Tag Archives: vaccines

COVID has hit damn near everyone

By John Kanelis / johnkanelils_92@hotmail.com

One of the persistent sources of madness in this contemporary political climate has been the insistence by some on the right that the COVID vaccines, which are demonstrably successful in preventing the disease, should become the “enemy.”

We are witnessing a surge in illness among the unvaccinated Americans stricken by the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus.

Indeed, what is shocking to me is how many Americans have been affected in a real way by the virus. Those of us who haven’t been stricken by it still know people who have. Many thousands of Americans have bid farewell to loved ones. Millions of others — such as my family and I — have had loved ones stricken by the disease.

We have lost friends to the disease. It’s a real threat to the nation’s health, you know?

The pandemic has hit all of us in some fashion.

And yet …

There remains this core of Americans who insist that the virus somehow, in some manner just isn’t as dangerous as those in the media and those damn medical experts have made it out to be.

They are absurdly wrong, of course. Too many of us know better. There are those of us who have watched our friends and family members get sickened by this killer virus.

The death count is 614,000 Americans and counting. The worldwide total is more than 4 million. These are not phony numbers. They are as real as the disease that has felled so many of us.

The vaccines are saving lives as I type these words. They are among the most devastating weapons we can deploy against the virus. Still, the deniers continue to drive me out of my mind.

Sigh … 

Biden’s not to ‘blame’

John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I am among the last people on Earth to criticize the media, given that I am among those who are still pursuing the craft (more or less) and that I believe the media are doing a good job of reporting the news.

That all said, I want to chide the media for suggesting/implying/inferring that President Biden is somehow to “blame” for the administration falling short of its goal of achieving “herd immunity” against the COVID pandemic by the Fourth of July.

Let us ponder this briefly …

Joe Biden promised to make the vaccines available to anyone who wants it. He delivered the goods there. The shortfall in getting 70 % percent of the nation inoculated is because of those who have bought into the right-wing claptrap about the vaccines.

President Biden has done what he can do. He has sought to persuade Americans that the vaccines are effective and will not cause undue harm to anyone who receives any of them.

Biden inherited a mess when he took office. The previous administration botched many aspects of its handling of the pandemic from the get-go. Yes, it enacted Operation Warp Speed in its effort to get vaccines developed and for that I am grateful. But the previous POTUS managed to contradict and undermine the medical experts he brought on board at every turn.

We continue to make progress against the pandemic, although it has slowed dramatically with the delta variant surge that has kicked the Biden administration in the teeth.

As for putting “blame” on President Biden for falling short of its herd immunity goal, well, the media should look instead at those who are outshouting the rest of us with their baseless condemnation of the vaccines.

Vaccines work … dammit!

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

When you ponder all the infectious diseases that have been eliminated from Planet Earth over the years, you might then grasp the utterly absurdity of the criticism that is being leveled at the COVID-19 vaccine that is slowly doing the same thing to the current pandemic.

Polio has been eradicated. Smallpox, too. Same for tuberculosis. Measles and chicken pox are still around, but children get vaccinated against them anyway.

A friend of mine posted something on Facebook that wondered whether the right-wing media outlets had been around when the Salk and Sabin polio vaccines were being distributed and whether they would be critical of those research efforts, too.

Of course they would!

We have entered some sort of political twilight zone. A U.S. president bungled the initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic as it gripped the nation and the world. Instead of taking ownership of his mistakes and his failure, he initiates a campaign that denigrates the vaccine and those who promote it.

It has snowballed ever since, becoming a monstrous liability in the effort to get all Americans vaccinated against the killer disease and the variants it has spawned.

Good grief, man! The historical evidence is all around us that well-researched, heavily tested and certified vaccines do the job they are intended to do. Those who refuse to protect themselves and their children put not only themselves at risk, they pose an existential threat to us all.

They should be deemed a menace to society.

Pandemic ain’t over!

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

What in the name of sound medical science does it take for the cold, hard truth to sink in to some people’s noggins?

Many hard-right-wingers keep insisting that the COVID pandemic is over. That it’s OK to gallivant about sans face masks. That it’s time to  restore normal lifestyles. That it’s time to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci, the doomsayer who serves as senior medical adviser to President Biden.

