Why you really need to be vaccinated

You may have family members or friends who have not been vaccinated yet. Worse, they may not plan to be vaccinated any time soon. That is dangerous for all of us for several reasons: 1) As you can see from the charts below, the longer the virus remains, the more time variants have to develop; 2) Even if we are vaccinated, we may still be vulnerable to existing variants or new ones that may develop; and 3) The longer Covid-19 and its variants remain in our community, the longer our lives will be disrupted,  severely impacted and lost.

Show these charts to your friends and family if they still have doubts.

Variants of Concern

An illustration of the ‘U.K. Variant’ B.1.1.7 variant virus

‘U.K. Variant’ B.1.1.7

  • 70% more transmissible
  • Up to 60% more deadly, but more research needed
  • Vaccines are still effective
  • Unlikely to reinfect people who already had COVID
An illustration of the ‘South Africa Variant’ B.1.351 variant virus

‘South Africa Variant’ B.1.351

  • 50% more transmissible
  • Unknown if it causes more severe disease
  • Some vaccines are less effective
  • Can reinfect people who already had COVID
An illustration of the ‘Brazil Variant’ P.1 variant virus

‘Brazil Variant’ P.1

  • Believed to be more transmissible, but more research needed
  • Unknown if it causes more severe disease
  • Vaccine efficacy is unknown
  • Believed to reinfect people who already had COVID
An illustration of the ‘California Variants’ B.1.427/B.1.429 variant virus

‘California Variants’ B.1.427/B.1.429

  • 20% more transmissible
  • May cause more severe disease, but more research needed
  • Vaccines are likely still effective
  • May be able to reinfect people who already had COVID

This is not meant to scare you; it is meant to inform and educate. Pass it along!