By Kaylee McGhee White, Commentary Writer | The Washington Examiner
Rochelle Walensky, the
director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Even before the
omicron variant, COVID-19 posed little risk of
serious illness or death to the vast majority of the public. Those most at risk
have always been the elderly and others with underlying conditions. But for the
past two years, anyone who has made that point has been accused of downplaying
the crisis and endangering the lives of others.
Walensky, Dr. Rochelle
the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, learned that
the hard way this weekend when she admitted during an interview that 75% of
COVID-19 deaths among vaccinated people occurred in those with four or more
comorbidities, or “people who were unwell to begin with.”
Unsurprisingly,
Walensky was met with the typical “So you want people to die!” refrain, leading
her to offer a halfhearted apology:
Walensky was right the
first time, and her point proves just how important vaccination is for those
with underlying conditions. But I'd also argue that the unvaccinated, as well
as the vaccinated, face minimal risk from COVID-19 if they do not have
comorbidities.
Just look at the death
statistics. Healthy people without serious conditions, regardless of their
vaccination statuses, rarely suffer serious cases of COVID-19. In fact, a
recent study by the CDC found that only 5% of COVID-19 deaths listed the virus
as the only cause of death. That means the other 95% were caused by some other
condition, such as obesity, heart disease, or cancer, along with COVID-19.
The data prove an
immune system that has not been compromised and is taken care of is capable of
withstanding the virus. Those who are at risk are free to take whatever
protective measures they feel are necessary. But everyone else needs to get on
with their lives and stop letting fear of a virus paralyze society.
