COVID preventable
Health care workers told a visiting pastor that the COVID-19 deaths he witnessed could have been prevented by vaccinations, masks and other public health practices. (Photo by Myriam Zilles on Unsplash)
A United Methodist Insight Column
Few writings have moved me as deeply as the Rev. Chris Yost’s account of his time as a de facto hospital chaplain in the COVID-19 ward of a North Texas hospital, “Scenes from a Pandemic Leave a Lasting Impact.” I encourage you to read it now before continuing with this column.
Aside from the personal agony endured daily by our incredible health care workers, what struck me most was their repeated assertion that all the suffering and death their patients faced was preventable. In other words, had their patients worn masks and followed other coronavirus protections, they could have avoided suffering and dying from COVID-19.
We need not take only the word of front-line medical teams. A recent extensive study has confirmed their field observations, according to Laura (Layla) H. Kwong, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, University of California, Berkeley: “What we found provides gold-standard evidence that confirms previous research: Wearing masks, particularly surgical masks, prevents COVID-19.” Read Dr. Kwong’s full article and share it with your church.
COVID-19 ranks with worst flu pandemic
We’ve reached another grim milestone with the coronavirus pandemic: it now ranks equal to the 1918-1919 flu pandemic, long consider the worst plague of modern times. From The Guardian’s First Thing newsletter:
“Covid-19 has now killed as many Americans as the 1918-19 flu pandemic – more than 675,000.
“The US population a century ago was just one-third of what it is today, meaning the flu cut a much bigger, more lethal swath through the country. But the Covid-19 crisis is by any measure a colossal tragedy in its own right, especially given the incredible advances in scientific knowledge since then and the failure to take maximum advantage of the vaccines available.
“Like the 1918-19 flu, the coronavirus may never entirely disappear from our midst. Instead, scientists hope it will become a mild seasonal bug as human immunity strengthens through vaccination and repeated infection. That could take time.
“How many people are dying of Covid-19 a day? While the Delta variant-fueled surge in infections may have peaked, US deaths are more than 1,900 a day on average.
“Will winter bring a new surge? Yes, the University of Washington’s influential model is projecting an additional 100,000 or so Americans will die of Covid-19 by 1 January. [However, NPR reported Sept. 22 that another group of experts advising the CDC says the worst may be over.]
“How many people are vaccinated? Just under 64% of the US population have received as least one dose of the vaccine.”
I can’t say it often enough: please believe that the facts experts are giving us are valid. COVID-19 is not a political hoax. Please get vaccinated, wear a quality mask, keep six feet of distance from others, and wash your hands. These are some of the most important ways we can love our neighbors and “do no harm” as Methodism’s founder John Wesley advised.
Restrictions seen as worth the cost
Many United Methodist congregations are still reluctant to resume in-person gatherings, especially since the Delta variant of coronavirus has surged. Often their reluctance is justified: their buildings may be small and may have inadequate ventilation systems, two factors that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cite as cautions against large gatherings lasting more than 45 minutes.
Thankfully, more Americans are seeing the value of coronavirus restrictions after 18 months of battling COVID-19, according to the Pew Research Center’s latest study, Majority in U.S. says public health benefits of COVID-19 restrictions worth the costs, even as large shares also see downsides:
“More than a year and a half into the coronavirus outbreak, large shares of Americans continue to see the coronavirus as a major threat to public health and the U.S. economy. And despite widespread vaccination efforts, 54% of U.S. adults say the worst of the outbreak is still to come.
“Overwhelming majorities say restrictions on public activities have hurt businesses and economic activity and keep people from living their lives the way they want. Smaller majorities say these restrictions have helped to slow the spread of the coronavirus and prevent hospitalizations and deaths. Still, on balance, Americans view the public health benefits of the restrictions as having been worth the costs.”
So, please be patient with your church leaders as they struggle to find ways to reinstate in-person gatherings. They’re not being mean; they only want to keep people from getting sick and dying from coronavirus.
