Who is My Neighbour

Lorna and I received our COVID vaccine shots on Saturday.  We received the the PFIZER vaccine  but I would have been fine with any of the three vaccines approved currently.  I was very impressed with the process itself which was professionally accomplished - the clinic was well organized without any confusion or delays and staffed with a wonderful complement of medical professionals and volunteers.

It was the first of two shots and I felt that I am on my way to being well protected against the potential ravages of COVID infection- at least as it currently is manifesting.  As impressive as this was, I have serious reservations about how the Pandemic is being handled in my home province of Ontario and more broadly, and more seriously, in the world.

Looking at home in Ontario, I have to question why the focus for the most part is on age.  Admittedly, the effects of COVID infection have been most serious on the elderly and especially those in Long Term Care facilities.  However, this has ignored the impact on many of the most vulnerable i.e., those who are working in essential services such as workers in large facilities like meat packing plants and warehouses and those who have to take public transit to and from work.  I heard about a family member of an acquaintance who works with autistic children. This is, of necessity, one-on-one work where the teacher is face to face - literally – with the student who could not be required to wear a mask because of his condition.  The family member is not currently scheduled to receive the first shot until some time in May.  Lorna and I and many more in our situation could quite easily delay receiving the vaccine and be relatively safe maintaining our current regimen of limited contact and social distancing and always wearing masks when in contact with others. 

Aside from the issue of who is eligible to receive the vaccine, there is the intransigence of the Ford Government against providing sick leave benefits to workers which means many of the essential workers in lower paying jobs cannot afford to say home when they have symptoms of possible COVID infection.  This is a “no-brainer” and I am tempted to say in an unchristian moment that it should therefore be ready made for the Ford Government. 

That aside, the on-going pandemic has brought into focus the issue of who is my neighbour in this time of COVID.  I’m sure you are familiar with the parable of Jesus – the Good Samaritan.  In that story the lowly Samaritan was the neighbour to the Jew who was mugged while travelling.  The Samaritan was the last person his Jewish audience would have thought of as a neighbour.   Who are the Samaritans when it comes to the availability of vaccines?  It is fairly easy to see that essential worker are our neighbours because they literally are just that - the people who live in our neighbourhood.  However, what about the people in third world countries?  Those countries ae not going to have enough vaccines or the infrastructure to reach heard immunity in the foreseeable future, if at all.  If we follow Jesus Christ, we have the imperative to treat them as our neighbours.  Even if you don’t, there is a very good reason for the Western World to address this situation for purely selfish reasons. 

I have been hearing all of my adult life that the world is getting smaller and smaller.  Here is a situation where that truth is brought home in spades.  If the COID pandemic is allowed to flourish unchecked it will inevitably be a breeding ground for variants to the COVID strains some of which may be immune to not only the current vaccines, but ones that may be beyond the capability of science to address.  If such a variant or variants develop the current pandemic could be seen as the good times – if anyone is left to look back.  Whether we like it or not the world is now our neighbour. 

It is understandable that Western countries are addressing the needs of their citizens.  However, if we do not treat those on the other side of the world as our neighbours, we will be in serious trouble whether we follow Jesus Christ are our Lord and Saviour or not.  For those who are Christians I will close with a quote from Brian McLaren, a Christian writer:

Christian mission begins with friendship—not utilitarian friendship, the religious version of network marketing—but genuine friendship, friendship that translates love for neighbors in general into knowing, appreciating, liking, and enjoying this or that neighbor in particular. 

Blessings on you journey and please remember to social distance and wear a mask.