Vax or Not to Vax?

Perhaps at no other in time in history has a jab in the arm polarized a nation.

Vax or not to vax? 

Moral concern for others or self-asserted constitutional right?

Questions that have splintered families, pitted friends against friends, divided the office breakroom.

On the surface, the answer appears ridiculously simple. Wear a mask, get vaccinated, protect yourself and others, potentially save thousands of lives and finally bring down the curtain on a pandemic that is in the midst of a record-setting fourth surge. For many, in fact for the majority of Louisianians and much of the Deep South, the answer is far more complex.

Consequently, Louisiana lags behind the rest of the country in vaccination rates. Not coincidentally, Louisiana is one of the nation’s COVID-19 hot spots, straining an already overtaxed health system.

Dr. Steven Gremillion, chief medical officer at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, was emphatic when he recently told The Catholic Commentator “this is a problem of the unvaccinated. There should be no confusion to that fact.”

The numbers back up his assertion, with 90% to 95% of COVID-19 patients hospitalized nationwide are unvaccinated. In fact, Gremillion went on to say that at OLOL the overwhelming majority of the fully vaccinated people that have been hospitalized are the elderly or have underlying conditions.

Vaccine opponents have been vehement in their objections, citing religious convictions, distrust of the medical profession, political alignments, conspiracy theories and concern about injecting what some claim is an unproven substance in their arm. 

Paradoxically, we live in a society where people are often eager to inject their bodies with the latest and greatest substances for the sake of vanity, such as Botox, steroids and silicone.

And does anyone honestly believe the government is injecting its citizens with chips?

People insist the vaccine is a personal choice. But isn’t it fair to question the validity of that statement when the non-vaccinated are jeopardizing the lives of others and extending the life of a deadly pandemic? 

The evidence is irrefutable regarding the effectiveness of the vaccine and its role in slowing the spread of COVID-19. Quite simply, the vaccine works.

Yes, those vaccinated are still at risk for infection but the symptoms will be far less severe and hospitalization or even death highly unlikely.

Vax or not to vax?

The answer is grounded in Scripture, where St. Paul instructs the Philippians “do not merely look out for your own personal interests but also for the interests of others” (Phil 2:4).

We are called by God to look after our neighbors, and what better way to answer that call than to get a vaccination that can save lives.

Even Pope Francis, collaborated on a PSA with the AD Council encouraging people to get vaccinated.

We are a crossroads in the battle against COVID-19, so it’s imperative to lay down our political swords and unite in a fight that will finally bring a deadly disease to its knees and save hundreds of thousands of lives.