The Vaccinated and The Un-Vaccinated
11-17-2021
By M.L. Hardy
Let me preface this article by sharing that I am vaccinated. However, on any given day on social media, we can find several “Christians” posting demeaning comments about those who are not vaccinated. This is disheartening because it seems our country is continually living into its segregationist history by ostracizing those who express a different opinion. Sadly, despite the despair this has historically caused, we as a society have not learned to respect the choices of others, particularly when they are not aligned with our own choices.
When my daughter Eva was born, it was recommended that newborns in the US receive approx. 22 vaccines, before the age of two; to protect our nation from epidemics. And, all of these vaccines required FDA approval. Since their inception, scientists have agreed that “Vaccine development is a long, complex process, often lasting 10-15 years….”[1] Historically, there are 5 stages to vaccine approval: observation (2-4 yrs.), hypothesis (1-2 yrs.), testing (3 phases of clinical trials=5 yrs.), conclusion (FDA application and continued monitoring = 2-4 yrs.). Therefore, if the FDA required 10-15 years to approve the previous 27 vaccines, then why would it be illogical for someone today to be cautious about a vaccine that was developed and tested with just two months of safety data, and given full FDA approval 8/23/21, in less than 2 years? And even with 10-15 year vetting, each year approx. 30,000 adverse vaccine events are reported, with 10-15% of those adverse vaccine reactions reported resulting in hospitalization and/or death. That’s 30,000 a year since 1990, when the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System was established by the US government.[2]
So, the concerns of the unvaccinated may be warranted when suddenly the government seems to contradict and override long established safety protocols. Lest we not forget that cigarette manufacturers told smokers, for years, that their products were not harmful. However, internal documents uncovered during litigation revealed tobacco companies knew, as early as 1950, that scientific evidence showed cigarette smoking was a cause of cancer. And, Trial records clearly demonstrated a conspiracy by tobacco firms to make false and misleading public statements about cigarettes when they published the “Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers” in 1954. These nationwide advertisements challenged the research implicating smoking as a cause of cancer, and promised consumers that cigarettes were safe, despite full knowledge that cigarettes were harmful. And lastly, the economic benefits of COVID cannot be overlooked. During the second quarter of 2021, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals reported a 92% increase in revenue to $19B (in one quarter), with most of that profit coming from Covid-19 vaccine sales.
So, you may ask, what would Jesus do? Well, let’s go to the Word. In Luke 17:11-14, we find the following actions of Jesus described:
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. (NIV) The lesson provided by this text is simple. Jesus paid no attention to the criticism and disrespect shown to those ostracized by social constructs. For Jesus, we are ALL members of the Body of Christ, ALL made in the image of our God. ALL worthy of respect, care, and love; the hungry, the homeless, the leper, and probably the un-vaccinated. And so, the message today is simple. Let’s not perpetuate America’s legacy of segregating ourselves from those who don’t look like us, live like us, or whose choices are not aligned with ours. Just Love your neighbor, both The Vaccinated and The Un-Vaccinated. Your compassion may just motivate them to change their minds!
Works Cited:
historyofvaccines.org, “Vaccine development, testing and regulation,” Accessed 9/8/21,
https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/vaccine-development-testing-and-regulation
vaers.hhs.gov, “Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System,”
accessed 9/9/21, https://vaers.hhs.gov/index.html
K. Cummings, A. Brown et al, “The Cigarette Controversy.” (2007), aacrjournals.org. DOI: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-06-0912.
https://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/16/6/1070
PharmaceuticalTechnology.com,“Pfizer records 92% growth in Q2 2021 revenue,” Accessed 9/10/21,
https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/pfizer-second-quarter-revenue/
[1] “Historyofvaccines.org”
https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/vaccine-development-testing-and-regulation
[2] This information is readily accessible on the CDC website under the link to “historyofvaccines.org.”
Photo by Hakan Nural on Unsplash
