Freedom From And Freedom To – Not Taking The Covid Vaccine In America

“You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” Babe Ruth

The vaccines are proven safe and accessibility is easier than ever but still I am in the position of trying to convince a loved one to take the vaccine.

I understood the hesitancy in the beginning. It was fast tracked and that was scary to people. They weren’t at risk or they were home most of the time anyway now so they did not need to take it. (I am talking about intelligent people – not people who politicized it). Right now, I am hesitant about the booster though I qualify for it. It seems like too many vaccines so close together. I will probably wait a bit and see how people do.

I happened to get an email from a holistic doctor who originally wasn’t pro vaccine, but the new Covid variant had changed his mind. I thought it was interesting and passed it on to her but she dug her heels in even more. It is much harder to convince someone when they are surrounded by a cadre of like minded people.

Some people in the holistic world took this vaccine. My doctor never came back to work in person. He did not want to take the vaccine but he doesn’t yet know how to keep himself and his patients safe. He is doing video chats. I respect that but I miss him. I am a fan of natural remedies and take many supplements but I took the vaccine as soon as I could, to get out of the house.

It seems like people who have held out, have their reasons and probably aren’t going to change them unless they or someone close to them gets very sick from the virus. A lot of the concerns aren’t based on facts, they are based on emotions. All these people had to take vaccinations to attend school.

I am at risk and my daughter is about to give birth so I don’t know when I can actually be around non vaccinated people, but it won’t be any time soon. Sadly, I have to draw boundaries. I support her freedom but her choice affects my health and the health of my soon to be born grandchild.

The world has experienced trauma and everyone copes differently. I am supposed to attend a wedding of 130 people where testing is not required. Chances are good that in a group that size, even with a requested vaccine, someone is carrying the variant. It feels like we just don’t want to help each other get through this.

We all wanted to not take the vaccine and have everyone else take it to develop herd immunity for us. I am angry because I am super allergic and have to consider yet another vaccine. Healthy people who won’t take the vaccine, keep this pandemic going. It isn’t just about a personal choice. It is hard to change minds when you are moving through uncharted territory.

Stay safe,

JAZ