COVID Choice

My internal debate over why a person would choose not to get a COVID vaccine and why I did. 

I get it, or at least I think I do…all the reasons out there for not getting the vaccine. Some of these reasons floated through my mind when vaccines first became available, and again when I signed up for my first shot. But in the end, I got it. 

Reasons for not getting vaccinated or to get vaccinated, if they’re yours, they’re real.  People telling you otherwise is irritating and infuriating. I hate it when people tell me I’m wrong without trying to find out my why. When it comes to COVID, it seems to happen a lot, people not taking the time to understand. 

For those who have not signed up to get their shot, I respect your right to wait or refuse. But, I offer a few thoughts to ponder–no judgements, just thoughts–on why it might not be so bad to do it. Why am I writing this? Two reasons…listed at the end. 

The Science/Government Can’t Be Trusted

When the first vaccine came through trials and looked like it was going to be approved by the FDA, my first thought was, “I’ll wait.”  New methods were being used…mRNA. More than a handful of times in the past, science and government have told us something was good for us, safe even, only to tell us years later that it’s not when faced with overwhelming evidence.

This is the one I struggled with the most, why waiting seemed like a good idea. I know the scientists say there’s nothing bad that can come from mRNA, it’s just not how it works.  It couldn’t possibly cause anything else to happen in our bodies except stop COVID-19.

But we are finding out new things about the human body every day.  We didn’t even know that the body could turn genes on and off during a lifetime, or what a grandmother ate or didn’t eat in her youth could affect the offspring of her grandchildren, until recently.  It’s not that I don’t believe the doctors who developed mRNA vaccines to be truthful and genuine in what they say, I do.  It’s that I don’t think they know everything. 

Even then, in the end, I still got the shot. Why? Because the same thing can be said for any virus you get or bacteria that enters your system…they can have long term, life altering effects. So I took control and got the vaccine. By taking the vaccine, I’m reducing the chances that the virus mutates and gets worse.  The less bodies COVID-19 infects, means less multiplying and less of a chance it will mutate to something that’s better at surviving.

You can’t tell me what to do.

Absolutely. A person shouldn’t be told what to do with their body.  Period. Suggestions, sure, that’s okay–we can take’m or leave’m–but don’t tell me.  The thing is, it sure feels like people are being told/guilted to take it, though.  The feeling that if a person is second-guessing the vaccine, they must be an idiot, uneducated, or out-of-line.  There are very good reasons for not getting the vaccine and you shouldn’t have to convince those around you why you won’t.

I’ve always felt shaming isn’t the best way to compel or convince someone anyway, right? 

In the end, I made the choice to get it not because I was told to (or shamed or guilted), but because I want to help my community, I want to help my people.  And, in helping my community, ultimately, I’m helping my family and me be/stay healthy. 

I don’t need to get it because the virus already came through here/hasn’t been here. 

Viruses are opportunists, like invisible snake oil salesmen.They sense your every weakness and find a way in where they can. They’re already setting up camp before you know what hit you.  It doesn’t matter if it’s never been there or if it’s already been around, if a host and a virus should meet, the virus is programed to die trying to do what it does best…multiply.   

So, just like putting up a ‘No Solicitors’ sign on your gate or in your yard to keep out the salesmen, wouldn’t you try to do the same by setting up a ‘fence’ to keep COVID out?

I don’t want to do anything to my body unless I really know what it (the vaccine) is all about.  

Totally get this one, too.  But….I gotta admit, there have been times in the past when I wanted the result of the product more than I cared about how it would effect my body.  Here are some examples:

DEET some people are crazy about avoiding it at all costs.  Should I put chemicals all over my body? Probably not, but even if the chances are low, is it worth being chemical free to open to getting Zika, EEE, or any other number of pathogens carried by ticks or mosquitos? Talk to anyone with Lyme or who has had EEE and they will emphatically say no, it’s not worth it. So I put on the DEET and try not to inhale it or eat it.  

Indoor Tanning Beds I knew they were bad for my skin, but reasoned it was better to go in the beds than to burn on the beach.  Really, I wasn’t going to burn on the beach and I burned in the bed anyway. I just wanted the glow.  Hopefully my genes and being perpetually pastey these days will keep me from adding to future wrinkles, dark spots, and other woes. 

Xenadrine EFX I used it because I wanted to slim down. It worked. It made my heart beat really fast, too. Turned out it was the ephedra which was banned for use in dietary supplements in the US in the 2000’s (I took it in 2001).  It might be fine for others, but I knew it was messing with my body.

