Heed Zimbabwe Bishop's Message on COVID-19 Vaccinations

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A United Methodist Insight Column

While we await more details on the omicron variant of COVID-19, let’s commend the words of Bishop Eben K. Nhiwatiwa of Zimbabwe and efforts by United Methodists in Africa to promote coronavirus immunizations.

According to a UM News article by  Eveline Chikwanah and Chadrack Tambwe Londe, Bishop Nhiwatiwa sent a message to all Zimbabweans: “If you get a vaccine, you are loving your neighbor. You are protecting your neighbor and loved ones.”

The article reports that United Methodist congregations and church-related clinics in Zimbabwe are offering COVID-19 vaccinations and tests. Similar UMC-related programs are under way in Malawi, Mozambique and Congo.

Let’s hope our global neighbors in Africa will take advantage of the health protections United Methodist churches are offering.

Good news on the pandemic front

From the Washington Post’s “The 7” newsletter:

“The U.S. has hit a major coronavirus vaccine milestone.

  • More than 200 million people, just over 60% of the population, have been fully vaccinated.
  • Over the past week, the average number of doses given per day was up 35% from the week before.

“In other hopeful news: The FDA cleared a coronavirus vaccine alternative for immunocompromised people. The new antibody drug could give protection for up to six months.”

From Robert P. Jones of the Public Religion Research Institute:

“As of the beginning of November, nearly eight in ten Americans are vaccine accepters (77%), including three in four Americans (74%) who report having received at least one dose of a vaccine, a substantial increase compared to March 2021. The number of Americans who remain hesitant has also declined from 28% in March to 9% today. Vaccine refusal rates have remained stable at 13-14% over the past nine months. 

“The divisions among Americans regarding religious exemption claims for vaccine mandates are clear within the findings.  Nearly nine in ten Americans (88%) disagree that the teachings of their religion prohibit COVID-19 vaccinations, while six in 10 Americans (60%) believe that there are no valid religious reasons to refuse a COVID-19 vaccine.  At the same time, three in ten unvaccinated Americans (31%) say they have asked for or plan to ask for a religious exemption to vaccination, and one in five parents of unvaccinated children under age 18 (20%) say they have requested or will request a religious exemption for their children.”

Among other key findings, “more than one in four (27%) report that faith-based approaches made them more likely to get vaccinated,” says the PRRI newsletter.

Read the entire report here.

And now for the bad news

From the Washington Post: Two years into this pandemic, the world is dangerously unprepared for the next one, report says

“Nearly two years into a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 5 million people, every country, including the United States, remains dangerously unprepared to respond to future epidemic and pandemic threats, according to a report released Wednesday assessing the efforts of 195 countries.

Researchers compiling the Global Health Security Index — a project of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a D.C.-based nonprofit global security group, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health — found insufficient capacity in every country, which they said left the world vulnerable to future health emergencies, including some that might be more devastating than covid-19.

“ … Although the report identifies preparedness resources and capacities available in a country, it cannot predict how well they will be used in a crisis. ‘If you were trying to measure places that are at risk for fires, you want to know if the place has fire alarms,’ said Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior scholar at Hopkins. ‘But if you live in a country where the alarms go off and your political leaders tell you, “Pay no attention to that alarm, don’t leave the building,”’ that doesn’t mean that the fire alarms don’t work, she said.”

Looks like more countries need to take their cue from Zimbabwe Bishop Nhiwatiwa (see lead item).

More from the Washington Post: Omicron may require fourth vaccine dose, Pfizer says

“The new omicron variant could increase the likelihood that people will need a fourth coronavirus vaccine dose earlier than expected, executives at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said Wednesday. Boosters are likely to help control the variant, according to the company, which said early lab experiments suggest that the standard two-dose regimen still provides some protection against severe illness from the variant.”

“ … More than 40 people in the United States have tested positive for the omicron variant, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the Associated Press Wednesday. Nearly all of them showed mild symptoms, she said. Elsewhere, the World Health Organization said Wednesday that omicron cases had been reported in 57 countries so far.”

Maybe it’s time to upgrade those cloth masks we made so faithfully at the pandemic’s start to the N95 medical grade masks that offer even more protection from airborne infection.

Another note on COVID-19 deaths

Turns out this writer wasn't the only religion observer to note National Public Radio's survey that found people in U.S. counties that voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump are dying from COVID-19 at higher rates -- sometimes three times as high -- as those in more Democratic-leaning counties. The Rev. Thomas Reese, S.J., writes for Religion News Service:

"To say that someone is killing Republicans and Trump supporters in this country sounds like a conspiracy theory gone crazy. It is the kind of conspiracy theory that should be banned by Facebook and Twitter.

"But the evidence is overwhelming.

"... Ironically, it is conservative political, media and religious elites who are causing these deaths by undermining public health directives aimed at protecting people from COVID-19. Science tells us that the best way to combat COVID is through vaccination, mask wearing and social distancing. These practices have been attacked by many conservative leaders, and it is killing Republican voters."

Again, it sounds like at least the "religious elites" ought to take note of Bishop Nhiwatiwa's remarks above.

Wildfires pollute as well as burn

Wildfires around the world – some of which have destroyed United Methodist churches as well as members’ homes and businesses – are contributing greenhouse gases to the global warming phenomenon that is making wildfires more frequent. In other words, wildfire proliferation is developing into a deadly feedback loop of climate change.

From The Guardian’s “Down to Earth” climate newsletter by Fiona Harvey:

“The shocking impact of wildfires around the world was revealed this week, as the scientists of Europe’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service published data showing a year of ‘intense, prolonged and devastating’ wildfires that caused an estimated total of 1,760 megatons of carbon emissions – more than twice the annual carbon emissions from Germany.

“Wildfires are not only devastating in themselves, and contribute to air pollution, but as the Copernicus data shows they are also now a significant cause of rising greenhouse gas emissions around the world.

“…The findings show the importance of tackling greenhouse gas emissions and rising temperatures as a matter of urgency before this potentially disastrous feedback loop takes further hold. Countries must also get better at preventing and handling fires, which have impacts far beyond the burned regions themselves.”

United Methodist Women, in particular, are tackling the problem of greenhouse gases, especially methane. UMW held online training Dec. 8 on how to submit public comments on new methane regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. Comments are open until Jan. 14.

“We need to let the EPA know we want the strongest methane protections possible by submitting public comments. To see how your state is impacted by methane, type in your zip code in the Oil and Gas Threat map here,” says the UMW website.

Please submit a public comment today!

Now ... go do nothing

Regular contributor Jack Shitama offers a note that we think benefits body, mind and soul as we continue to face an onslaught of change and crisis. From his "Two for Tuesday" email:

"​Science says its essential to make time to do nothing. Here’s why by Jay Dixit. This quick read will clear up any misconceptions about the best use of your time. It gives a simple explanation about why your brain needs downtime to be more productive and creative. It also clarifies what actually counts as downtime. The rest is up to you."

We hope that all of us will build "do nothing" time into our busy holiday schedules. As they say in airline safety instructions, we need to put on our own oxygen masks before we can help others. 

Media Mentions as of Dec. 9, 2021

Survey: Americans concerned too many are seeking religious exemptions to vaccines – Religion News Service

Tornado destroys church, but not its ministry – UM News

Pastor: Cancer brings lessons in gratitude – Holston Conference

Why Mississippi’s anti-abortion law is also an assault on LGBTQ+ rights – Religion News Service

Reflections From COP26 – Church and Society