One of them, rookie Republican U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson — the former physician who now represents the 13th Congressional District in the Texas Panhandle — has been particularly reprehensible in his messaging. “The pandemic is over,” he bellowed via Twitter recently.

No, Dr. Dipsh**! It’s not over. Have you seen the papers lately? The delta variant is sickening people, almost all of whom are not vaccinated.

Bottom line: The vaccines are working. Whether it’s from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson or Moderna, they’re doing what researchers intend for them to do, which is protect us.

I won’t toss stones at all Republicans. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said it is time for all Americans to get vaccinated. Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell has put out the call for vaccinations, too. Other Republicans in Congress have spoken forcefully in favor of the vaccines. However, they are being outshouted by the loons on the right wing of their party, the nut jobs who keep telling dangerous lies about the impact of the vaccines.

This struggle against the pandemic never should have devolved into the political mud-wrestling match it has become. But it has.

We need to pull together. All of us. In the same direction, with the same level of high energy to fight this killer.

What we need is what Gov. Ivey says is missing: “common sense.”

Pandemic ‘not over’

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy today told us a horrifying truth. The COVID-19 pandemic is not over, he told Fox News Sunday.

“We’re seeing increases in cases, particularly in parts of the country where the vaccination rates are low,” Dr. Murthy explained.

I’ll embellish a mere sigh with an anguished “arrrgghh!”

We now hear Facebook firing back at President Biden who blames social media platforms for spreading lies about the pandemic vaccines. I am going to stand with the president on this one.

There needs to be greater accountability among social media outlets and the disinformation they distribute. Such as the phony claims of danger posed by the vaccines. There can be no denying the link between the surge in cases and the fact that they are occurring in parts of the country where vaccination rates are low.

It ain’t happening in regions where vaccination rates exceed state and national averages.

Hmm. Is there a message to be learned? Uhh, yeah. Get vaccinated!

Biden falls short … so what?

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

President Biden vowed to have 70 percent of Americans inoculated against the killer virus by the Fourth of July.

Well … he’s gonna fall a bit short. Not by much, but we won’t hit the magic mark.

The New York Times reports that it appears that 67.6 percent will be totally vaccinated by that date, which has forced the White House to recalibrate its celebration of the progress they have made in getting us past the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new mantra is 300 million vaccinations in the first 150 days of the Biden administration.

You know what? It’s still — shall we say — a big f****** deal!

The Biden medical team has faced some push back from Americans on the vaccines. Some folks are reluctant to get vaccinated because of concerns about side effects. Or they have perhaps deluded themselves into thinking their immune anyway. Or — and this is the tough part — they adhere to a political notion that the pandemic is overrated in the first place.

The Times reports: Experts say that from a disease control perspective, the difference between 67 percent and 70 percent is insignificant. But from a political perspective, it would be the first time Mr. Biden has set a pandemic-related goal that he has not met. Mr. Biden has continually set relatively modest targets for himself and exceeded them, including his pledge to get 100 million shots in the arms of Americans by his first 100 days in office.

Biden Likely to Fall Just Shy of His July 4 Vaccination Goal (msn.com)

Whatever the case, President Biden’s lofty goal is just a tad out of reach. No sweat. We’re still a long way closer to eradicating the pandemic than we were a year ago.

I’ll accept that.

Gov. Abbott needs to settle down

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Did I read this right?

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is so angry with President Biden that he is banning state agencies from issuing vaccine passports to prove Texans have been vaccinated against the killer virus. Is that right?

What in the world has gotten into the governor? Oh, I forgot. The pandemic has become a political talking point, with Republicans (such as Abbott) staking our positions that differ from Democrats (such as Joe Biden).

Oh, but the governor’s executive order dovetails off a popular GOP mantra, that the vaccine passports infringe on Americans’ personal liberty. Hey, what about the consequences of Americans infecting their fellow Americans? The documents are intended to provide proof that we have received both vaccine shots.

Spoiler alert: My wife and I are fully vaccinated and if the government wants to issue us a document that forces us to prove it, I have no problem at all with it. You got that?

The Texas Tribune reports: A handful of GOP-backed bills have been introduced in states across the U.S. aiming to restrict entities from requiring vaccines for their employees, including in Texas. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also prohibited state agencies from using vaccine passports but went a step further and said no business can require their customers to display them.

