Unvaccinated children pose no threat to anyone
Second, the unvaccinated minority do not pose a serious threat to the rest of us. So far, 165 million U.S. adults have been fully vaccinated, and 70 percent have now have had at least one shot, which research shows is highly protective after just two weeks. This means 192 million in total now have vaccinated immunity. Breakthrough infections are still rare — NBC News reports that there have been about 125,000 cases in 38 states, which represents a rate of about 0.07 percent. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Aug. 3, only 954 vaccinated Americans have died of covid-19, and only 4,641 have been hospitalized. Most of those are elderly, immunocompromised or have co-morbidities making the vaccines less effective. What about the risk to children, many of whom are ineligible to be vaccinated? Unvaccinated children are at similarly low risk for serious outcomes as vaccinated adults. CDC data show that just 406 people under 18 have died with a covid-19 diagnosis code in their record — and the CDC has no idea whether covid-19 was incidental or causal in their deaths. One study found zero mortality in children without preexisting conditions. Healthy children are not a serious risk — and healthy vaccinated adults (such as teachers) are at near-zero risk from them. What this means is that if you are an otherwise healthy vaccinated person, you are effectively bulletproof against serious illness. While we should encourage unvaccinated Americans to get immunized for their own sake, they pose no real danger to the rest of us.