As of this writing on 8/23/2021, there have been reported 213,338,543 cases of the Covid-19 virus worldwide, 4,454,049 deaths and 190,903,844 recovered. On August 18, 2021, in an attempt to make the people around the world feel more confident in the Covid-19 vaccines, and in particular the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics, Pope Francis as well as Cardinals and Archbishops from North, Central, and South America and from the Caribbean appeared in a video message from the Ad Council. Francis praised the work of researchers and scientists in producing safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines. He said “Thanks to God’s grace and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from Covid-19 and bring hope to end the pandemic, but only if they are available to all and if we collaborate with one another.” He said getting a vaccine shot that is “authorized by the respective authorities” is an “act of love” and helping others to get the shot is also an act of love. It is “Love for oneself, love for our families and friends, and love for all peoples. Getting vaccinated is a simple yet profound way to care for one another, especially the most vulnerable.” Then in the video he prayed that “each one of us can make his or her own small gesture of love … small gestures for a better future.” The Cardinals and Archbishops in the video spoke with sorrow about the suffering and death caused by the pandemic and urged everyone to “act responsibly” and get vaccinated, and that the vaccines need to be available to all. In the United States currently 72% of the adult population and 67% of Hispanic adults have received at least one vaccine dose. But it is important to get very high percentages of the population immune to a disease (herd immunity) making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. As a result, the whole community becomes protected – not just those who are immune. The more contagious a disease is, the greater the immunity percentage needs to be. As an example, measles is a highly contagious illness and it is estimated that 94% of the population must be immune to interrupt the chain of transmission. COVID-19 cases are again on the rise worldwide, especially in North, Central and South America, with some nations like Honduras having only 5.5% of the adult population fully vaccinated, and El Salvador having only 30%. If the vaccination campaigns stall out, the virus will continue to spread and there is the possibility of new and more dangerous variants of the disease developing. Also as the disease continues to spread it is particularly dangerous for those who can’t be vaccinated or don’t receive enough protection from the vaccines if they are immunocompromised. Another danger is the influx of diseased patients into the hospitals which can overwhelm the healthcare systems trying to help the sick. So understanding why people are not getting vaccinated and how to overcome those reasons is the key to beating back the coronavirus. There are a variety of reason: lack of access to vaccines, a refusal to see the Covid -19 as a threat, concern about the vaccines’ side effects, little trust in the vaccines or the institutions behind them, and belief in one or more different conspiracy theories.
