It's been nearly 2 years now that we've been living under the shadow of a pandemic. The year 2020 was a lost year for this planet, as all "unnecessary" events and activities were cancelled. Kids were taught at home via teleconferencing, and anyone who didn't need to go into the office didn't. Late in 2020, Pfizer announced they'd created a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 (or at least prevent it from killing everyone). By late winter / early spring of 2021, it looked like we were on the path normalcy.

Of course - we didn't count on just how large, stupid, and determined the "anti-vaxx bloc" was. Unvaccinated and unmasked, they spread their disease (both biological and emotional) wherever they could. People who should've known better refused the vaccine. With the numbers and behaviors of the anti-maskers, the Delta Variant evolved to become way worse than the original disease.

For the most part, those being hospitalized and dying are the deniers - by a LARGE margin. It's easy to callously dismiss their deaths as Dunning-Kruger taken to the extreme, or Darwin Award participants, and feel like - given time - they will reduce themselves to a number that is no longer a threat to public health. It's not all dark humor, however.

There are very few things in life that are absolute, and that goes for the efficacy of vaccinations. The social contract by which we all live better deems it prudent for everyone to get vaccinated to reach herd immunity. The disease dies out by attrition and disappears when enough people are vaccinated that it can no longer be spread. Otherwise, it keeps lingering, mutating, and snipping away at the margins of the statistics. The most recent high-profile case is Colin Powell, who died from COVID-19 despite being vaccinated because of his pre-existing condition: blood cancer.

There are others who leave behind a family, regretting not getting the vaccine after it's too late to do anything about it:

There are plenty of other stories to choose from at this site. Every one of them is a tragic, stupid story.

The most healthy person can get sick and die from this disease if they're not vaccinated. Generally, only those who have health problems will die from it if they are vaccinated. Get the shot and wear a mask - if not for you, than for those who are more vulnerable, for the Colin Powells in your life.