On Your Own Path of Healing: Book Review of From Burning Out to Burning Bright

The body and mind are more interconnected than we think or are fully aware of. This nagging suspicion and fervent belief of mine have found substantial support in the medical sciences as well as in the field of psychology. One of the eye-opening books for me in this regard has been neuroscientist Suzanne O’Sullivan’s book on psychosomatic disorders entitled It’s All in Your Head, which proposes that various health conditions and diseases are caused by and rooted in psychological factors.

Even in the current medical setting, the power of the mind over matter is becoming more and more prevalent. I was pleased to hear that research by Elvira V. Lang, founder of Comfort Talk, has demonstrated that the use of self-hypnosis, often merely soothing words of comfort, can effectively affect pain management by reducing its occurrence and strength on acute-care patients. The influence of the mind over the body has been known for ages and it has been a thorn in the medical sciences, mostly via the effects of placebos, those innocuous sugar pills that in some patients can elicit the same response as certain medications or treatments.

In this age of self-awareness and self-consciousness, we know for a fact that words not only matter but that they can sting and hurt us as well as others. Seen from another perspective, if words of hatred can bring about pain, should we not utter words of love and kindness to each other since they can soothe, aid and potentially even heal and liberate us from pain and suffering?

Some months ago, I had the opportunity to discuss such a holistic view with registered nurse and gemstone and diamond therapy practitioner Jennifer Marcenelle. Our hour-long interview, which turned into a pleasant and informative conversation on health and wellbeing has been documented on my blog previously. Yet now I have had the pleasure to receive her recently published book From Burning Out to Burning Bright, which arrived with a personal and signed dedication by the author.

Although there are a few things we did not see eye to eye on in the interview – and some of them reverberate as well through her book – there are two things to consider. On one hand, there is a significant agreement between us when it comes to the importance of mental and emotional being and its correlation with health as well as the importance of leading a healthy life. I could not agree with her more on the fact that burnout is the outcome of a hectic and busy lifestyle that drives and feeds on chronic stress and negativity.

No amounts of pills, medication, alcohol, or drugs can possibly deal with the void, damage, and devastation that a life of chronic stress brings about. We need to find an approach that does not merely look at or treat the body in isolation but that takes into account the whole person and being - their thoughts, emotions, feelings, perception, and perspective. It is not just the job, the employer, the manager, the co-worker that causes one pain and heartache, but it goes much deeper than that as it has deeper underlying roots and causes.

The second point is that people are unique and different; as a result, they have different needs and requirements. What works for me may not exactly work for you. If diamonds and gemstones can have a therapeutic effect on you, whether it is based on science or it is simply a placebo effect, matters little here as long as it actually works for you. If your faith can strengthen you to deal with illness or stress, then it shall and so be it, and who are we to interfere with that.

One of the things that Jennifer often reiterates in her book is that everyone has their own belief system and that we should respect that. It is not a matter of converting or convincing the other of aligning themselves with our own viewpoints. There should be no hidden agenda nor manipulation when it comes to healing. We want to discover what works best, but the overall aim and purpose are always the same: health and wellness.

In the past, Jennifer was driven by ambition and a constant drive for success that took a substantial toll on her health and wellbeing. In the corporate world, which often uses greed, competition, and envy as a catalyst, there is no respite. She found herself, not unlike many of us, without support or comradeship. Everyone is striving and battling to get to the higher rungs of the ladder, while some may even lack scruples along the way.

In Jennifer’s case things got even more complicated because she was working within the health sector, which radiates and generates its own source of stress. Yet one of the most heartbreaking experiences for her involved a young mother who was awaiting a heart transplant.

The ailing mother received an experimental ventricular assist device, but Jennifer alongside all the other nurses knew in advance that it would not be of any help or assistance. Despite the health of this young woman gravely deteriorating, up to the point of her becoming comatose and her body mummifying, Jennifer’s superiors did not want to halt the use of the device; they wanted to keep the patient alive as long as possible so that the device could obtain FDA approval.

