COVID Vaccine

No, I am not going to write a post telling you that you should get vaccinated, nor telling you that you should not get vaccinated and spout off my reasons for either side. I do know that there are specific reasons that people choose not to get the vaccine, and that is within their right. The only ones I have difficulty with are those who refuse the vaccine as a way of taunting the government, as if to say, “I’m not going to get the vaccine and you can’t make me, neener, neener, neener.”

I’ve done a good bit of research on the vaccine, and from that, I’ve learned that some people, with certain auto-immune diseases, could do far more bad than good to their bodies with the vaccine. I understand the concern many have about the long-term side effects of the vaccine, since it hasn’t been tested in a way that could make us aware of what, if any, long-term side effects might be.

Recently, I received a printed hand-out titled “How to Legally Decline a Vaccine”. Is it the truth, the whole truth? I don’t know. Obviously the last few years have proven that we are only told what the person(s) want us to hear, and we’re forced to decide to find the information true or false. For my personal perspective, I believe in the adage that, “There are two sides to every story, and somewhere in the middle lies the truth.”

This hand-out sounded ‘scientific’. It suggests that rather than belligerently refusing the vaccine, you can do the following: First, ask the doctor/provider if the vaccine has MRC-5 in it (it’s alleged that they all do, these are the aborted fetal cells and other DNA). If the answer is “yes”, then you have the right to decline. Second, ask if there is a possibility of a “latrogenic reaction” (an adverse reaction caused by multiple compounds or drugs interacting with each other from the vaccine (it’s alleged that they all do). When the answer is “yes”, thank the doctor/provider for their offer of the vaccine and simply walk away. The point of this is that doctors are sworn to the Hippocratic Oath (you’ve heard the words, “First, do no harm), and they must honor it. If the answers to either or both questions are ‘yes’, you can legally decline their services.

Like I said, how much of this is truth, how much of it is written in a way to sway us towards the beliefs even if they are untrue? To me, it’s all very confusing!

Most of us have read a report or listened to the experts about getting both dosages in the correctly scheduled time. Then you can read the report from News-Medical.net online and see their report that, for participants under the age of 65, delaying the second dose can lower the mortality rate from the vaccine up to 20% in certain cases. Again, who do you believe?

And let’s be honest… as states begin to relax restrictions, many saying that fully vaccinated persons do not need to wear a mask after two weeks from finishing their second dose, you know and I know that people are going to go maskless whether they have been vaccinated or not! I saw it happen so many times while masks have been mandated, and the inside places I’ve been in (grocery store, convenience store) have done nothing about it.

I suspect there will be a surge in contracted cases once these restrictions are relaxed. The number may not rise horrifically, but they will rise nonetheless. Sadly, many people who have been vaccinated think they have become superheroes who are 100% immune from the virus.

And then there is me. I’ll be wearing my mask indoors when other people whom I don’t know are present and not socially distanced, and if I’m in a crowd of any type outdoors, I’ll be masked up as well. Strangers may well judge me, because of the mask, choosing to believe that I was one of the “idiots” who didn’t get vaccinated because I’m still wearing a mask. Eh! Let them think what they want, because I worry enough about what people I know think about me to worry about what strangers think about me!!!

All I’m asking is that everyone, vaccinated or not, be careful as the world rushes in its wants to return to “normal”. Make safe choices for yourself and for your loved ones. We’re on our way out of the tunnel of pandemic, but we haven’t come out of that tunnel quite yet.

And that is all I’m going to say about that….

Knowledge Sponge

“I’m not a doctor. I don’t even play one on TV. But… I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!”

If you’ve never heard that type of line before, it’s from a 15-or-so year old marketing tool used for the Holiday Inn Express hotel model. The idea was that everyone already knew you were smart because you chose a Holiday Inn Express for your previous night’s stay!

I chose that line as the opening segment for this post because I’ve been doing so much research online lately that I feel like I’m somehow smarter… or at least, more informed. Much of it has evolved around the COVID vaccine, but I’ve drifted off to also become interested in how marshmallows are made!

The more I read/learn about the COVID vaccine, the more I realize I need to learn. That is an extremely difficult task, as this type of vaccine is brand-new, never been tried before. It doesn’t use weak cells of an actual virus, like flu vaccines do, to start your body producing antibodies against the strength of the virus should you contract it. Like every vaccine, it doesn’t offer any kind of guaranteed protection from getting the virus, but merely makes your body ready to fight it off, meaning it shouldn’t last as long until you body is able to fight it off, and in most cases, the vaccine will help weaken the symptoms that go along with the virus.

So many people blindly think that, once they get the vaccine, they are no longer contagious and are exempt from contracting it. That’s simply not true! In essence, a vaccine is like a prescription medicine taken before you become sick – it allows your body a pre-emptive strike against the illness should you contract it.

There are people throughout the world who, for whatever reason, are refusing to take the vaccine. Some are concerned about the long-term effects, since it’s a brand-new drug that hasn’t had the liberty of being tested long enough to know anything about the long-term effects, if there will be any at all. Some (like me) don’t fear the vaccine but fear the process of delivering it. Some (also like me) are fearful of the immediate after-effects of the injection.

My bestie told me that it was suggested to her to get the vaccine in her dominant arm. This concerned me, because that’s the same arm where I had the drawn-out shoulder problems, and I don’t want to risk any adverse problems from using that arm. So, I read up on the suggestion and found that the prominent arm is suggested only because we will always tend to use our dominant arm more than our non-dominant arm, and the movement will help the vaccine move quicker into the body! Whew! Mine is definitely going in my non-dominant arm, and if that’s a concern of yours for any reason, rest assured that either arm is acceptable!

Recently, I had someone tell me that he would refuse the vaccine because he believes that part of why it was created using RNA was to inject it in to mess with our DNA and emasculate all men. (Hmm, in theory then, wouldn’t it make all females become more masculinized?) Obviously, that’s just a conspiracy theory that has no basis in fact, because I researched it to be sure.

So, I’ve been researching, reading more and more. Sometimes I’ve found conflicting theories, and I’ve had to look further, to learning from where the theory came and how many qualified professionals of the scientific and medical background agree or disagree with a theory. It’s been interesting and surprisingly, an enjoyable task! Although I did well in school, I can’t help but wonder how much better I could have done if I’d applied this much energy to my studies!!

I don’t know all the answers – but honestly, nobody has ALL the answers yet. But I feel amazingly well-informed and more willing to get the vaccine based on the principle of what it is intended to do. I also already know that I will be “masking up” in all public places long after any mandates to do so have expired. Who I am at my core insists that I want and need to be a part of any qualified solution, and right now, the vaccine is the best solution we’ve got! Reports are that the success rate has been 95+%, though I’m not sure how that statistic has been decided. But if I can possibly save one other person by getting the vaccine, then I will be taking part.

What are your thoughts?