Ross: How high does the water have to get?

In Sunday’s Seattle Times, Danny Westneat quoted the post-vaccine infection numbers for Washington: 15,397 positive COVID tests in April and May. And of those, almost 97% – 14,895 of the positive tests – were among people who were not vaccinated.

Now, that doesn’t mean they’re all deathly ill, as 98.7% of those who test positive have lived through it, and many won’t have any symptoms. Considering those numbers, I think we can stop begging people to get the shot.

The only injustice would be if there is anyone who’s tried to get a shot and been turned down. If that person is listening, use the MyNorthwest inbox to send me an email, or if you don’t have email, have a friend send one – and I wouldn’t be surprised if the governor himself shows up with a needle.

But if you’re hanging back because you trust in a higher power, I respect that, and we should stop bugging you.

There’s a sermon I’m sure you’ve heard several times from the pulpit about the devout man who watches the flood waters rising around his home. A cop knocks on his door and yells “the water’s rising – get on the evacuation bus.” The man says, “thank you, officer, but I trust in God.”

The water reaches the second story, a rescue boat comes along. “Hop in,” says the fireman. “No thank you, I trust in God.” Finally, the man is on the roof, and a rescue helicopter lowers a basket. But again, the man refuses because he trusts in God.

And he drowns.

So, when he gets to the Pearly Gates, he confronts God: “Why did you abandon me, Lord?” And God says, “I sent a bus, a boat, and a helicopter! Plus, I was busy working on three different COVID vaccines.”

And here we are! We now have walk-up vaccinations, plenty of N-95 masks, and million-dollar prizes to help achieve herd immunity. The miracle we prayed so hard for last year has happened! And as with any miracle, each of us is free to believe it or not … and take the consequences.

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