Who can't and who won't get vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus makes for a developing story. Fears and hopes morph, new virus variants cloud the picture, new age groups become eligible, and employers begin to impose requirements. Peer pressure and the opinions of trusted advisors are in play.

The infection numbers are down. Though the charts show a slowing rate of vaccinations, many people are okay with it. Summer is here, and all feel safer from Covid than they have in more than a year. It's not herd immunity, but the vaccinated ones, at least, have been told they can unmask and pretty much go where they want to, at least within the U.S. It has been about six weeks since that word was official, and so far, so good.

Loss of the communal sense of emergency is relaxing for nerves and blood pressure, but it would be unsafe to forget that about half of Americans have not been vaccinated. Among adults that breaks down roughly into those who have access but no interest and those who might welcome vaccination if they knew they could get it. Public health officials keep trying friendly persuasions for the reluctant and friendly incursions into urban and rural areas where underserved people may live.

For children and teenagers, the situation is more complex. Under 12 is not yet eligible for any vaccine. Twelve and up can take the Pfizer two-shot dosage. But under 18 cannot, in many states, be vaccinated without parental consent. In Connecticut, they can schedule an appointment — for themselves or for elders not adept with online registration — but when a minor shows up for the shots, the healthcare provider needs to see evidence of parental consent.

Many parents say they hesitate to encourage or allow their 12- to 18-year-old children to get the vaccine, although they themselves may have received it without a problem. Muddying the picture even further is what their kids think. The thing about teenagers is, they have opinions.

The New York Times reported last week that a small but noticeable number of teens want to take the Pfizer vaccine they are eligible to receive but don't have parental consent. The teenagers said they are tired of missing the things their vaccinated friends do together, weary of being uninvited to parties when friends hear that they aren't vaccinated. It's easy to imagine that when school starts, the social chasm between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated will be even wider.

Parents naturally want to protect their children from the risks of the unknown, so some choose to wait till others have had the shots without side effects. Other parents, with the same protective gene, worry every day that they can't get their children vaccinated. For parents of the under-12 age group, there's been no assurance of when or if that will happen.

But it is the goal. Vaccinating millions of children and teenagers counts in the math calculated to achieve the level of immunity that would effectively stop the Covid curse. Not everyone must be vaccinated, but most people must. We do not yet have an all-clear.

Connecticut does not have a general vaccine mandate. However, Governor Lamont has announced that he will not be lifting the mandate to wear masks at school. They are no substitute for vaccination, but at least masks add a layer, preferably three layers, of protection.

By the time schools reopen at the end of August, health officials will know more about the risks created by the so-called Delta variant of the Covid virus, including whether it affects young people more easily or more seriously than earlier variants. It takes four weeks to be counted as fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. This is the time for parents and teenagers to consider what school, sports and social life will be like, not only for themselves but for their friends and teachers, without vaccination.

No one wants the 2021-2022 academic year to be anything like the two that have gone before it.

The Day editorial board meets with political, business and community leaders to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larraneta, Owen Poole, copy editor, and Lisa McGinley, retired deputy managing editor. The board operates independently from The Day newsroom.