I continue to see people on social media declaring they have no intention of accepting the coronavirus vaccine, yet those are the same people droning on about having to wear masks and not being allowed to party.
I’m not a fan of having to wear a mask myself, but I do it because it makes others around me feel better and because I know businesses are well within their rights to deny service to anyone at their leisure. I also don’t believe we should be shutting down any businesses or schools, having already missed so much time at the beginning of the pandemic.
But to those of you who are against a vaccine, I suggest you just play the game and get it done because it’s the only way this mass hysteria is going to come to an end. If you’re tired of all of the extra stuff you’ve had to put up with since March, the key to return to our regular society is through the vaccine.
Once people are vaccinated, everything is going to open back up to normal. Even if, for whatever reason, you believe the vaccine to be ineffective or some sort of hoax, it is the only way our normalcy returns. If there are too many holdouts, our regular society won’t return as fast as it could. I don’t need to tell anyone how much a return to normalcy would mean.
According to various reports from outlets on both sides of the political spectrum, vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are expected to at least be 90% effective. If 90% of the people who get vaccinated can no longer be infected, we will be in the clear and will have reached herd immunity. But that only happens if the majority of Americans get vaccinated.
I understand some people’s concerns. Most vaccines are tested for years before they are released to the public, and there are people out there who believe vaccines can be linked to conditions like Autism. The coronavirus vaccine has only been in development for less than a year, and the testing has only taken place over the course of six months. That’s not a whole lot of time to know for sure exactly what the vaccine will do or what its potential long-term effects could be.
However, the scientists and doctors who developed the vaccine are a heck of a lot smarter than you and I. They wouldn’t release it to the public without being sure that it will work. The people leading the charge against the vaccine are conspiracy theorists who have mastered the art of manipulation through scare tactics and make people believe untrue horrors. Why would you willingly accept a prescription from a doctor but not accept a vaccine? That’s hypocritical.
The vaccination will start being dispersed within weeks to healthcare workers and the most vulnerable populations. Those living in assisted living facilities definitely need to be among the first wave with about 40% of the deaths in U.S. coming from such places. As more vaccinations arrive, they will be made readily available to the public. For the average Joe, the timeframe for having access to the vaccine will likely be around February or March.
Hopefully, that’s enough time for people to realize that the vaccine is our only option to getting back to hope, back to work, back to school and back to our way of life.
Joshua Campbell is sports editor of The Columbian-Progress. Reach him via email at joshuacampbell@columbianprogress.com or call (601) 736-2611.
