COVID-19 Vaccine: The Great Divide
July 29, 2021
Shana Harter
My family has been quarantined for (by the time the paper comes out) 12 days now with more time to serve. I sure am tired of it. We have had our fair share of quarantine since this all began. Three out of five of us have had COVID-19 since it started in the spring of 2020. This round has certainly quashed several summer plans we had.
I had COVID last fall. While it was a relatively mild case, I still have some lasting effects from it. A week and a half ago, Matt and I got our first shot of the vaccine. We were late to the game, but I feel better knowing that we finally arrived.
At first, I felt like I needed to hide it out of fear of judgment. We didn’t go into this lightly. I researched it. I prayed about it. I stand by my choices, and I honestly now wish we had changed our minds sooner.
The only things I know for sure come from my faith, from my experiences being in the media, and from those, within my trusted circle who work in healthcare. From those resources, I can say this:
God has my back and will see my family through anything.
Even though I have faith in God, I still use science. Just like I did when my son Braden was born 3.5 months premature, just like we did when my dad and my brother-in-law had cancer. Just like we all do. We use science every day when we see the doctor for a whole host of other ailments. We use science when we use our computers, even by using a weather forecast.
God brought me through COVID-19 last year - he can also protect me from the vaccine’s side effects. We’ve been using healthcare and God together throughout the ages. We always have and still can continue to rely on God’s protection while using science.
We have arrived at the point every one of us knows someone (probably many people) personally that have had COVID-19. I doubt seriously that it’s a stretch at all to say we all know someone (probably several) who died of COVID-19.
I know that my friends in healthcare attest to the fact that with this surge, the vast majority of critical cases and deaths from COVID-19 are unvaccinated. Not all of them, but almost all of them. The vaccine is not 100% nor ever claimed to be.
Over the weekend, Springfield hospitals saw nearly 30 deaths this weekend from COVID-19.
This new Delta variant is evil. It’s snatching people from us who are my age (50) and younger.
It’s reaching into that age group that thinks they are invincible (20’s). I know a set of twins in their early 20’s who have both been hospitalized this month from COVID-19. I see people in their 30’s and 40’s hanging on to the fact that the last wave didn’t affect them much- this wave is different.
I see people put more faith in Tik Tokkers who seek a little fame as they convince you of all kinds of wild claims, like that a magnet will stick to your injection site so that they get to be “famous” for a little bit. We put more trust in those people than our doctors. Our doctors - the same ones we trust to deliver our babies and treat us for cancer, heart attacks, strokes.
I can tell you that our obituary pages in the Stone and Barry County newspapers are filling up again. There are more and more middle-aged folks, many of whom have died from COVID-19. (The older population has been vaccinated.)
What IS the answer?
I see people afraid of the virus, yet they won’t mask, still trek off to crowded areas, concerts, and baseball stadiums, etc., and still refuse to get the vaccine. We are a hotspot in the nation.
We cannot take zero precautions and not get this thing. That’s like standing out in the rain thinking you won’t get wet.
Politics have divided this country, our world. The media has lied to us and slanted things for so long that we no longer know what to believe. So, now our fear and distrust may well be our worst enemy.
Where this disease came from, or the reasons behind it matter little at this point. It’s here. It’s killing us. Our doctors, most of whom are now vaccinated, plead with our communities to get vaccinated. These doctors are like airline pilots. They don’t want to fly a plane that’s going to crash because, well, they will be going down too! Just like that pilot, do you think doctors would take the vaccine if they felt it would harm them?
Think for a moment. Many of the drugs and treatments that are being used to combat the illness are also experimental. Many people have begged for those treatments in the critical care units. You and I will beg for them too when the doctor or nurse tells us that our loved one is about to die from this.
This is not a conservative versus liberal fight. (Though former President Trump does recommend everyone take the vaccine.) This is not a believer versus non-believer type of battle. No matter how this virus started. It’s here. It’s taking our loved ones; it is changing our futures, and it’s time we take our lives back.
To those who still refuse to vaccinate: I still love you. I still respect you. And I do believe we should all do what we feel is right. Don’t let COVID-19 vaccines divide your family and friendships.
If you refuse to vaccinate, I implore you to do a few simple things:
Wear a mask, wash your hands, stay out of crowds.
Would you please watch and listen as those of us who have chosen to navigate differently through this pandemic and have taken the vaccine?
Are you seeing us suffer from harmful side effects? Do you see protection? Maybe some of us do get COVID-19, but are most of us dying? Are most of us on ventilators? Does it improve one’s odds? There will always be exceptions to every rule. There are no ‘always’ and ‘nevers’ in any situation. Look at the big picture concerning the vaccine.
I love our community and the people in it. I don't want to see COVID-19 continue to take you, or your parents, aunts, uncles, children and friends. No matter how you feel about the topic, I hope you all will love each other and support each other.
