A message to the unvaccinated

 

For much of the past two years we have individually and collectively endured one of the worst pandemics in the history of mankind.  Hundreds of millions have been infected. Tens of millions have died.  Few have been untouched. This has been a shared tragedy.

For much of the past year vaccinations have become available to provide a significant level of protection to those fortunate enough to receive one of the several formulas that have been developed.  Over 6 billion doses have been administered around the world with remarkable efficacy and with fewer negative consequences than any vaccine against any disease in history. 

The vaccines provide protection for the recipient and by extension, for those with whom they come in contact.  The vaccines are free and save lives.

Yet a remarkable number among us have not been vaccinated, by personal choice.

For those with medical reasons for exemption from vaccination, I hope that you are able to remain safe by following health guidelines and associating with others who practice likewise.

I understand and appreciate that there are some who have chosen to exercise a personal religious decision against vaccinations.  To those of you in this category I commend you for honouring your god above the state.  But will you change your mind if you become infected and seek treatment at over-crowded hospitals or retain your beliefs in private and trust for your recovery?

There are those who have determined that this is a matter of personal choice and will therefore not be forced by the ‘state’ to be vaccinated.  It is true that in most jurisdictions you have a right to refuse remedies such as vaccinations.  And personal rights should not be lightly ignored.  But as a member of society you also have responsibilities and obligations to a ‘greater good’, that is, to work and behave in a manner which serves to benefit all of us.

We obey laws which are intended to establish normative behaviour that we can all expect from others.  We have customs which respect and perpetuate our personal histories and heritages. We engage others with ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and other societal graces that are neither rights nor obligations but which make society ‘work’.

It is to these practices that I appeal to your higher nature of good to set aside your rights.  Choose to contribute to the betterment of society by joining with it rather than standing apart, and at greater risk to yourself and those in your company.  Choose to do that which your rights do not require you to do but which your responsibility to society begs you to do. Choose to lead by example and not by becoming a statistic.

Many places are now firmly in a fourth wave of this infection.  Vaccination rates are very high in many areas, yet some remain well below the average. This only perpetuates the situation. 

If you yearn to be able to fully exercise your rights again…going to the restaurant or bar, taking in a movie, attending a concert or game…then the rest of us need YOU to join forces.  Consider it enlisting for the battle that has come to our shores and which requires all of us to be activists, not pacifists, in the battle none of us foresaw but in which all of us are needed.

Your participation is needed and urgent. 

Thanks from the rest of us.