Using human beings and their suffering, let alone the continuous pain and the constant suffering that the patient’s husband and child had to go through, as a pawn for one’s own financial gain is beyond unethical. It is inexcusable and inhumane, and it served as a catalyst for Jennifer's decision to cut ties with the corporate world of greed and ambition. As Jennifer herself puts it, sometimes it takes something powerful and/or awful to bring out and about the best in us and put us on the path of healing.

One of the things, she realized is that the sacrifices she made and the stress that she endured for her work were just not worth its salt. Although it was important to help and serve others as a health practitioner, the business-minded and -oriented hospital system, the management, and administration did not have the best of their patients and employees in mind. In fact, the system was driven by political and economic incentives, for the most part, brought about by what is commonly referred to as Big Pharma.

The physical but more important emotional toll on her body showed and expressed itself in the form of burnout or a complete standstill and breakdown. The catalyst was not only her work nor her harmful outlook and attitude towards her employment, not only her envious and conniving colleagues and co-workers as well as her own flawed perception of what constitutes ambition and success, not only her own experiences of a noxious childhood promulgated by a toxic mother, sisters, and family environment, but rather a combination of all those elements involved.

Healing, as she puts it in her book, is a lifelong journey, and it needs to be approached in a holistic manner. She gives many examples of how this could be achieved, but as always, it depends on one’s own personal preferences and dispositions. Yet one thing is for sure: There is no magical pill or prescription to fix or set this wrong straight, but we must understand and realize what is causing and driving these issues, the root problem.

It is often tied with the concept of knowing oneself, knowing what makes one tick and to try and experiment with various methods to find out what works best. It is a trial-and-error process until we find the best method for ourselves, but most likely, it will be various modalities or a combination of tools that will help us advance on the path of healing. We can align ourselves with the Holy Spirit, or any spiritual force that you deem important in your personal life and/or culture, we can engage in and practice psychoanalysis, or any other means and methods you feel is appropriate to get you to understand and know yourself better.

The problems one has are often psychosomatic in nature. Many erroneously assume and believe that psychosomatic symptoms are not real. That is far from the truth. Psychosomatic disorders mean that there is no underlying organic and physical cause of one’s condition. It is caused by an underpinning emotional issue. This does not make it any less real, but it helps us focus on the cause in a much more concerted means and effort. In such situations, medication would have about the same effect as placebos, so it shows us that we could easily dispense with the harmful secondary effects, side effects and potential addiction that tend to be the unwanted outcome of certain types of medicine.

If gemstone and diamond therapy will work for you despite the advents and caution of science, then so be it. It is important to remember that neither I nor Jennifer recommends such methods for underlying organic causes although you can at any time combine them with scientific and medical treatments, be they in addition or in complement to medicine or surgery. In fact, research in Positive Psychology by Martin Seligman has shown that people with a positive outlook are not only healthier and live longer (by about eight years!) but they also have stronger immune systems, less inflammation, and fewer infections, and that they generally recover more quickly from wounds and/or diseases, whenever that is indeed possible.

As I expressed in my conversation with Jennifer in our phone interview, I am not too familiar with but also somewhat skeptical about gemstone and diamond therapy. I also do not have any first-hand experience or knowledge of Reiki, acupuncture, energy healing, or the use of spiritual guides. For those methods, I can only say, if it works for you, then that is great; if it does not, feel free to discard them and find other methods that could help you more.

Yet my stance on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and its offshoots are a bit clearer as I have more knowledge as well as personal experience about this field. In fact, there are limitations to cognitive-behavioral methods, which neural linguistic programming (NLP) is part of and which is discussed, to some extent, in Jennifer’s book. She claims that it is important to ‘update our mental software’ to help us move in the right direction.

Although thoughts are certainly of importance, and one can reframe and train one’s brain in significant ways due to certain inherent flexibility, often referred to as neuroplasticity, it should not and could not come at the expense or neglect of emotions. The underlying problem here is that most of our harmful thoughts are stored in the unconscious and are not at our disposal or retrieval at the hands of consciousness.

