Liu Jianwei

liujianwei755@163.com

WITH the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 raging through parts of the world, countries are strengthening social-distancing measures and ramping up screening tests to single out those who already have been infected. Blocking the chain of infection is vital in the fight against this pandemic.

The people who are most at risk are those who are not vaccinated. The World Health Organization (WHO) has long been recommending vaccination against COVID and labels safe and effective vaccines “a game-changing tool.”

Many vaccinated patients are either asymptomatic or experiencing mild symptoms. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says unvaccinated people are17 times more likely to get hospitalized.

Yet there are those who abuse their celebrity status and make jarring noises to the public with regard to COVID vaccination, including tennis player Novak Djokovic and basketballer Kyrie Irving.

On top of their physical advantage, these athletes have unlimited financial and medial resources at their disposal. Social responsibility and collective good are perhaps alien words in their dictionary.

Fortunately, more people step up in advocating the importance of the vaccination effort. In his interview with Rolling Stone, basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said, “There is no room for players who are willing to risk the health and lives of their teammates, the staff and the fans simply because they are unable to grasp the seriousness of the situation or do the necessary research.”

Immunization is an immense science achievement and a global health success story. We now have vaccines to prevent more than 20 life-threatening diseases, helping people of all ages live longer, healthier lives. According to the WHO, immunization “currently prevents 2-3 million deaths every year from diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza and measles.”

On the front of COVID-19, the number of lives saved will be more significant.

A team led by Drs. Sumedha Gupta of Indiana University and Christopher Whaley of the RAND corporation analyzed that during the first five months when they were available, COVID-19 vaccines prevented more than 139,000 deaths based on their findings in Health Affairs on Aug. 18, 2021.

As a key component of primary health care, vaccination itself is an indisputable human right. It is a giant leap for mankind.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pointed out that unvaccinated basketball players are not “behaving like good teammates or good citizens.”

The whole society should act together, to quote the French from the French President Emmanuel Macron, to “piss off” unvaccinated people.

(The author is an independent financial investor.)