It’s Climate Week in New York City
While our churches struggle with how to reinstate physical community while observing coronavirus protections, Climate Week NYC 2021 proceeds with the theme, “Gettting It Done.” Thanks to the wonders of today’s media, United Methodist climate activists can view and participate virtually in many of the week’s events.
A new outlet, Canary Media, says it “has partnered with The Climate Group to highlight content throughout the event. Visit our Climate Week NYC content hub here.” The partnership boasts it has more than 500 events scheduled, “and you can explore and join many of them online,” says its newsletter.
“This is a week for businesses, cities, states, regions and civil society groups to showcase what we are doing to solve the climate crisis and inspire others to do more as we all race to build a fair and just net-zero-carbon economy,” says Canary Media. Hm-m-m-m, I guess faith-based organizations fall into the “civil society groups” category.
United Methodist Insight’s own climate affinity group, Covering Climate Now, notes that Climate Week includes the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting and youth activists’ Global Climate Strike. I hope that United Methodist climate advocates will help their congregations see this week as the kick-off for valuable reports that will continue through November’s UN climate summit, COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. If nothing else, I encourage United Methodists everywhere to heed this explanation from CCN:
“Humanity must take big, ambitious global action now to limit future temperature rise to a survivable amount. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made this point repeatedly—and did so again when it released its most recent findings, the Sixth Assessment Report, in August 2021. To limit future temperature rise to 1.5 C, heat trapping emissions must be cut in half within 10 years and eliminated completely within 30 years—steps that require ambitious and rapid change across nearly every sector of society.”
These goals outstrip the recent, albeit laudable, commitment of UMC agencies to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In the words of “Jurassic Park’s” “chaotician” Ian Malcolm as he escaped a Tyrannosaurus Rex: “Must go faster! Go, go, go, go, go!”
Survey: Trump, white supremacists caused Jan. 6 insurrection
The issues of racism and threats to democracy are being overshadowed by the climate crisis and coronavirus pandemic, but they’re still high on the list of crises to be watched closely. To quote from Public Religion Research Institute’s recent newsletter:
“A new report from PRRI shows deep partisan divides in who Americans blame for the events of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. CNN’s Brian Stelter highlights PRRI’s findings that Republicans who get their news from Fox News or far-right news outlets like Newsmax or One America News Network overwhelmingly blame left-wing activists for the insurrection, saying, “we live in one America, two media worlds, with barely any overlapping space. As Robert P. Jones, the CEO of PRRI, said, the new findings are ‘disturbing’ for democracy.” PRRI’s data finds that 76% of far-right news viewers and 69% of Fox News viewers blame left-wing activists for the events of January 6, while just 17% and 25%, respectively, blame white supremacist groups and a paltry 3% each blame former President Donald Trump.”
These same political divisions are tearing apart our churches, as the tainted form of American Christianity pollutes the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Now is a time for deep prayer to guard ourselves against deception in both church and society. We must always “test the spirits,” to see if they are truly of God, whose nature is Love and whose mission is Justice.
Media Mentions as of Sept. 21, 2021
Morristown church launches climate ministry with butterflies and chalk – Morristown Green
Global health / Biden under pressure to close the ‘vaccination gap’ with poorer nations – The
Guardian
'Dose of hope': Biden pushing rich nations to share vaccine – The Associated Press
Racism, climate and divisions top UN agenda as leaders meet – The Associated Press
Texas’ ban on school mask mandates draws federal investigation for possibly violating the rights of students with disabilities – Texas Tribune
Leawood, Kansas, church hosts a COVID-19 panel to dispel misinformation - KMBC – KMBC Kansas City
Many faith leaders say no to endorsing vaccine exemptions – Religion News Service
Are COVID-19 boosters ethical, with half the world waiting for a first shot? A bioethicist weighs in – Religion News Service
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.