In Jennifer’s case, her burnout was facilitated by feelings of anger and resentment that she herself felt but also absorbed from others, and this caused significant damage to her health and body.  It was also driven by the need to live a life in service of others, of being subservient to the wishes and expectations of others. This was only exacerbated by a toxic work environment, which she compares to an IV drip of poison.

These traumas often have their beginning in childhood trauma. In Jennifer’s case, it was because of her toxic mother, who herself was projecting her own childhood traumas of being a daughter of an abusive alcoholic, Jennifer’s maternal grandfather. Jennifer’s sisters coped with the same stress in different and more harmful manners; they used drugs and alcohol as an escape from their pain and suffering.

Childhood trauma, in Jennifer’s words, creates a disruption to our subtle bodies, the energetic aspects such as meridians, chakras, and the aura, and becomes stored in the body. Our body is, in essence, a “multi-dimensional system of subtle energies” that can have its chi/ki or vital energy flow become congested and blocked. This would reverberate and be felt in each of the distinct seven chakras, which are essentially designated wheels of energy that can stop flowing and lead to potential health problems.

There are two observations that I found of great interest here. The first one is that the most profound part of a person, our highest self, is deep within our core, which is why mystics keep telling and keep reminding us that to find yourself, you must go deep within. The second observation is about the crown chakra. When children are born, their fontanel is soft because it is conceived as the “door in which Soul enters the newborn’s body at first breath.” As a result, in baptism, the water symbolizes a way of keeping open - or rather cleansing - this chakra of the newly born.

The other point, I would like to mention is karma. We usually think of karma as either positive and negative and that basically, our actions would result in reactions charged in either direction. But I was surprised, yet pleased, to learn of a third and even higher distinction, namely the neutral side of karma. Essentially, karma itself has a neutral position. It is not meant to be personal, but it is a kind of scoring system that objectively rewards and punishes us, each according to our own.

But neutral as opposed to positive and negative karma means letting the universe take its course without influencing it too much with our wishes and desires. It does not mean that we should not do good or become indifferent or insensitive to human pain and suffering but rather to do everything in moderation. Neutral karma is indeed the middle path where our actions are undertaken for no other purpose than the greater good of all. It is not about telling the universe what we want or asking for things from the universe, but it is about being receptive and grateful for what the universe gives and provides us.

This is often harder said than done. For instance, Jennifer’s oath as a nurse to help and serve her patients might lead her to try too hard for a patient to recover, but that would be an infraction of the law of non-interference, a kind of mental pushing or wanting things that are not always possible. That would in its turn create more karma. Although the intention is good, it is not the highest form of neutral karma, of letting things, as well as our lives, are and run their course. We must keep in mind that death is the eventual destination of everyone’s life.

While karma tends to balance things out and, in Jennifer’s words, always pays its debts, it can also serve as a powerful tool to help us grow spiritually. In fact, we have the power to choose – even when at times it does not feel like it – and we can always act and break karmic patterns, no matter how harmful or entrenched they may be.

To do so, we must change our mindset and lifestyle in significant ways. We need to first off accept the fact that we are not perfect and that we are here to learn. Healing in a holistic way will help us become whole and that means we would need to find a way of releasing and unlodging unwanted negative energy, thoughts, and feelings alongside our chronic subconscious negativity, the triple feeling of being controlled, deprived, and rejected.

We must also forgive ourselves and follow our hearts, which is not the same as merely following one’s emotions. This takes continuous and persistent work and effort. Jennifer says it may include months of work with various modalities; I think it might be a matter of years to fully recover, but it is more than worth it.

In fact, in modern society, this situation becomes more pronounced because of a general lack of self-care. When people talk about me-time, it should not be only about going to the bar, the spa or getting a mani-pedi or facial, but taking time out to reconnect with oneself, the person one truly is deep inside.

You cannot love others if you do not love yourself first. You cannot forgive others if you do not first forgive yourself. You cannot love God, or anyone else if you do not love and accept yourself first. Whatever path you choose to take, if it takes you to yourself, your higher self, essence, or soul, then you are on the right path to healing and to becoming whole.

