Last Shall Be First in Line for H1N1 Vaccine

By Rachel Wind
student, Lutheran School of Theology

As a young, healthy and religious woman, I will be abstaining from getting the H1N1 vaccination.

Not because I believe my body is my property and the government should have no control over me. Not because I want to avoid some possible though unlikely side effects. Not because I feel immune from the flu.

I will not take the vaccine because others need it more.

Recently, the World Health Organization reported that many Third world countries cannot afford the H1N1 vaccine and are relying on medical donations from wealthier countries. Meanwhile, WHO reports that the first nations to receive the so-called swine flu vaccine are the U.S., China, Australia, Japan, and parts of Europe.

This approach is classist, racist, elitist, and down right un-Christian. While the United States, the world's richest nation, is giving the vaccine to Americans who wants it, the world's poorest people are waiting for our leftovers. Where is the justice in that? Where is the compassion?

This situation reminds me of the final moments of the Titanic. As the ship begins to sink, the wealthy and comfortable watch safely from lifeboats as those who are poor plunge into the frigid water. God forbid this situation ever turns into a Titanic-like scenario, but how can we sit and watch our neighbors risk sinking while we float comfortably by.

For people of faith, the immunization of love is what should be our primary vaccine against fear, reminding us of a common Christian saying that goes "the last shall be first and the first shall be last."

What this means is that we, the wealthy, the healthy, and the comfortable should head to the back of the line and usher our neighbors who are at a greater risk to the front of the line. We should do everything we can to ensure that people of lesser means know that their lives are worth something -- something as seemingly miniscule as a vaccine. We should make room for our neighbors on the rescue boats.

Rachel Wind is a fourth-year student at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago pursuing her Masters of Divinity. She is a student in Susan Thistlethwaite's "Public Theology" class.

By Rachel Wind |  October 15, 2009; 1:24 PM ET
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