By Gary Bennett
This article appeared in the Frederick News Post on January 13, 2022.
So, after all this time, only 68 percent of Frederick County residents are vaccinated against Covid. It seems to not matter that Fredrick Health Hospital has over 100 Covid patients, three-quarters of which are not vaccinated, and is under such intense strain that it instituted “crisis standards of care,” which removes optimal care to patients with serious but more chronic conditions. It seems to not matter that our doctors and nurses are pleading with us to do the right thing. It seems to not matter that with serious outbreaks in nine county schools we’re probably going to have to go back to virtual learning, thereby further harming our children and throwing a wrench into the vexing parental conundrum of working or staying home and caring for their children.
Why do the unvaccinated hold the rest of us hostage like this? The efficacy of the Covid vaccine cannot be disputed by any reasonable person. There are millions of us who have been vaccinated with few or no side effects and have avoided severe disease. What more proof do they need? It’s sad but I’ll admit it’s becoming increasingly difficult to feel bad for wantonly unvaccinated people who are now dying of Covid and are begging for the vaccine. I will also call out people who are not wearing masks in public spaces. We should all do that. It’s the patriotic thing to do. It may be uncomfortable but perhaps these people will think twice next time if there is some shame involved.
We should have conquered Covid by now and relegated it to being a still dangerous but mostly seasonal nuisance like the common flu. But the selfish, inconsiderate, and yes, under-educated portion of our citizenry—the very ones who complain the loudest about wearing a simple mask and who must contend with empty store shelves and closed eateries—have prolonged this crisis with their recalcitrance.
At this point, as the virus continues to mutate, it’s hard to see how we’ll ever put it in our rear-view mirror until, as in 1918, the virus simply runs out of viable hosts to infect. That could take years and mountains of sorrow because of our fellow selfish citizens. My elderly aunt is right. If these selfish, unpatriotic people were around in her day, we’d still have smallpox, polio and countless other communicable diseases.