Now with the Delta variant ravaging our South Mississippi population, Memorial Hospital’s re-established drive-through Harrison County clinics are testing up to 500 patients a day for COVID. Most have symptoms. About a third are testing positive. This includes some who are fully vaccinated, but mostly those who have not taken the jabs.
Out of curiosity, I sometimes ask these patients why they didn’t get vaccinated, and get a slew of answers, some valid, most less so. “I’ve known a lot of people who took the vaccine and got sick.” “It doesn’t really prevent the infection.” “If I take the vaccine, I know I’ll have a bad reaction, while if I don’t get the jab, I may never get sick.”
I understand hesitancy. Yes, those with the vaccine still can get sick … just not nearly as sick. While the unvaccinated make up about 60% of our population, of those ill enough to require hospitalization, over 95% are from the unvaccinated. And while it’s true the unvaccinated might not catch the virus, this version is much more infectious than the alpha, so that even being in a room after someone with the virus has left may be enough to catch it.
Some respond to my queries by saying this vaccine is experimental. That’s inaccurate. It did receive emergency authorization, but that’s not the same thing as experimental. Before receiving approval by the FDA, the vaccines underwent vigorous testing and large clinical trials. They are emergency drugs for our emergency epidemic, but are not experimental.
Some tell me it’s not really a vaccine because it doesn’t prevent the disease. This also is inaccurate. A vaccine is a product that stimulates a person’s immune process. All of the currently approved COVID vaccines do just that, they stimulate a person’s immune system so that if they do come in contact with the virus, they will mount a more robust response, lessening the disease. No vaccine, let me repeat that, NO VACCINE is 100% effective. They’re not meant to be. They’re just supposed to help, and this one certainly does.
Certain agencies now require vaccination. The City of New York and the State of California are requiring health care workers to show proof of vaccination or mandatory weekly testing. The U.S. Veterans Hospital system is going further, requiring vaccination in order to work in their hospital system. Many businesses, such as United Airlines, Cisco, Facebook, and Tyson foods are telling their employees to get vaccinated or lose their jobs.
Yet, many will still refuse to get the jab for the reasons mentioned above, or for other personal motivations. We can’t make them. We won’t make them. How then to stop this pandemic?
Easy. Just wear a mask. Whether one is vaccinated or not, wearing a mask whenever inside with other people will prevent the spread of the virus. Those plexiglass shields don’t do it. Being vaccinated doesn’t do it, as even vaccinated people can catch, carry, and spread the virus. Those with masks do not spread the virus and will decrease their chance of catching it. The CDC guidelines urge even fully vaccinated people living in hot spots to wear a mask while indoors.
Over the past fourteen months I’ve been working COVID testing centers, COVID vaccination facilities, and walk-in clinics with COVID patients. I’ve been face-to-face with thousands of people at work and in my personal life. I wear a mask. I haven’t gotten infected.
This week I played pickleball at an indoor facility with about forty other participants. I was the only one wearing a mask. When I go into any store, when I answer my doorbell at home, when I take a walk in the neighborhood and stop to talk to a neighbor, I wear my mask.
Protect yourself and others from COVID. It’s simple to do. Wear a mask.
