US surge called ‘pandemic of the unjabbed’

This summer's coronavirus resurgence has been labelled a "pandemic of the unvaccinated" by US government officials from President Joe Biden on down. The sound bite captures the glaring reality that unvaccinated people overwhelmingly account for new cases and serious infections in the US, with a recent study of government data showing that hospitalisation rates among unvaccinated adults were 17 times higher than among those fully vaccinated.

But the term doesn't appear to be changing hearts and minds among unvaccinated people. And it doesn't tell the whole story, with some breakthrough infections occurring among the fully vaccinated. That's led health officials to recommend a return to masks and a round of booster shots.

"It is true that the unvaccinated are the biggest driver, but we mustn't forget that the vaccinated are part of it as well, in part because of the Delta variant," said Dr Eric Topol, professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California. "The pandemic clearly involves all people, not just the unvaccinated." Topol points to Louisiana, where data from the state suggest that nearly 10% of hospitalised patients are vaccinated. Branding it "a pandemic of the unvaccinated" could have the unintended consequence of stigmatising the unvaccinated, he added. "We should not partition them as the exclusive problem," Topol said.

Until very recently, Biden's handling of the pandemic was seen as a solid strength. But the August edition of the APNORC poll found flashing warnings for the president. Approval of his Covid-19 response fell by 12 percentage points from July, down from 66% to 54%. It was the lowest Covid-19 approval rating for Biden.

Among independents, there was a nearly 30 percentage point drop in approval.