Page 6 - WCMS4Q21

President’s Message
By Terence Joiner, MD
A Promised Unfulfilled
Like most of you, I’m sure, I have been in a reflective state of mind as the year 2021 winds down. The holiday season, after all, is supposed
to be a time for gatherings and reflection. In my initial president’s column, a year ago, I wrote optimistically about the hope that the newly developed vaccines for COVID-19 would bring an end to this deadly pandemic. So far, over 700,000 Americans have perished from COVID-19. Fear of transmitting the highly contagious virus to others necessitated recommendations for social distancing as well as masking. The vaccines were supposed to end the pandemic and bring us
all back together.
Now, nearly a year later, this promise of freedom from the COVID-19 pandemic is far from a reality.
What went wrong?
First there was the rise of the delta variant, which has been much more infectious than the original strains that arrived in our country in early 2020. Second, the science behind masking and vaccination recommendations (mandates in some cases) has been challenged by emotional calls for personal autonomy and responsibility as a higher priority than public health. This has led many to make decisions about getting vaccinated and wearing masks that have been contrary to the recommendations of the world’s smartest scientists and public health officials. Even worse, the campaign against COVID-19 has been simultaneously sabotaged by ‘leaders’ and pundits with political and economic motives.
So, despite the early momentum and optimism about the vaccine and the accumulation of clear evidence of the success of vaccines and masking recommendations in preventing the spread of infection, there is too much reluctance by many people to get a jab. Those reluctant to get vaccinated are a diverse cross-section of the public. Most notably are your prototypical anti-vaxxers, members of certain ethnic groups, most notably African
Americans, some conservatives, some libertarians, and even some groups of Gen Xers. Despite the reasons given for vaccine reluctance or refusal, the fact remains that the COVID vaccines saves lives.
Michigan has now emerged in this fourth surge of COVID-19 as a leading hot spot for infection. As a result, all of the state’s leading health systems, from Ann Arbor to Marquette, from Grand Rapids to Detroit, are over- whelmed. With only about 60 percent of its residents fully vaccinated, millions of Michiganders remain at risk for contracting the virus.
We in the Washtenaw County Medical Society are doing what we can. I have had the privilege of participat- ing in the monthly COVID-19 Task Force meetings sponsored by WCMS. As a practicing pediatrician, I have also diagnosed and treated COVID-19 patients. It has been my responsibility to keep abreast of the develop- ments in the pandemic, both nationally and locally. I have informed and encouraged my patients and their family members about vaccines and masking recommen- dations. There is a ray of hope. It is comforting to me to see the willingness of newly eligible 5- to 11-year-olds to assent to a COVID vaccine. For some reason, these younger patients are used to being vaccinated and understand how diseases can be prevented. I received a note from a newly vaccinated 11-year-old who explained that he was happy to have gotten vaccinated because he hoped he could spend more time with friends and not need to wear a mask all the time.
We are on the precipice of another New Year living with (and being sickened by) COVID-19, and we as physicians must stay on top of the pandemic. It is not going away anytime soon. More lives will be lost; the “return to normal“ is not imminent. We must under- stand the science and translate it to the public in a digestible fashion. As I wrote•in my most recent column, we have not earned our pass.
6 Washtenaw County Medical Society BULLETIN WINTER 2021