I don't know about you, but the pandemic feels like this sneaky vine which I think I've uprooted, and then I look down and find new tendrils wrapped around my ankle. First, and foremost, even vaccinated, I worry about getting the virus. It's not that I think I'm going to be in that teeny, tiny percentage of the vaccinated which wind up with the virus, but it's that I don't trust the unvaccinated to wear masks and social distance.
Here's what I'm talking about: (These statistics come from COVID-Act Now which has been tracking the virus since the beginning in this country. Here's the website: http://covidactnow.org/?s=1075235) I looked at the statistics in three cities with which I'm the most familiar: New York City, Phoenix, and Dallas. New York City: 54% vaccinated with at least one dose. Phoenix: 41 vaccinated with at least one dose. Dallas/Fort Worth: 44% vaccinated with at least one dose. None of these cities is even remotely close to the magic number of 70% vaccinated to achieve herd immunity. Why is herd immunity important? The biggest reason is if we can achieve herd immunity, COVID won't 'linger' in the population becoming a deadly disease which will need to be continually battled year after year.
Have you ever considered WHY people are refusing vaccination? Here are ideas:
(1) Vaccine is 'untested' because it was developed so quickly and is therefore unsafe. FALSE. The speed-up of the development of the coronavirus vaccine had to do with one critical element: $$$$$ provided by governments around the world to tried/true vaccine developers. The vaccine platform was built on significant previous research on coronaviruses which saved years of developmental time. Multiple approaches to developing different types of vaccines were funded concurrently. Testing was fast-tracked using thousands of volunteers. It quickly became obvious among these volunteers their adverse reactions were so minimal the vaccine was safe. Today, the only people who might hesitate to get vaccinated are: (1) People with compromised immune systems. (2) Pregnant women & nursing mothers.
(2) Getting vaccinated is inconvenient. It's hard to find the vaccine. It takes hours to actually get vaccinated. FALSE. While both of these arguments might have had credence in the first six months of the vaccine availability, today that is no longer the case. Here's how hard it is to get vaccinated: WALK INTO YOUR LOCAL DRUGSTORE or DOC IN THE BOX AND GET VACCINATED.
(3) I don't think I'm going to get sick, and if I do, so what? Mostly, it's just inconvenient to get COVID 19. FALSE. This twist of the coronavirus was unknown until it began to spread exponentially. It's taken over a year to collect data about what happens to the body when you contract COVID 19 and how it works inside the body. What is known NOW is: (a) more and more long term effects are being documented. These include stroke, blood clots, cognitive problems, excessive long lasting fatigue, organ compromise, and a host of other problems - including loss of smell and taste. These adverse effects can last months. Some variety of long term effects seem to be showing up in about a third of people who contract the virus. And, these are adverse effects of having the virus among people who 'recovered'. The effects on the body of having COVID 19 are much more dangerous than effects of the vaccine.
(4) There was a concerted effort to downplay the necessity of everyone working together to combat COVID 19. TRUE. This pandemic has been the biggest crisis our country has faced since World War II. It has, in effect, been a world war. As a country we have failed. We've failed to protect one another. (We are approaching 600,000 dead of the virus.) We've failed to see ourselves as citizens banding together and thus failed in our civic obligations on lots of levels. (Mask? No Mask?) What does wearing one hurt? Nothing. If wearing a mask saves one other person from contracting the virus, isn't their life as important as yours? Masking should never have been politicized. We have not accepted the idea that we are our neighbors' keeper during this crisis. It's known there's a significant infection period during which there are no symptoms. Social distancing protects everyone. How ironic it is in a nation which likes to define itself as 'Christian' we refuse to protect the people around us because of the cult of selfishness. Me, me, me and to hell with everyone else.
