According to a Star Tribune front-page article this morning, nearly three million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech corona vaccine were shipped yesterday and will be arriving at medical facilities today and tomorrow.
The shipment of this vaccine and the beginning of large-scale vaccination could be a turning point in the fight against COVID-19.
It’s also important to note that the vaccine developed by Moderna might receive emergency approval by the Food and Drug Administration this week. And many other vaccines are being tested and could be approved soon. A web site that I go to frequently to keep updated on vaccines is: nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html
Moncef Slaoui, chief science advisor to the White House’s effort to develop a vaccine said in the Star Tribune article that herd immunity could be reached in May or June. Whether this forecast is accurate or not, the possibility that a date for herd immunity is even being shared is reason for optimism.
However,
this possible turning point is more than just thinking realistically about when
COVID won’t be so deadly. This possible turning point is an opportunity for the
people in the United States to be united about something important.
Is it possible for us to be united that taking the vaccine is important?
One sad part about COVID-19 is the extreme polarization about the disease. People have argued passionately about whether COVID-19 is really that bad, about whether people need to wear a mask in public and keep distanced, about whether the measures taken by the government have gone too far or even gone far enough. I know that in Chain of Lakes Church—the congregation I serve—we’ve wrestled with the tension of moving forward in ministry while also keeping people safe. We do this while looking out at a religious landscape where churches have responded in vastly different ways. I’ve read articles where some church don’t anticipate worshiping in-person until late 2021 while others are worshiping in-person right now.
To be honest, I find the polarization about COVID to be ridiculous.
My hope is this vaccine and other vaccines gives our country (and the world) the possibility of a reset button. Can we be united and even excited that the gift of a turning point has been given to us? This gift might be the best Christmas gift that anyone receives in 2020.
Recently I read a Social Media post asking people if they would take a vaccine. I was surprised and even shocked at the strong skepticism about a vaccine. I didn’t engage in the “conversation” as I learned long ago that having an argument on Facebook rarely turns out well. But I found the level of hostility to be deeply disturbing.
I get it—making conclusions from a Facebook post doesn’t make sense. But the resistance and even hostility to a vaccine is backed by poll research.
A post on fivethrityeight.com (fivethirtyeight.com/features/many-black-americans-republicans-women-arent-sure-about-taking-a-covid-19-vaccine/) shared that according to a Pew Research Poll conducted in November eighteen percent said they would “definitely not” take the vaccine, and twenty-one percent they would “probably not.” A Morning Consult survey showed that thirty percent were unlikely to take the vaccine while a Gallup Poll taken in November had similar numbers.
Breaking the survey research down even further showed that fifty percent of Republicans would take the vaccine and only 42 percent of African-Americans would take the vaccine. No doubt that current skepticism about the government’s role during COVID has fueled the antipathy among Republicans about the vaccine, and mistreatment of African-Americans in the past in health care has fueled the sentiment among African-Americans.
In my sermon this past weekend (colpres.org/Ministries#SermonVideos) I encouraged people to take the vaccine. I am not a doctor, but on the issue of taking the vaccine I will listen to my doctor. If I was having dinner with a Republican friend and/or an African-Amreican friend, I would encourage them to review the facts and the results of the studies of this and other COVID vaccines.
I hope that all leaders –political, business, and religious share a common front in encouraging people to get vaccinated. I’d love to see a picture of all the living Presidents (with President Trump standing in the middle) receiving a vaccine. (Because he had COVID, I’m guessing President Trump does not need to receive the vaccine.) How about another picture of the leaders of Congress getting vaccinated? Why not have a Zoom call and picture of all fifty governors getting vaccinated. Include separate events of leading business leaders and religious leaders doing the same. I would be willing to gather all the pastors in Blaine at a clinic in a professional way in the near future to encourage people to get a vaccine.
The point is we have an opportunity to be united. This could be a turning point. But it’s only a turning point if take our partisan masks off.
And I understand that some might not get vaccinated because of health reasons. Even though the Pfizer vaccine has a 95 percent success rate and limited side effects, for five percent the vaccine won’t work and some will receive side effects. The enthusiasm about what can happen doesn’t preclude the importance of listening to doctors and scientists about the potential health problems of a vaccine.
We
could be at a turning point.
