UNITED STATES—This is something that I have been eager to talk about for quite some time, however, I wanted to fully gather my thoughts before tackling such a controversial issue. There is no secret in hiding the discussion any further; it is all about the vaccination melee involving the Coronavirus. Do I get vaccinated or do I not get vaccinated? That is the question, and as much as we like to think there is a simple answer and the politicians, the reporters, the athletes, celebrities and a host of people who sometimes think they are more important than they actually are inform the public you must get vaccinated if we want to return to normal.
Wait a minute, you don’t have that power to tell people what they can or cannot do when it comes to their own bodies. That is the thing about medicine; you have to do what is best for you. Look, there are people who are anti-vaccine have always been and will always be. That is their choice and their right to do so. However, forcing people to get a vaccine is NOT going to make people get a vaccine. Also throwing money, gift cards and a host of other prizes will not have people lining up to get the Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson or Moderna vaccine.
Hell, hearing about the effective rate and the issues with Johnson and Johnson would put doubt in any person’s mind. No matter how many scientists and doctors say it is effective after the fact. Being transparent is one facet. A lot of people have gotten the vaccine with the hopes of not having to wear a mask, being able to dine and wine, attend concerts and do things that we did before the pandemic struck. However, that is hard to do when you have half of the country vaccinated and the other half not vaccinated.
Mask mandates are being reintroduced and there is even talk of potential shutdowns again. So all Americans could see the darkest times that we thought had been behind us pop-up yet again and there is NOT much that can be done to change that. The government cannot force people to get vaccinated. There are people who cannot or will NOT get vaccinated for medical and religious reasons which they are entitled to. There are people who will NOT get vaccinated because they don’t trust the vaccine. Hell it took years to craft vaccines for such deadly diseases like smallpox, measles, chicken pox, polio and so many others, however, we managed to come up with a vaccine to the Coronavirus or COVID-19 in about a year or a little under a year?
Yeah, that is going to raise flags America and people are entitled to have those flags up if these choose to do so and no one can change that. People have trust issues and talking to doctors, scientists and family will not simply change their mind from one day to the next. With that said, we have to understand that there are people who want, will and have gotten the COVID-19 vaccine, and on the flipside there are those who will not get the COVID-19 vaccine. Everyone is entitled to their right to make that decision.
So this means that mask wearing and social distancing protocols could still be implemented a bit longer than we expect. At this point, it has become a norm to a degree and the mask wearing does not bother me all that much. I don’t recall getting sick one single time last year because I was wearing a mask over my mouth and nose, so those germs, bacteria and viruses that tend to be airborne could NOT get into my body.
We should just plan to keep hearing the conversation evolve and become complicated about the COVID-19 vaccination with no end in sight, at least not in 2021. After the news dropped on July 27 from the CDC recommending that people who are fully vaccinated to continue wearing a mask, what does that say about the vaccine? The mixed signals are being sent left and right, so it should be obvious why so many people are confused and frustrated about the vaccine, because we don’t truly know it’s effectiveness by the constant changes from week to week.
Written By Jason Jones
