Communities across Texas and much of the United States are grappling with the latest spike in COVID-19. Too many of us let our guards down, and, in turn, let one another down. Now, government officials and medical leaders are sounding alarms as hospitalizations and deaths again spike.
It didn’t have to be this way; unlike previous surges, we have a key tool to stop it: Vaccines. If more Americans were vaccinated, and embraced masks to limit the spread of the delta variant, we wouldn’t be seeing this surge. We must all take brave actions to turn this around, starting with Gov. Greg Abbott.
Abbott, who has banned mask and vaccine mandates, can still do the right thing. He must be guided by science and drop his overreaching order against mask and vaccine mandates. This isn’t a political game. He must empower local leaders — mayors, county judges, school districts — to make the public health decisions needed to save lives.
Science is evidence-based, which means it changes. Yes, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has, at times, been confusing, but our understanding of COVID-19 and variants is evolving. We have to adjust as variants emerge, and case counts rise and fall.
San Antonio/Bexar County has moved to a severe threat level as hospitalizations surge. According to Metro Health data, the seven-day average in new daily cases last Thursday was 1,291 up from 1,146 last Tuesday.
The delta variant is highly contagious — comparable to chickenpox and measles, according to the CDC. Yet despite an abundance of vaccines, vaccination rates, until recently, had mostly plateaued.
President Joe Biden condemned Abbott’s mandates and tweeted: “Right now, too many people are dying — or watching a loved one dying — and saying ‘if I just got vaccinated.’ It’s heartbreaking, but it’s preventable. This is about life and death — and the vaccine will save your life.”
If personal responsibility were enough, we wouldn’t be in this crisis. If GOP leaders can’t lead, they must stop impeding others.
Other GOP leaders have shifted their positions. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson reversed course on his mandate. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told the Associated Press he has urged former President Donald Trump to press his supporters to get the COVID-19 vaccine, calling it “the antidote to the virus that’s wreaking havoc on our hospitals.”
So far, Abbott has refused to heed advice from the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Texas Medical Association, teacher unions and many others who recommend K-12 mask mandates. The CDC now recommends universal masks, including for those who are vaccinated, while indoors and vaccines beginning at age 12.
For children younger than 12, who are too young to be vaccinated, masks are all we have.
City Council recently decided to encourage vaccines with $100 gift cards. District 9 City Councilman John Courage questioned if the city should consider defying Abbott’s orders, something Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is doing in requiring masks for city staff. Houston ISD is also considering a mask mandate. “I strongly urge that we consider taking the strongest possible action, or maybe some impossible actions, if need be to protect the health and safety even of the vaccinated,” Courage said.
Dr. Peter Hotez, dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told us in an Editorial Board meeting recently that the unvaccinated are overwhelmingly responsible for transmission of the virus. He said he’s concerned about rising cases, low vaccination rates, especially among the young, and rampant disinformation.
Fear is fueling COVID-19. While it’s right to be fearful of a virus that has killed more than 3,600 in Bexar County, 51,000 in Texas and 612,900 in the United States, it’s wrong to be fearful of vaccines and masks that help keep people out of the hospital and morgue.
To save lives, we must all make brave decisions. That starts with you, governor.
San Antonio Express-News
