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Why I Got the Covid Vaccine

I've been debating if I should post this article, but I decided to proceed. Covid is a politically charged topic that has split the country and the world. I've decided to share my reasoning for getting the vaccine, not to persuade others to get the vaccine or to prove who's right or wrong, but to offer my perspective.

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Thanks to my wife, son, and friends who helped me proof and edit this article.

My age

My wife and I are in the vulnerable age group. Even though we're generally healthy, aside from my recent prostate cancer episode, the risk was obvious to us.

Elderly Parents, Other Family Members, Immunodeficient, Others

My parents are in their late 80s and mid-90s. Both have some health issues that will cause serious ramifications from a Covid infection. I did not want to be a potential source of their getting the disease. I also have a son, brother, niece and nephew and their families that I wanted to protect. I could not bear knowing that I could possibly spread the disease to them. I also did not want to be a virus host that unwittingly allowed the virus to use my body to mutate and become more deadly.

There are many people with weakened immune systems caused by birth defects, disease, chemotherapy, etc. Like me, these people need to visit doctors, pharmacies, grocery stores, and shop for supplies. I felt it was selfish of me to place these people at potential risk by not getting vaccinated.

I did not want to occupy an ICU bed and prevent someone else from getting needed surgery or other treatment. With this Delta variant surge, I've read a few articles about people who have died or have delayed lifesaving surgery because there are no ICU beds. I felt it would be very selfish of me to forego the vaccine, contract the disease, and then use a bed that someone else could have gotten.

Side Effects

Side effects ran the gamut of minor aches/arm soreness, to mild fever, lethargy, and sudden death in some cases. I've not learned that any of those deaths were directly attributable to the vaccine, except for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, but I felt it was a potential risk. I decided if the vaccine did its worst and took my life, at least I had done something to possibly help save others. My only side effect after each injection was mild soreness at the injection for maybe a day.

I'm gonna switch gears a bit and explain how I reasoned through some of the news posted about the vaccines and Covid.

Wild Theories That I Could Not Believe

I read about several vaccine theories. It makes you magnetic. It changes your DNA. It's a way to track you using microchips. It's another way for Big Pharma to make money. Here's where my thinking took me:

1. I quickly discarded the magnetic theory. I played with magnets all through my childhood and never found myself stuck to refrigerator and car doors and never had my dad's tools hanging off my arms and hands. The human body is not a metallic entity, so it cannot be magnetized. Some have tried to demonstrate coins sticking to their bodies, but if you run a magnet through a box of coins, it will pick up nothing.

2. DNA changes did worry me a bit. I decided to believe the science behind the vaccine. The mRNA vaccine mimics the Covid viral protein. The body's immune system reacts by creating antibodies. The mRNA vaccine does not enter the cell nucleus, which is where the DNA we all worried about lives. Yes, I still wonder a bit about this, but I'm not losing sleep over it.

3. Tracking never worried me. Our phones, tablets, websites we visit, and computers track us in even more detail than tracker in a shot could. And why would anyone go to the trouble of creating a vaccine for tracking, when there are millions of these tracking devices already in use. Millions of vials were filled with the vaccine by three different companies. These vials were shipped nationwide, so there's no way the manufacturer could know whose dose would originate from what vial. I saw no electronic tracking devices being built at vaccine sites.

4. I did have concerns about Big Pharma using the pandemic to pad their pockets. Research revealed each vaccine shot cost the government around $19 at the time I was vaccinated. I would have gladly paid that and more out of my own pocket to protect myself, my family, and to end the economically devastating shutdowns we all endured. Yes, Big Pharma may generate even more revenue due to required booster shots. But as long as they don't gouge us, I don't care.

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I have a strong immune system.

Unless we've been tested, do we really know how strong our immune system is? I think mine is strong because I'm rarely ill. Yet, my immune system let me get prostate cancer in 2020. My immune system turned against me in 2002 and attacked cells in my stomach that produce intrinsic factor (IF). IF is necessary for the body to absorb Vitamin B12 from the food we eat. I had zero Vitamin B12 in my bloodstream, but until I was tested for B12 deficiency, I thought I had a strong immune system.

I'm not sure, but I think the Covid virus is something new. If that's true, then will my immune system know how to attack and control the virus? Based on the ever-increasing number of cases last year, I decided the chances of my immune system defeating the virus were sketchy at best.

The vaccine was developed in a very short time and has only emergency approval.

All true initially, but I thought about how fast the virus was spreading. The rate of increasing infections was/is an emergency. When America faces an emergency, it hopefully reacts quickly, much like it did in the two World Wars. During those times, personnel, materials, factories were focused on beating back the enemies.

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In 2020-2021, the enemy is a virus. This enemy is unseen and deadly. I decided that, after a slow start, emergency vaccine development was the only potential weapon we had to defeat the enemy.

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I've done a small amount of research on the differences between emergency vaccine approval and full approval. So far, it seems the numbers of testers is similar for both emergency and full approval. One difference is that full approval requires a longer time frame for analyzing side effects. Other articles indicate that most vaccine side effects appear within six weeks of the vaccination.

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And here's a link that explains more about how the vaccines were developed so rapidly.

.https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-319

I don't know what's in the vaccine.

I cannot recall the comedian who said something similar to "I don't know what's in my bowl of Trix, but I eat it anyway." Think about it. We consume food (even hot dogs, as a friend mentioned), vitamins and supplements (many or most of which are not regulated), beverages and we don't have a clue what's in them, except maybe the main ingredient. We'll take pills to lose weight, protein supplements to build muscle, over-the-counter medications to cure/prevent disease and we really don't know what's in any of those substances. I could not understand this argument in view of all the other things we consume daily without caring what's in them.

