Professor of medicine and member of the Governor's Coronavirus Task Force writes about the COVID-19 vaccine and the riot at the Capitol.
Dr. Wilbur Chen, MD, MS, professor of medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, and member of the Governor's Coronavirus Task Force, writes in his wrap-up for the first week of 2021 about the COVID-19 vaccine and the riot at the Capitol, on the Academy of Lifelong Learning website:
I began this week with the intent to write about my bright and hopeful vision for this new year. However, this week’s events forced me to turn toward painful reflection about what transpired Wednesday at our nation’s Capitol. As a person who is devoted to global health, political instability has been clear and present or an ever-present threat in much of the world, but I failed to recognize the fragile peace of our own democracy. And so, I add my voice of apprehension toward this overt demonstration of the fractioning of our United States. I can only add that I hope that when this pandemic is finished, society can heal.
Yet, the pandemic virus rages on, ignoring man’s philosophical divide. At the time I write this, there have been more than 89 million cases and more than 1.9 million deaths due to COVID-19. The U.S. saw the highest number of deaths in a single day, more than 4,000 (to state this another way, that is one death every 21.6 seconds!). Have you become so numb to these statistics that you do not weep with each minute that passes or do you despair because of the deepening darkness of the world? Everyone is experiencing these days in such personal ways, and I suggest that if you are in despair, that you talk openly with your loved ones and consider professional advice for healing.