EDITORIAL
BELIEVE IN SCIENCE;
TAKE THE VACCINE
Moments after becoming the first New Yorker
to receive the FDA-approved COVID-19
vaccine in front of a national audience just
before 9:30 a.m. Monday morning, Queens
health care worker Sandra Lindsey said she felt good
— and hopeful for the future.
The vaccine, described by Governor Andrew Cuomo
as “the weapon that will end the war” against COVID-
19, is finally making the rounds through the health
care and nursing home communities. The rest of us
should be able to get it in a few months, and the end of
this nightmare pandemic will not be far behind.
But doubt over the vaccine, and the science involved,
remains among too many Americans — and Lindsey
used her opportunity to speak to the city, state and
country to deliver a simple yet powerful message in her
post-vaccination remarks.
“I believe in science. As a nurse, my practice is guided
by science and so I trust that,” Lindsey said. “What
I don’t trust is that, if I contract COVID, I don’t know
how it would impact me or those who I come in contact
with, so I encourage everyone to take the vaccine.”
For months during this pandemic, Lindsey — as
an intensive care nurse at Northwell Health — experienced
the horrors of COVID-19 firsthand, with patient
after patient arriving in the ward, desperate for breath
and life.
All the while, she and her colleagues provide the
best care they could, with the best knowledge available
— while putting themselves at the risk of COVID-19
infection themselves. They’ve seen recoveries; they’ve
seen tragic losses.
Yet they persist and keep fighting the fight few of us
would dare to encounter — their actions not unlike a
cop running toward an armed gunman, or a firefighter
racing toward a burning building.
We owe it to the health care professionals on the
front lines, as much as we owe it to ourselves and the
people we care about, to do as Lindsey said: to “believe
in science” and get the COVID-19 vaccine when it’s finally
available.
We cannot listen to the untruths of anti-vaxxers.
We cannot fear the unknown regarding possible side
effects of the vaccine, none of which have been proven
serious or long-lasting to this point.
Let’s put an end to the massive death and pain of
COVID-19. Let’s protect ourselves, our loved ones, our
health care heroes.
Let’s believe in science.
HOW TO REACH US
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.12 COM | DEC. 18-DEC. 24, 2020
MAKE A DIFFERENCE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
The holiday season is upon us
and with it is a time to think
about helping others during
this deadly pandemic.
There have been so many sick
people and several people dying
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As such, it is time for caring,
sharing, giving and helping others
in need of human kindness.
We are required by our higher
power to love one another and to
keep in our prayers those who
protect us, including our police
officers, firefighters, EMS workers,
doctors, nurses and the rest of
our first responders. Let’s not forget
those men and women in the
military who protect our nation
and put their lives on the line.
Times are hard for many of
our neighbors. Aside from all of
the sickness and death, many are
now unemployed as a result of the
pandemic. So please give to food
kitchens, food pantries, and those
organizations and community
groups that help the poor.
Added to all this, we are now
having a severe blood shortage
and donations are badly needed,
so please give the gift of life.
I am asking you to please make
a difference this holiday season
— you will be glad that you did.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.
Bellerose
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We cannot fear the unknown of possible side effects of COVID-19, none of which have been proven serious or longlasting
to this point. Photo by Dean Moses
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