 

 

Race, Policing and Police Brutality: An Interview with Dr. Terrell Carter

This week, I had the pleasure and privilege to talk with writer, activist, pastor, and community leader Dr. Terrell Carter on issues of ethnicity, racial discrimination, and the police. Dr. Carter is a true Renaissance man (notwithstanding the personal thoughts and opinions of his teenage daughter) since he is not only all the epithets described above but he is also a professor, an artist as well as a former police officer.

It is the latter point that especially sets him apart from many of his peers as we can learn a lot from his experience, outlook, and status, all of which make his point of view more balanced and calibrated. This is accentuated by the fact that he himself is an upright citizen and this is something that I personally gleaned and realized from our hour-long one-on-one conversation.

Currently, I am in the process of reviewing one of his earlier books – Walking the Blue Line – which deals with his personal experiences of being a colored police officer, and I was immediately impressed with his stance of neither defending nor demonizing the police.

I concur with this view. Although my context and life experiences are very different, I used to espouse the romantic Ivory Tower ideology of viewing all forms of authority as a threat, an unconscious rebellion against the paternal figure, but when I had the opportunity to work with police officers, my views about them changed in many ways and aspects.

Part of my rebellion stemmed from fear and a general lack of contact with the police (I have had, fortunately, no specific negative experiences or trauma to speak of) but a figure dressed in an imposing uniform tends to instill more fear than respect. Yet once I got to meet these officers of the law outside of their uniform, in plain civilian clothes, I saw and realized that police officers are no different from the rest of us. They have their troubles, worries, and concerns, they have a sense of humor – believe it or not - and they have their differences.

One of the more worrisome aspects of the current anti-police movement is its either/or and black/white perspective. The protesters tend to oppose all police officers and fail to distinguish those who are upright and decent from those who are jaded, corrupt, and downright racist.

This is one of the things that Dr. Carter learned and realized first-hand as he was serving in the police force. The problem in many cases was not the individuals but the police system itself. Policing does not start off with the mission or ideology of helping others or even serving communities; it is mainly based and intent on catching and apprehending “bad guys” or perpetrators.

It is hinged on a worldview that wants officers to punish those who commit crimes, and in fact, those members of the police who do good by avoiding conflict and violence find themselves at a significant disadvantage. This is because the system runs like a business, and you would basically receive commissions on making arrests be they drug busts or felonies; once you have various arrests under your belt, you would be promoted.

Put differently, if you fail to do so, if you do not fulfill your quota, you will not have a chance to advance in your career. If you wanted to help and serve your community – the noble intentions of many who engage in this profession in the first place - you would have to do this on your own time, meaning it would go unpaid and uncredited, although that is what the true aim and purpose of policing should and ought to be.

My question for Dr. Carter was why there is so little time placed on de-escalation techniques, and the answer became apparent during our conversation. The police are seen basically as alpha males whose intention would be to escalate situations so that they can make arrests. De-escalation would be considered effeminate or too feminine. But the accent should lie on avoiding conflicts not flaming or encouraging them, and we should see the police more as officers of peace than one of force and enforcement.

Another issue that compounds and complicates the whole process in the United States is access to guns. As a police officer, you would constantly live in survival mode and you will be dealing with bad guys on a daily basis. This means that not only is your view of humanity influenced and biased in a negative way, but you might also build and harbor negative stereotypes or prejudices against certain groups or segments of society. A police officer’s mind has been primed to see the negative, and they might project this into ambivalent situations or even their daily life and context.

Again, this is not meant to excuse or defend their actions nor the various cases of excessive and unnecessary force, but it is meant to encourage a better and more empathic understanding of these situations. As Dr. Carter put it, many people start off policing as upright and decent beings, but the job and the working climate make many of them jaded and corrupt. In fact, it is easier, let alone professionally more rewarding, for a good person to go astray and be swayed onto the wrong path, of becoming bad and corrupt than to stay the course.

