Get that jab!
It’s the least you can do and it can save lives.
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Mom was finally smiling again today. Yesterday she was in hell.
She went through a day of fever, sweat, chills and pains everywhere in her muscles. A rollercoaster that took her body on a wild ride for over twentyfour hours, before suddenly fading away like nothing ever happened. It was the aftermath of Vaxzevria, the rebranded name for the Astrazeneca vaccine that she finally took just a day before.
This week, I finally convinced my parents to get vaccinated. After months of waiting, they entered into the age brackets of those eligible to get their shot. But mom was afraid this time.
Coming from an older generation she remember vividly all the big victories of humanity over the diseases of her time: hepatitis, measles, smallpox. One by one succumbed under the weight of scientific medicine and ambitious eradication campaigns. She had never been hesitant towards vaccines before, the last one was a flu shot that saved her from the ritual cold season. But it was different this time.
She heard the stories of collateral damage from vaccines, she had followed the dramatic cycle of news since the start of the pandemic.
I think there’s a good reason to be wary of what you inject in your body, especially if something is still so new and untested. For any doubt, the best way to make an informed choice is to consult official sources, like CDC or EMA (the European Medicine Agency), that together offer a constant update on medical research. Bust most importantly, talk with a personal doctor.
Fever and the manifestations of potential side effects with the vaccine dose are a perfectly normal occurence. Even a positive one. Those are the signs of the body reacting to a foreign agent in the body and the successful attempts to neutralize it. This reaction creates of immunological memory that will protect yourself from any future Covid-19 infection, as well as the others around you from being infected.
Even if you feel wasted, you’re not getting actually “sick” from a vaccine, but only triggering an antibody response. This ordeal will last usually a day, or two and then it will disappear.
Doubts and hesitancy are not uncommon and, like my mother, I think they reflect a reasonable concern. But fortunately despite the doubts and the proliferation of fake news, vaccine acceptance in my country reaches overall a solid 85% %, sign of a wide sense of collective responsibility after a deadly year.
For this reason, it was quite surprising to discover a relatively high percentage of hesitancy in USA. One in four people in America say they won’t get vaccinated. Last day, I was flabbergasted to see this free ADV from Governor Cuomo:
Honestly, he’s freaking hilarious to watch. The way he markets the “burger element” had me in stitches.
But all good fun aside, is a telling sign when the Governor of one of the most important regions in the States has to resort to these incentives to “win” the trust of his people. I hope the situation is much brighther than what it looks and more people will resolve to get vaccinated.
Mom finally gave up and accepted to do the right thing. I felt for for her. My parents are the people I care about the most, and with all the uncertainties surrounding vaccines today, it feels like playing russian roulette with the unknown. The international agencies insist that the benefits of a Covid-19 vaccine greatly outweigh the potential risks associated. And if you trust this final reassurance from a reliable authority, more than a roulette it should feel like winning the lottery. With the difference that millions of peple are the winners and the prize is an acquired immunity to a pandemic that has already ravaged half of the world. And is still leaving horrifying records behind.
According to the experts, more than 80% of the population must be vaccinated to reach a threshold of protection inside the community, especially considering the race against new ramping variants that are taking hold in the world and may alter the ultimate efficacy of vaccines available.
Following the current trend and the slowdown of inoculations, the current studies have posed some doubt that USA will ever reach the ambitious goal of herd immunity this year.
The fail to reach a sufficient vaccine coverage will jeopardize global efforts to succesfully fight the virus and allow it to creep indefenitely in our “new normalcy”, becoming an endemic presence together with the seasonal cycles of cold and flu.
To be fair, not only the US, but the entire world is too far behind this coveted goal.
Since the beginning of the pandemic we have let blind nationalism to dictate our agenda, instead of promoting global cooperation against this common enemy. This thwarted any hope to win the race against the virus anytime soon.
Some international initiatives like COVAX have yelded relatively little support and results, while all the big players in the game have hoarded all the supplies even before the were commercially available.
US and UK have enforced a “us first” clause for pharmaceutical companies, bounding them to serve them before anyone else and crippling the supply chain for the rest of the world.
“The United States, along with Britain, “have imposed an outright ban on the export of vaccines or vaccine components produced on their territory.” — Charles Michel, EU Council President
A NYT story reports how the US is keeping millions of AstraZeneca vaccines in storage, not wanting to share, while the EU keeps buying extra doses to cover the deficiencies of the initial contracts with the producing companies.
With these selfish policies, half of the world still falls behind vaccine coverage, and this can, potentially, make the pandemic last longer.
The dramatic crisis in India is another consequence of the lack of support from the rich countries. With a criminal 0% export of vaccine doses to the rest of the world, America is effectively embargoing supplies, while India keeps burning and is left all alone in the catastrophe.
Looking from this perspective, I think USA , UK and the EU, representing the biggest players in the global vaccine dispute, have an even bigger responsibility in the eyes of the rest of the world. The fight against the coronavirus pandemic is truly global, but only a little percentage of the world currently have access to vaccines to fight this invisible battle.
For this reason, if you’re lucky enough to belong to rich countries, you have a moral responsibility to take your part. I really wish everyone can have access to the same opportunities, but in this faulty system and economy only very few have this privilege.
If you happen to be one of them, get jabbed! It’s the least you can do and it can save lives.
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