We don't need no stinkin' facts

The most recent stats available from the CDC show that boosted adults are about as protected as people can be from Covid-related deaths. Get this, as of November (it's frustrating how long it takes to compile this data, I know) the chances of death for an American who is boosted is ONE in a million. 

The chances of death in a car accident are 2.4 in a million. The average death rate from the flu is 3 in a million. 

For rational humans, this is great news (about the benefits of a booster shot) and we should be in the midst of a national celebration.

BUT. Here's a chart produced by Kaiser:

Think about this. Nearly two-thirds of Republican voters are not boosted and the rate for Independents is not a lot better.

Um, wow! If this is not evidence of our partisan wackiness, I don't know what is. 

At this point, I have figuratively thrown up my hands about finding some way past this bizarre approach to statistics and vaccines and common sense. Hundreds of thousands of our neighbors have died and more will die, and a FREE and easily available vaccine could have prevented so much pain and heartbreak.

I would like to think that these stats would be the lead story on every news broadcast and in every print newspaper and on social media... and no commentary or interpretation of the facts should be needed. Just put the raw data out there and let people draw conclusions.

But the battle lines have been drawn and reason is NOT winning.

For students and for writers of all ages attempting to make sense of the world, this is depressing news.

A last observation from the data: Democrats -- particularly under age 40 -- are still way overestimating their chances of death from the virus, and that brings its own poor choices.

So our long winter of discontent marches on.