Will I Take the Covid-19 Vaccine?
By: Karen Shackles
Tags: Decision Making, Vaccines, Covid 19, Personal Responsibility, Critical Thinking

Will I Take the Covid-19 Vaccine?

Medical choices belong to each individual. However, there are attached moral and ethical issues related to how one’s actions affect others. Fundamental to making choices is the understanding that 𝘐𝘛’𝘚 𝘕𝘖𝘛 𝘖𝘕𝘓𝘠 𝘈𝘓𝘓 𝘈𝘉𝘖𝘜𝘛 𝘔𝘌. The deluge of information online boggles the mind, but my goal has been to search out 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 and 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 from 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴, rather than blindly buy into the hysteria of conspiracy theories, personal opinions, and unfounded claims. In the quest to sort fact from fiction, the attached article is an excellent resource. It’s very long, very detailed, compiled by doctors and scientists in the field, and includes source references for personal verification of statements made.

https://elemental.medium.com/every-covid-19-vaccine-question-youll-ever-have-answered-9a0eeb334ded

𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦: I would call myself cautiously hesitant with regard to medical choices. I’m very into preventive care and screenings, but if I get sick with a cold or the flu, my standard MO is to doctor myself at home using a combination of OTC drugs and home remedies. I was given all the childhood immunizations that were available when I was born, but as an adult, I haven’t been first in line for every new vaccine that comes along, and have skeptically observed that treatments often seem to be worse than the disease.

My husband is permanently deaf in one ear caused by a childhood case of the mumps, before there was a mumps vaccine which could have prevented it and the impact it has had on his entire life. On the other hand, his uncle was severely and permanently disabled from Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) after receiving a flu shot in the mid-80s. My mom had a severe allergic reaction to the flu shot 10 years ago and was told not to get it again. Things become more real when that “one in a million” bad thing happens to you or someone close to you.

An emotional reaction is understandable, but one must step aside from the emotions and use calm and reasoned evaluation of facts and risk-vs-benefit. When the health department urged the flu shot this year in the midst of Covid-19, I did extensive research and had a frank and specific discussion with my doctor and pharmacist. One thing I learned was that many of the former ingredients in seasonal flu shots that caused adverse reactions have been discarded, including eggs and thimerosal. I also learned that the chances of contracting GBS is higher from having the actual flu than it is from the flu vaccine. Even though I had previously been against taking the seasonal flu shot, I decided to go ahead and get it in early November as part of my community responsibility. The nurse kindly invited me to stay in the office for 10 or 15 minutes to make sure I did not have an allergic reaction, since that had been an issue with my mom. Aside from a tender spot on my arm for a few days, I did not experience any side effects or negative reactions.

You can bet that I’ve been digging into the Covid-19 vaccine. What I do know so far is that, contrary to what some are loudly clamoring, the vaccine does not contain a microchip, it does not contain embryonic material from abortions, it does not give one the virus, and it does not alter one’s DNA. My misgivings about the speed of development and politicization of the vaccine have been addressed by multiple sources, and the above-referenced article has an excellent summary on these topics. My decision-making process has also been improved by my becoming educated on the difference between an adverse side-effect and a normal immune reaction to receiving a vaccine.

For the United States to achieve so-called “herd immunity” without a vaccine (if it is even possible — there is uncertainty about the length of immunity gained from infection) would cost at a minimum a million lives, based on current statistical data. That’s just directly caused deaths, and does not count the added cost of long-term effects, and added severe illness and deaths from other causes that are going untreated due to the health care system being overwhelmed. To me, the current 300,000 deaths is beyond appalling, and a million+ more that could be prevented cannot be justified.

https://elemental.medium.com/the-safeguards-that-helped-ensure-politics-didnt-influence-the-vaccine-process-16bcb129efc2

I want to be able to visit and hug my 80-year-old dad and my 21-year-old daughter without getting infected or infecting anyone else. I want to gather with my family and friends again in worship and socially. I want to enjoy going to restaurants and the theater. And it would be nice if eventually it could be sans mask. I’m thankful to still be employed, but too many are not, and are suffering. People I know personally in the health care field are traumatized and overwhelmed. These are factors that merit my serious consideration against any known personal risks of taking the vaccine.

Bottom-line — it’s a personal decision, but I have a moral obligation to think about others, not just myself, when making it; I’m getting educated with facts from reliable sources, to make a reasoned and balanced evaluation of risk-vs-benefit, not just an emotional one; and I also must remain open to learning facts new to me that may contradict formerly held beliefs.

So, to answer the questions in the title — yes, I will take the vaccine as soon as it becomes available to me. And yes, it is your business, because my decision quite literally affects your life.