World War II united this country as never before as we entered the fighting in the Pacific on December 7, 1941, and Europe soon to follow. We knew who our enemies were, and we knew our future was in jeopardy. We as a nation were willing to do whatever was necessary to defend our families, our friends, and our way of life.
On December 15, 1944, our troops and our Allies fighting in Europe thought that they would be home by Christmas; that the war would soon be over in that theatre. However, on December 16, 1944, the Nazi’s had other ideas, and Hitler attacked in a way that didn’t seem possible - through the Ardennes! The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Counteroffensive, had begun. The lives of millions of people were at risk, and many would die before Victory in Europe was achieved.
Folks, we are faced with a similar problem right now! We thought we were finished with COVID-19; we had it licked, and our war with it was about over. We had lost over 600,000 lives to the virus compared to 407,316 killed in combat in WWII. We had begun moving back to a pre-pandemic lifestyle, and normalcy. But the virus (our enemy) wasn’t through with us; it has gained new strength, and has brought in a new and more formidable weapon – the Delta variant. It is more infectious and lethal than the original Alpha virus with a 1000 times greater viral load! Delta doesn’t care who we are; how old we are; whether we believe it is real or not; or what dreams we have for our future. It just wants to infect u s , replicate, and then try to kill us. Delta can accomplish that by infecting both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated with the same level of viral load, and each can then transmit the virus to others.
It is in fact a serial killer that wants to invade our homes, schools, businesses, and places of entertainment. We as parents would defend our homes and families to the death – wouldn’t we? Sure we would! As responsible adults, we are now asked to do whatever is necessary to defeat this terrible disease and to protect those we cherish the most.
How can we do that? By being vaccinated, washing our hands often, wearing masks when inside public places, and maintaining distance from others when possible. When vaccinated, we are not as vulnerable to the disease; we won’t get as sick if infected; and we are less likely to be hospitalized (93% of hospitalized patients for COVID are unvaccinated). Reducing the opportunity for the virus to mutate is a major reason for us to get as many people in our community vaccinated as possible. When the virus replicates, it has an opportunity to change, and possibly become a more infectious and deadly variant.
I have been asked by leaders in our community to write this letter, and to seek your help in fighting this war. This is a national emergency: We are out of ICU beds across the country; ERs are backed up with patients needing a higher level of care; and our children are being infected in record numbers due to many not being old enough to be vaccinated. Yet, we can win this war; we can do it together; and we can be unified in a common cause once again.
Will you join me, and the rest of our Comanche County Healthcare Team, in fighting this disease and putting an end to this pandemic? To do that, we must raise our percentage of vaccinated residents from 38% to 70%. A very achievable goal if we work together, for we have the vaccine, and the inoculation is free of charge! Thank you very much for
Thank you very much for your consideration of this most urgent matter, and let us know if we can be of assistance to you in any way.
For more information, please call our 24/7 hotline: 254-879-4999.