… “Texans are returning to normal life as more people get the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. But as I’ve said all along, these vaccines are always voluntary and never forced,” Abbott said in a video announcing the executive order. “Government should not require any Texan to show proof of vaccination and reveal health information just to go about their daily lives. That is why I have issued an executive order that prohibits government-mandated vaccine passports in Texas. We will continue to vaccinate more Texans and protect public health — and we will do so without treading on Texans’ personal freedoms.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bans state agencies from requiring “vaccine passports” | The Texas Tribune

Vaccine passports aren’t intrusive. They help safeguard communities that have been ravaged by a disease that continues to kill too many of us.

Greg Abbott ought to get over his anger at Joe Biden. We’re all fighting the same enemy.

 

We’re awash in vaccines?

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Is it just me or are we awash in COVID-19 vaccines these days?

Johnson & Johnson has just received approval to distribute its one-shot vaccine. It vows to deliver tens of millions of doses in a major hurry. The J&J medicine now joins Pfizer and Moderna; AstraZeneca is likely to win approval in short order, too.

A part of this ongoing drama needs some attention. It is the amazing development of the vaccines by these “big pharma” outfits.

Think of it. The world became affected a bit more than a year ago by the coronavirus. There might have some research being done at that time, but then Donald John Trump declared — finally! — a national emergency. He sought to get the drug companies fired up to produce the vaccine. Then he bungled the start-up, along with damn near everything else regarding our national response to the pandemic.

Still, the pharmaceutical firms kept at it. There have been some arguments over whether the federal government funding of the research had a tangible impact on the companies’ ability to deliver the vaccines.

They did. Pfizer came out first. Moderna followed shortly after. Now we have J&J.

J&J’s 1-dose shot cleared, giving US 3rd COVID-19 vaccine (msn.com)

As a point of personal privilege, my wife and I have been vaccinated fully with the Pfizer drug; one of our sons has received his vaccine from Moderna. We are praying that our entire family — extended and immediate — gets inoculated against this disease.

I want to salute the researchers at these big pharma companies for delivering the vaccines that now are beginning to reel in the impact of the virus.

Why, I’ll even offer a good word for Donald Trump, who promised a quick delivery of the vaccine. It happened pretty much as the ex-president said it would.

This is success? Hardly!

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Let’s face facts.

The United States of America comprises 5 percent of the world’s population.

However, our great nation accounts for 20 percent of the worldwide death toll attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

These two statistics are worth noting because of a third number: 500,000, which is the number of Americans who have died from the pandemic in a year.

I mention this yet again because we were told a year ago by the then-president of the United States that we had the disease “under control.” It wasn’t.

Is the disease under control now? There exist signs that it well might be starting to be corralled. Vaccinations are being delivered. Americans are wearing masks, are keeping their distance from each other and avoiding what doctors all “congregant settings.”

That is progress. If only we could have been spared the lies about having a killer “under control.”

Americans love freedom, but …

A growing battle over mandatory vaccinations for public school children is turning into a culture war of sorts.

Libertarian-leaning Republicans suggest that requiring vaccinations against communicable diseases impinges on parental rights to choose whether their children should be vaccinated. The main medical enemy is measles.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mr-pauls-and-mr-christies-irresponsible-comments-about-measles-vaccinations/2015/02/03/b269c9da-abc1-11e4-9c91-e9d2f9fde644_story.html

Have those who contend the issue is choice actually considered some of the consequences of their request for greater latitude on this matter?

The Washington Post editorial takes aim at U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., for their irresponsible comments regarding vaccinations.

They both should know better than to mutter what they’ve said about the subject.

Especially, Dr. Paul, an ophthalmologist by training. As a medical doctor, he ought to be acutely sensitive to the value of vaccines as guardians of the public health. But he isn’t. He’s instead a politician pandering to one of the bases of his party in his budding quest to win the Republican Party nomination for president of the United States in 2016.

As the Post opined: “Both the governor and senator seem to be suggesting that it is fine for parents to avoid vaccinations for their children. But is this really a matter of individual rights? Liberty does not confer the right to endanger others — whether at a school or Disneyland or anywhere else.”

Measles cases are on the increase, endangering children and those who come in contact with them. Protecting the public health ought to be one of those areas where government involvement shouldn’t be challenged.

Sadly, it is being challenged by politicians who should know better.