the Jab & I

 

THE JAB & I

What follows consists solely of casual, somewhat benign observations of the vaccines given to prevent or reduce effects of various diseases. This is not a researched thesis, and presents only what comes from the experiences and memory of an old man – memory always being a dangerous minefield.

The idea of using bits of an existing virus to ‘teach’ the human body how to deal with a real infection is certainly not new. It goes back a very long time, somewhere heard the Egyptians did it (but then they get credit for a lot of things). According to contemporary history controlled ‘inoculation’ dates to the reign of Queen Victoria, whose official public backing stopped the plague of Small Pox. Truth be told, opposition based on ignorance, superstition, and/or rumor goes back just as long.

For hundreds of years, under greatly varied circumstances and peoples, vaccines have taken some time to develop, test, and prove. Even with all this they are not expected to be totally effective. Different people have different reactions; and better than about 70% effective is considered real good. Also, time, experiences, and availability have sometimes shown really bad side effects and outcomes (have you ever listened to those drug commercials on TV?). But, the overall testimony of history is that civilization is better off with vaccines because risks are dwarfed by benefits.

My Introduction to the subject came with the Polio epidemic in St. Louis when I was five years old. To this moment I can see the fear in my mother’s eyes when she thought I had Polio symptoms. She said that if there ever was a vaccine for it she’d sell everything to get it for her children. When in came it was free. For the record, Polio had much the same effects as Covid-19. Polio just did not have nearly as many infections and deaths in one year.

When I transferred schools for 7^th grade the principal was required to actually see my Small Pox shot scar. Don’t know if proof of Polio shot was required in schools.

Much later during my short-lived and inglorious time in Air Force we were given both Salk and Sabin dosages along with Small Pox vaccine and a lot of other government approved stuff. Most of us had already gotten the Salk & Small Pox, but nobody would have thought to refuse a lawful order. It was something we called “duty, honor, country”.

In 2020 Covid-19 was declared a “Pandemic” – that is, it’s everywhere and not just an American problem! Enter ‘Operation Warp Speed’ of the Trump administration. In about nine months three vaccines were approved for use by Trump’s CDC. They were produced by independent business entities aware of risks involved and facing incalculable financial loss if their product failed. As of now these vaccines are being administered all over world. Much of the basic research had been going on for years, computers and the Internet greatly shortened the time it would take to develop a vaccine. Even Trump has taken it, and recommended it at a recent show he put on in Ohio. Just as computers greatly speeded up creating a new vaccine, spreading nonsense on Internet speeded up the opposition. For my part, well, governments come and go; but malpractice lawyers live forever.

When the Covid vaccine became available to us old folks earlier this year I sent an inquiry to my doctor which included my reservations:

The only time I took the seasonal virus vaccine would have been in 2004. I reacted very badly; and, to the best of my recollection, in all my hospitalizations it was only time I was sick enough to let a nurse give me a bath. For reasons which he never told me my doctor at time definitively would not give me this vaccine in the years I continued to be his patient. I never asked why not and have not had one since.

With my good doctors approval, Kay’s encouragement, and my rare exercise of good sense, I got ‘the Jab’ (yeah, right, you’ve got to be a Brit to use that term).

Now comes news of something called the “Delta Variant”. Covid being a contagious disease, as required by law hospitals and Public Health departments report a scary rise in these cases. Reportedly it is much more contagious and deadly than good, old-fashioned Covid. According to publicly available information, where Delta has been spread hospitals are being overwhelmed, running out of ICU beds, and even turning away non-Covid patients. Broadcast interviews with directly involved hospital administrators, doctors, and nurses estimate about 90% of these new patients are not vaccinated. Seems situation is about as bad or worse than before Operation Warp Speed made vaccines available, except now there’s no excuse. Glad the Jab & I got together.