Questioning a catchphrase: ‘Pandemic of the unvaccinated’

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — This summer’s coronavirus surge has been labeled a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” by government officials from President Joe Biden on down. That sound bite captures the glaring reality that unvaccinated people overwhelmingly account for new cases and serious infections. In fact, a recent study of government data showed that hospitalization rates among unvaccinated adults were 17 times higher than among those fully vaccinated. But the term doesn’t appear to be changing hearts and minds among unvaccinated people. And it doesn’t tell the whole story. It fails to acknowledge breakthrough infections among vaccinated people that have led the government to recommend a return to masks as well as booster shots.