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Opinion: Heed the call of professionals: Do your part, get the vaccine

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It’s not about the individual; it’s about the collective.

The inability for some to understand this simple idea can be mind-blowing, particularly when it comes to the deadly nature of COVID-19. Johns Hopkins University data show more than 600,000 deaths in the United States and nearly 3.9 million globally from the virus.

While the early days of the pandemic were much more chaotic, we now have a simple and effective solution: vaccines backed by medical professionals. The problem is, it requires a large percentage of the population to truly be effective, and misinformation continues to be a thorn in the side of this issue.

CoxHealth President and CEO Steve Edwards recently has appeared on multiple national news outlets, such as CNN and NPR, to encourage vaccinations and discuss the new delta variant that’s bringing a surge of cases to southwest Missouri.

“We’ve seen our census grow by fivefold in the last month,” Edwards said in a June 18 interview with NPR’s Ari Shapiro. “In our local health department ... their sequencing shows 90% of all new cases are the delta variant.”

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department’s COVID-19 dashboard showed 37.8% of the eligible population was fully vaccinated as of June 23. The seven-day average through June 23 of cases was roughly 92, with 160 hospitalizations.

At the time of the local coronavirus mandate’s expiration May 28, there were 43 people hospitalized in Greene County with COVID-19, according to Springfield-Greene County Health Department data. Comparatively, 53.1% of the eligible U.S. population was fully vaccinated as of June 23, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.  Mercy Hospital Springfield has even reported a baby under a year old was under care with COVID-19.

Speaking with CNN, Edwards noted vaccinations are vital to slowing the spread of the virus.

“Almost all of our cases are unvaccinated people that, in my opinion, have put themselves in harm’s way during this pandemic,” he said.

During the interview with CNN’s Kate Bolduan, Edwards speculated on why southwest Missouri is a hot spot for cases.

He cited a large count of rural residents, more “red” voters and a high percentage of the population who identify as evangelical Christians.

The point, from my perspective, is not to belittle evangelicals who live in rural areas and tend to vote for the GOP. Rather, it’s to highlight that the best sources of information related to COVID-19 do not come from a church or from political figures.

Health care professionals who have dedicated their lives to the common good have stood together to recommend the vaccine as the most solid course of action for fighting the virus. One or two jabs and you’ve done a heck of a lot of common good for free and with ease.

Misinformation campaigns I’ve seen on social media boil down to a few talking points. “My immune system works well, why should I have to get the vaccine?” “It’s not up to the government to decide what I put in my body.” Then there’s the conspiracy theories, such as allegations of microchips embedded in the vaccine. 

You’ll notice that these posts usually will have a dubious source for the information or none at all. That should be an immediate red flag.

My point is this: If you have high blood pressure and a doctor prescribes you a medication or new routine, you’re most likely going to listen. The reason why? They have studied extensively and practiced in medicine for years to offer you the best health care advice.

What’s the difference with COVID-19? Church leaders and politicians, while knowledgeable in their own fields, typically are not experts in health care. Neither are arm-chair physicians and antivaccination proponents on Facebook.

We have to work together to stop this modern-day plague, and it starts with listening to the right people. If you haven’t yet started the vaccine process, I would encourage you to follow the advice of health care experts.

Springfield Business Journal Digital Editor Geoff Pickle can be reached at gpickle@sbj.net.

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Its shameful that you will write an article pushing people to vaccinate themselves with experimental gene therapy that is not FDA approved over a 99.8% death rate! This thing does not even meet the legal definition of a vaccine! It does NOT prevent you from getting COVID. And now they have announced that you will need more and more shots. READ the pharmaceutical companies own submission. They call it “experimental gene therapy”. The man who invented the MRNA process, Dr. Robert Malone will not shoot this crap into him! How about Dr. McCullough Texas A & M professor? He has worked with the Govt for over 20 years Both men have been involved. BOTH doctors will not shoot this crap into themselves! The reason you do not know of them is because Google, Fakebook and Twitter have censored them!! Of course we always censor doctors and cheap therapeuticals during a “pandemic”? Please do not be intellectually lazy. The interviews are available. Don’t take my word for it. Go listen to those doctors (and many others) discuss this so called “vaccine”! Good they exempted themselves from any lawsuits over the dreadful side affects. You don’t hide from a virus PERIOD!! We are destroying ourselves due to ridiculous FEAR! Same with the masking. No one can present one single piece of evidence that a mask will stop or even help prevent COVID!! Most of it unfounded and being perpetrated by evil people. This so called “pandemic” is being used to usher in Communism. IF you cannot see that you either do not know what communism is, probably not taught if you attended Public school after 1990 or you are not paying attention. Your first clues were censorship and the fact that all of the tyrannical democrats imposing masks and lockdowns have been caught multiple times not following their own rules. If I have not convinced you to at least pause then READ Fauci’s own emails!! Don’t try to Google them though, they have been censored!! Its all about compliance and breaking your AMERICAN spirit!! Lastly, lets not forget that this regime in Washington STOLE power. Everybody knows it. Wake up America!!!

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