Get the vaccine
The fight against COVID-19 is reaching a critical juncture. While the bad news is that cases are continuing to rise in parts of the country, the good news is that the vaccines needed to combat the virus are on their way. And when we say on their way, we don’t mean they are in the development process. They are actually in vehicles and airplanes on their way to areas around the country to be distributed.
The rollout of the vaccine engineered by Pfizer is already underway. Hospitals and frontline workers are first up to get the vaccine. Considering they are exposed to the virus every day in this fight, it makes sense to give them the protection they need so they can keep taking care of the sick.
Another vaccine could be on its way soon. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration’s preliminary analysis has confirmed the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institute of Health. It could be recommended by an outside panel of experts later this week with the FDA’s approval following not long after.
Considering all that this year has put us through, it is welcome news at the end of the year that this pandemic could be in the rearview sooner rather than later.
But there are some who are skeptical about taking vaccines. The anti-vaccine movement has grown in recent years, mostly around the supposed link between some vaccines and children with autism. That link has never been scientifically proven, yet it is promoted as fact by those who are anti-vaccine.
A recent poll has also shown that Black Americans are reluctant to take the COVID-19 vaccine. The country has a horrible history of using Black Americans in medical experiments without their knowledge, the most famous being the Tuskegee syphilis experiments that lasted for 40 years, from 1932 to 1972.
It was determined that researchers did not inform the participants of the study’s real purpose, and that the men involved in the study were never given adequate treatment for their disease. We understand how such an unethical study can create mistrust and getting that trust back has to be earned. Hopefully, these COVID-19 vaccines can do just that.
We encourage everyone to get a vaccine when available. We don’t believe the companies and the government would let these vaccines into the public if they didn’t pass the test, especially considering that health care workers and the most vulnerable will be among the first to receive it.
A return to somewhat normal life is just around the corner, and it will hinge on how many people get these shots. Have faith in the miracle of science that has helped produce these much-needed vaccines.
— The Brunswick News, Dec. 16