(OPINION) – Last summer, when a new, deadly wave of COVID-19 infections gripped the nation, the only solace during that dark time was that a vaccine seemed possible, if not probable, within the year. It was the light in the proverbial tunnel, as distant and weak as it may have appeared at the moment.

We should have reached the end of the tunnel by now, thanks to amazing feats of science and government that developed and mass-produced several COVID-19 vaccines in record time. Yet it’s still agonizingly far away because of falling demand for the abundant and free shots, despite pleas and cash giveaways to nudge vaccine holdouts.

Efforts to educate skeptics about the undeniable benefits of the vaccines must continue, and the social media platforms need to do a better job at cracking down on deliberate misinformation that serves solely to stir up confusion and doubt about the vaccines — or worse.

But meanwhile, the highly contagious Delta variant is driving a scary resurgence of COVID-19 infections across the nation. Cases have risen so quickly in Los Angeles County over the last week that the public health department reinstated the indoor mask mandate for everyone regardless of vaccination status.

Making matters worse are the Republican commentators, activists, and lawmakers who have taken an antagonistic position on vaccines rather than celebrating them as the triumph of the one pandemic initiative for which the former president deserves legitimate bragging rights. READ MORE