Hope. That is exactly what was injected into a world exhausted by the novel coronavirus pandemic, via the arms of some Milam County health-care providers. A world that has seen 1.8 million deaths is indeed tired of dealing with this. Some 350,000 of those deaths were Americans, 27,000-plus fellow Texans, and 14 of our Milam County neighbors.
Over the weekend, the first local vaccine shots were given out to Milam County medical staff and front line emergency services workers. Those were part of the first shipment of the Moderna vaccines and will most all be administered by the time this newspaper is distributed.
This is a moment not unlike when the first polio or smallpox vaccines were administered.
The versions of this vaccine were developed faster than any in history, an amazing feat for which we give thanks. While we have months of struggle, sickness and frustration remaining in dealing with this virus, the vaccine’s arrival is a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.
The virus has brought out the best in us. We have learned to communicate using new tools like Zoom and other online meeting softwares. Businesses have made “pivot” their 2020 word of the year and learned new ways of serving customers, either moving business online, or operating with new precautions, or like restaurants, ramping up takeout service. We have checked in on elderly, made additional donations, increased our giving when possible to help those who are struggling with job loss, illness, medical bills and more.
Unfortunately, it also has brought out the worst, as a quick perusal of social media can find. There is too little empathy and certainly too little concern for the risks our healthcare community faces day in and day out, dealing with this global pandemic that is no fault of their own.
Relief among the health-care workers was evident as they received their first dose of the twopart vaccine. Doctors and nurses want to see their elderly parents again. And hopefully with this vaccine, the anxiety doctors feel in dealing with positive coronavirus patients has eased somewhat. Maybe the questions about their own health—“Will I carry this virus to my own family members?”—can soon subside also.
So, we carry on the hope brought by this vaccine’s arrival, a simple injection that gets our amazing bodies to reject the awful effects of this respiratory ailment. And with that hope, we extend our unending gratitude to those who have had to deal with this virus.—K.E.C.
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