Stop compromising with crazy on vaccines

It’s time we stopped trying to convince the vaccine hesitant to do the right thing. There’s too much at stake; our resources have already been stretched too thin. We’re all tired of the pandemic, and the thought of having to put up with more restrictions while waiting for a third of the adult population to get their shots is unacceptable.

By

Opinion

July 26, 2021 - 8:11 AM

(MAX MCCOY/KANSAS REFLECTOR)

If you’re old enough to have a scar on your arm from receiving a smallpox vaccination as a child, congratulations — you’re part of a global, multi-generational effort that, for the first time in human history, eradicated a deadly disease.

Smallpox, which had been around for at least three thousand years, probably killed more human beings than any other disease. The mortality rate, according to the World Health Organization, was appallingly high — about 1 in 3 died. If it didn’t kill you, it was likely to leave scarring on your face, or might render you blind.

I got my vaccination as a student at Washington Elementary School at Baxter Springs. On the appointed day, the students assembled in the auditorium in the center of the school, and the vaccine was shot into our arms by a nurse wielding a shiny pneumatic gun. At least that’s the way I remember it. The United States ended mandatory vaccinations for smallpox in 1972, because the disease had been largely beaten.

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