So, I guess my point is, we all do things or put things in or on our bodies that may not be the best for us because we desire the outcome.  Right now, I desire the outcome of going out with friends and family without thinking the virus could get one of them. The only way to do that is to become a part of the wall and get the vaccine. Not to mention, my overall feeling is that the COVID vaccine isn’t really bad. At a minimum, it’s less bad than what I wrote up above.

Disease is nature’s way of culling the herd, keeping the balance.

You know what? I completely agree with this statement!  But, I still got the vaccine.  We have the God given (or evolutionary depending on your POV) ability to think our way out of this…for the most part (scratches head).  So let’s do that.  But, since we’re stepping in for nature’s need for balance, we sure better (topic for another time) address humanity’s need to dominate everywhere, all the time. As a species we kinda suck at playing with scales. 

People getting vaccines and wearing masks are sheep.  I’m not a sheep.

It can look like people wearing masks and getting vaccines are doing what they are being told without thinking…like sheep. But, it probably has more to do varying levels of fear and/or a feeling of responsibility….and for a handful, well, they’re acting like sheep.  No one will ever know why each person chooses to follow the guidelines. It could be because it makes sense to them.  It could be because someone close to them died, so they follow the guidelines so no one else will feel the same loss or so they don’t feel the loss again. It could be because a person loves those close to them so dearly, they couldn’t fathom being without them, and won’t risk even a percent of a percent of a percent that something would happen.  

Here’s a thought though.  If you are a person choosing not to wear a mask because you don’t want to be a sheep, aren’t you like the anti-sheep or the black sheep, but still a sheep following the group idea?  Don’t be a sheep. Think for yourself and decide if it makes sense for YOU to get the shot. 

I’m afraid of the side effects.  I don’t want to die from a vaccine. 

This is a rational fear–the fear of dying.  Some people think any risk is too great.  Heck, that’s why some people still wear masks outside when alone in the middle of a park. To them, no amount of risk is acceptable. But in life, risk is a part of everything we do. Driving to the store, operating heavy equipment, eating.  Eating? Yes, eating.  According to the National Safety Counsel, there’s a 1 in 2535 chance of dying from choking. Then there’s a 1 in 107 chance of dying by motor vehicle (which seems really high, right? They must be including everything related to a car), and a 1 in 106 chance of dying from a fall.

If I have my numbers right, at this point ten percent of the U.S. population has gotten COVID (confirmed cases), and two percent of that amount has died. That means about a 1 in 500 chance that you die from COVID. 

The number of deaths from the vaccine is too hard to pin down right now, but there is a database some have quoted, VAERS. However, deaths are noted in this database, not attributed, meaning someone might be dead in the database, but they could have died from any number of things (heart attack, car crash–CDC stats in 2017 show an average of 7708 deaths per day to give some perspective – lots of people die every day). But just for this snippet, let’s assume the worst and say the numbers used in a Newsweek article in March were accurate at about 970 (deaths counted December 14th 2020 through February 19th 2021). Let’s round up to 1000. And while we’re at it, let’s double it to account for it being May 1st. About 144 million Americans have been vaccinated as of April 29th. I’m simplifying the numbers a bit, but that’s about 1 in 160,000 that have died from the COVID vaccine (in truth it’s probably more like 1 in 1,000,000).  You are more likely to die from a lightning strike at 1 in 138,849 (Mental Floss). 

I want other people to take the risk and I’ll benefit from their sacrifice. 

I can’t really say anything constructive about that. Personally, I’m not one to let others do the work for me.  But, you do you. 

Chances are, if you got this far you’ve already received the vaccine and read this because it was amusing.  Truly, I don’t think people on the fence are scouring the internet for reasons to convince themselves to get the shot.  

What I do think is that one of the reasons people are still on the fence or refusing to get the shot is because of the lack of empathy for their position, that their viewpoint is wrong…no questions asked. That’s no way to treat people. So the true intent of this article is to layout the reasons, rational to them no matter how they are to you, why they would rather not get the vaccine. 

It’s amazing who you can bring to the table when you listen.

That’s the first reason I wrote this.  The second…we’re half-assing this effort.  It’s not going to work unless we’re all (or mostly) in.  If anyone read this and thought, “yeah, maybe I will get the shot,” that’s a great thing. If anyone read this and thought, “Man, I might be pushing the shame train…maybe I should step off,” that’s fantastic, because I think that’s just going to help people be more open to the idea of joining the effort. 

My intent was not to offend, just writing, writing, writing. If you have thoughts, feel free to comment.  I try to be nice, but I’m sure I come across as an asshole sometimes. Either way, I love to hear what folks think. 

PPS- I saw this meme and my heart ached. Big’ol’hugs to anyone feeling this right now, except for COIVD.