COVID and vaccinating

 I wrote early about the coming pandemic.   Fast forward a vaccine created in record time with incredible 95% efficacy.  5 months after being more widely available, we do not have enough people who took it.   I am a skeptic, and did my own reading for real statistics on the vaccine.   I am concerned about it being a new vaccine technology.   However here are the facts I weighed.

I am over 50, overweight, and near zero exercise.  We know statically I am in higher risk for death or long term consequences.   Those who smoke, or have other pre existing conditions have equal or more risk.   People who are athletes and under 25 can still die or have long term consequences. 

These are undisputed facts.  Even if you can calculate your risk of death or long haul COVID to be 1 in a 100, would you take that chance with a gun with 99 empty chambers and 1 bullet?   If you would, then accept your consequences.

For me the math with current knowledge is it’s lower risk for taking the vaccine.   

I read something interesting today about those who don’t want to take something experimental.   If you get COVID requiring hospital treatment, the hospital will give you experimental treatments.   So if you are against a new vaccine, and go to the hospital, you should also be against any experimental treatment.   Denying such treatment will dramatically increase chances of death.    So if you choose to not vaccinate, be sure to understand your commitment and consequences, and stick to your convictions.

I read an article from a doctor that struck me, triggering my desire to write this post.  If you are not vaccinated, consider reading.

“Well,” I said, “I can pretty much guarantee we would have never met had you gotten vaccinated because you would have never been hospitalized. All of our COVID units are full and every single patient in them is unvaccinated. Numbers don’t lie. The vaccines work.”

This was a common excuse people gave for not getting vaccinated, fearing the vaccine because the Food and Drug Administration had only granted it emergency-use authorization so far, not permanent approval. Yet the treatments he had turned to, antibiotics, monoclonal antibodies and hydroxychloroquine were considered experimental, with mixed evidence to support their use.

The only proven lifesaver we’ve had in this pandemic is a vaccine that many people don’t want.

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