
Just like you, I want to get back to normal as soon as possible. I have a lot of hope for 2021, 90% because of vaccines (the other 10% because of what comes after vaccines). If we were chatting over coffee, this is what would I tell you. These vaccines are safe, super effective, and our way out of the pandemic. The sooner we can get to herd immunity through vaccination, the sooner we get to normal again (which includes normal school for our kids, normal business operations, normal travel, normal decisions, normal…).
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐. I know there’s hesitancy due to medical reasons (but, those are rare and your doctor will tell you whether or not that is the case for you) or other reasons related to BIPOC history (we will talk about that this week) or faith beliefs (see source #14 below). But, MOST of the hesitancy I am seeing is not due to any of those reasons – it’s just simple fear or anxiety that is being fueled by social media or family members or too-much-info or 2020-decision-fatigue. It’s not one big fear or focused anxiety – it seems many of you are just nervous about something related to the vaccines even if you can’t name it. I don’t want to discount any fears and anxieties you might be having about getting the vaccine – with all of the chatter around the vaccines on TOP of everything else 2020 threw at us, it’s completely understandable that you could be nervous. Y’all, I get that. I hope this “virtual coffee post” helps give you some courage you might need to go get that shot.
๐๐ฎ๐ญ, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ค๐๐๐ฉ ๐ ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ . ๐๐ง๐, ๐๐ซ๐๐ง’๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ! =) At this pace of the vaccine roll-out, normalcy won’t be here until fall 2021 or later. Ugh, y’all. I bet a few of you said that too. I don’t know about you – but, I’m ready to do whatever it takes to get over this pandemic. Vaccines are the most powerful and most ethical tool to do that (unless we want to do full lockdowns, which are not sustainable, long-term, or what any of us want – or if we want to ‘let it rip’ which is entirely unethical – see sources for more on that).
โ From a data standpoint, there is a bit of urgency for people to get vaccines as soon as possible for 2 reasons.
1. Most of us epids are watching the new variant pretty closely. I wrote on that a few days ago if you want to read that post. In light of this post on vaccine hesitancy, I want to highlight another great article about this new variant – and, why we need to get vaccines out to people and accepted as soon as possible. It’s like a ticking time bomb if we waste time, because this variant looks to be quite a bit more transmissible. That means we will see an explosion of cases (on top of our current explosion) if this new variant gets a widespread hold in the US. *****TAKE HOME POINT – the more we can do now, the better off we will be if that happens. We need to put out the current fires. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/12/virus-mutation-catastrophe/617531/?fbclid=IwAR3zypojmvcrNSldymPYuBcEbHt8IIsMU_FvFa8Ks7pdxwFHp81zdb95Ujg
2. Let’s also look at the alternatives: ***4.2 million vaccine doses have been administered since December 10. If these vaccines were not safe, we would have heard it by now and the FDA would have revoked the EUAs. ***In that same time frame, at least 5.5 million cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed, hospitals continue to be overwhelmed, and around 60,000 people have died from COVID-19.
โ As always, talk to your doctor about whether or not you should get vaccinated – there are times that warrant waiting and your doctor would know those individual situations and personal health history. But, for the MAJORITY of us – the fears are unfounded. The viral videos of a nurse fainting (which is her reaction to any pain – including if she stubs her toe), the fake video circulating about Kamala Harris getting her vaccine with the weird needle, and other viral videos about reactions to the vaccine are fake.
โ We need to ramp up vaccinations, web-peeps. Get those shots (cue Hamilton music)! Let’s not extend 2020 into 2021. This is a new year of re-building and re-everything. =) If you are nervous about it, that’s understandable with so much chatter about it. I hope this helped give you some courage and encouragement to get those shots, especially for those of you in healthcare. I’m going to link to what I’ve written about these vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) already if you want to look through the data again. If you have questions about vaccine ingredients, common myths (regarding fertility, 5G, microchips, changing DNA, and other myths), safety profiles, and discussions on herd immunity see the posts below.
-Friendly neighbor epidemiologist
A great resource is the CDC website on the COVID-19 vaccines: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/index.html
โ VACCINE SERIES
1. Herd immunity and vaccines: Vaccines 101 – https://tinyurl.com/y27txvro
2. Vaccine distribution info and how well do the current vaccines work? – https://tinyurl.com/y2vte5lz
3. Whoa, these were made quick, right? How can we make sure they are safe? https://tinyurl.com/y2awosyn
4. When will I get the vaccine? Who decides who gets a vaccine first? And, a note on solidarity versus individualistic thinking. – https://tinyurl.com/y39cbptv
5. Myth-busters for vaccines (we talk about fertility questions, 5G/micro-chips, fetal cells, and why the mRNA won’t change your DNA) – https://tinyurl.com/y2woz462
6. Explaining the FDA review and talking about the final Pfizer study results. https://tinyurl.com/y22jd32f
7. Should we be worried about the side-effects seen in the UK? – https://tinyurl.com/yxvb36y4
8. Let’s talk about the FDA panel meeting- https://tinyurl.com/y6hzmcgt
9. Reflections on the EUA Pfizer FDA meeting – https://tinyurl.com/y4k2o6kc
10. Pfizer EUA approval, vaccine ingredients, and recommendations – https://tinyurl.com/yyvzeynx
11. Pfizer vaccine Q&A – https://tinyurl.com/y7e3jar8
12. Will I have to get a shot every two months? Should I worry about mutations? https://tinyurl.com/y83wd84k
13. Info on the Moderna vaccine – https://tinyurl.com/y7x2hvn8
14. Faith and vaccines – Can you be pro-life and still get the COVID-19 vaccines? https://tinyurl.com/yb5ydlf2
I live in OKC. All of the vaccination events the health department is offering throughout the state are filling up fast. They fill up within hours of being posted on social media. Currently, there arenโt enough events to accommodate the demand. Iโm concerned about how they are going to handle things when itโs time for the second doses. Iโm hopeful that things will improve once the vaccine is offered at pharmacies. Hopefully, that is soon!
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