Why did decent folks not stand up against those rotten apples, the corrupt and sadistic members of the force? Why did no one step into the fray and stop the evident violence and police brutality occurring in front of their eyes; why did no one denounce and expose wrongdoing? Is it because of comradeship and camaraderie?

Dr. Carter’s answer was yes. You had to trust your partner in dangerous and life-threatening situations. But when he himself denounced the practices of one of his colleagues, no one wanted to partner up with him as they deemed his action a transgression against the unspoken but implicit code of police conduct. By standing up for your principles and other people’s rights, you would become ostracized and would be called a snitch. As a result, Dr. Carter decided to quit the force.

This ties in with many issues that plague administrations and governments on all their levels. Although there is corruption, we are asked to turn a blind eye and accept and go along with it. The moment a person exposes wrongdoing, the whistleblowers tend to be attacked by the establishment when they ought to be celebrated and promoted for doing the right thing and for actively tackling corruption. Honesty, integrity, and truthfulness tend not to be encouraged by higher-ups or the government; worse, whistle-blowers tend to be reprimanded or punished for speaking out and standing up for truth and integrity.

Although police officers have and will be charged with crimes, they often receive protection from the law. In many cases, we have seen that the victim would be blamed for their actions, whether it is running away or pulling out a wallet. It is hard to fathom what kind of cruel and inhumane pretext will be given for the slaying of George Floyd, but the legal system must ensure and enforce that justice will prevail and that there is no favoritism involved; that justice is indeed blind to differences by equally applying the rules to all and everyone without exception.

What ought to be done in these important, historical yet volatile times where protests abound and where the streets are in turmoil and the citizens enraged? There is a documented history of wrongdoing and police brutality. There is a long list of victims who have been mistreated and killed by the police.

But the mistreatment goes back further in history with the abominable and inexcusable practice of slavery, the atrocious fictitious narrative that it is allowed and permitted to treat fellow human beings as property. It shocks me to hear that even today there are people in government who espouse the view that slavery was a “necessary evil.” It was certainly evil, but in no way and under no pretexts was it or could it be necessary.

Slavery can not be conceived of or brushed off as a mere case of educating and civilizing the colored people - terms that are inherently troublesome on their own - but it was the forceful and violent repression of human rights and of human dignity. It is sad and heartbreaking that there are traces and vestiges of this view still operating in modern American society. The acceptance of ethnic mistreatment and the fact that it is allowed and permitted to occur and re-occur is an example of the blind spot of race and democracy in the American system.

What we need most is a restructuring and reformatting of society. Protests, according to Dr. Carter, are a way of inconveniencing the other. It is forcing people to face what is a reality in American society and politics. It is nudging them to feel awkward about what is currently happening and to have an open, uncomfortable but necessary and liberating conversation about race and ethnicity in the United States. It is not about erasing the past but facing it and bringing it into the open and to have an honest and open dialogue from and with both sides of the fences.

The trauma is there, and it has been festering for centuries. But here is the chance to overcome it and to build bridges. The goal is not and should not be a further entrenchment or deeper division but rather a bridge that connects us to each other. It is not about seeing the others as enemies but trying to see them holistically, as human beings deserving of dignity, respect, and most importantly, empathy. At the same time, it is important to tear down fences and defenses, to expose the lies and manipulation, and, in the words of Eddie Glaude, to tell the truth with courage, commitment, and love.

Hence, protests need to be done mindfully. We must keep in mind that this movement is occurring under the ominous threat of a virus that is endangering many lives. We also need to be aware that during protests, there will be a lack of access to education; all those who are on their way to schools and universities will have their roads blocked. Finally, it will also cut off access for those that need medical attention, whether it is due to Covid-19 or other conditions.

There is more than one way to achieve awareness and change, and sometimes one needs to resort to forceful means to get the point across. In my view, there should be a balanced force of yin and yang, where Malcolm X represents an aggressive stance of forcefully and vocally demanding and obtaining what one is rightly due but also not to forget or undermine the more “feminine” side, symbolized by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., where compassion, peace, and love are meant to guide us towards the ultimate goal of harmony.

