How much longer do we have to wear masks?
Based on the current rate of infection of over 150,000 new cases of COVID-19 per day in the U.S., there will be 15 million people who will contract the disease in the next 100 days.
At that rate of infection, it will take 566 days for all 85 million who have not been vaccinated to contract the disease.
Which means in two years or less, everyone in the United States will either be vaccinated or will have gotten COVID-19.
And many will die unnecessarily, including school-aged children and young adults.
This doomsday scenario can get worse if the infection rate increases and we reach critical mass sooner.
On the other hand, things could get better if more people get vaccinated.
On Aug. 23, there were 233,000 cases of COVID-19 infection reported in the United States, and the FDA released its approval of the Pfizer vaccine.
How this will affect the rate of infection in the future time will tell, but as long as there are unvaccinated people, the virus will continue to spread.
What can people who have been vaccinated do but wait it out?
We can get a booster shot and simply wear masks when out in public until everyone is either vaccinated or has become immune because they have become infected.
In the end, time is on the side of those who get vaccinated.
David Moe
Port Townsend