some people of color who don’t trust the health care system—aren’t a monolith. Sure, that’s true, but they all have one thing in common.
They’re all putting themselves at risk, their families at risk, and they are giving new variants a place to mutate and become even more deadly for people who truly can’t get the vaccine: kids under twelve and people with serious medical conditions.