In March, I received my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. I spent most of 2020 being extremely careful, as I was pregnant with our second child after a miscarriage the year before. For that reason alone, I was eager for something that would severely limit the effects of the virus. My pro-vaccine exuberance wasn’t shared by all family members or friends, though. Some preferred to wait until more had received it. Others had, or still have, no intention of ever getting the vaccine. In my opinion, these conclusions were and are illogical. As more time passed, I became angry with the type of irritation that one feels when loved ones can make better choices but don’t.
More than a year after the pandemic began, a 40-something member of my immediate family became very sick with COVID-19. While he never had to go to the hospital, he spent almost two weeks struggling with the virus and experiencing a vicious cycle of exhaustion, fever, and memory fog, just to name a few. He is better now but has no desire to relive it.
That ordeal was enough to broach the subject, yet again, with my parents, who had been reluctant about vaccines for months. I was eager to see them avoid COVID-19 altogether. I reached out, asked questions about vaccine status, provided information, and even gently pushed back against talking points they had heard. It took several days, but they finally decided to get vaccinated. After their first shots, they told me, “We’re glad we did it.”
During these stressful, confusing times, our first impulse is often not patience. It is not a desire to have a calm conversation in which listening is involved. And this is even with people close to us. The same applies, in different measures, to acquaintances and strangers. But reaching out and encouraging others to get vaccinated requires understanding. It’s something that I had to work on. It’s something that I had to remind myself of, even as I passionately shared my perspective. Without kindness and compassion, it’s too easy to push others away to where they may become entirely disinterested in a vaccine.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been approximately 37 million cases of COVID-19 in the United States. The number continues to rise. Most (if not all) Americans know one or more individuals who were sick. Some had a relatively easy time with the virus. Others, not so much. In the U.S. alone, there have been more than 623,000 deaths. The virus is real and aggressive. It is neither the flu nor a simple cold, and it should be taken seriously.
The contention surrounding COVID-19 deals almost exclusively with mitigation efforts. Masks are unwanted. Vaccinations are not trusted. The latter provide the best protection, far greater than masks and social distancing. Vaccines are the reason the pandemic is not worse, and they are the reason the unrelenting delta variant hasn’t claimed more lives. Still, there is plenty of skepticism surrounding the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson products.
Many will continue to doubt the vaccines well through the peak of this pandemic and beyond. Those who believe in the proven science behind them are rightly frustrated at those who remain staunchly against them. But resistance to the vaccines shouldn’t be met with unbridled rage. This is not a good tool of persuasion. It does nothing to help the overall effort.
Unlike what the leftist media purports, the unvaccinated are not just white people. As of Aug. 2, white people make up the largest percentage of those who have been vaccinated. Any narrative that claims it’s the MAGA crowd that is to blame is glaringly false. But placing blame on white, black, or brown Americans isn’t the point. The pro-vaccine crowd should encourage everyone to get the vaccine, regardless of political persuasions or tendencies.
There is real reluctance toward new medical interventions, there is distrust of the government and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and there are concerns about long-term effects. These are questions worth asking. And they should be answered. Whether it’s a national pro-vaccine campaign or a discussion with a friend, there is simply no room for anger and shame. Individuals must feel as though they’re worth much more than a partisan talking point.
Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.
