The Kangra Fort in India, which was first attacked in 470 A.D., has withstood 52 assaults over the centuries. That’s the kind of resilience we could all aspire to.

One way to achieve that is by getting the COVID-19 vaccine. If you are vaccinated and then have a breakthrough case of the virus, you can withstand an assault not just from the virus (you're very likely to have mild symptoms, stay out of the hospital, and certainly not die), but down the road you are also protected from onset of mental disorders, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

A study published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases looked at the medical records of more than 1.5 million people who had contracted COVID-19. They found that for each group of 1,000 people, around seven who had been vaccinated developed heart disease in the 90 days following their infection, while more than 20 of the unvaccinated people did.

Around six vaccinated folks and more than 25 unvaccinated reported symptoms of mental disorders within 90 days. And the incidence of diabetes was around three and half times greater for unvaccinated than vaccinated people.

In addition, the vaccinated people dodged long COVID-19 symptoms and cut their risk of death.

With the announcement in mid-May that we have hit 1 million COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., I hope that moving forward all people who are qualified (by age and medical health) get the vaccine and get boosted. I have.