Get your shot. Pretty please.
The Leader started back to reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic one week ago, and we will continue to do so for the however long the surge in new cases lasts.
It isn’t like we are relishing the idea of once again attempting to inform our readers of this real and present danger, after enjoying a number of weeks as the numbers drizzled down to nothing remarkable.
All four of our employees have dealt with this, alongside the rest of America. Trust me, we would rather be focusing on a return to normalcy, after more than a year of anything but.
And no, we haven’t been or ever will be formulating our news based on political ideology, but instead trusting our basic sense of reality.
If you have been keeping up with the pandemic, the virus has gone through multiple stages of mutation, something that viruses are coded to do by their very nature.
The latest mutated strain is called Delta, which began in India, and has spread rapidly throughout the world and is now considered the dominant strain in our own country.
When it comes to researching something medical, I stay away from the politically-connected sites and head to the world of medical science. For the Delta variant, I found Yale Medicine.
One thing about Delta, according to F. Perry Wilson, MD, a Yale Medicine epidemiologist, is how quickly the strain is spreading. “Delta will certainly accelerate the pandemic.”
The Yale website allows five things you need to know about the Delta strain:
1. Delta is more contagious than the other virus strains
2. Unvaccinated people are at risk
3. Delta could lead to ‘hyperlocal outbreaks’, meaning outbreaks for areas that have a low vaccination rate
4. There is more to learn about Delta, such as does it make you sicker than other variants? Or are current vaccines strong enough to keep you safe, and
5. Vaccination is the best protection against Delta.
My gut instinct tells me that the numbers in Texas will continue to climb in the coming weeks, to the point where they can no longer be ignored.
And it is not just the fact that we’ve reopened businesses to near-normalcy at a rapid rate, encouraged mass gatherings at sporting and entertainment events (without masks or social distancing), or now enjoy shopping at the grocery store without a mask.
School will start in the next month, bringing thousands of students and educators together in the classroom.
There won’t be remote learning, so anyone of the kids or teachers testing positive will be guaranteed a number of days away from instruction. That can also include those the infected came in contact with.
The Wichita Falls ISD has already made an announcement encouraging parents to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 if they are eligible to receive the vaccine. I believe that age group of 12-18, and may be expanded to include younger kids in the near future.
I haven’t had a chance to check with our local school administrators, but I believe they would also encourage vaccines as well for their student and educators prior to the start of the school year.
Maybe I just want to play the cautious soul who would accept very low risks to taking the shot and helping us return to normalcy.
I’m a big needle-hating baby, but I did it, as did my three fellow employees.
We collectively urge you to take the leap, and get your shot this week. Pretty please.
