COVID VACCINE

The COVID 19 Vaccines

Generally, I am what some call an anti-vaxer. That's right, in spite of the current assumption that your willingness to vaccinate is aligned with your political views, many who chose not to vaccinate fall into other categories. I have never had a flu vaccine, shingles vaccine or any other vaccine other than my childhood MMR set. It's not a political statement, believe me.

But I did get the COVID 19 vaccine, and I got it the moment I was eligible. So, I hope that my reasons will spark others who are choosing not to vaccinate themselves right now.

Unlike many of the other diseases that people vaccinate against right now, COVID 19 is an imminent and deadly threat to health. People survive the flu and shingles, but some who get Coronavirus will die and knowing who will and who won't isn't always straightforward.
Unlike other vaccinations, a COVID shot will not just prevent me from dying but will impact those around me and will most importantly reduce the pandemic. My shot will impact society on the whole, our economic future, our future returning to normal life and our ability to manage other threats. This is not just me any more. If I help harbor the virus by staying vaccinated, I help the pandemic to persist and like you, I want this thing to end. Data in July confirms without dispute that regions which have high vaccination rates, are operating much more closely to normal, while those which have low vaccination rates are fueling a prolonged pandemic, more illness and death, more economic woe and the potential for more damaging mutations.
People overdose on drugs, drink and smoke for years, and put so many chemicals into their bodies and generally speaking the majority of these toxins will clear out over time. Very few will cause permanent damage. So it is with the vaccine. It's not impossible, but it is improbable that these proven shots would introduce something with long term lethality. Saying that your afraid of what it might do to you but then putting other things into your body which don't belong, is just a tad hypocritical. Unless you are eating all organic foods and never taking any drugs, you can't really claim a fear of the unknown affects of the vaccine which has been so thoroughly tested.
It's not just been tested, but it's been used on millions of people. I'm an empiricist and I look at data. There have been far too many safely vaccinated people at this point. I am more leary of the J&J vaccine, because it has shown rare serious side effects. But the mRNA shots have too much good data at this point.
We're in this together. More than half of America is either going to survive because of the vaccine or something else will happen. At this point, I will be in good company. If some rare crazy side effect pops up in ten years, there will be resources put into understanding and hopefully addressing it. This is very highly unlikely. Whatever side effect you are going to have, you'll have early on. The overwhelming likelihood is that you may feel crummy for 24 hours, and after that you will have strong defenses against COVID 19 and will be able to return to a semi normal life.