Join those leading way on vaccines
Asked if former President Donald Trump should help promote the COVID-19 vaccine to skeptics “especially those Republicans who say they’re not willing to take it,” President Joe Biden approached the podium with other advice.
“I’m hearing a lot of reports from serious reporters like you saying that,” he told reporters March 15. “I discussed it with my team, and they say the thing that has more impact than anything Trump would say to the MAGA folks is what the local doctor, what the local preachers, what the local people in the community say.”
Biden has said every American who wants a vaccine will be able to get one by the end of July. But what good is vaccine supply if not enough people choose to get the shot?
We know decisions not to get vaccinated are tangled in fear, politics, conspiracy theories, disinformation, misinformation and a mistrust of science. Dr. Anthony Fauci — Biden’s chief medical adviser — calls the divisiveness profound, saying in a COVID Collaborative fireside chat last month he is stunned at how some still believe COVID-19 is a hoax.
As vaccine supply and eligibility increase, it’s imperative that faith leaders and all Americans receive, trust and spread quality, science-based information about vaccines.
They need to know that vaccinations are highly effective and the vaccination of between 70 to 85 percent of the population should achieve herd immunity, according to Fauci. The dual challenges are getting vaccines to people as quickly as possible and overcoming hesitancy.
We have a long way to go. Bloomberg reports that more than 14 percent of Americans have been fully vaccinated. In Texas, the latest vaccination rate is about 154,000 doses per day, on average. At this pace, it will take another seven months to cover 75 percent of the population. Fifteen percent of Bexar County’s 1.6 million adults have been fully vaccinated, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Biden is right to look to local faith leaders, whose reach has expanded with livestreamed services. It is also, unfortunately, not uncommon to see hundreds of people sans masks attend church services each week — even when case counts have been high. The Catholic Church offers a model in adhering to Covid-19-mitigating procedures and promoting vaccines while honoring faith. San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-siller makes written, verbal and video statements to journalists and on his website, television channel and social media, aiming to reach his 19-county area and beyond.
In January, the archbishop rolled up his sleeve for his first shot, a Moderna vaccine. “If you have the opportunity, do it. Do it. Do it. It is a good thing, and it is not just for you, it is for all,” he said. The diocese communicated that it would continue COVID-19 safety procedures after Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order lifted them and opened business 100 percent.
It also posted an earlier statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops addressing moral concerns about some vaccines. The letter guides parishioners to choose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines over Johnson & Johnson and Astrazeneca when possible, but it also stated it is “morally acceptable” to receive vaccines when “ethically irreproachable” options are not available.
“Given the world-wide suffering that this pandemic is causing, we affirm again that being vaccinated can be an act of charity that serves the common good,” the statement said.
Even Trump, who spread disinformation about COVID-19 yet quietly got the vaccine before leaving the White House, did something for the common good. At the Conservative Political Action Conference last month, he said: “Everybody, go get your shot.”
With vaccine eligibility open to all adults in Texas beginning Monday, it’s time we all not only decide to get the vaccine but get the word out. Each vaccine gets us closer to herd immunity.