Shana Harter
My family has been quarantined for (by the time the paper comes out) 12 days now with more time to serve. I sure am tired of it. We have had our fair share of quarantine since this all began. Three out of five of us have had COVID-19 since it started in the spring of 2020. This round has certainly quashed several summer plans we had.
I had COVID last fall. While it was a relatively mild case, I still have some lasting effects from it. A week and a half ago, Matt and I got our first shot of the vaccine. We were late to the game, but I feel better knowing that we finally arrived.
At first, I felt like I needed to hide it out of fear of judgment. We didn’t go into this lightly. I researched it. I prayed about it. I stand by my choices, and I honestly now wish we had changed our minds sooner.
The only things I know for sure come from my faith, from my experiences being in the media, and from those, within my trusted circle who work in healthcare. From those resources, I can say this:
God has my back and will see my family through anything.
Even though I have faith in God, I still use science. Just like I did when my son Braden was born 3.5 months premature, just like we did when my dad and my brother-in-law had cancer. Just like we all do. We use science every day when we see the doctor for a whole host of other ailments. We use science when we use our computers, even by using a weather forecast.
God brought me through COVID-19 last year - he can also protect me from the vaccine’s side effects. We’ve been using healthcare and God together throughout the ages. We always have and still can continue to rely on God’s protection while using science.
We have arrived at the point every one of us knows someone (probably many people) personally that have had COVID-19. I doubt seriously that it’s a stretch at all to say we all know someone (probably several) who died of COVID-19.
I know that my friends in healthcare attest to the fact that with this surge, the vast majority of critical cases and deaths from COVID-19 are unvaccinated. Not all of them, but almost all of them. The vaccine is not 100% nor ever claimed to be.
Over the weekend, Springfield hospitals saw nearly 30 deaths this weekend from COVID-19.
This new Delta variant is evil. It’s snatching people from us who are my age (50) and younger.
It’s reaching into that age group that thinks they are invincible (20’s). I know a set of twins in their early 20’s who have both been hospitalized this month from COVID-19. I see people in their 30’s and 40’s hanging on to the fact that the last wave didn’t affect them much- this wave is different.
I see people put more faith in Tik Tokkers who seek a little fame as they convince you of all kinds of wild claims, like that a magnet will stick to your injection site so that they get to be “famous” for a little bit. We put more trust in those people than our doctors. Our doctors - the same ones we trust to deliver our babies and treat us for cancer, heart attacks, strokes.
I can tell you that our obituary pages in the Stone and Barry County newspapers are filling up again. There are more and more middle-aged folks, many of whom have died from COVID-19. (The older population has been vaccinated.)
What IS the answer?
I see people afraid of the virus, yet they won’t mask, still trek off to crowded areas, concerts, and baseball stadiums, etc., and still refuse to get the vaccine. We are a hotspot in the nation.
We cannot take zero precautions and not get this thing. That’s like standing out in the rain thinking you won’t get wet.
Politics have divided this country, our world. The media has lied to us and slanted things for so long that we no longer know what to believe. So, now our fear and distrust may well be our worst enemy.
Where this disease came from, or the reasons behind it matter little at this point. It’s here. It’s killing us. Our doctors, most of whom are now vaccinated, plead with our communities to get vaccinated. These doctors are like airline pilots. They don’t want to fly a plane that’s going to crash because, well, they will be going down too! Just like that pilot, do you think doctors would take the vaccine if they felt it would harm them?
Think for a moment. Many of the drugs and treatments that are being used to combat the illness are also experimental. Many people have begged for those treatments in the critical care units. You and I will beg for them too when the doctor or nurse tells us that our loved one is about to die from this.
This is not a conservative versus liberal fight. (Though former President Trump does recommend everyone take the vaccine.) This is not a believer versus non-believer type of battle. No matter how this virus started. It’s here. It’s taking our loved ones; it is changing our futures, and it’s time we take our lives back.
To those who still refuse to vaccinate: I still love you. I still respect you. And I do believe we should all do what we feel is right. Don’t let COVID-19 vaccines divide your family and friendships.
If you refuse to vaccinate, I implore you to do a few simple things:
Wear a mask, wash your hands, stay out of crowds.
Would you please watch and listen as those of us who have chosen to navigate differently through this pandemic and have taken the vaccine?
Are you seeing us suffer from harmful side effects? Do you see protection? Maybe some of us do get COVID-19, but are most of us dying? Are most of us on ventilators? Does it improve one’s odds? There will always be exceptions to every rule. There are no ‘always’ and ‘nevers’ in any situation. Look at the big picture concerning the vaccine.
I love our community and the people in it. I don't want to see COVID-19 continue to take you, or your parents, aunts, uncles, children and friends. No matter how you feel about the topic, I hope you all will love each other and support each other.