What the CDC is Not Telling Us
By Mike DuBose
I didn’t plan to write about COVID-19 again. But, then Columbia native and former neighbor, Dr. Cary Washington, became infected with the coronavirus and died, 30 days after being fully inoculated.
WIS-TV and USA Today featured his unexpected death questioning: “The CDC is telling us if we’re fully vaccinated, we don’t need masks, can congregate in large groups, and resume normal lives. If this is true, why did Dr. Washington die?” Based on my research, I learned there are thousands of others like him. Regardless of your political, masking, and vaccine views, the Trump and Biden administrations, media, and conspiracists have peddled confusion, misinformation, and conflicting COVID-19 guidance. Good advice and research one day gets trashed the next. As Governor McMaster noted, Covid guidance is like the changing weather reports. Who are you to believe? Based on unbiased studies, let’s review the latest facts:
Pfizer and Moderna MNRA vaccines prevent “severe infections, hospitalizations, and deaths” about 90 percent of the time against most variants. That’s great news. However, based on recent Israeli studies of 1.7 million inoculated citizens (the most vaccinated nation in the world), the MNRA vaccines are only 64 percent effective against Covid Delta variants. Thus, “fully-vaccinated individuals” have a 36 percent chance of being infected, experiencing mild-moderate symptoms, being asymptomatic, or worse, having a small chance of severe cases and/or dying like my neighbor.
Once infected, COVID-19 attacks other parts of your body, including your brain, later in life (30 percent of covid infections have long-term symptoms.). Many people I know who were infected now have heart and other mental or physical health problems months later. Massachusetts reported nearly 5,000 fully-vaccinated Covid “breakthrough” cases in 2021. The CDC noted 4,115 “fully-vaccinated” individuals were hospitalized or died (988) from Covid as of July 6th (25 percent had no symptoms.).
Simply put, vaccinations, while remarkable miracles, aren’t 100 percent effective and contrary to the CDC, you aren’t completely safe. While vaccinations will reduce your infectious symptoms and lower your Covid viral load, there’s evidence you will spread the virus. Studies show a single, Covid Delta Variant-infected person will spread the virus to 6+ people.
Even though I’m fully vaccinated, I don’t live in a bubble of fear but employ reasonable, added precautions, protecting myself, my inoculated spouse and children, unvaccinated grandchildren, and others. More than 4 million American children have been infected by Covid since March 2020 (22 percent of all new 2021 US cases are children and most are asymptomatic). The good news is that most children will recover. The sad finding is they can spread the coronavirus and worse, 500 children died this year. Seems like a very insignificant figure unless the child or grandchild who died was yours.
More than 99 percent of all US Covid-related 2021 hospitalizations and deaths (mostly aged over 65) were unvaccinated people. While you’ll most likely have vaccine side effects, the benefits of being inoculated heavily outweigh being infected with the deadly virus. If you’re vaccinated, like the flu shot, we will probably have to obtain an annual booster in the future. If you had Covid, studies show one Pfizer shot will supercharge your antibodies, but check with your physician. Most pharmacies provide free Covid vaccines and testing without prescriptions or appointments.
The Bottom Line: The Delta Covid Variant is the dominant, aggressive coronavirus strain and infections will soon spike since more than 50 percent of South Carolina adults are not vaccinated. Getting the shots, wearing quality masks, and socially distancing are prudent, aggravating precautions—but think about protecting those whom you love. Too many unvaccinated people, playing Russian Virus Roulette, will become Covid’s victims and needlessly experience serious, long-term complications and death, while infecting others. More than 10,000 unvaccinated Americans died from Covid in June 2021. Don’t become a deadly statistic.
Mike DuBose, a medical researcher, has been an instructor for USC’s graduate school since 1985, when he began his family of companies, and is the author of The Art of Building a Great Business. Visit his nonprofit website www.mikedubose.com for a free copy of his book and additional published business, travel, and personal articles, as well as health articles written with Surb Guram, MD.
