Reporter editorial: Caring for one another
We’ve been living though a time crowded with urgency on many fronts. A public health emergency has killed more than 400,000 fellow Americans, causing heartbreak and a state of seemingly permanent national mourning. The emergency has hospitalized tens of thousands, and sickened even more.
Our economy is shattered, and along with it, our political system seems to have followed suit, with deep chasms dividing communities, and a politically motivated mob of goons, with America watching, stormed the Capitol, gleefully violating the temple of our republic.
It’s a season of vaccinations, with many Americans waiting for a chance to be inoculated against the killer COVID-19 virus, and it’s the season for flu and shingles vaccinations. Also, schools are calling for students to be inoculated for a host of diseases.
With vaccines, like everything else these days in America, comes controversy fueled by misinformation. It seems absurd to protest vaccinating your kids who are going to school, but there are still those who believe that vaccinations cause autism and other conditions, and there are those who think a state mandate to have all children vaccinated is a gross violation of their human rights .
Harvard University has stated: “Vaccination is widely considered one of the greatest medical achievements of modern civilization. Childhood diseases that were commonplace less than a generation ago are now increasingly rare because of vaccines. In order to be effective at eliminating communicable diseases, vaccines must be administered to sufficient levels of persons in the community. Because of this, public health officials have mandated vaccination for certain diseases as a condition to school attendance. The overwhelming effectiveness of vaccination programs may lead individuals to ignore the benefits of vaccination and focus more on the risk of side effects. Moreover, some have criticized the coercive nature of these programs. These objections may lead to an unacceptably high number of exemptions, which can compromise vaccination programs and leave the population susceptible to outbreaks.”
Vaccinations save lives and prevent serious illnesses to spread. We should follow the guidelines of trusted public health professionals to protect ourselves and others.
Senior citizens should be inoculated against influenza and shingles. And school students should be vaccinated, according to state mandates.
And all of us, when our turn comes and government has sorted out the mess of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, should get our shots.
