COLUMN: COVID-19 vaccines can make big difference

Man, who’s ready for 2020 to be over?

I am. COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on this year in so many ways.

But there is light at the end of the coronavirus tunnel.

The first of the vaccines have hit Washita County.

That’s good news for front-line health care workers who have faced a never-ending nine months fraught with loss, sick colleagues, long and grueling hours, effected family life and COVID-19 fatigue, in general.

Dr. Bob Abernathy was the first to receive a dose last week at Cordell Memorial Hospital. Many other staff members received the vaccine with the second dose set to come in January.

On Monday, the state health department was back in town giving more vaccines out, first at Baptist Village and then later to the county’s first responders.

As I was taking photos of the senior citizens receiving the shot at Baptist Village, I wondered if they were anxious.

Resident Charlie Sappington wasn’t. He said he had no problem at all receiving the vaccine.

Neither was Baptist Village interim director Dennis Dawson. He had no anxiety about the shot at all.

A small sample size, for sure, but different than the “vaccine skepticism” health officials are dealing with as they unroll the vaccine across the country.

From the Texas Tribune: A study by the Pew Research Center shows that confidence in COVID-19 vaccines are increasing as more people get the shot with few reported issues, but other groups have found that acceptance rate is still under 70% for some groups, including conservatives, rural residents and Black adults.

Even conversations with family members are fraught with fight. In my family, my wife, Shari, who works at a hospital, is skeptical of the vaccine and won’t yet get a vaccination. My brother, Timothy, who a few years ago received a liver transplant and has battled complications from that since, said he’ll get the vaccine at the first chance. My sister, Rebecca, who’s worked in health care as a nurse or physician’s assistant for many, many years, also is keen on the vaccine.

Despite my initial skepticism, I plan on receiving a vaccination when they become available to me and the general public. I think it’s the right thing to do, much like wearing a mask in public.

I’ve been dealing with COVID-19 since the early going, as it became a public health nightmare pretty early on in Texas. I’m definitely in the COVID-19 fatigue camp.

In fact, when I accepted the editor/general manager job in Cordell, I thought I was escaping the worst of COVID because the numbers weren’t too alarming here.

But, then a weird coincidence happened. As I have joked with several people here, I feel I brought the worse of it with me to Oklahoma.

When I first arrived in Mid-October, the positive cases in Washita County stood at 154. The week before that, it was 128. In early August, the number stood at 37.

Monday, the state reported that Washita County positive cases had climbed to 738, or an increase of 379 percent since mid-October, or 1,895 percent since early August.

Those numbers are no laughing matter. And they’re the primary reason the City of Cordell passed a facemask ordinance.

When will the vaccine be available to the general public? Estimates are all over the board, with some as early as late February to early March and others saying early summer.

I’ll join the many health officials and suggest, actually implore, that you receive the vaccine as soon as it becomes official. You’ll see me in line.

In the meantime, we can’t let our guards down.

“Everyone should continue to wear a mask, wash their hands, and watch their distance as ways to truly prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” said Col. Lance Frye, the state’s top doc. “These actions in conjunction with the vaccine can make a huge difference in keeping our families and communities safe and healthy in the long term.”

No joke. If we ever want to wake up from this COVID-19 nightmare, then we must continue the fight, no matter how tired we are of it.

Wear your mask. Wash your hands. Practice social distancing. And get your vaccination.

Thomas R. Martinez is the editor and General Manager of the Cordell Beacon. He can be reached at 580-832-3333 or at editor@cordellbeacon.com or via Facebook or Twitter.