According to the National Center for Health Statistics, almost 500,000 Americans have lost their lives due to COVID-19. This sobering statistic and the threat of even more deaths has caused pharmaceutical companies to up their game. They are working harder and faster, in an effort, to get a vaccine shot in the arm of every American.
Prior to COVID-19, there was a very little desire for competing companies to work together. But the urgency of the situation now required companies to think much bigger and bolder in-order to accomplish the goal. One White House official said “we have to take bold action and overwhelm this”.
As a result, Merck and Johnson & Johnson realized they could be better together and decided to work in partnership to ensure a greater impact toward the goal of defeating the virus. Another White House official speaking about the partnership said “they understood this was a wartime effort. This was their legacy. This was their time.”
Getting the vaccines made, put into vials, and shot into arms is a massive undertaking involving many different people. The Defense Production Act, which gives the government the power to compel companies to support a war effort, could have forced cooperation between Mercke and Johnson & Johnson. But it didn’t have to because these two companies voluntarily chose to work together in order to address an urgent need. As a result, millions more Americans will have the opportunity to receive a vaccination in their arm in an effort to avoid death.
COVID-19 is a serious virus and statistics reveal that it shouldn’t be taken lightly. However, there is an even more concerning statistic shared by the Glenmary Research Center, who reports that 85% of Kentuckians do not a have a relationship with Christ. It’s alarming to think how many will die without Christ and spend eternity in hell because they’ve not received the gospel. But how can they receive the gospel if it isn’t shared with them?
The Kentucky Baptist Convention’s “Gospel to Every Home” initiative is an opportunity for associations and churches to partner together so that our neighbors, family members and co-workers might receive the gospel and avoid eternity without Christ. Getting the gospel to 1,728,681 homes is bold action and a goal that can be accomplished if we voluntarily choose to work together. We’re in a spiritual battle and this is a monumental task requiring a wartime effort! Let’s take action with an even greater sense of urgency and cooperation than Merck and Johnson & Johnson, and get the gospel to every home before it’s too late.
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