According to researchers at John Hopkins University viruses mutate frequently, a structural change that is part of the virus life cycle. It enables them to become more transmissible and virulent. We are now experiencing this with the Delta variant. It is twice as transmissible, and perhaps more virulent, than the original COVID-19 germ. In the last two weeks of July, between 80 and 87 percent of all new U.S. cases (92,000) were caused by the Delta variant. The hospitalized were predominately unvaccinated.
The Good: As of this writing over three quarters of American adults (77 percent) have either gotten the vaccine or say they are likely to, up 2 points from mid-July, with the number of Americans who say they will not get the vaccine declining to 15 percent.
Equally good, among the unvaccinated, approximately half say an employer mandate or a raise or bonus for vaccinations would convince them to get the shot. After the federal government made the decision to require its employees to receive the vaccine, private companies began following suit. United Airlines, Tyson Chicken, Microsoft, Uber, DoorDash, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Walmart, and more are requiring their employees to be vaccinated; some provide cash bonuses for doing so.