If you can get vaccinated, please do.
I understand vaccine hesitancy, fears, and the unfortunate (re: tragic and unnecessary) politicization of this virus. I understand that people are busy, that everyday life is hectic enough without having to factor a series of shots into the mix. I especially understand the fear of needles.
But look at what is happening in Texas and Florida right now.
As I write these words (on Aug. 4), Texas is seeing a rise in hospitalizations among people in their 20s and 30s, according to a USA Today report. Some hospitals there are revisiting surge plans and converting parts of their facilities into COVID treatment wards. Others are diverting patients because beds are already full.
Florida had the dubious distinction of having 11,515 people in hospitals with COVID on Tuesday, the state’s largest number yet. In the last week of July, the state had more than 110,000 people test positive for the virus.
No, not all those 11,515 people in hospitals were admitted on the same day. No, nowhere near all 110,000 people who tested positive were seriously ill.
But those 11,515 people are taking medical resources away from other patients: AdventHealth, the largest hospital system in central Florida, is deferring non-emergency surgeries. And all of those 11,515 people are losing time with family and friends. Some will lose their lives. That’s not fear-mongering; it’s reality.
Healthy people can and do get this virus, and some end up hospitalized. Even those with mild symptoms, the people who won’t need to go to a hospital or even to a doctor, can pass the virus along to others, including to people who may be immunocompromised and not shrug it off so easily.
Being vaccinated does not guarantee you won't get COVID, but it does mean your symptoms likely will be mild. Vaccinated people can pass along the virus, something that has surprised researchers; but, again, if the vaccinated pass it to other vaccinated people, those people are far less likely to become seriously ill.
Yes, it’s true that the medical establishment is better at treating coronavirus than they were a year ago. But treatments aren’t always perfect, or pleasant. (Being intubated is nobody’s idea of a party.) Treatment also can’t go back in time and keep an infected person who hasn’t yet shown symptoms from going to work, to a department store or a movie and inadvertently passing along COVID.
Yes, Ohio is a long way from Texas or Florida, both geographically and in terms of infections. But we are seeing an uptick here, concerning enough that in many counties where this column circulates, the CDC is advising that even vaccinated people wear masks indoors.
Yes, masks are a drag. They are hot, uncomfortable and fallible, especially when worn below the nose (and sometimes below the mouth). Yet they are necessary evils. They are also our best defense against COVID spread. Or at least they were — until the vaccine came along.
Recognize that many of the people you see in certain ultra-conservative quarters railing against vaccines are doing so to gain monetized clicks, ratings or notoriety. Many won’t say if they’ve been vaccinated, claiming it’s a HIPAA violation even to ask. (It isn’t.) Consider that their refusal to answer likely means their response is yes, but it’s bad for business — theirs — to acknowledge it.
Also recognize that social-media algorithms send you stories about what you are interested in. So if you search for “vaccine dangers,” you will get more and more stories about vaccine dangers, enough to make those dangers appear much more common than they are. It’s an echo chamber of our own devising.
Admit there is no coordinated plot among the world's elite or anybody else to drive the public toward vaccinations for nefarious ends. The reason for all the begging, pleading, cajoling and incentivizing is because it is in the best interest of all levels of government, business and the public to quell this pandemic. It’s costing us money. It’s costing us lives.
Get facts from reliable sources, not dot-com websites or random healthcare workers who overheard somebody's alleged vaccine horror story in a break room. Don't trust your health to what people say on Facebook or in newspaper columns, including this one.
Talk to a reputable healthcare provider. Ask questions. Ask lots and lots of questions.
If you like what you hear, if the benefits outweigh the risks for your personal situation and for your family, then please roll up a sleeve. You’ll be helping yourself and everybody else, too.
chris.schillig@yahoo.com
@cschillig on Twitter
No comments:
Post a Comment