This is not straying too far from the Christian analogy since the end goal of Jesus was to reach harmony and peace, but he was fully aware that sometimes one would need to pull out the sword to that effect. I am an intrinsic pacifist, but I think that conflict is necessary to reach true and lasting peace. But I do not think that we need a violent revolution, and I oppose any forms of anarchy.

As a writer, I think that the best way to change minds and to reach understanding, empathy, and harmony is through writing. The pen is mightier than the sword. Although protests will leave an impact on people, writing can touch and affect them in more lasting, intimate, and profound ways. For instance, we should let ourselves be guided by the warmth and wisdom of James Baldwin; he may have looked physically frail, but his words were potent and ripe with themes that equally transcend and harmonize potential racial differences.

Diplomacy can be enforced through strong, forceful, and purposeful words and actions, but we need to make sure that the path ahead and forward is clear and that we get to the place we are aiming for. It is not sufficient to have had a colored president in office. Yet with our zeal and desire for change, we do not want to reach a point of disarray nor let the promising movement be swayed or hijacked by and for political means and ends.

The final goal or destination goes back to the still unresolved but possible and feasible dream that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had, that one day everyone will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. That day could indeed be another step closer, while in the hopeful words of James Baldwin: Hope is invented every day.

Vaccines and Effective Means of Protection against Covid-19

Now that it has been shown that herd or community immunity is not going to happen and that the Coronavirus will not just dissipate or disappear on its own, our only hope exists via two possible avenues: effective therapeutics and preventive vaccines.

Fortunately, science has been progressing at an incredibly rapid pace on both fronts as initial results of clinical trials look promising and hopeful; all of this is playing out against the ominous background of a potential upcoming second wave slated for some time during the fall season. 

But as Dr. Anthony Fauci has reminded us, we are still in the midst and thick of the first wave and must make sure to get through this one first, before we can focus on and worry about the next one.

As of this date, there are 197 vaccines in development, while 19 have reached the stage of clinical trials (note that these numbers could change and fluctuate very quickly). One thing that is certain and undeniable is that this development has been going at an unprecedented speed.

Part of this reason is that there was some previous information and knowledge about SARS that has helped researchers to determine different ways of tackling the disease through a vaccine. One of the things that has been promising with other Coronaviruses is that our body remembers its antigens at least for a couple of years.

A vaccine not only simulates a weaker version of the virus - one that cannot reproduce or do damage - but it can also teach the body how to effectively fight it. Although this is the most common and the most successful way of vaccinating people, it involves a slow and cumbersome process, which is a problem with SARS-Covid 2 as time is of the essence.

A more novel approach is to inject not the complete virus but merely an antigen, an essential component of the virus. This has been previously done with certain viruses, such as Hepatitis B and whooping cough, and it is currently one of the most popular methods of vaccine development.

The third and final type of vaccine is one that is also the most experimental. It does not use any parts of the virus, but only gives our bodies instructions on how to deal with the virus by providing key pieces of genetic code. They can be made very fast, but they have never been tried with humans.

There is a sense of urgency to act as fast as possible by trying to limit and mitigate the risks as much as possible. Since Covid-19 has devastated, crippled, and held hostage the global economy, researchers around the world have been working hard to find a solution to this serious and life-threatening problem.

There has been governmental support as well as substantial support from the private sector. Ideally, we want, to quote Dr. Fauci, “a marriage and a collaboration between government authorities and the private sector.”

Unfortunately, politics has been another factor at stake, which is often limiting and stifling progress in the fight against the virus as well as vaccine development. It would have been recommendable to unite and work together on a solution that will help and aid every citizen of the world.

Instead, it has turned into a Cold War of sorts in which many nations work on their own and shield their knowledge from others, while some nations engage in cyber espionage to find out the results and progress of other countries to be able to trump them.

It is sad and disheartening that such turmoil and suffering has failed to truly bring the world together, where spying and mistrust has led to a lack of coordination and cooperation, but the good news is that there are still many internationally led efforts and collaborations in progress.

