Take One for the Team... Get the vaccine.
And then... because of a few close friends and family, and some information I was given... I started to become vaccine hesitant.
I felt like a hypocrite... how could I have made this video, and then be among those who declined to receive it? I wouldn't say I was against the vaccine, I just lost some enthusiasm for it, and thought it couldn't hurt to wait a while and see.
Every day I spent some time researching it, sifting through the pros, the cons, and everything in between. My Mom got both Moderna shots while I was staying with her in winter, and I was relieved. I wondered, if I felt better that she received it, why wouldn't I get it myself? I hoped everyone I knew would get it! Deep down, I felt that it was the reasonable and responsible thing to do.
So I returned home and scheduled my first vaccine dose. That morning, I couldn't bring myself to go. I was shaking my head, not understanding why I couldn't get in the car and drive to my appointment.
"What are the benefits?... The risks?... Who can I trust?... What if I have an unusual reaction to the vaccine? Will I worry more if I don't get it?... Could I die from Covid?... What if we DO have technology today that enables a microchip to go into each arm and track us, or something far worse?
Yes, I entertained such notions, and even this one: who's to say the unvaccinated are the safe ones? Maybe the microchip is what protects us from whatever evil plans the 'bad guys' devised for us minions! 😎😎
And then I got real.
How many vaccines have I already received, since I was 2 months old? 2 decades later, I was practically a pin cushion in the Navy, getting vaccinated on a regular basis, without a care... after all, I had no choice; I was government property. My body is without a doubt a living river of antibodies to every disease known to man... tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, polio, typhoid, rubella, influenza, hepatitis,... and I am still alive and well today perhaps, because one or more of those vaccinations saved me.
And I wasn't just on the receiving end; I gave vaccines to children every day when I worked in pediatrics, and my own children received them. It was always a no brainer... it's just what we do to protect ourselves, and keep our society free of these awful, often deadly infections. Students can't even attend school without receiving all the mandatory vaccinations.
So WHY be hesitant about Covid then??
Here's my best reasoning:
1. Because it was developed so fast. That was suspicious. But then I realized the mRNA technology had been around for over a decade already: Vaccine Technology
2. Because we are waiting for FDA full approval... not just emergency use authorization: Full Approval vs EUA
3. Because we live in a world where we have too much information at our fingertips, and rabbit holes are like black holes, sucking us in until our brains freeze from TMI and we don't know which sources to trust.
In short, we doubt. We critically think ourselves into a corner. Paralysis from analysis.
From April to July, I was being pulled in opposite directions. I lived in this limbo of procrastination and fear. Without clear communal affirmation from everyone on planet earth that the vaccine was the best course of action, I was daily in the middle of a tug-of-war. Some of my family members and all my doctor friends encouraged me to get it. Other family members and best friends were adamantly against it.
Then I hit a turning point. I saw on the news how the Delta variant was overtaking us, with its much higher viral load, making it even more contagious than the original. Younger people are now being hospitalized from Covid because they didn't (or can't) receive the vaccine. Fact: Almost all hospitalizations and deaths are among the unvaccinated: Click here
That fact pushed me off the fence. And then, a friend of mine in another country was told the vaccine was now available for his age group. Both of us, still a little hesitant for various reasons, decided to hold each other's hand, as it were... and received our first dose on the same day.
Our second dose is coming up soon... and we'll likely get that the same day as well. I can't tell you how much of a difference it made to buddy up like that. And a week after getting my first jab, a fellow hesitant got hers. I feel good that in a small way, I helped her and all those who love her. Sometimes, we just have to admit we get by with a little help from our friends! (Beatles lyric, to anyone younger than 30) 😁
BOTTOM LINE..............
Yes, it is our right to accept or decline the vaccine.
And yes, it is also our responsibility to do what is best not only for ourselves, but our communities, our country, and our world. To protect the vulnerable, to think of others as well as ourselves.
So you add those two together, and what do you get?
Covid-19 is a public health issue, a pandemic, a crisis. And there is a way to stop it, but it only works when everyone's on board. So how do you get 7.7 billion people to agree on something? My best answer to that? Research the other side. Read articles that disagree with your current stance. Don't be attached to your beliefs. Be willing to learn AND unlearn. Face your fears, both rational and irrational. And think about how your choice affects the rest of the world. If you still think it's unwise to get the vaccine, then please, please, always wear your mask, to cut down the chance of getting infected, and/or giving it to someone else.
As for masks... better safe than sorry. I see this as a non-issue really. Mask mandates are for public safety, and as always, the rules are put in place because there's always a few that are going to be careless. Seriously, the only people that should be disgruntled by this are the companies that sell lipstick.💋💋 I won't mind wearing a mask, even after my second dose. Because it's an extra measure of protection and why would I complain about that? It's a bit of a nuisance, sure, but it's no different than putting on your seat belt. Sometimes I get a little ticked off that I can't dance to that song on the radio as I'm driving, because that seat belt keeps me fairly immobilized. But then I remember the car isn't my dance floor, and I have a responsibility to myself and other drivers. And deer, and turtles, and squirrels. (Sorry bugs on my windshield.)
If there's one thing I've learned in the past 2 years or so, it's how important it is to work together as one team of inhabitants on planet earth. If only we could all go up to space like Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos did last month, and get the "overview effect"... float, get woke, and see the big blue marble with no borders, no walls!
But for those of us who aren't going to experience the "overview effect," we still have common sense to remind us that we live on a vulnerable planet that needs each one of us to work together and do what's best for humanity.
So... back to the vaccine... please don't be one of those who are in the ICU begging for the jab just before being put on a ventilator. Please don't become a statistic. You are NOT invincible. You are susceptible to a bully virus that can tackle anyone, despite age, health, strength, and the will to overpower it.
Please, for me, and for so many who love you, take one for the team. Get the vaccine.
I always enjoy reading your blog posts Trasea! I enjoy them even more when I'm part of the story you're telling 🥰
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, and for being an inspiration!
DeleteA thoughtful, compelling and well-written blog! Should be published in newspapers around the world!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Publish away... :)
DeleteGreat writeup Trasea!
ReplyDeleteI hope it helps those that are still on the fence.
I’d like to add to your blog by suggesting WHY so many have chosen against.
Let us make the most simple observation ——
I think 7 billion will agree that this is what IS happening -
Our leaders want to SAVE us from dying from covid.
Take the jab.
Now let's observe what is NOT happening ——
Knowing the leaders are trying to save us from dying, what is NOT happening ? -
Zero dollars of the 3 Trillion spent on this helped feed the 3 million children that
died from hunger and nutrition during this crisis.
Zero dollars of the 3 Trillion spent on this are going towards ANY of the things that
kill more people than covid.
-------------------
We can stop here.
Are the children not worthy of a couple hundred billion ? That would feed em for a decade.
For every person saved by the $3,000,000,000,000, Ten kids die hungry.
Therefore, there is an ULTERIOR motive.
That is all I need to know.
When more people die from this than the kids dying from hunger, I’ll take one for the team.
I am sorry that so many of us actually know of someone who died of "covid".
Please realize that math dictates if you know 25 people, one of which may know someone that died, this would be completely expected based on the 0.001 rate.
(how many contacts do you have?...... you probably heard of MORE than one case.)
In the past, folks had no reason to mention to YOU that an an acquaintance that you don't know has died ...... but now… ”covid did it!”
Humans have a desire to be part of the goings on.
If you want to ask WHY do they want to inject us, good luck.
Godspeed everyone!
Kaybec
Appreciate your taking the time to read, and for your comment! Stay safe; be well :)
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