August 12, 2021

Despair Not! Vaccination Rates Continue to Rise.

More Americans are now vaccinated than not.

A nurse administers a COVID-19 vaccine to a kid at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing and vaccination site at Barnett Park in Orlando.Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty

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Even as the highly transmissible Delta variant rampages through the country, there’s a bit of good news: As of last week, more people in the United States are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 than unvaccinated. Vaccination rates are finally on a rise again after a slump in the summer months of June and July.

The Delta variant has been causing a surge in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths across the country, and public health experts have observed that areas with high vaccination rates are better protected than areas where few people are vaccinated.

The reason behind the recent uptick in vaccinations are many: Former anti-vaxxers who have become seriously ill with the virus are now urging people to get vaccinated. Vaccine mandates are becoming more common: Hospitals, government agencies, and large private companies such as McDonalds are requiring vaccinations for employees. New York City has started asking people to show proof of vaccination to dine indoors, go to gyms and entertainment venues.

As experts point out, kids have a higher a chance of being protected when adults around them are vaccinated.

If you're one of the many Americans who recently got vaccinated, we want to hear your story. You can share it here. 

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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