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I wish the U.S. government’s website www.covidtests.gov had been available to send four free COVID-19 tests to every home in the country at the beginning of January, because we really could have used them at the Cherokee Scout. Monday – as in just two days ago – was the first workday of 2022 where your local newspaper has had its entire staff on hand, which means those first three editions were produced in large part on a wing, a prayer and the internet.
I learned a lot during my family’s personal battle with COVID, mostly that the coronavirus is insidious and affects everyone differently. My wife has had prior lung issues, so the virus attacked her there. I had cervical surgery a few years back, which is likely why the virus took up residence in my throat.
Unlike the regular flu, this virus doesn’t go away after a few days of DayQuil, Tussin and rest. Instead, it sticks around like the dog next door that barks its fool head off every time a FedEx driver pulls into the driveway.
After receiving both Moderna shots and a booster, my wife and I were feeling pretty indestructible when the virus entered our lives; nearly a month later, we’re still feeling the negtive affects. However, my daughter, who only had one Moderna shot before forgetting about the rest, was more sick than I’ve ever seen her before. It’s a helpless and horrible feeling as a father when your child is in pain and there’s not a thing you can do about it.
Between bouts of unconsciousness, I had time to do more research on COVID-19. I was astonished to learn how many people who were virulently anti-vaccine have died from the virus.
- Marcus Lamb – founder of Daystar Television Network, the largest Christian television TV channel – died Nov. 30. In a court filing, Daystar called the vaccine mandate a “sin against God’s holy word.”
- Bob Enyart, a Denver-based pastor and talk show host, died Sept. 12. A month before his death, Enyart wrote he and his wife “have sworn off taking the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson vaccines.”
- Caleb Wallace was founder of the The San Angelo Freedom Defenders anti-mask group and organized anti-mask rallies. He died Aug. 28 after being on a ventilator for weeks.
- Phil Valentine was a conservative talk show host in Nashville who died Aug. 21 from COVID-19 after expressing skepticism about the vaccine.
- Dr. Jimmy DeYoung Sr. was a Christian radio host and Bible prophecy teacher who died Aug.15. He once called the vaccine “government control.”
- Dick Farrel was a conservative talk show host from Florida who changed his mind about the vaccine after he fell sick, but it was too late. He died Aug. 4.
- Anti-vaccine protester Curt Carpenter, 28, of Pell City, Ala., told his family the virus was “not a hoax” after all when he fell ill. He died May 2.
- Marc Bernier was a conservative, right-wing radio host in Florida who dubbed himself “Mr. Anti-Vax.” He regularly protested the vaccine before dying Aug. 30, 2020.
According to a Gallup News Service survey, 78 percent of Americans are willing to give up certain freedoms to gain security, yet we still haven’t reached that percentage of vaccinated. Perhaps that’s because Americans have become a lot more politicized in recent years.
When I think of folks giving up freedom, I think of the men who served the U.S. military in World War II, and the women who went to work in munitions plants. I think of my uncle Kenny being drafted into Vietnam and going without complaint. Americans have often been called to temporarily sacrifice some freedoms for the public’s safety.
Dr. Joe Keffer of Murphy shared with me that, “The virus is an enemy that we must oppose with strength.” He’s correct that we may have to defer some of our freedoms in the face of a greater threat, not unlike the situation when our country is assaulted by a foreign power.
However, if we take COVID-19 seriously and meet it head on, this threat, too, will pass. And when it does, the many good folks who have been staying inside for most of the last two years will be among the first to celebrate.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 837-5122; email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com; or on Twitter @daviddBstroh.