I keep squinting at the horizon, wondering if that glimmer is the elusive light at the end of the tunnel that we have been desperately craving. Is there hope that we’re again on the road to recovery from COVID-19? You must be as tired of reading as I am of writing about the pandemic, but just know that it’s hard to ignore the elephant.
By last spring, we were getting vaccinated and starting to relax a little, wondering what the new normal would look like. Then the Delta variant reared its ugly head and started mowing down many of the unvaccinated. Just when we thought it was OK to be out and about, we scurried back inside, continuing to wash hands like crazy. Mine look like the claws of an old crone, and I’m blaming it on COVID.
Why are there still so many unvaccinated adults? Reasons have been: waiting for full FDA approval of vaccines (we now have it), looking out for serious side effects (rare), inaccessibility (vaccine vans are traveling to rural areas). So, there aren’t many excuses left.
But some refuseniks proudly proclaim that not only are they wary of vaccines but leery of science and medicine in general. Too bad they weren’t born in the 13th century.
The next variant is looking for these naysayers because it must detect those without COVID anti-bodies in order to advance, so we haven’t seen the end of this pandemic. The unvaccinated will again take the brunt of the new strain, and we can only hope it stays contained. But if Delta is any indication, it will spread like volcanic haze through groups who refuse to vaccinate but love to congregate.
Here’s my advice to these hard-heads: Enjoy your precious freedom of choice to remain unvaccinated, but when the virus finds you, do not haul your sick ‘okole to the nearest emergency room. This will again only clog up hospitals with nonbelievers, tax overworked health providers, and force people like me who needed hip surgery to have my procedure postponed three times over the past two months. I’m grateful mine was elective surgery, but auwe! There were others with greater urgency who couldn’t find an empty bed because those were taken by the foolishly unvaccinated.
I mourn all whose conditions worsened or who died because of this.
If you’re refusing vaccination because you don’t trust science and medicine, then at least be consistent and stay out of the hospital. Think about it. A hospital is the citadel of science and medicine. I repeat: The Citadel of Science and Medicine. Put this on a Post-It, and slap in on your forehead.
And if you are among the unvaccinated who want to be injected with Ivermectin, used by veterinarians to treat heart worm in animals, then also steer clear of hospitals. While Pfizer, Moderna and J&J vaccines are approved by the FDA, deworming medication to treat COVID is not.
Therefore, enter not the Citadel, but instead, get thee to the nearest veterinary clinic. I know a good one, if you need a referral.
To those who remain unvaccinated because they distrust modern medicine, I say this: Be true to yourself. When you get sick, do not report to the hospital, because this is a place where science and medicine culminate. Either you trust it or you don’t. If you do, get vaccinated. If you don’t, stay away. It’s a clear and honest choice.
I want to stop writing about this pandemic, so if we all do what’s pono, maybe we can come out of this.
Rochelle delaCruz was born in Hilo, graduated from Hilo High School, then left to go to college. After teaching for 30 years in Seattle, Wash., she retired and returned home to Hawaii. She welcomes your comments at rainysideview@gmail.com. Her column appears every other Monday.