By Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher, The San Diego Voice and Viewpoint
While a great deal of attention is being focused on the Omicron variant of the COVID virus, the number of deaths and positive tests have been increasing at a rapid rate. We now have 74,209 deaths in the State of California, with 3.6 million cases and 55 deaths daily. This means that we must stop acting as though the pandemic is over. It is not.
We still have a large number of African Americans who refuse to take the vaccine. Those of you in this group, for reasons other than already compromised immune systems, should be reminded that while you might escape being infected by the virus, you can still transmit it to others and in some cases even cause the death of a family member or loved one.
The good news here in San Diego County is that while our positive test rate is up, so is the number of people showing up for the vaccine at the designated sites here in Southeastern San Diego. If you are not taking the vaccine then, at the very least, wear a mask and practice the social distancing outlined before the vaccine became available. The sad truth is that more people have died in 2021 with the availability of the vaccine than in all of 2020 before the vaccine became available. The second sad truth is that here in San Diego County, according to data soon to be released, African Americans and Conservative Whites are the two groups that remain strongly against the vaccine, unless someone close, such as a family member, convinces them otherwise.
Let’s skip the rumors and social media lies, take the vaccine, and live; just as you took all the other vaccines you have had, without objections. We are approaching 800,000 deaths in America. We can change this, in spite of the variants.
