Notes from Jackson Street: Get the Vaccines!
By JOHN A. WINTERS, Publisher
There is a line in Godfather III (the weakest of the trilogy in my opinion) where our hero/villian(?) says, “just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”
The Godfather realizes he will never escape the empire he created. His past will always be his future.
Sort of like COVID-19 these days.
We thought we were done. Masks and vaccines saved us. Yet, COVID-19 is back with a vengeance, potentially more dangerous than ever.
People continue to refuse the vaccine, which has proven to be very effective. They continue to disregard the science that continually evolves. They deny the numbers.
They rely on Facebook as their truth meter.
On July 30, there were 21 new cases of COVID-19 in Coweta County. That’s the most in a single day since 34 cases on March 9. We averaged 13.9 new cases in that July 30 week, the highest since 14.9 per day from March 8-14.
In that same time period, the United States had a single day of more than 100,000 cases, the most since March. Florida had more than 21,500 in a single day – the most since the pandemic started.
A few other facts and headlines:
• The Delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and may be spread by vaccinated people as easily as the unvaccinated.
• The C.D.C. is expected to release data showing that vaccinated people may transmit the Delta variant, a finding that prompted its new masking advice.
• 83 percent of new cases are from unvaccinated people.
• More than 30 percent of the nation has yet to be vaccinated.
• More than 60 percent of Cowetans are NOT vaccinated.
Anti-vaccine folks are primarily, based on the simplest of surveys, a Trump supporter foremost, Republican and from the South. Bless your hearts. And they are Pro-Life.
But their arguments of 1. You can’t tell me what to do with my body; 2. My decision does not impact anyone else. 3. The government has no right being involved …
Are the exact same arguments used by Pro-Choice advocates. The irony is, well, fascinating.
Jim Coleman, whose column appears on Page 11 in this issue, talks about this same thing. He’s just funnier.
“If you have eaten a Big Mac, Whopper, Bubba Burger, McRib, fries or onion rings in your life then don’t use the excuse that you care about what goes in your body. COVID is still out there and there is a funny thing about it, also. It treats the innocent and stupid exactly the same.”
We are getting so desperate to get people to save their lives that New York City is now offering $100 if you come in and get vaccinated. President Biden is suggesting other states follow suit and is mandating that 4 million-plus federal workers get vaccinated or be prepared to wear a mask and get tested at least once a week.
So what do us vaccinated folks get? A lot of crap from the unvaccinated.
Google, Facebook Netflix and more than 600 universities are all issuing mandates to get vaccinated.
This whole “you can’t make me” is getting tiresome. You have gotten tetanus shots, flu shots, polio, measles, chickenpox, plus a host of others throughout your life. You take all kinds of medicines and you don’t have a clue what is in them or their impacts.
Advil? Tylenol? Don’t have a clue. And let’s not forget Mr. Coleman’s earlier reference to various fast food groups.
Go get the vaccines. The life you save may well be your own.
Photo credit: Georgia Department of Public Health
