Do you adults remember when, as a youngster, you did something wrong and made up excuses to attempt to shirk your responsibility? For example, after you got your license, you missed curfew by a good hour, and you gave your parents an excuse like your car ran out of gas or your watch stopped running or your friend who lived a good distance away desperately needed a ride home.
All of these excuses were lies and your folks didn't buy any of them, did they? In fact, you knew you were solely at fault and you already knew no amount of storytelling would convince your mom and dad of your innocence. But, you just had to make excuses to try to get out of trouble.
In the end, you wound up paying for your mistake. Rightly so – you had been trusted with new and important responsibilities as a young adult.
Plus, you probably suffered a great loss of confidence from your parents for your irresponsible deceit. They knew all along what Judge Judy professes to know about the propensity of youth in trouble when she says: “You know how I can tell if a teenager is lying? When his or her mouth moves.”
Right now, I feel like a parent dealing with an immature child – I'm sick of hearing excuses and sob stories and downright lies from people about COVID-19. It's time to call the perpetrators to task and have them face responsibility – the anti-vaxxers and the non-compliant individuals simply need to grow up. They must vaccinate and follow health recommendations to help stop the spread of the virus. And, for the sake of everyone, they must do so NOW.
Here in Scioto County, we are facing a new surge of infections. Things are serious. People's health and welfare are at stake. Especially in jeopardy are older adults and those with long-term, serious health problems. The delta variant is driving the latest surge to alarming numbers. The blame rests squarely upon the unvaccinated.
On September 12, The New York Times's site tracking coronavirus in Scioto County, Ohio, reported that cases here have increased recently and are extremely high. The numbers of hospitalized Covid patients and deaths in the Scioto County area have also risen.
The Times also reported the test positivity rate in Scioto County is very high, suggesting that cases are being significantly undercounted. Because of high spread, the C.D.C. recommends that even vaccinated people wear masks here. In a rural county of 75,000 people, the daily average of those infected is 103 with a 14-day change of +60%.
All of this has caused the local hospital, the Southern Ohio Medical Center in Portsmouth, to post a dire warning on social media:
“This is an announcement we never wanted to make: Our ICU is at capacity. The lack of hospital beds is due to an influx of COVID-19 patients. SOMC is concerned about the lack of resources for non-COVID patients.
“The dramatic increase in COVID hospitalizations means there may not be a bed available for those who wake up with chest pains. Or those who suffer a stroke. Or those involved in a car crash.
“We are being stretched to the breaking point. The community can help by getting vaccinated, wearing a mask, and social distancing.”
(Jennifer Bowers ‘Our ICU is at capacity’: Southern Ohio Medical Center posts alert.” NBC 4 Columbus. September 12, 2021.)
On September 13, The Ohio Department of Health reported in the “COVID-19 Dashboard” that the average county vaccination is 43.12% of people in Scioto County. (Individuals who have received at least one dose.)
(State of Ohio COVID-19 Dashboard. Ohio Department of Health. September 13, 2021.)
Now, it's time for some cold, hard truth about the vaccine. You know, the parent talk … the lecture … the shameful “facing up to facts.”
In my mind, I can hear my dear, departed father: “Listen up, kid, and listen up good.” When I heard these words, I knew the message was direct, serious, and timely. I also knew any disagreement with my dad's directives would not be tolerated. In other words, what I was going to be told was set in stone, and I was to do exactly as I was told.
Here is the fatherly directive I have for people in this global pandemic.
What happened to Americans concerning the COVID-19 epidemic was political. The public was poisoned by partisanship. Simple life-saving recommendations and regulations like masking and social distancing somehow became political statements, and a large group of Americans responded in defiance when they were told how serious the virus had become and what to do to stop the spread.
Everyone hated that businesses and schools and almost the entire economy shut down because of the pandemic. But, one group of malcontents chose to turn their hatred upon others – to butt heads with their political opponents over compliance. These people chose to employ the excuse of “individualism” over any concerns of public safety even to the point of flirting with death. They selfishly called their political stance “individual rights” and rebelled against every simple safety measure. They even doubted the existence of the virus and likened its symptoms to those of the flu.
Then came the vaccine, a potential savior and game changer. The simple truth is that much of this present-day suffering could have been avoided if all Americans eligible for the vaccine – pretty much every adult at this point – had simply chosen to be vaccinated. But the self-proclaimed “individuals” didn’t. And, they still haven't. They are too dug in, too committed to the lies and the conspiracies and the rhetoric.
These anti-vaxxers continue to cling to their stubborn resistance. Large numbers of conservative, Evangelical, and rural Americans – many in Scioto County – have decided that remaining unvaccinated is a statement of identity and a test of loyalty. The people who have done “the right thing” by getting vaccinated now face the dire consequences of these political dissidents who have done “the wrong thing.”
So, here we are – stuck somewhere in the gap of America's vaccine response along with the uncommitted and the variants. The future remains uncertain.
Some say compassion should be the first reaction to those hesitant to take the vaccine. That may have been true for a while; however now “personal responsibility” is the only operative phrase. After all, it is they who have decided to inflict preventable and unjustifiable harm on their fellow neighbors, family, friends, and community.
I, for one, am tired of taking extra precautions in an impossible attempt to “make up” for these people's irresponsible actions. I can't mask, distance, and vaccinate enough to protect myself and others from their defiance and indifference.
The current anti-vaccine movement has become a part of the Republican mainstream. It is continually fed by misinformation, conspiracy theories, and the lies of misguided leaders who put it in a bundle with gun rights and right-to-life beliefs while labeling the virus as God’s will, a natural process, or even a way of strengthening a child’s immune system.
Charles M. Blow, opinion columnist for The New York Times, sums it all up nicely …
“It is a luxury to be irresponsible in a society where others will be responsible for you, where you simply assume that you are safer because others take the appropriate precautions to be safe: You do not need to get the shot because others have.
“But the Delta variant is testing that faith.
“You will not be safe as an unvaccinated person riding on the coattails of the vaccinated. Delta is extremely transmissible and unremitting. It is stronger than its progenitor.
“As the Delta variant surges, there is an uptick in the pace of vaccinations in the country. It’s almost like religion: Many disbelievers will call out to whatever god there may be when the reaper is at the door. Fear of ideological defeat is no match for the fear of imminent death. And yet, it shouldn’t have taken another surge of sickness and death for good sense to set in.
“Why were Americans turning away a vaccine that many people in other parts of the world were literally dying for? Many did so because of their fidelity to the lie and their fidelity to the liar. They did it because they were – and still are – slavishly devoted to Trump, and because many politicians and conservative commentators helped Trump propagate his lies.”
(Charles M. Blow. “Anti-Vax Insanity.” The New York Times. August 08, 2021.)
The majority – over 50% of the people in my rural, God-fearing, Republican-voting county not only are putting their own lives at risk by refusing to vaccinate, but they are also threatening the lives of all other people – both those who think like them and those who believe in science.
“So, Junior, get your little ass down to the health department, roll up your sleeve, and take your medicine. No one is putting up with any more of your ignorant 'I got rights' horseshit and your other unbelievable excuses for noncompliance. You have put our doctors’ and nurses’ ability to take care of other sick folks in jeopardy far too long. Do it because I'm done with listening to your lies.”
“And, by the way, while you're getting your shots, text or call all of your anti-vaxxer buddies and tell them that you will no longer be a part of their group. After all, you're a responsible adult now and those so-called 'individuals' are making juvenile, risky decisions that could just cost you your life. You deserve better companions … you know, vaccinated, responsible friends.”
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