It’s not the financial haves and the have-nots. Well, not quite.

It is more of the tale of the believers (in the COVID-19 vaccine) and those who, for whatever reason, continue to decline it.

According to David Leonhardt of the New York Times, regarding COVID-19, “the U.S. looks increasingly like two different countries.”

There is stark evidence that puts people who refuse to get the vaccine more at risk.

Bloomberg recently reported that vaccination efforts in the U.S. have slowed in no small part because of rejection by Americans who live in right-leaning states, where conspiracy theories and false information hobble inoculations. With the fast-spreading delta variant of the virus widespread and deadly, according to the news source, infections, hospitalizations and deaths are increasing.

According to Carl P. Leubsdorf of the Dallas Morning News, “losers will be those Americans who, for whatever reason, choose not to get the shots. As a result, they are increasing the likelihood they and those around them will suffer from the virus — or die from it — when most of the country is living a COVID-19-free future.”

Leonhardt writes that the spread of the delta variant in relatively unvaccinated parts of the U.S. is getting worse.

Nationwide, the number of new COVID-19 cases is holding steady, according to Leonhardt.

“But that steadiness hides two dueling realities, in two different Americas,” he writes.

The New York Times noted that in many urban and suburban communities, with a higher rate of vaccination, COVID-19 continues to plummet. The rate of new daily cases has fallen below three per 100,000 residents in large cities such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington. As a point of comparison, the national rate of new daily cases peaked last winter above 75 per 100,000 people.

But in less populated areas — which tend to be more politically conservative and skeptical of vaccines — the virus is surging, largely from the contagious delta variant. The states with the worst outbreaks are Arkansas and Missouri (each with more than 16 new daily cases per 100,000 people) followed by Florida (10), Nevada (10), Wyoming (nine) and Utah (eight).

The reports are crystal-clear: states with lower vaccination rates have more COVID-19 deaths.

In Butler County, according to state data, 91,612 people out of 187,000 living in the county are fully vaccinated. Partially vaccinated number 9,956. Be sure to get your second shot.

For the thousands who haven’t gotten the vaccine, please consider your life and the lives of those you hold dear, and roll up your sleeves.

All Pennsylvanians age 12 and older are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Getting the vaccine is free and easy to do. It very well may protect your life and others.

– AA