Compiled by Haley Wilson
We asked Birmingham-area residents, What are your thoughts about the Delta variant?
TAMIKO KIMBROUGA: “I’m more fearful of people than the actual COVID because people are not going to do what they’re supposed to do…That’s scarier than the actual COVID itself. Do I feel safer this year than I did last year? No, I’ve never felt safe. I don’t feel safe last year, I don’t feel safe this year. I am vaccinated… but at the same time I don’t think it matters. It’s a vaccination not a cure. I think it wouldn’t spread as much, if people took it more seriously than they are.”
DANIELLE JOHNSON: “It’s very serious. You don’t want to wait for it to knock at your door to take precautions. Everything that you do affects everybody else, so everybody has to get involved and decide that we’re going to do certain practices to be safe. It should not be politically motivated, this is health, this is life or death. . . these are individuals.”
FRANCES MCNEAL: “I was pretty concerned when I first learned about it and I’m still concerned now. I’m vaccinated, I’ve been vaccinated for about three months now, but I understand that that’s not going to prevent me from catching the virus . . . Not a lot of people are wearing their mask, so it does concern me that I could possibly catch it even though I’ve done all of the correct protocols.”
SHEQUITA WILLIAMS: “I’m 100 percent more worried than I was last year . . .Yes, we have a vaccine, but not everyone is getting it and you don’t really know who has gotten it and who doesn’t. It’s crazy to me to be in a full pandemic that’s way worse than it was last year and leave it up to people to make their own decision about it. That’s honestly really scary.
