Want a normal school year? Get vaccinated to help keep COVID delta variant at bay

For a while, the triumph of the coronavirus vaccines helped COVID-19 fade to the background.

But it’s back. The mutated version of the virus known as the delta variant is spreading, and it’s moving fast. We’re unlikely to go back to shutdowns and severe restrictions, but the rise in cases and Tarrant County’s slow progress on vaccinations should concern us all.

Here’s one reason why: The new school year is just more than a month away.

No one wants to contemplate more virtual learning or campuses closing or curtailing classes because too many teachers are sick or possibly exposed. But given how efficiently the delta variant travels among the unvaccinated, it may take a significant bump in inoculations — particularly among young people — to avoid either or both.

By nearly every measure, Tarrant County is lagging in vaccinations. As of Wednesday, fewer than half of eligible residents were fully vaccinated, well behind both the national and statewide rates.

And it’s worse in our more rural neighboring counties. In Parker County, about 39% of those eligible have full vaccination; in Johnson County, it’s 37.5%.

The impact of that becomes clearer as the delta variant spreads. Cases and hospitalizations, while not alarming or anywhere near their peak earlier in the pandemic, are headed in the wrong direction in all these areas. Serious illness is on the rise when it doesn’t have to be.

WHY THE VACCINES ROCK

Let there be no doubt about the advantages of vaccination. Nearly all of the COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. now are people who weren’t vaccinated. With any of the available shots, you’re unlikely to get sick, almost certain to stay out of the hospital if you do, and virtually guaranteed not to die.

And the protection isn’t just for you: The vaccinated are much less likely to spread the virus (though it’s not impossible).

The problem in the first few months of the vaccine rollout was availability. It took patience and a little luck to find an available shot. But that’s no longer the issue; virtually every pharmacy has vaccines ready to go, if not on a walk-in basis then certainly by appointment. There’s no cost. Free rides, if needed, are available.

The problem remains persuasion, among those who fear side effects and long-term issues and those who don’t think they’re particularly vulnerable.

A recent poll of Texans indicates concern about possible problems are keeping many from getting inoculated. In the Dallas Morning News/University of Texas at Tyler survey, about a third of those not yet vaccinated cited side effects as the reason. Persuading them will take a persistent message: that hundreds of millions of doses have been distributed with precious few serious problems. Trusted public figures, doctors and clergy should be deployed to spread the word and vouch for their own experience with the vaccine.

RISKS TO YOUNG PEOPLE

Among young people and the parents of teenagers, hesitancy makes sense. Even if they recognize there’s not much risk of side effects, they also know there’s not much chance of serious illness among children and young adults, either. New U.K. research revealed Thursday indicates that death and major illness are even less likely than originally thought.

But that may not always be true if the virus continues to mutate. And the more people available to transport the virus, the more chance of an outbreak. That’s exactly what we don’t want to see in schools. And not just the classroom — children need the full range of school life again, including athletics, dances and other extracurricular activities. The more vaccinations are done, the more likely those events can go forward.

Right now, everyone 12 and older can receive the vaccine. Odds are, younger children will be eligible before the end of the year. Let’s start spreading the word now that vaccination is a good idea for these age groups, too.