Want freedom from COVID-19? Get vaccinated, SC

The Summer of ’21 was supposed to be a celebration of the end – or at least the worst parts ‑ of the coronavirus pandemic. That seems to be the case, judging from the crowds of visitors enjoying Grand Strand beaches and so forth. The reality is the delta variant is putting people in hospitals. Globally, people continue to die, including in the United States.

The people becoming sick are largely unvaccinated. Dr. Brannon Traxler, director of the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, said “Unvaccinated people are fueling the pandemic, especially unvaccinated young people.”

According to DHEC, approximately 56% of eligible Horry County residents are vaccinated. That number needs to be higher, for the health of everyone. Beyond the efforts of officials such as Dr. Traxler, there may be things citizens can do to increase the number vaccinated. (As of mid-July, 211,101 S.C. residents were late for their second dose – 90% of those late by more than a month.)

A HEALTH THREAT

Yes, there are reports of breakthrough illnesses among people who have received COVID-19 immunizations, including some of the participants in the Summer Olympics in Japan. Like World War II, the battles with the coronavirus pandemic continue on several fronts: The virus itself, complicated by variants. The denial of the facts, fed by misinformation and disinformation on the social media. The reluctance or refusal of some people to have the vaccines.

Part of the disinformation includes the politicization of the coronavirus and the vaccination programs. This past week, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky again attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci in a televised Senate committee hearing. Fauci held his ground with the senator, telling Paul he didn’t know what he was talking about.

The fronts are connected. The U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, makes a strong case about misinformation being a serious public health threat.

VACCINATION VIEWS

Bad information has something to do with the reluctance of people to have the vaccine. Some number – we do not pretend to know the percentage ‑ of unvaccinated people will remain so because they have felt the same way about flu shots, for example, long before COVID-19. They may ascribe to libertarianism

There are others, however, who have been moved to have the vaccine. Perhaps a family member has had the coronavirus, and that experience moved others in the family. Throughout history, good people have not spoken out about wrongs against society and later have acknowledged they should have.

A year and a half into the pandemic, many good readers of The Sun News editorials may know a family member, neighbor or friend who has not received a COVID-19 vaccination, and may wonder if there is a positive role she might play in nudging the unvaccinated to consider their civic and social responsibility.

OUR BETTER ANGELS

“How do I address Uncle Bill about a responsibility beyond his own perceived “rights”? There is not one answer to this question. One approach is to try to lead Uncle Bill to factual information about the virus and the vaccines.

We must not give up on trying to convince those who can be so moved to have the vaccine. The effort probably needs to be nonpartisan. We need civic leaders and public officials to point folks to facts, but beyond the “bully pulpit” of presidents, governors, and mayors, in some personal situations, private citizens can help make a difference.

This is, we submit, one of those critical junctures when good people need to speak, with gentle persuasion, to family members, friends, neighbors who are reticent about the covid vaccination, appealing to what Abraham Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature.”