Dr. Ashish Jha Unleashes an Urgent Thread on Why Vaccinated People Should Care That Millions Are Still Unvaccinated
Slightly over three-quarters of all American adults have gotten at least one dose of the covid-19 vaccines, and as of this posting the Centers for Disease Control reports 62.5 percent of all Americans over 12 years old have been fully vaccinated.
Millions of Americans are still not vaccinated, and one question that’s been repeatedly raised is why vaccinated people — who have a high degree of protection from serious illness and hospitalization — should be personally concerned.
Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, addressed that argument in a Twitter thread Friday, emphasizing that “what happens to unvaccinated folks affects us all.”
Among the key points he raised are that when the virus continues to spread, schools and businesses get shut down, and hospitals don’t have enough room to treat others if beds are full of unvaccinated patients.
“Pandemics sicken and kill a lot of people. But they also disrupt the social fabric,” Jha said. “The idea that the vaccinated can get back to normal while unvaccinated are getting sick in massive numbers? Its a fantasy.”
If you are vaccinated, why should you care if there are a lot of unvaccinated folks?
After all vaccines are really protective, right?
Yes, vaccines are really protective
But what happens to unvaccinated folks affects us all
Why we have to get more people vaccinated
Thread
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) September 10, 2021
3. Raging infections shut down restaurants, stores, make it hard for folks to get people back to offices
4. High infection rates put vulnerable people who can’t get immunity at risk
Pandemics sicken and kill a lot of people
But they also disrupt the social fabric
3/4
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) September 10, 2021
We should get people vaccinated because:
1. The unvaccinated are our friends, our neighbors and we should care
2. It will keep hospitals open for everyone
3. It’ll protect the vulnerable
And it’ll let us get back to our lives & spend less time worrying about the pandemic
Fin
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) September 10, 2021
On Thursday President Joe Biden laid out his plan to get more people vaccinated, which includes an OSHA rule to require employers with more than 100 employees to either ensure everyone is fully vaccinated or have any unvaccinated workers undergo weekly testing.