We Don't Know the Vaccine's Long Term Effects.

It's true that we don't know long term effects of the vaccine, because human testing began sometime around September 2020. However, we do know a lot about the long term effects of Covid.

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I thought about losing my sense of taste and how devastating that could be to my life. I'd really miss the taste of a grilled steak or burger. And there's the unexpected side effect of losing my appetite because I no longer enjoy eating.

I thought about developing shortness of breath due to damaged lungs and how I'd miss my weight-lifting and aerobic exercise. I thought about not being able to speak normally, not being able to walk with my wife and my dog, not being able to go to a store to shop.

But mostly, I thought about the ultimate side-effect of death. I'm just not ready for that one.

I'm young.

I can't say much about this because I'm not young. But I don't think the virus is checking people's ID cards before it attacks. Lately, it seems more like "I see food! Yum, Yum!" And, this Delta variant seems to target younger folks, somehow. Regardless, I'm not sure relying on one's age as a defense mechanism is a good defense.

This is America! I don't have to wear a mask.

I agree completely. But I also realize that just because I have a right does not mean I must exercise that right.

Football season is here, and coaches are talking about teamwork, relying on each other to do their job, "taking one for the team," and fully committing. We'll be saying amen to all those platitudes.

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I do not understand the angry reactions about wearing masks. I don't recall such reactions when stores initiated the "No shirt. No Shoes. No Service" policies. Why does adding the two words "No Mask" to that existing policy trigger such anger?

Why can't we apply those sports platitudes to the much larger arenas of our families, friends, co-workers, business operators, and doctors? What if our surgeons and nurses exercised their right to not wear a mask while we're lying on the operating table? Why can't we just wear a mask for the relatively short periods of time we're in the public and "take one for the team?"

Not wearing a mask was never an option for me. In fact, even though I'm fully vaccinated, I've continued to wear a mask.

The vaccine is the Mark of the Beast, Alliances with Satan

Some religious leaders have voiced mark of the beast and satanic alliance theories. Perhaps it's possible that God gave mankind the brains to build devices to see the virus, the ability understand how thrives it and spreads, and the ability to create a vaccine to stop the virus and/or reduce its impact on our health? This seems a more palatable concept to me.

I'm Listening to God

I must be careful here, because religion is a touchy subject.

This concept has been an excuse for me in the past, when I did not want to do what I needed to do. I internally pretended to be waiting for God's direction, when I was really avoiding something.

If you're a believer, then is it possible God is telling us that the vaccine is the solution to our Covid dilemma?

The vaccine can make you sterile

Below is a snippet from the Taco Bell website Or, you can confirm this for yourself by going to the Taco Bell website, choosing Nutrition on the left, then choosing Ingredient Statements at the top, then scrolling to the bottom of the page.

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My wife and I are past the child bearing years, but I understand the concern of those wanting to start a family. The point is there may be many things we consume that can cause birth issues, but we consume them anyway with no concerns. I doubt the vaccine can make one sterile, but I have no proof.

Ivermectin

I cannot wrap my brain around the theory that an animal strength de-wormer is effective against Covid. The logic being used by proponents is just illogical to me.

Why is someone afraid of a vaccine that has been tested and used millions of times with effective results, but that same person will take a dose of unproven, animal strength medication instead? And why, if Covid is a hoax, are some worried enough about Covid to take a such a medication. And we're now seeing some of the Ivermectin takers lying in hospital beds, taking treatment facilities away from others who desperately need help. Yes, there is a dosage prescribed for humans to treat parasitic infections, head lice, and some skin disorders, but there is not yet proof that it works against Covid.

Previous Vaccines

I grew up in the fifties when polio, whooping cough, and smallpox were still a threat. I do not remember such strong, if any, anti-vaccine movements. What I do remember is large numbers of parents rushing to get their children vaccinated against these diseases. I haven't seen resistance to rabies shots after contact with rabid animals, Tetanus shots, and other such preventive inoculations, so it's difficult for me to understand the negativity the Covid vaccine has received.

The Bottom Line

• Many staunch anti-vaxxers have died from Covid. I've seen emotional videos and read emotional stories of people dying, unable to tell their loved ones goodbye, unable to hug them one last time. Many who were still able to communicate began strongly advising their friends and family to get the vaccine, but I've heard of none saying they're glad they did not get the vaccine. Can you imagine the overwhelming pain, regret, and grief of the dying and of those left behind?

• I've read of people with other illnesses being unable to get treatment and dying because hospital beds are mostly occupied by the unvaccinated. One was a 41-year old veteran who had liver damage and pancreatitis from gall stones. He could have been saved if there were an available hospital bed, but he died.

• I read of one anti-vaxxer who attend an anti-vaxx or anti-mask rally the day after his wife died from Covid. I cannot believe anything a person with this level of disrespect for his wife advocates.

• Many used the emergency approval status for avoiding vaccination. Now that the vaccines full approval, those people are pivoting to different arguments for not getting the vaccine. One argument is that the vaccine is a way for Big Pharma to generate revenues. When someone flips from one argument to another to maintain their stance or belief, instead of admitting that their argument is no longer valid, they lose credibility with me.

• I've heard of a few people who died shortly after getting vaccinated. I do not know if any deaths are directly related to the vaccine itself, except for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but I acknowledge it's possible. But, with the millions of doses that people world-wide have received, I suspect the number of deaths directly related to the vaccine are many times fewer than the 650,000 and rising number of Covid deaths in the USA.

Thank you for reading this article. I believe the vaccine is our best way out of this pandemic and the best way to save ourselves, our families, and our friends from serious health complications and overwhelming grief. Hopefully, by sharing my thinking, I've provided some ideas that may help you make your personal decision about the Covid vaccine.