I have been critical of the government, politicians, and media in these pages regarding Covid-19 and strongly believe that the situation has been severely botched by the powers that be, whether it be conflicting guidance, inaccurate assertions, or political grandstanding. 

This dereliction of duty has understandably made many suspect of the government’s competence regarding their ability to properly manage public health concerns, and most actors in positions of authority have exhibited insufferable hubris, failing to recognize their mistakes or lack of full understanding and preferring instead to lecture and condemn those who dare to question their authority.

That all being said, I would like to unequivocally assert my recommendation to get vaccinated, and reiterate that I and my family got ours back in May-June.

One may have perhaps argued that the vaccine was on its way to becoming optional in June, when case numbers were plummeting due to the combined effect of vaccination, herd immunity, and natural immunity, but then the delta variant emerged. That has changed everything because it is both more contagious and dangerous than the original Covid virus.

Now, those who were marginally safe only a few months ago are highly vulnerable to infection if they don’t have the vaccine. A friend of mine nearly died recently because he thought he could beat this thing, and because he had spent nearly a year and half not being infected nor seeing any of his close friends or family get seriously ill. He did know of a few cases earlier in the pandemic, but recently we all seemed to be headed for smooth sailing. That is just no longer the case.

I was personally on the fence about the vaccine for both moral and medical reasons, but I thought it out and decided to trust the competent authorities, even though they had done much to lose my trust. This lack of trust seems to be driving the unvaccinated to continue to abstain from getting the jab, but please encourage your friends and family who aren’t vaccinated to re-think the situation.

Yes, the virus was probably funded by the NIH. Yes, the government has been engaged in a coverup of the origins of the virus for this reason. Yes, public health officials and politicians have been hypocritical and arrogant. Yes, the same people who said they wouldn’t get a vaccination developed under the Trump administration are the same people scolding you for not getting it now.

Yes, there are negative side effects, up to and including death, from the vaccination (though statistically, these are relatively low, thank God).

And yes, if you want to convince yourself of the evils of the vaccine, there is plenty of information and argumentation out there to support your position, while the pro-vaccination arguments are actually a bit weaker and mainly rely on the authority of the proponents (who would be better off spending half as much time explaining the scientific mechanisms and data that support the vaccination as they do lecturing us and finger-wagging). 

But at the end of the day, the vaccine is the best way to protect yourself from the deadly effects of Covid infection and the hospitals right now are overflowing with people who are unvaccinated, many of whom are dying or are close to it.

Obviously, I am not a medical authority and submit these thoughts with all humility and respect. You don’t have to believe me. Ask your doctor or your nurse. Consult the Mayo clinic’s website if you no longer trust the CDC. Try to remember that pretty much all the virulent cases and hospital admissions are of the unvaccinated. Please don’t join their ranks.

Trump supports the vaccine.

Biden supports the vaccine. 

God bless.

Trey Hoffman

Peachtree City, Ga.