I want to live, plain and simple. I’m all in on vaccinations and masks. | Opinion

There are no delusions: I won’t change your mind. We’re way past that. Whichever side of the COVID issue you’re on, I’m sure you’ve made up your mind on vaccinations and wearing masks. But, please read on.

If the medical experts and brilliant scientists tackling this horrific pandemic haven’t made arguments that ring true to you, nothing I say will either. Nor will the U.S. death toll, which stood at 858,000 as of Thursday morning. Yes, by the time you read this, perhaps more than 870,000 people will have died of COVID in our country, with seven figures staring us down. Worldwide, the staggering toll stands at 5.55 million dead.

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To put those U.S. numbers in perspective, the entire 2021 population of the Panhandle counties of Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Santa Rosa and Escambia stood at an estimated combined total of 988,000 in 2021.

Again, those are numbers that won’t sway you. I understand. But, please read on.

They’re absurd, but they’re just numbers. No faces, no feelings attached. Not a gut punch. For many, a COVID death will have to hit home — spouse or significant other, perhaps an elderly parent or at-risk sibling, or God forbid, a young son or daughter. I pray that won’t happen, to anyone, but I’m realistic enough to know it will. It’s happening every day.

If nothing will change your mind, well then, why am I writing?

It’s because all of us are someone’s child, and many of us have children and grandchildren of our own. We love our children and our families. They need us and we need them. We worry about them and want the best for them — long, healthy, productive lives. Battling for your life for weeks, alone, in a hospital bed is not the best we can offer. In fact, it’s the worst.

I can assure you of that.

I spent weeks alone in hospitals in March and April 2020 (the first weeks of the pandemic) following a stroke. Only doctors, nurses, therapists, and other hospital employees allowed. They were fantastic, really angels to me, but not loved ones. No family members to hold me and comfort me. But, thankfully, I was blessed to survive.

Which brings me to this: I want to live, plain and simple. I want to be there for my wife, children, grandchildren, and other family members. So, following CDC guidelines and my doctors’ advice was my choice. No one had to threaten me or pass a mandate. No civil war was needed.

I’m fully vaccinated, booster shot too, and I wear my KN95 mask because I now am considered at high-risk for the deadly effects of COVID.

I also wear a mask for my family. They count on me, and I most assuredly count on them.

But I also wear my mask for friends, co-workers, and yes, even you I do not know. I have no right to put others at risk of a very deadly disease that has been baffling the world’s brightest doctors and scientists since day one.

Remember those numbers: 858,000 dead in the U.S. and 5.55 million across the globe. That also is why I wear my mask. For those of you who remain unvaccinated. For those of you who won't wear masks. If I can save your life, I’m all in.

While this battle for life and death rages, if that means getting a new booster shot every year, every six months, every six weeks … I’m still all in.

So again, why am I writing? Because I want to live. I hope to hug my family members, my dear friends and my tailgating buddies when this pandemic has been defeated.

It’s a hope I have for everyone.

Ray Glenn is the engagement editor at the Northwest Florida Daily News and Panama City News Herald. You can reach him at RGlenn@gannett.com.

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This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Why I got vaccinated, wear mask to protect from COVID-19 | Opinion