Covid’s starkly different impact on the young and old has been one of the virus’s defining characteristics. It tends to be mild for children and younger adults but is often severe for the elderly. More than three-quarters of all U.S. Covid deaths have occurred among people 65 and older.
Given these patterns, it seems obvious that older Americans should be more fearful of Covid than younger Americans. Yet they’re not. That’s one of the striking findings from a new poll that Morning Consult, a survey firm, has conducted for this newsletter. …
A majority of the boosted say they are worried about getting sick from Covid. In truth, riding in a car presents more danger to most of them than the virus does. A majority of the unvaccinated, on the other hand, say they are not particularly worried. The starkest, saddest way to understand the irrationality of this view is to listen to the regret of unvaccinated people who are desperately sick from Covid or who have watched relatives die from it. CONTINUED
David Leonhardt, New York Times
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