By James B. Ewers Jr. Ed.D. | Houston Forward Times

Sometimes we come to conclusions too quickly. We want things so badly that we think we can just make them happen.

Outlooks look good and they look promising. We immerse ourselves in all that is good and refuse to see the bad.

We are all guilty of rushing to judgments. That’s just a part of life, I guess.

There are many instances where we use statistics to justify our reasoning. I have learned throughout the years that we can make statistics say anything we want them to say.

If you say the same thing to people, over time they will start to believe you.

This past election is a good example of someone using the same story line and having people believe them.

You see, there are fellow countrymen and countrywomen who believe that Mr. Biden’s opponent won the election. That wrong and overused statement continues to haunt our country.

Our nation is severely divided because of it.

Since 2020, we have been in a health crisis. The Coronavirus has run rampant and roughshod over the United States of America.

Our mindsets and our mental conditions have changed dramatically.

In many of our families, this illness took its toll. We could not escape it.

Pre-COVID-19, most of us were hopeful. Post-COVID-19, too many of us are hopeless.

Dinner tables have one less seat and living rooms have one less chair. The Coronavirus has caused this permanent disruption.

America has forever changed as we have lost thousands of our citizens.

It is a colorless disease. It has hit all of us, no matter our skin color.

Medications are with us now and new systems of safety have been implemented.

Before now, while I knew about the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), I can honestly say that I didn’t pay attention to all of their statistical information.

Now, I pay close attention to their COVID-19 data.

According to the CDC, unvaccinated people are more likely to die from COVID-19. Does that scare you?

I hope it does and makes you want to get vaccinated.

In a recent report in The New York Times, it stated that there are about 68,000 COVID-19 cases announced each day. Yet that only captures a portion of the total.

That same report states that our country will be approaching 1 million deaths from COVID-19 in the coming weeks.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said, “The United States and the entire world is still experiencing a pandemic, but there are different phases of the pandemic.”

He added, “And what we are in right now is somewhat of a transitional phase; out of the accelerated component into hopefully a more controlled component.”

Cities and states are now loosening some of the restrictions. One of the biggest is that you don’t have to constantly wear your mask.

Most people that I know still wear a mask wherever they go. I just think that kind of discretion is still needed.

For example, in large-scale events, you still don’t know who is vaccinated.

I believe we cannot drop our guard. Yes, we are better than we were, but normal, we are not. Will we ever be normal again?

That is a good question and one that cannot be answered now.

According to the CDC, nearly 220 million people, or roughly 66% of the population, are fully vaccinated.

100 million people have also received their first booster dose.

We are going in the right direction and that is good news.

Encourage your friends and family to be cautious and not to take chances with their health.

Know who you are around. Our lives are at stake.

I value my life. Don’t you value your life?

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