NIH director: The COVID vaccine is "an answer to prayer"
The director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins, says we are at a "love your neighbor" moment, when Americans can get vaccinated to help protect others from severe illness and death:
Good Easter morning!
In case you don't know us, the National Institutes of Health is the largest public funder of medical research in the world.
I am a physician, a scientist, and an evangelical Christian. I believe that science and faith are not in conflict. They offer complementary perspectives, with science answering questions that start with "how," and faith often better positioned to answer "why."
On Easter Sunday of all days, I find good reasons to hope despite the tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken more than a half-million American lives. We're pursuing ways to serve one another and love one another while keeping our families and communities safe. Millions of Americans are now getting the vaccine every day.
So, hope is not around the corner – it's here. But we are not yet at the finish line. It will take all of us, with God's grace, to get there.
Getting a vaccine and following public health measures is a service not only to ourselves, but to others in preventing the spread of the virus and protecting the vulnerable from severe illness and death.
This is truly a "love your neighbor" moment.
It's OK to ask questions to help make informed decisions about the vaccine. But as people dedicated to truth, it's important to use reliable sources of information. One resource I recommend is GetVaccineAnswers.org.
Dear friends, on this Easter Sunday, as we celebrate our risen Lord, our best hope to end the suffering is to ensure that almost all of us have developed immunity to COVID-19. That's what these extraordinarily safe and effective vaccines can provide. They are a gift, an answer to prayer.
Please do your part. Unwrap the gift, roll up your sleeve, and save lives.
For more info:
- Dr. Francis Collins, director, National Institutes of Health
- GetVaccineAnswers.org (COVID Collaborative)
- COVID-19 information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Story produced by Young Kim. Editor: Joseph Frandino.