Sunday School 3/7/21: Extra Credit

At the end of Sunday School I promised I'd have some of the COVID discussions from yesterday's classrooms, so let's dive in. First up? Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, who spoke with Jake Tapper on CNN's State of the Union. 

On him relaxing guidelines in his state, Reeves said the people who've been saying for a year to follow the data "now want me, when things are going down, to completely ignore the data." He said he's "less concerned about the number of cases and more concerned about our objective," which has never been to be virus-free. Rather, it's to "ensure we protect the integrity of our health care system" and that anyone who gets the virus gets good care.

And, he said, they are trying to protect both lives and livelihoods, as he ignored Tapper's question about the surge in cases and deaths that happened the last time he lifted the mask mandate. He trusts his citizens to "make good decisions."  Reeves continues to not only recommend people wear masks, he encourages it, saying

If you have not received the vaccination, and you are going into a large crowd, or if you're going out to dinner, I strongly encourage Mississippians and people across the country to wear a mask, because I believe that it does, in fact, reduce the ability of individuals to spread the virus. No question about that, Jake.

Notably, only about 9% of Mississippians have been fully vaccinated, according to Tapper, but Reeves said they did 28,000 on Friday, and they're doing a lot better now than in the past. 

Dr. Ashish Jha, from Brown University's School of Public Health, is a regular on ABC, and he was in the This Week classroom with Martha Raddatz. She asked him about teachers still not wanting to get back in the classroom. He advocated for teachers being prioritized, and said he believes

most teachers are going to be perfectly willing to go back. It's safe for them. It's safe for the kids. There may always be some outliers. But we have to deal with that. I think there's no question of public health and safety when we think about vaccinated teachers in schools with good policies.

He also questioned states lifting the mask mandates, saying that "is not just about personal choice" and comparing it to impaired driving. 

 -- if I were to drink and get behind the wheel of a car, it's not just a personal choice that I'd be putting my life at risk, I'd be putting other people's lives at risk. That's why we have laws against that kind of behavior. When you wear a mask, you're not just protecting yourself, you're protecting people around you.

He's still optimistic on "what the summer will bring" in terms of getting back to normal; we'll have "plenty of vaccines for everybody and most Americans will have gotten vaccinated" by then. The changes made in Texas, Mississippi and other places can slow that timeline down, and put people at risk of getting infected - and dying.

And given how close we are to the finish line, anybody who gets infected today and dies in three or four weeks is somebody who would have gotten vaccinated a month from now. This is why it's urgent to just keep going for a little bit longer. I think a lot of these restrictions can start coming down later April, certainly by May, but not right now. 

And finally, Chuck Todd talked with White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients on Meet the Press. Chuck asked about the difference between "having enough vaccine for every adult American" and getting every adult American a shot. In fact, Chuck asked the question twice, without getting a real answer - the best he got was 

So, our goal is to get as many Americans, all Americans, vaccinated as efficiently and as fast as possible. But I want to emphasize equity and fairness is as important as speed and efficiency.

They also talked about people maybe holding out for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson one. Zients said we have "three safe and very effective vaccines" and that folks should take the first one they're offered, and that the administration is working to ensure even distribution of all three of them.

They also talked about vaccine equity, with Chuck sharing that the most African-American ward in DC, which has the most COVID deaths, is not getting the most vaccines. Zients is aware that type of thing is happening "in too many parts of the country" and it's unacceptable, it's not fair and it's not equitable. 

We need to bring vaccines to people where they are, which is why community health centers are so important. They serve over 30 million Americans. Two-thirds of those that use community health centers live below the poverty line. Sixty percent come from communities of color.

The community health centers, the mobile units, and the pharmacy program are also focused on hard-hit areas. He also said they're working with states on vaccine supply, access issues, and support for folks trying to get signed up.

Many governors and states have improved their access. But we need equal access across the board. We need to fix this problem. We need to hold ourselves accountable to both speed and efficiency, but fairness and equity in the distribution of the vaccine.

See you around campus. Please get vaccinated as soon as you're able, and keep making good decisions about mask-wearing and social distancing.