We can end this pandemic

We do not need to repeat history. 

In 2020, COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death in Montana and by the year’s end, more than 1,100 COVID-related deaths occurred. For the first time since 1907, when birth and death reporting began in Montana, we had more reported deaths than births.

  Now, a year later, key facts seem familiar. COVID is on track to be the third-leading cause of death in Montana for a second-straight year. There have been over 600 COVID-related deaths so far this year in Montana. 

However, the landscape has also changed significantly. The good news is we, as a community, have a way to stop this virus, prevent the development of more variants, and end this pandemic. 

To fully realize these goals, eligible Montanans must get vaccinated, and communities need to strive for high vaccination rates to protect the most vulnerable. This is especially true as COVID continues to spread widely and we have seen new variants arise which are significantly more transmittable and possibly more virulent. We also do not have reliable data on the proportion of previously infected individuals who have developed post-COVID conditions and will thus experience long-term symptoms and potentially complications from the disease. 

Children under age 12 are currently not eligible to get the COVID vaccine, leaving them at risk. While children seem to fare better than adults infected with the COVID virus, their recovery is not guaranteed. In the United States, due to COVID-19, there have been numerous hospitalizations and over 400 deaths in children 18 years of age and younger. Plus, there is uncertainty if the new variants act differently in children than did the previous COVID variants. 

The COVID-19 vaccine has been rigorously studied and significantly monitored for safety. In the US alone, there have been over 342 million doses of the vaccine given to date.  The currently approved COVID-19 vaccines in the US are highly effective, with 99.99% of those vaccinated not experiencing a breakthrough case that results in hospitalization or death.

As we move towards the fall season and schools start back into session, we need everyone eligible for a COVID vaccine to get vaccinated. If you don’t do it for yourself, please do it for your community and our kids. Like many in Montana communities I would like to consign the COVID-19 pandemic to the history books. 

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Greg Holzman, MD, MPH

Former state medical officer for Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services