“Follow the science,” they say, which is good advice. Unfortunately, though, the COVID-19 pandemic has become way too political and is spinning out of control.

It’s important to connect the dots and not let opinion cloud the facts. Especially these days, when we are all weary and want this thing to be over. Now, more than ever, let’s listen to the experts and come together.

Science evolves. We know now much more than we did when the pandemic spread across the world from Wuhan, China. The beauty of science is that it does change. We learn new things every day. There are only a handful of scientific laws. Most of the science that guides us — that keeps us safe and healthy — is based on theories, which are constantly tested over and over.

At the outset, governmental health agencies like the CDC and HHS were scared for the American people. Early guidelines erred on the side of caution. Absent any cure-all vaccine, masking up and social distancing were what the top officials — who dedicated their lives to preserving ours — felt these things would help us survive.

Unfortunately, trust in federal health officials was jeopardized when — during the runs on grocery stores — they declared that the public should not wear masks because they were afraid that personal protection equipment would not be available for those health professionals who needed it most. Then they said wear masks, which became a great example of our country coming together as Americans made them on their own and distributed them throughout their communities.

Much like these government officials, our own personal doctors kept our best interests in mind as they advised and treated us. Our doctors, especially initially, were willing to try all kinds of treatments to help their patients with the mysterious disease. Yes, hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin were prescribed in good faith.

What was a very real fear was that the pandemic would put so many people in hospitals beyond their capacities. Indeed, ICU’s were overwhelmed. Elective procedures were put on hold. To this day, staffing issues have stretched health professionals way too thin and are pushing them past their breaking point.

Enter the vaccine, which, thanks to President Trump and Operation Warp Speed, was developed in record time. When Joe Biden became president, his administration distributed both shots — and later boosters — in equally impressive fashion.

All the while the science is evolving in an ever-changing reality. By this time, though, both sides had made their stand and drew their lines in the sand.

Masks — especially non-surgical cloth ones — have been proven to not effectively protect those who wear them. So some say they aren’t going to wear the “face diaper” from varying degrees to the extreme. But masks have been proven effective to minimize the spread (they catch the droplets) from those who wear them. Is it a silver pill? No, but it helps. That’s what we all want, right, help?

The vaccine — remember it did not go through the normally rigorous testing process that can take years — was found not to prevent COVID like, say, ones for polio or measles or mumps. “So why get the vaccine if you can still get the disease?” Fox News asks. Well, because it severely limits the symptoms and risk of death.

Some people were so against the vaccine they would try anything else, like hydroxychloroquine and/or ivermectin. “Those crazy people are taking horse de-wormer,” MSNBC would scream. But just because some ignoramuses were going to Farm and Fleet to buy the horse paste does not mean that others were getting prescriptions for the human form of the anti-parasite drug from their doctors (and not their veterinarians).

Then there’s the fear of control. “I’m not taking the vaccine because I’m not going to bow to big pharma,” is a hilarious screed. But then these same people catch COVID, and where do they go? To doctors, who maybe prescribe mono-clonal antibodies, which big pharma reaps exponentially more profits from than the free vaccine. Now, nine out of 10 of the people dying from this dreaded disease are unvaccinated. So those same doctors would advise getting the vax. Those are the facts.

“It’s Tony Fauci’s fault! He funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab,” is an extremist view shared by some senators. Now it may or may not be true that the director of the CDC authorized such dangerous research in the past. But the scientific consensus is that, based on the DNA of this SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), it is impossible that it came from those particular experiments from that research.

“Get our kids back to school! They are suffering irreparable harm,” is a common refrain. True children do not have much of a chance at all of dying from the disease. But time was we wouldn’t want them to even get sicky, especially if it can kill grandma. And long-term effects are still unknown. Some people actually weigh that infinitesimal chance of their kids dying from the vaccine with the off chance of their them getting the disease. But it is also true that parents who cannot afford childcare need their kids to be in school while they work. Toute de suite.

“It’s all about power,” the paranoid say. But do we really think that, for example, Gov. JB Prtizker or President Biden are so power-hungry that they want us to stay home and wear masks and have chips injected into our bodies? Really?

Don’t you think that, just like us, our leaders are hoping and praying for the day we don’t have to do all this?

Brian Ludwig is Managing Editor of The Community Word.