The pandemic has gone on for far too long.  This should have been a six-month ordeal, maybe a year at the longest, but instead, we are currently sitting at 18 months and counting.

Everyone wants to return to a “normal” life, one in which everyone can move around as they please without masks and social distancing (which I don’t mind sticking around because I prefer my space.). But it hasn’t been happening.  As a matter of fact, according to USA Today,

“Across the United States, officials are rolling out a patchwork of restrictions on social distancing. The orders vary by state, county, and even city. Restrictions are ramping up in many areas as cases surge nationwide.” - USA Today, Oct 1, 2021. 

So, what do we do about it?  It’s simple.

Take the vaccine.

Me saying that makes it sound like a radical idea, but it is a very straightforward concept that we know now works.  Since the government introduced the vaccine, here are the conclusions from the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM):

The BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 vaccines were highly effective under real-world conditions in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 in health care personnel, including those at risk for severe Covid-19 and those in racial and ethnic groups that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. (Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.) -NEJM, September 21, 2021

Knowing the vaccine’s efficacy, I have a couple of points to make, and this won’t take too long.

Firstly, black people have EVERY right to be skeptical of the United States Medical System, including the American Medical Association (AMA) and the United States Public Health Service (USPHS).  Firstly, this notion that black people call home has never regarded black people as actual people, which explains the inhumane treatment during the era of slavery and beyond.  After slavery, the invention of “law enforcement” was created to “enforce the law”, or in other words, force now free black people back into slavery against their will.  During this time, how was the sick treated?  Were they allowed to be brought into hospitals built and designated for white people?  Often, when enslaved people were too sick to work, enslavers killed them, and hospitals did not admit black people.  Sometime later, the Tuskegee Experiment happened. Tuskegee University collaborated with the USPHS to “study” the effects of syphiIis on black bodies who already suffered from the disease. The USPHS blatantly lied to the black men saying they had “bad blood” and not treating them, even though there was treatment available in the form of penicillin that was readily developed and functional.  There was also J. Marion Sims, who is considered The Godfather of Modern Gynecology (see link: J. Marion Sims) and his extensive experimentation on black bodies. He was named the head of the AMA in 1876.  He operated on black women without consent, anesthesia, or medical ethics.  While doctors used the invented treatments, the surgeons did all experimentation on black bodies. Once he got the procedures correct, he moved to white women but used all necessary precautions, including anesthesia.  Medical racism is genuine, and the skepticism that abounds in the minds of black people is justified and entirely rational, even if they have not been direct victims of such acts.

But, black people are becoming more accepting of the vaccine as more information becomes available, and we should be. In the medical situations outlined above, the medical associations could target black people specifically and mistreat them. The COVID virus has not and shows no capability to superficially target black people, although that does not mean that black people aren’t affected disproportionately. Our joint health due to less frequent and quality treatment at the hands of doctors plays a large part in how different ailments, including viruses and other diseases. Because of this, the vaccine is more important to black people. Protection of our communities is paramount, and the vaccine allows us to do just that, especially from a virus that attacks indiscriminately. We as black people are not singled out by this virus, and doctors did not develop the vaccine to harm us, nor was it created to put microchips in our bloodstream for tracking purposes. The federal government created the vaccine with the help of a black woman named Dr. Kizzmekia Corbet to facilitate an environment that would be more livable with the virus. It had become increasingly clear that we would not “wait out” the virus, so the other choice was to create a vaccine to ensure we could ensure our relative safety. No vaccine is 100% effective, nor should we expect it to be, but as highly effective as both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, there is no reason not to take either one. Side effects exist in everything we consume, including over-the-counter medicines, supplements, and even the foods we digest. There is proof, clear proof that the vaccines effectively reduce the number of infected people and the severity of the response to the virus entering the system.

THE VACCINE POINT IS NOT TO PREVENT YOU FROM GETTING IT; IT IS TO TEACH YOUR BODY HOW TO FIGHT IT OFF PROPERLY!

And white people have not experienced the atrocities that black people have regarding medical malpractice, so what is their reason for not wanting to take the vaccine?

Entitlement.  White people sometimes feel they are being told what to do in a land that has not happened before.  The United States was made to allow white people to dictate their actions and consequences without questions or repercussions. Still, now that a virus has come along that has mandated loss of movement and liberties, and rightly so, white people are rebelling against anything that “infringes of their rights.”  If the government did not enact mandates to restrict movement, white people would have been coming and going as if there was no pandemic.  In times of emergency, there will be times when the government has to act for the country’s greater good, including restricting the rights of those who do not care enough to protect others.  People are refusing to wear masks while not actively disclosing whether or not they’re vaccinated, which can be harmful, as someone who isn’t vaccinated could be a carrier of the virus, spreading it to anyone.  How do you protect the collective when there is a single rebel?  You impose rules that affect everyone because those who want protection will undoubtedly appreciate the restrictions and comply with the laws. In contrast, others will rebel for rebelling, which will show you who truly cares about people and who does not.

White people have no reason to be skeptical about the vaccine, especially if they believe the reason not to get it is based on political affiliations, microchips, or having to do additional “research.”  So, stop being unreasonable, nearsighted, and unintelligent, and get the vaccine so we can all move forward with our lives.  Please.