Covid cases among Wisconsin children ages 4 – 8  increased a whopping 944% between early June to early August.  Case increases among other Wisconsin childhood groups was in the 400% - 500% range.  Talk about canaries in the coalmine.  If we had seen a nearly 1000% increase in childhood shootings or abuse or car accidents – would we have such a tepid response?

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reports that between the week of June 6th and the week of August 4th, the number of children who have been infected with the Covid virus has grown astronomically as show in the accompanying chart.

When I look at what is occurring with kids in Wisconsin, I struggle with my anger against those who refuse to get vaccinated, and I think I’m not alone.  My Quaker sensibilities tell me to just get over it and seek to find the grace within each person.  But that’s harder than I thought it would be.

I have two granddaughters, ages five years old and seven-months old.  Their parents – and my wife and I –  do everything we can to protect them from getting infected and thus far we’ve been successful.  But we know that with the Delta Variant now representing 80% of those infected in our region, and less than 50% of the population fully vaccinated – there is only so much we can do; especially with one granddaughter in daycare and the other in summer day camp and just weeks away from starting school.  I am angry and I am fearful.

I understand that we can’t paint all of these vaccine nay-sayers with the same brush.  After all, some are motivated because they don’t want to put foreign substance in their bodies.  Others do so out of fear or mistrust of the government because of past abuses.  Many are simply being misled and their true fault is placing their trust in people who use them for personal and political gain.

But that doesn’t excuse those who know better but who are promulgating false and misleading information about the vaccine for purely political reasons.  As my mother would say “there should be a special place in hell for those people.”  But since I don’t believe in hell I find no solace in the prospect of biblical retribution.
​
And so, as a concerned grandparent, and as a Quaker what can I do?  What can we – as a community – do?
​
Here is my thought.  I’m going to ask everyone I meet if they are vaccinated, and if not, I’m going to provide them with some version of the following information.  Maybe I should print up business cards with this information and hand it to them. 

• 97% of those who have recently been hospitalized or who have died from covid have been unvaccinated
• Getting vaccinated doesn’t just protect YOU…it protects everyone around you.  This is not an individual decision being made – it is a communal decision.
• In the 8 weeks from early June to early August we have seen Covid spread dramatically among children – primarily from people who aren’t vaccinated.
  • 500% increase in Covid in kids aged 0 to 3 years old
  • Nearly a 1000% increase in Covid in kids aged 4 – 8

The solution is simple:  Get Vaccinated.  Protect Wisconsin Children.  And spread the word.