Local leaders sign covid-19 vaccine letter
A total of 51 local community leaders came together last week to sign a letter encouraging people to take the covid-19 vaccine when it becomes available.
The list of people signing the letter includes more than 16 medical professionals, nine religious leaders and a variety of business and nonprofit leaders as well as city and school officials, who are all pledging to take the vaccine as soon as it becomes available and encouraging others to do the same.
In the letter, community members are encouraged to continue washing their hands, watching their distance and wearing a mask.
“However, we also now have a wonderful new resource to respond to the pandemic; safe and effective vaccines that are slowly becoming available in Siloam,” the letter states. “Healthcare workers have already received them; our emergency responders are receiving them, employees of Siloam Spring Public Schools and JBU will be receiving them in the next week as will citizens over age 70 and other essential workers in the coming weeks. As city leaders, we are all committed to doing all we can to making covid-19 vaccines available as quickly as possible in Siloam.”
The letter came about after Arthur Hulbert, CEO and president of the Siloam Springs Chamber of Commerce, brought local leaders together to talk about how to help community members
access to the vaccine and encourage them to take it when it is available, according to Chip Pollard, president of John Brown University. Pollard volunteered to pen the letter and Hulbert and City Administrator Phillip Patterson helped gather signatures, he said.
Community leaders wanted to get the information out as soon as possible even though the vaccine may not be widely available yet, Pollard said.
“We realize there are a lot of people that would like to take it, and we are putting it out knowing there are some people who may not get access to it for three, four or five months,” Pollard said, “but it’s important to put it out now to get a large percentage of our community to consider taking it when it becomes available.”
Everyone is weary of the pandemic and it’s critical for people to take the vaccine as soon as possible in order for herd immunity to be achieved so the community can get back to normal life and enjoying local businesses, restaurants, events and all the great things about living in Siloam Springs, Pollard said.
The letter, which is printed in full in today’s paper and will be on the chamber’s web site on Monday, includes links to public health information about the vaccine from the Centers to Disease Control website and a video from University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
It’s important for people to have the ability to make a decision about the vaccine for themselves, Hulbert said. Some have very good reasons to not want to be vaccinated early until more research comes through, he said. However, it’s also important for people who can have the vaccination to step up, which could greatly help reduce the spread of the virus.
Hulbert, who holds a doctorate in physical therapy and owns a physical therapy business, was already able to have the vaccine because of his background in health care, he said.
“I’m around a lot of people a lot of different people in a given day and as me being vaccinated helps prevent me from spreading covid and someone else becoming sick or potentially dying, I decided I would be vaccinated as soon as possible,” he said.
Hulbert said he was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who agreed to sign the letter. He’s hopeful that seeing community leaders commit to be covid-19 vaccinations will increase public confidence.
Dr. Rex Harris, of Community Physicians Group, said he signed the letter because he wanted to encourage the citizens of Siloam Springs to get the vaccine.
“There is a lot of conflicting information and I want people to know I support the vaccine,” he said.
Harris said he took the vaccine after reading the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine trails and determining the risks of covid-19 are greater than the small risk associated with the vaccine.
“I also want to protect my family, friends, and patients from contracting Covid-19 from me — while there is not yet conclusive evidence for this, this is very likely the case,” he said. “The vaccine was developed and began testing in March of 2020 and has been shown to be safe and very effective. It is great American ingenuity that led to rapid development and testing of these vaccines and should be a source of national pride.”
Pastor Jonathan Buisch, of First Presbyterian Church, said his personal reasons for signing the letter and taking the vaccine when it becomes available are inline with his theological reasons.
“As a Christian, I believe God has given humanity the capability to develop medicines to preserve and protect his creation, his people, and so it’s the logical thing, given God’s preference to work through ordinary means in this world. … God could very well, tomorrow, say enough, and the virus would just disappear. He is capable of that, but I don’t think that is the ordinary way he works. He works through ordinary means, he gives to scientists the wisdom, the skill and the capacity to address those things that afflict us a people.”
This is an especially important time for people to have grace for each other, Buisch said. Those who chose to take the vaccine need to extend grace to those who don’t and vice versa, he said.
“As community leaders, we are personally committed to take the vaccine when it becomes available to us,” the letter concludes. “But suppressing the pandemic will require us to join together in our efforts. We strongly encourage you, our friends and neighbors, to join us in rolling up your sleeve and receiving a vaccine when it becomes available to you so that together we can end the pandemic.”