Here’s the text messages

Mom

“ I just wanted to check in with you guys. I don’t know if you got your vaccine or not. I did want to let you know that UT has tripled the amount of positives in a week. They are the new variant. They are all unvaccinated people. The doctors are getting nervous. Even if you were to not get sick you are still a carrier if you get it. I heard on the news this morning that if we go through another pandemic like last year our economy cannot handle it. If you are on the fence or want to talk about it dad and I are a good ear to listen. We love you ALL!!!😘” UT is the University of TN medical center-where she is a nurse

Me

“ What the economy can’t handle is the government shutting down businesses. And deciding which people are allowed to work and which can’t

The CDC just came out and said the test can’t tell the difference between COVID and the Flu. So how do they know if it is COVID, flu, or new variant. Also if they’ve never even isolated the first COVID virus, how can they be sure there is a variant“

Edit: her reply “ That’s all I know is I trust the doctors that I work with. They are the ones that have treated patients sick and dying from this virus. Every single one of them believe the vaccination works and that it is good for all of us. They are very afraid of it gettings out of control again. It’s not political to us, it’s medical care. And now thank God we have a vaccination. Just like all the vaccinations that were created to stop other diseases from spread. Dad and I were in that generation of new vaccines growing up. ”