We Need More Shots in Arms

The Covid-19 numbers are ticking back up in West Virginia.

The state Department of Health and Human Resources reported 382 new cases Wednesday.  That raised the current active caseload to 2,848.  The daily number was below 1,000 just a few weeks ago.

Hospitalizations for Covid, which had dropped to 52 early last month, have climbed steadily and are now at 185.  Seventy individuals are in ICU and 26 are on ventilators.

Albert Wright, President and CEO of WVU Medicine, said on Talkline this week that he hopes the state can avoid another surge.

“Last December and January were probably the hardest time in my career, and for those on the frontline, it was definitely the hardest time in their career,” Wright said.  “They don’t want to go through that again.”

Nobody does, which is why credible health experts continue to advocate for vaccinations.  The latest pitch comes from Alex Azar, who served as Secretary of Health and Human Services for President Donald Trump.

“The reluctance and even refusal of many Americans—including many of my fellow conservatives and Republicans—to get the Covid-19 vaccine is a frustrating irony for those of us who worked to expedite these vaccines,” Azar wrote in the New York Times. 

“Any claims that the vaccines are unsafe or ineffective, or that corners were cut are not true,” said Azar.

Unfortunately, Azar’s words, like consistent advice from other health care professionals about the benefits of vaccination, will likely be ignored.

A new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that adults who are not getting the shot are more worried about the vaccine than getting Covid.  Fifty-three percent of the unvaccinated say getting the vaccine is a bigger risk than becoming infected.

Yet, as Azar wrote, “Safe and effective vaccines were our best hope of liberating America from the pandemic.”  And now cases are rising again in West Virginia and across the country due to the Delta variant.

Many Americans are paying attention to the increase and getting worried.

A recent Gallup Poll found “more Americans (45 percent) now say the coronavirus situation in the U.S. is getting worse rather than better (40 percent).”  That is a sharp contrast from June, when 89 percent of those questioned said things were improving.

As Americans, we cherish freedom and liberty.  We also have an independent streak—especially in West Virginia—so we do not like being told what to do.  However, as the saying goes, your freedom to swing your fist ends where another person’s nose begins.

The unvaccinated are directly impacting the well-being of the vaccinated.  Individuals who have been vaccinated face an increased risk of getting infected, the possibility of additional mask mandates, and a general disruption of their lives because of those who delay or outright refuse to get vaccinated.

 

 

 

 

 





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