Elephant in the room should consider a miracle in our midst

As I’m writing this letter, 15 of our students or staff in our school district are positive with COVID-19 and 70 students (10% of our student body) are in quarantine because they have been exposed. At the same time, a large portion of the school staff remains unvaccinated: that’s the elephant in the room I would like to address.

On October 18th, by state mandate, all school staff and volunteers working in contact with children must be fully vaccinated. That is, unless they have a medical or religious exemption.

In our school, we likely have a few medical exemptions, and these people, who cannot be vaccinated, must rely on everyone else being vaccinated to be protected against COVID-19.

We also have a large number of people claiming religious exemptions. All of the sudden, we find out that there is a host of obscure religions in our community that prevent their followers from being vaccinated. Interestingly, most major religions have recently publicly urged their members to be vaccinated, because it is the compassionate and right thing to do. This leads me to think that such a large number of religious exemptions are not made in good faith, but that they are merely an excuse to refuse to do something that is to them unpleasant or scary.

What about framing these as philosophical exemptions within religion? A philosophy is a set of principles by which we live our lives. It is a long-term guide that helps us make decisions. A philosophy is not a “flavor of the moment” phase that fluctuates with the latest TV personality interview or social media post. If you have been vaccinated before, then clearly, your philosophy does not prevent you from being vaccinated.

This week, CMC has warned us that they are dangerously overburdened with COVID-19 patients. The consequence of which is that anyone needing care, whether urgent or not, will be sharing this burden. Your appointment may be rescheduled, your surgery postponed, and if you have an emergency, you might be bounced from hospital to hospital.

I get it. This is a scary time. We are drowning in a sea of disinformation, and throughout the commotion, it is very hard to hear the calm voice of reason. It is very easy to get confused and scared. But anyone who thinks that they have “done their own research” is mistaken. No one can do their own peer-reviewed studies unless they are scientists working in a lab. Anyone who thinks they have better data than the CDC and the entire world’s scientific community is mistaken. What we see on the internet or what we heard someone say does not constitute a sound base for a decision of this magnitude.

Right now, COVID-19 is a nearly preventable disease. We have a vaccine that is safe and effective, just like we have vaccines for measles, smallpox, chicken pox, and many other diseases that used to decimate populations. This vaccine did not pop into existence by accident. It is the product of a decade of research about how to use mRNA as a vector. COVID-19 only gave this technique a chance to be applied in real life. It is also the product of a formidable cooperation of brains from around the world. And this, in itself, is a miracle.

So, before you go ahead and claim a religious exemption, please ask yourself these questions:

• Am I getting my information from a reliable source? (i.e. my doctor or an official scientific entity)

• Am I ready to take the responsibility for potentially becoming a vector of transmission for COVID-19 to my family, students, and colleagues?

• Do I truly believe that being vaccinated is against the principles of my religion?

• Should I talk to my doctor and get their opinion before making such a decision?

• What is the most compassionate thing to do for those around me, and how can I be part of the solution that ends the pandemic?

Cathy LaPlace