Commentary: Susanna Dokupil and Eli Lehrer - Political division keeps pandemic going
Susanna Dokupil and Eli Lehrer
Aug. 5, 2021
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As the summer of 2021 sees more Americans enjoying the beaches, swimming pools, summer camps, resorts, and movie theaters they missed last summer, it seems many believe the COVID-19 pandemic is finally receding. But for the return to pre-pandemic life to continue, the nation’s so-far-successful vaccination campaign will need to progress. That, in turn, requires both Democrats and Republicans alike to stop politicizing vaccination.
The facts are pretty simple: Reducing the pandemic’s deadly impact on life in the United States — and around the world — will require herd immunity. The exact percentage needed to achieve herd immunity is partially dependent on the infection, but doctors suggest it’s reached when somewhere between 50% and 90% of the population has developed antibodies. Getting to herd immunity is key to ending the restrictions on social interaction — masking mandates, travel restrictions, and limits on gathering size — that many Americans have raised questions about as vaccines have rolled out over the past several months. The Trump administration’s successful Operation Warp Speed effort to help develop and distribute vaccines has put it within reach. And top Republican leaders, including Trump, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and the “Doctors’ Caucus” in Congress have called on their supporters to get vaccinated. But the vaccine hesitancy of some groups, including conservatives, still stands in the way of herd immunity.
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