This is a concept that many within the Western world are seemingly unable to grasp: vaccines work in the same way as clothes, and while they offer great protection from the elements once new, with wear and tear and exposure, they become ineffective at keeping our bodies protected.
Considering that 22.4% of the world has received at least one dose of the vaccine, with only .9% of people in low-income countries receiving at least 1 dose as of today*, our vaccines are like that cute piece of fast fashion that you know will only last a few washes, but yet we ignorantly believe will last a year *at least*.🤦🏻♀️
Because it physically can’t: it’s only made for a set purpose (a few cute nights out), just like our vaccines, made for specific variants with the hope that its protection will last for yet newer variants.
And while the required doses of each vaccine are protective against severe illness, the more we wear out its purpose and expose it to new elements not explicitly aligned with its need (variants created through international travel, ceasing masking indoors, etc.), the more we’ll need to patch the holes or altogether get a new outfit.
The global population is less than a quarter vaccinated, but yet the Western world tells us that our masks and travel bans aren’t necessary.
That’s like a fast fashion company telling us that their clothes are made of quality textiles - when they know otherwise - simply because they have a bottom-line to uphold and don’t care about the long-term use, so long as consumers are convinced in the short-term to purchase.
So while you and your friends are vaccinated and feeling confident dining indoors with one another (and strangers) maskless, I urge you to remember that for each person doing so, and until international travel is halted, your vaccine is coming undone and your maskless actions only make you (and all of us) in need of enhanced protection, and sooner.
If you wouldn’t wear shoes with holes in them when your goal is to protect your feet, then why would you pretend that your vaccine isn’t forming holes with each maskless citizen, when we’re nowhere near global immunity?
*www.ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations