Some of the excuses used for not being vaccinated for Covid-19 are the same ones being used 135 years ago regarding the Small-Pox vaccine:
- People driven like sheep to the slaughter
- People shouldn’t be alarmed
- The vaccine causes illness or doesn’t work
- The government is taking away our personal liberty
- Other experts “prove” that the vaccine is ineffective
With 135 years of technology between then and now, one would think that people could be coming up with something more original.
When you tell an anti-vaccine person that you have been vaccinated, they say, “Well, if you want to be a lab rat and let them stick stuff in your arm, go ahead.” I hate to tell these people, but they are lab rats, too. Every lab experiment has a control group. If it is an experiment to see if a new drug will stop or slow down a disease, there are always two sets of rats that have the disease: those that receive the new drug and those that don’t. If the drug works, those that received the drug recover and those that didn’t eventually die from the disease.
The same thing works with vaccines. Those who chose against getting the vaccine are basically joining the control group. Unfortunately, that control group is not doing very well. Of those who have been admitted to hospitals or died this year, 99% were not fully vaccinated. Less than 6,000 of the 161 million Americans who have been fully vaccinated have been admitted to hospitals or died. That’s 0.003%. The unvaccinated control group is not so lucky.
Another argument is that the vaccine was created too fast and needs more testing. Yes the vaccine was created in record time, but it is important to see how that was possible. First of all, President Trump instituted Operation Warp Speed in order to put the financial resources of the country behind the development by ordering and paying for the vaccines before they were completed. Second, the actual research for the process of creating vaccines faster had been going on at Moderna and Pfizer for 10 years. As far as testing is concerned, there have been over 161 million Americans vaccinated, and the side effects for the most part has been pain and selling in the shoulder and some level of fatigue for a couple of days. That is precisely my experience. The actual number of doses given far exceeds what would normally take place in clinical studies prior to final approval from the FDA.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the politics behind things. In September of 2020, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both said that they would be hesitant in receiving a vaccine that was developed so quickly and approved by “the Trump FDA.” However, after the vaccines were approved, after the presidential election, they were first in line with their sleeves rolled up to get their shots. And here I thought that the first vaccines were reserved for essential personnel. I am not sure politicians fall into that category.
Covid-19 is a virus, like influenza (the flu). Even though there are flu vaccines, they are not 100% effective because the virus changes every year. You can count on Covid also mutating and for it to be a disease that will require re-vaccination on an annual basis. That has already shown to be the case with the Delta variant, with others sure to follow.
The odds of an unvaccinated person getting Covid are better than winning any prize in Mega Millions or Power Ball. One of the reasons that people commit crimes is that they believe that the chance of getting caught are lower than not getting caught. The weatherman says that there is a 10% chance of rain. Those who oppose vaccines believe that the chances of getting Covid are small. All of these are true. However, once the criminal is caught; once it starts to rain; once a person gets Covid, all bets are off. You can’t turn back the hands of time for a second chance.
If you want to play the odds with your life, go ahead and stay in that control group of lab rats. Just don’t complain if you end up in the hospital.
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