Scientists, academia, and pharmaceutical companies are working together to find a viable vaccine against this virus. Yet the vaccines that are eventually developed need to satisfy the following criteria.

First, they need to be effective. So far clinical trials have been promising, and a few of these experimental vaccines seem to build or boost immunity.

The question remains for how long the immunity would last. Would booster shots be necessary? Will it be on an annual basis like the flu shot? The problem with the flu shot is that the virus often mutates and is hard to predict. To my knowledge, there has been some but not much mutation in the case of the Coronavirus. It remains to be seen how it will all play out.

Second, the vaccine needs to be safe. This is the main reason why clinical trials are so important. However, due to the urgency of the situation, sometimes two separate clinical stages are undertaken at the same time.

Once, the vaccine is deemed safe enough for a group of people, we would need to expand it to a larger sample and study the potential side effects. No vaccine will be a 100% effective (measles is the closest one with about 97% and smallpox with 95%) but, most likely, there will be secondary effects, which so far have been documented as headaches and low-grade fevers.

When it comes to safety, we would always need to counterbalance the harm with the benefits. Since vaccines are generally safe and have been extensively vetted, tested, and studied, they tend to be safe enough.

The current waves of people opposing all types of vaccines, generally referred to as anti-vaxxers, are a potential threat to building immunity, while their reasons do not constitute or bring about a veritable debate.

The staunch and blind opposition to science, this anti-scientific stance, is often tolerated and accepted in the United States under the guise of a liberty right’s issue, since it is allegedly part and parcel of constitutional rights enshrined in and guaranteed with the first and 14^th amendments.

The issue is, however, not only of a “philosophical” or rather ideological matter, but it has serious consequences and repercussions for health and society. 

Liberties must always exist in relation to others, and with this comes social accountability and responsibility. For instance, freedom of speech is an essential aspect of one’s personal liberty, but it crosses a dangerous line when it becomes or borders on forms of hate speech aimed and targeted towards particular groups or segments of society.

In terms of anti-vaxxers, this is not about protecting one’s right to express oneself or to live in accordance with one’s beliefs, but it is an action that is unsafe, and it is of no benefit to neither the individuals themselves nor to their immediate surroundings. Since we are all in this together, the careless, irresponsible, and irrational actions of the few will have dangerous consequences for everyone.

The bottom line is that vaccines are lifesaving, and those who refuse to have them are not only putting themselves and their children at risk, but they put other people, particularly senior citizens, children, and those who are immunocompromised at risk as well.

In fact, there is no debate to speak of, and this leaves little, if any, room for discussion on the matter; the evidence and science speak for themselves. Yet it is more than a matter of health, safety, and common sense; it is also an ultimate act of altruism, of acting for the benefit of one’s community and nation.

When it comes to the COVID vaccine, there will be elements of risk, but that is why it will not be available until it is deemed relatively safe. To remedy that, it is most useful and helpful to have more than one vaccine. When we have multiple and different vaccines available, they can be effective in complementary ways since there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this disease.

Dr. Stefano Bertuzzi, the CEO of AMS (American Society for Microbiology) stated in an interview with the US Chamber of Commerce that the different vaccine particles can be compared to making a pizza.

We could adjust the pizza according to necessity; we could provide different platforms, or in the case of our pizza analogy, gluten-free options with a variety of toppings, according to age, health, conditions, and other demographics.

The next factor to consider is whether the vaccine is affordable. That is another important issue that will be tied with patents. Will pharmaceutical companies try to make a quick buck by taking advantage of a global health crisis or will they do the right and ethical thing to make it as affordable as possible?

Will they become health heroes or saviors like Jonas Salk and forgo profit over doing the right and honorable thing? In the case of a pandemic, it affects everyone, and everyone, or at the very least 70% of the world population needs to be protected for the global community to be safe and immune against this virus.

We need to consider that there is substantial poverty in each nation. The poor and underprivileged also need to have protection, which leads us to the final point: The vaccine needs to be available for all and everyone.

