Mark Bennett: Dads can give themselves a healthy Fathers Day gift by getting their shots

Jun. 12—Many young dads sleep too little, work too much, and expend the bulk of their leftover energy on home or car repairs that they really don't know how to do, trying to save money.

(Of course, lots of moms shoulder the same burdens.)

I remember deciding to reroof our house during what turned out to be the hottest summer of my lifetime, up to that point — 1988.

The drought became a blessing, sort of, with no rain falling onto our tarp-covered roof during those two weeks. Good-hearted family members took stints up on the roof with ill-prepared me on the weekends, so I had help and guidance. And, the do-it-yourself approach did indeed save money for our family, which consisted of me, my wife and our six-month-old firstborn son.

Still, on other days, I was up there alone in the hours before heading off to work the night shift. I sweated off many pounds; prayed nightly for the rain to hold off; got sunburned, cut and scraped; and gained a renewed respect for professional roofers, who earn every penny they make.

None of that makes me special. Lots of dads tackle such tasks and more, with better skills and under tougher circumstances.

The point is, given all that tens of millions of young American fathers do, it's hard to ask them to also arrange their own gift for Fathers Day 2021 on Sunday, June 20.

But here goes, anyway.

Get a COVID-19 vaccination.

The inoculations are free, safe, effective and easy to get.

That shot in the arm could not only spare a young dad from the long-haul complications of a COVID-19 coronavirus infection — or worse — but also prevent such heartaches for that father's family, elders, friends, coworkers and unsuspecting strangers.

It's not easy, but try to put aside the political wars, social-media theories and cable TV rhetoric. Those politicians, meme posters and talk-show personalities aren't going to show up at the hospital to comfort folks trying to fight off worst effects of the virus.

Dads wanting more information about the vaccines can go online to venerable, reliable, expert medical sources, such as the Mayo Clinic (mayoclinic.org/coronavirus-covid-19/vaccine), Indiana University Health (iuhealth.org/covid19/covid-19-vaccine) or Johns Hopkins Medicine (hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/for-patients.html#mythbusters).

Indiana's vaccination numbers are growing, but the state has fallen short of the progress by most others. The Hoosier state ranks 38th in the percentage of its fully vaccinated population, at 36.7%. That's 2,468,400 people. Indiana has 48.1% of its 16-and-older population vaccinated.

Yet, neighboring Michigan (23rd), Illinois (26th), Ohio (27th) and Kentucky (31st) have done better in getting their overall population vaccinated, according to CDC stats compiled by Becker's Hospital Review. Nationwide, about 52% of the vaccine-eligible population (those 12 and older) have received at least one shot, and 42% are fully vaccinated.

Among those fully vaxxed Hoosiers, 53.9% are women. Vigo County's gender gap is slightly larger with 54.7% of its vaccinated residents being female.

In the early weeks of the miraculous vaccines' distribution, the gender disparity could be chalked up to age — women live longer, statistically, and comprised more of the older demographics targeted for the first-round shots. Six months into the vaccination effort, that explanation for more women rolling up their sleeves isn't so relevant.

Older Indiana age groups have embraced the vaccines more than younger Hoosiers. The only Indiana age brackets that have reached the 70% vaccination rate — President Joe Biden's goal for all Americans by the Fourth of July — are those older than 65, according to the Indiana Department of Health.

No Hoosier age group younger than 40 has a vaccination rate above 36%.

So, a large sector of young men — including millions of fathers — are the key for Indiana and the rest of the country to gain herd immunity toward COVID-19, which has claimed 598,000 lives in 15 months of the pandemic.

Public health experts are concerned COVID-19 and its more contagious variants could surge, once again, through the unvaccinated population later this fall, when cold temperatures drive people — who have also relaxed or foregone social distancing and masking — back indoors. No matter how many people get infected by a resurgence, of any scope, it will be too many and significantly avoidable.

Vaccinations have slowed in pace across the U.S. from 2 million Americans per day two months ago to under 400,000 daily this month. By getting inoculated and bucking that trend, young dads can set an example for their kids, or maybe even their own fathers who've thus far rejected getting vaccinated.

Young dads roll up their sleeves for a lot of good reasons. A healthier future for their families and communities would be a pretty good Fathers Day gift, and a great reason for those dads to roll those sleeves up again.

Mark Bennett can be reached at 812-231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com.

Getting vaccinated

—To get a free COVID-19 vaccination in Indiana, get locations and details online at ourshot.in.gov or by phone at 211.

—In Illinois, go to coronavirus.illinois.gov or call your doctor or county health department.