Hey there! Thanks for writing in.
Yes, this can all be so confusing, so it’s good to gather as much information as you can from credible sources.
Delta Variant
To start, let’s talk about this delta variant. Just like with any other type of virus, viruses want to thrive! The more opportunities a virus has to spread, the more chances it gets to replicate. That’s what’s happened with this delta variant, along with the other five variants of concern. And, this is nothing new. It happens every year with the flu virus. The World Health Organization has a great video on What Causes a Virus to Change that you can check out.
Why get vaccinated?
Now to the second part of your question; why do people still need to get vaccinated? This is a great question!
The reason is because that all current vaccines are shown to safely protect us from COVID-19 and its variants.
It breaks down to about .01% of vaccinated people getting infected with COVID-19 or its variants. Of those .01%, 90% of them had only mild or no symptoms at all, but they can still pass it on to others and unvaccinated people can have severe symptoms or die if they’re not vaccinated.
Booster Shots
Right now, it’s been about six months since vaccines have been on the scene and they are still showing to be effective. We know that with other common vaccines, like with the flu (and chicken pox, measles, mumps, rubella…) we need booster shots. So, depending on how long the immunity from the vaccine lasts, we might expect to get a booster shot a year or so after being vaccinated. The efficacy of current COVID-19 vaccinations are being studies and monitored, as well as the testing of booster shots.
Credible Sources
Some good places to get your information are…
- Websites with .gov, .org, .edu. Look for contact info for the author too.
- CDC (Centers for Disease Control): https://www.cdc.gov/
- WHO (World Health Organization): https://www.who.int/
- Find a COVID-19 vaccine near you: https://www.vaccines.gov/search/
This last thing I want to leave you with is some encouragement knowing that right now our “Relatives” have the highest percentage of people being vaccinated in the U.S.! This is because we learn from those who came before us and we work to nurture those who will come next. We can beat this pandemic together!
I hope this helps and thanks for writing in!
Take care,
Auntie Manda
