The White House has been on top of the virus since the new president has taken his oath and come into office. With the vaccine readily available, a plan for the distribution and the help of millions across the nation. While no one should or even can say that this was an easy effort, the pieces fell into place fairly simply, and no one expected the level at which this plan would succeed. We reached the president’s goals for the first hundred days fairly easily, getting enough people vaccinated that the mask mandates that were so common across the country could be relaxed. With summer coming to a close, there is a great risk of the coronavirus and it’s variants becoming more and more of an issue, to the point of creating a new crisis. Already, the white house and medical professionals are making adjustments to the mask mandates and rules, which is not a good sign. If we want to return to a normal life that will mean giving up some of our short term amenities in order to gain long term benefits.
President Joe Biden has been advised, and has in turn been advising the American people that they need to get the vaccine. Outside of living in a complete bubble, this is the best way to protect yourself from the virus that we have. It is not the only feasible way however, as we all know. Masks can cut down on the amount of cases greatly, and combined with social distancing, there is little chance of randomly getting the virus, especially if you already have the vaccine. No option is singularly perfect, but for people who might have concerns about the vaccine, this is the best and safest option. The White House has been working with community figures and small town medical professionals to share the truth. That the vaccine is as safe as it possibly can be, and that the consequences of not being vaccinated are in truth, much greater than any possible risk that might come from being vaccinated. That is why there has been such a big push by the president and the White House to convince people that they need the vaccine.
Because they do. The vaccine was a chance to stop variants like the Delta variant from finding purchase here in the U.S. as well as stop the mutation of the virus into new and more infectious forms. That didn’t happen, not here and not around the world, so now we must deal with the consequences. That doesn’t mean that the fight is over for the vaccine though, as while not as effective against Delta, it is still quite able to fight the virus, and it will prevent a lot of variants from appearing, making the future of Covid-19 much easier to deal with. We can ignore the issue again, stop vaccinating and following the rules, and the cycle will start again. Or we can turn this around, follow the CDC guidelines and make sure that we are keeping ourselves and each other safe. Doing that is the only way to return to normal. Like many, we thought that this spring was the end of Covid-19. It wasn’t, and as we reflect on what it means to love one another and work together, we must all be willing to step up and do our part, no matter how great or small. One shot, six feet, and many masks can make the difference.