Catharine Hi. I hope you’re doing ok. As you know, I’ve been going back and forth about the purpose of this blog, blah blah blah. Essentially, the crux of it is this: I’m deciding how authentic to be.
So I’m going to go ahead and go with being authentic. I am a female, I am feminine, but I am not going to be so determined to be a people-pleaser that I stay quiet about things that might make people feel threatened or uncomfortable. The whole reason I started blogging to begin with was because I was angry about what I saw Christians doing, was mad that there wasn’t more push-back, and I wanted to contribute to the conversation.
So here we go. Authenticity.
We’re in the middle of a pandemic. Millions of people have died. Over 500,000 people, just in the US, have died. Many more have survived COVID19 infection, and now have potentially debilitating “long-hauler” COVID19 symptoms.
According to this article by WebMD, 23% of COVID19 patients have these long-term symptoms, which can include, among other things:
– pain
-breathing difficulties
-damage to nerve pathways
-fatigue
-malaise
-high blood pressure
-brainfog
-loss of smell
-anxiety
-depression
-adjustment disorders
-tic disorders
I’m sure there are other symptoms that could be attributed to long-haul COVID19 that aren’t specifically mentioned here.
Getting vaccinated is a loving thing to do
Getting vaccinated helps protect you, and the people around you. Though the rates of vaccine effectiveness vary by the vaccine and the strain of COVID19 being measured, there is robust evidence that the vaccines are highly effective at preventing infection and severe disease.
Our society- the functioning of society throughout the entire world- has been turned upside down by this virus. The cost has been immense in loss of human life- broken families, lost partners, sons, daughters, and friends. I shouldn’t need to go into much detail to highlight that people have been suffering over the past year and a half- businesses have had to close, financial suffering has been at a particularly high point for many.
The key to the world MOVING ON from COVID19 is developing herd immunity. Vaccination is the way to get there. The virus has already mutated several times, and people who have had COVID19 before CAN get sick again.
So vaccination protects you individually, protects others who you will come into contact with, some of whom don’t have a choice about being vaccinated due to their health status, or their age (or in many countries, due to lack of vaccine access), and it also benefits society, because it will help us collectively move on from the pandemic.
Getting vaccinated is a loving thing to do.
I know that this issue is complex. It’s true that no vaccine is 100% safe. It’s hard to weigh personal liberties and risks against the rights/needs/risks being taken on by others. In the United States especially, we tend to have a very individualistic view of all things- people make decisions that are based on what’s best for them as an individual, not on what’s best for the group they’re in.
Now, I hesitate to bring in scripture, because I do acknowledge that this is a very personal and complex issue. But for me personally, this speaks to the issue at hand:
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3-4 ESV
What is best for the world? What is best for your neighbor? What is best for your immunocompromised neighbor? For your neighbor who is too young to get vaccinated?
Like I said, it’s a personal issue. But I really feel Christians should take leadership here. We have an opportunity to do something SELFLESS and SELFISH at the same time! It protects you, and others!
If it feels like it’s only selfless, because of fear of side effects…. well, can love be a motivation? Is protection against potential side effects worth the cost to society of continuing a pandemic on and on?
