Thread by @washingtonpost

Coronavirus infections are dropping where people are vaccinated, rising where they are not, Post analysis finds wapo.st/3gnWNsk

As recently as 10 days ago, vaccination rates did not predict a difference in coronavirus cases, but immunization rates have diverged, and case counts in the highly vaccinated states are dropping quickly. wapo.st/3gnWNsk

Experts worry that unvaccinated people are falling into a false sense of security as more transmissible variants can rapidly spread in areas with a high concentration of unvaccinated people who have abandoned masking and social distancing. wapo.st/3gnWNsk

Local public health officials fear the public is tuning out the danger as they see news reports of cratering infections and scenes of reopened bars and entertainment venues across the nation, assuming vaccinations are no longer necessary.

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Some public health officials have resigned themselves to the reality that many in their community will not budge on shots.

“We know the risk is still out there,” said Keith Reed, deputy health commissioner in Oklahoma, where 54 percent of adults have received at least one dose.

The broader slowdown in vaccinations may be a sign that the U.S. cannot vaccinate its way to safety from new virus variants, said Neha Agarwal, associate director of diagnostics at PATH, a global health equity nonprofit.
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