> it's so hard to feel any sympathy for the unvaccinated at this point.
Well, a little sympathy is possible ...
> The current vaccines look like they're providing pretty good protection, both against infection and severe illness, just not good enough that it's a good idea to forget all about hand hygiene, social distancing, and face coverings. [emphasis mine]
Right. Getting vaccinated is the single most effective thing you can do to protect yourself, but it's not perfect protection and there are other things you can do. You understand that, and I understand that. But many people don't.
They hear statements from the CDC -- which has done a terrible job communicating this -- that "The vaccine works! Get vaccinated now! But you still need to wear a mask afterward!" And they wonder, if the vaccine is so bloody effective, why do I need to wear a mask once I'm fully vaccinated? I can't catch COVID so I don't need one to protect myself, and since I can't catch it, I can't give it to someone else, so I don't need one to protect others. It doesn't make sense. Maybe the government is lying to us? Wouldn't be the first time. Maybe the vaccine isn't worth shit. Maybe there's no vaccine at all, they're just shooting saline solution into our arms.
Uncle Sam spent months sending out that mixed signal. So I can feel some sympathy for the unvaccinated. Not much, but some. If your sympathy level is at zero percent, mine is around five percent.
The ones I don't feel any sympathy for are those who never took any precautions. There's a man in this town, in his sixties. He just refused to wear a mask or social distance, and I doubt he washed his hands more frequently than pre-COVID. His ninety year old father passed away, and on the morning of the funeral he felt a little ill. He ascribed it to grief and shrugged it off. So there he was, accepting condolences and hugs, many from people over eighty. There he was, breathing all over them. Turned out the ill feeling wasn't from grief, it was COVID. He infected four senior citizens there. Luckily, nobody died. I've got no sympathy for that idiot.
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