Through Ella’s Eyes: App shouldn’t reward the bare minimum
September 21, 2021
App State has introduced an extravagant vaccine incentive program. Appalachian Ski Mountain season passes, $1,000 scholarships, AirPods, on-campus parking passes and gift cards are a few of the prizes offered in a campus-wide lottery for fully vaccinated students. As well-intentioned as this program is, gift cards and concert tickets are not going to get enough vaccines in students’ arms. Only 52% of students are vaccinated. It’s time App State administration bites the bullet and requires vaccination on campus for everyone’s safety.
On Sept. 3, the university began requiring weekly tests for unvaccinated students, faculty and staff. This safety measure is a step in the right direction, but no amount of testing can replace vaccination. Breakthrough cases among the vaccinated are becoming more and more common. As of Sept. 13, App State reportedly has 56 active cases and Watauga County has 78 active cases. The presence of unvaccinated individuals on campus increases the overall likelihood of cases and puts everyone, regardless of vaccine status, at risk. The best way to decrease cases and prevent further variants is to get shots in people’s arms.
A common argument against mandatory vaccination is that it is an attack on personal freedom. It’s not. Requiring vaccination is not a violation of students’ rights. The unvaccinated still have the right to attend App State, just not to attend classes in person and live on campus. You have the right to not get vaccinated, but you don’t have the right to put other’s lives at risk. Vaccination is a matter of personal responsibility. If you are not responsible enough to care for yourself and your classmates, then stay home. The unvaccinated should not be able to participate in campus life alongside those who followed the rules and got their shot like they were supposed to. It’s time the unvaccinated start bearing the weight of the pandemic.
We’re all sick of the pandemic, but we can’t pretend it’s over when it’s not. Nationwide, reported cases are about 300% higher this Labor Day weekend than last year. App State claims to be concerned for the safety of its students, faculty and staff yet holds a 40,000 person concert, no masks or vaccines required. What’s going to end the pandemic is getting vaccinated, and the unvaccinated are only dragging it out. The longer it takes for everyone to get their shots, the longer we all have to deal with masks, quarantine and restrictions. App State must require vaccination for in-person classes and living on campus, so we can all get back to normal life, or who knows how much longer we’ll have to deal with COVID-19.
Mike Terrell • Sep 22, 2021 at 5:25 pm
I couldn’t agree more. As a previous Senior Pharmaceutical Representative with GlaxoSmithKline my main drug was Valtrex. An antiviral specifically for herpetic infections like, cold sores, shingles, and genital herpes, Herpes II. 1 in 5 Americans have Herpes and most don’t even know it. Ever had your grandmother or uncle kiss you on the lips and then later have a cold sore. They probably gave it to you. My wife’s aunt gave it to me. So no more lip kissing, especially babies. The virus lays dormant in the Dorsal Root Ganglion, lower back nerve port, and then presents itself with the above conditions. Sometimes an individual with the virus will never present with symptoms. Shingles, Herpes I can cause severe nerve damage, called post-herpetic neuralgia and scar skin tissue with pus patches, it can even cause herpetic opthalmicus, a condition that can cause blindness in severe cases still associated with shingles.
The only way, and we were trained extensively in the epidemiology of viral diseases and treatments up to my last tenure year of 2010, is to take the newly adopted Shingles vaccine and the other forms must be treated in presentation state with acyclovir/Valtrex or famciclovir/Famvir 3 times a day for 7 days. It will not kill you. But, get a case of shingles and if you have not had the vaccine you are in for a hard ride most of the time. You can miss work for 4-6 weeks, deal with lidocaine patches and have chronic nerve damage that NEVER goes away.
To my point. Not getting the COVID vaccine is not about “your rights” it is about “your life” and you spreading the disease unknowingly, called Asymptomatic Viral Shedding, and causing someone’s else death. Then, you should be held accountable for your actions, PERIOD. Depraved Indifference comes to mind and should be enforced. As of this response, 300 people are dying each day which is down significantly from previous numbers, but up 300% in lower age populations at the same time last year. These individuals are 90+% WHO HAVE NOT HAD THE VACCINE! Get your vaccine, save your life, your family member(s) and for God’s sake those around you! It is a no-brainer and quite frankly your civic duty.
Mike Terrell
ASU Class of ’82
BS Physical Education and Marketing/Management
Licensed Pharmaceutical Representative: Specialty-Central Nervous System