When the COVID vaccine first came out I had many questions and concerns. I was absolutely NOT in line to be vaccinated even as I continued to mask up, wash my hands, nourish my body and take more precautions than your average bear.
I had questions like:
How does it work?
What are the ingredients?
How might transmission rates be impacted?
Does it reduce serious illness? hospitalizations? deaths?
What are the side effects and how common are they?
How do they compare to the effects of COVID itself?
Who else is researching all this besides the pharmaceutical companies?
What are the odds of contracting CV?
What are the odds of experiencing negative long-term effects from CV?
What about potential impacts on fertility and pregnancy?
What about for those who are breastfeeding?
I was not about to go out and get vaccinated just because the government told me to.
I was also fully prepared to accept the potential governmental consequences of having my mobility be limited if I chose to decline.
Public health laws around communicable diseases were in place for that long before CV emerged.
I needed to see the data. And truthfully I needed to develop a better understanding of how personal choices impact the communities we exist within both locally and globally. I needed to check my privilege.
The more I learned the more being vaccinated made sense both personally and as someone who strives to love my neighbour and to see no stranger.
Every question I asked had legitimate evidence-based answers. Every boogeyman conspiracy theory I heard unraveled under scrutiny.
I have been on team 'pro-informed choice', 'pro-weigh out the risks & benefits' for a long time now and that hasn't changed with this.
Looking clearly at the available data has moved me from being skeptical to believing the benefits of COVID vaccination outweigh the risks for the overwhelming majority of people.
Yes, even those who consider themselves to be healthy.
I chose to be vaccinated in August.
I understand the government can f*ck up. I understand the pharmaceutical industry is not inherently benevolent. I KNOW that it can be scary. Especially if your worldview is oriented towards the natural over the pharmaceutical like mine, or if you have experienced harm at the hands of the medical system &/or government. And I know it's hard to ask legitimate questions without feeling like some others think you're stupid or selfish when really you have GENUINE concerns and don't know where to turn with them.
I legitimately risk losing customers of Hedgecraft Herbals for sharing my position openly. Even so, I have never shied away from sharing what I'm learning before and this needs to be no different. Keeping my vaccination status to myself because I fear it will offend clients and customers and friends is not congruent with who I am as a person.
If you are scared.... if you have concerns.... please know that I hear you.
I've put together a second post which contains 100+ links to resources I found helpful in my decision making and I hope you find it helpful too. You can find it here.