Although the roll-out of the vaccines will start with those who are at highest risk, such as health care workers and those who are immunocompromised, we would need to find ways of reaching large swaths of the seven + billion citizens of this world and that includes actively seeking out and contacting underprivileged people in each and every community.

This will pose logistical problems as well. The vaccine needs to be able to be transported easily, and it needs to be administered in the furthest regions of the world, from the deserts to the mountain tops. We would need to have sufficient syringes, vials, and swabs for this enormous undertaking.

In terms of testing, there was an issue with the supply chain as the nasopharyngeal swabs were for the most part (about 80%) made in Italy. Since commercial planes were grounded at the time, the US decided to use military planes to transport them. And yet, even today, there is still not enough supply at hand. Hence, we need to find safe and quick manners of transporting the vaccine to places that are remote, and which may not have potable water, for instance.

Finally, there is also the issue of therapeutics. In terms of logistics, this is much easier to achieve as, unlike vaccines, it does not involve every citizen of the world but is limited to those who have contracted or developed this disease.

They can then be hopefully treated in an effective manner, and as such, we would reduce the number of deaths and fatalities due to Covid-19. Currently, there are experiments on repurposing antivirals for early stages of Covid-19, that is, they are using and experimenting with treatments for other diseases and conditions to find one that works best with this unpredictable and uncharted virus.

Before we have any viable vaccines or therapeutics in place, we need to be careful and vigilant. It would be best to follow the Core 4 strategies, that is, using masks and face coverings, especially when in crowded or enclosed spaces; by practicing social distancing by keeping at least two meters apart from others; by using hand hygiene, that is washing our hands as often as possible to kill the germs, most safely achieved through the simple use of soap and water; and finally, by staying home and avoiding contact with others when sick.

The latter point is a bit tricky and more complicated when it gets to the Coronavirus as it is oddly enough most contagious in its initial phases and this is compounded by the fact that many people may be asymptomatic, meaning they would display no visible symptoms whatsoever but will still be able to infect others with this highly contagious illness.

Children are also not spared of the disease. Although it seems that children younger than ten do not transmit the disease, it is quite a different story from the ages of ten and onwards. They could not only transmit the virus and infect others, but, in some unfortunate cases, children may themselves have serious repercussions and complications with what are known as multi-system inflammatory syndrome and Kawasaki Disease.

These conditions are caused by an overreaction of the immune system, and if untreated, they can become lethal. Although rare, they are serious enough conditions, but with early detection and proper medical care, children should recover.

In the meantime, we must engage in relevant cultural behavior change, according to Dr. Oxiris Barbot, the Acting Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. This is a necessary transition until we have a vaccine with most people having been vaccinated. This would not only include constantly engaging in the Core Four Strategies mentioned earlier but also to find alternative ways of transit and transportation to avoid crowds and gatherings. This could also mean using alternative forms of transit, such as biking and walking, whenever possible and feasible.

Finally, schools need to be opened in a safe manner where masks are not only encouraged but mandatory to protect each other. To encourage mask-wearing, Dr. Barbot suggested making face coverings together with the children by showing them the importance and the civic duty of protecting oneself as well as others.

As to businesses, the word of advice she gave was to go slow and not to cut any corners. Business owners need to ensure that their employees and their clients are as safe as possible and that the health recommendations are followed as closely as possible.

In the words of Dr. Fauci, it is essential that we have a healthy business community. This would be in the best interest of everyone until we can go back to at least a semblance of the normal that we used to know.

Finally, how can we ensure that most people will get the vaccine? Should it be mandatory? Should people have the right to become exempt as it has been the case with vaccinations and immunizations?

There may be legal repercussions involved, but the decision in these types of matter ought to be utilitarian, meaning they should serve the common good.

And it would be in the best interest of everyone to get vaccinated so that this COVID nightmare can finally become a thing of the past, a haunting memory of a time where we suffered and lost greatly but also when and where we realized that our only hope and faith lie in science and in our sense of community.