I was (mostly) gently upbraided by one of our parishioners after mass yesterday. I wouldn't want to say anything which would identify him, so I can't give the full context of our conversation here, but we were speaking about something where the question would naturally arise, Are you vaccinated yet? So I asked him.
And he refused to answer.
He told me, "I don't like it when people ask me that question. You don't really need to know whether I'm vaccinated or not. Whether I am or not - I'm fine." And then, becoming a little more emotional, he added, "And I've told my son I don't want him to get vaccinated." His son is a young adult so presumably can make his own medical and life decisions, but of course parents do continue to exert some influence on their adult children (at least, speaking as a parent of young adults, I hope that is the case!)This conversation took place after a mass at which I had given a homily (the text of which is in my previous post) in which I had told all and sundry who were paying attention that I am fully vaccinated.
What's more, this person is in a parish volunteer role for which, in my opinion, it really would behoove him to be fully vaccinated, both for his sake and for the sake of others in the parish. And for all I know, he is vaccinated; he didn't actually tell me he's not (although I admit I drew the conclusion that he isn't).
On one level, he's surely right: another person's vaccination status probably is none of my business. Our federal laws, and increasingly our larger culture, consider medical status to be a matter of personal privacy.
Of course, from the Christian's point of view, I am my brother's keeper. I didn't ask him the question merely to be nosy (well, not entirely so), but because I'm genuinely concerned that he take precautions - as I say, for his own sake and others' as well.
For the last 5-6 months, "Are you vaccinated yet"? has been, by a wide margin, the most popular topic of conversation whenever I run into parishioners. I can easily imagine that this poor guy has been asked that question a couple of hundred times or more during that period. And undoubtedly he's discerned a certain air of superiority emanating from those who already are vaccinated. It seems he's fed up. And I can't say he's entirely wrong. But ... when the topic at hand is a contagious and debilitating or even deadly virus whose prevalence is a matter of public health, there also is some social grace in reassuring people. Or at least being forthcoming about it.
To me, sharing vaccination status isn't at all like sharing more personal medical information, such as "Have you had a mammogram yet?" That would be nobody else's business. But it is my business, or their business, if we can safely be together without masks. Such as, all the members who attend the art club I belong to have shared that they are vaccinated. So we can safely have meetings without worrying too much.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to share that I am vaccinated, and that I am thankful that I can now see my kids and my elderly father without worrying about giving them Covid. Put in the context of having more freedom and less anxiety, more people are willing to share this bit of somewhat personal information.
Romans 14 is a good guide to taking care of one another yet not judging one another. I think the ones who are adamantly not getting vaccinated have probably tuned in to bad information. But it is difficult if not impossible to get them to listen to better sources.
Vaccination status, wearing a mask, and practicing social distancing are all public health issues not private beliefs. If people want to interact with us, we have a right to know about all those questions. If people don't want to answer, then they should not expect to interact with us.
ReplyDeleteI have a decal saying that I have been vaccinated. I have placed it on a name tag which I can hang in my car and which I wear when I go places. It should help reassure others who are concerned about my vaccination status, and helps me ask others about their vaccination status.
I think our parishes should be encouraging people to get vaccinated, and giving them badges and stickers to advertise that they are vaccinated. As long as the virus remains prevalent nationally, state wide and locally, I don't intend to return to Mass unless I see evidence that almost all the people there are vaccinated.
This guy was the fifth person I've spoken with over the last week or so who isn't vaccinated and apparently has no plans to. Another was an appliance repair guy who came to my house earlier today. Put his mask on at our doorway when he saw I was putting one on. I asked him on his way back out the door whether he was fully vaccinated, and he said "Nope" in a tone of voice which I took as meaning, "... and I never will." He's a self-employed blue-collar guy. I pegged him as a Trump voter.
ReplyDeleteAnother was a friend of mine who is quite socially conservative. I asked her whether she and her son are vaccinated, and she said, "No". She sounded almost apologetic about it - I think maybe she thought I'd lose some regard for her. I urged her to consider it for both her and her kid (high school age) but didn't push it any harder than that - I didn't want to make her defensive. In her case, my guess is that she's been hearing things from other conservative Catholics about the vaccines being entangled with cell lines from aborted fetuses.
Last night, I met a very nice older couple who drove through our food distribution ministry. They asked me what it was like to get the vaccine. They seemed nervous about the prospect. My impression is that at least one of them is afraid of needles and/or the vaccines.
It may be somewhat reassuring to older people who are vaccine hesitant that older people tend to have milder side effects, if any.
DeleteWell, I am just one isolated case, but I know that when people ask me about the actual process of the vaccination, they seem surprised when I tell them that I didn't even feel the needle go in. Both times. So I was actually reassured by the mildly sore arm I had for about 24 hours that started a few hours after the vaccination. I had actually worried that maybe it hadn't gone in!
DeleteI mentioned elsewhere I think that my husband's brother and his wife only reluctantly got vaccinated after their son and his bride (who live about 30 minutes away from them) refused to visit them unless they did.
"In her case, my guess is that she's been hearing things from other conservative Catholics about the vaccines being entangled with cell lines from aborted fetuses."
DeleteAnother reason why our parishes need to become involved in the vaccination efforts. The Vatican early on made it clear that the involvement, if any with abortion, was very very remote and that Catholics could still take the vaccine.
"I mentioned elsewhere I think that my husband's brother and his wife only reluctantly got vaccinated after their son and his bride (who live about 30 minutes away from them) refused to visit them unless they did."
DeleteYes in some cases some tough love is necessary especially in case of family, friends and neighbors.