Have You Been Vaccinated?

I’ve been sitting on the fence wanting to write about this and not, because I thought it might bring a firestorm of emotion, but here it goes.

Have you been vaccinated? Are you planning on getting it? Or are you not?

What are your feelings about it?

Should it be mandatory? Or not?

What’s your experience been with it?

Perhaps this should be a 2 part-er, but I’m not sure I’m up to it, so let’s see how it goes. I read vaccine-shamer on Mischenko’s blog this morning and this post just began to write itself, so thank you for the inspiration!

Because I have not been vaccinated. I don’t want to get it until I see how it goes with everyone else. I don’t like shots to begin with and never get the Flu shot either. I wouldn’t get the shingles shot come to think of it. I don’t like meds and so I stay away from them as much as possible.

I am leery about the vaccine though and the rapid way in which it felt as if it were suddenly released after Covid began. It makes me suspect for many reasons and while I’ve heard some of those controversial theories, I don’t know what to believe anymore. But I do know that when I look at what’s been presented as facts, there’s something in my head that doesn’t add up so unless I have to get it, I will wait (thank you very much).

Because as I understand it, even if you get vaccinated, you can still get Covid (but to a lesser degree). It’s not that you are now free as a bird to do as you please and run ’round mask-less touching people (ok being a little facetious), but you get what I’m trying to say?

Also, there are many strains of Covid now which means that the vaccine that you get might not help you if you come down with a another strain of it. A dear family member of mine always got the flu shot, but she was exposed to a different strain of the flu and passed away from it. I find it to be a similar situation in my head.

Additionally, as I understand it, the vaccine is only good for 3 months? And there’s not a lot of data as to what the long term side affects can be with the vaccine or without it.

Please correct me if my information is not up to date. (nicely please, I’m only asking….)

So I have friends who are joyfully relieved that they’ve gotten their vaccines. Overjoyed and excited to see their family members which I completely understand. But what I don’t get it that it seems to me that they feel the vaccine is their freedom card and prevents them from the illness. But you still have to wear a mask. You can still carry the virus even when vaccinated and you can still get the virus (but to a lesser level?) when vaccinated.

Or is it that I’m just misinformed?

Because I was vaccine shamed by close friends and it felt really awful. Shamed into being the reason that was holding back America from the mask-less freedom we enjoyed prior to 2019 in my friend group because it seems I’m the lone duck who hasn’t jumped at the chance to get the vaccine and who doesn’t want to get it. While the shaming was done as ‘we care about you and we don’t want you to get sick’ there was something bizarre about the peer pressure in rushing out to get a shot for a virus that has many strains, many short/long term side effects and kills some and leaves others have hardly any symptoms.

Then there’s the 3 different vaccines that are available. Each with their own set of side-effects etc. How do you know which one to choose? And why don’t you get to choose? And who’s the biochemist behind them? And maybe I understand there’s not a one-size-fits-all, but there’s something that just doesn’t add up for me.

I’m not one of those people who goes down the rabbit hole of conspiracy, so I’m not going down that path of thinking this is political or world domination or whatever. That is not what this post is about…

I’m just me. Asking you. To be nice and tell me what you think about the vaccine without vaccine shaming me.