CHEARS

Medical experts estimate between 70–90 percent of the population will need to be vaccinated before we can reach “herd immunity”. People who are refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccine are increasing their risk of contracting and transmitting the virus. They could also be potentially prolonging the pandemic, contributing to spikes in cases and giving the virus more opportunities to mutate.

While it largely remains a personal choice, those who are eligible to get the vaccine but chose not to — for whatever reasons — run the risk of not only getting the virus and transmitting it to others, but also of prolonging the pandemic, contributing to spikes in cases, and giving the virus more opportunities to mutate. We’re currently in a crucial part of the pandemic. We need to get enough people to have antibodies against the coronavirus — whether through vaccination or prior infection — to prevent it from mutating into strains (or variants) that may be more lethal.