E74: Reflections on COVID19 Version 2.0 in 2021

"IF YOU LOVE A HEALTHCARE WORKER, PRAY DAILY THAT GOD WILL RENEW THEIR PASSION, JOY, AND CONTENTMENT IN THEIR CALLING. BECAUSE WHILE THE WORLD FIGHTS OVER A SHOT, THE MEDICAL FIELD IS FIGHTING TO KEEP THEIR DESIRE TO SERVE"

And here I include the 2 statements made on social media that I have found moving and very appropriate for our current situation:

I'm vaccinated and, no, I don't know what's in it—neither this vaccine nor the ones I had as a child; or what’s in that Big Mac, that pumpkin-spice flavoring, or in hot dogs or chicken tenders; or what’s in other drugs used for other treatments … whether the treatment is for cancer, AIDS, or polyarthritis.

 

I don't actually know what's in Ibuprofen, Tylenol, or other pain meds that almost everyone takes; I know it cures my headaches and my pain. Or what’s in cough medicine, that allergy nasal spray, insulin, or high blood pressure meds.

 

I also don't know what's in ink for tattoos, vaping cigs, or every ingredient in my soap, shampoo, or deodorants. Likewise, I don’t know what’s in lipstick.

 

I don’t know the long-term effect of cell phone use or whether or not that restaurant I just ate at REALLY used clean utensils, fresh foods, and whether the employees there washed their hands.

In short ...

 

There's a lot of things I don't know and never will.

 

I know one thing: life is short, concise. And I still want to do something with my life other than just going to work every day or staying locked in my home. I still want to travel and hug people without fear and experience more of my life "before.”

 

As a child and as an adult, I've been vaccinated for mumps, measles, rubella, polio, chickenpox, smallpox, and quite a few others (as an adult, I’ve been vaccinated for tetanus and hepatitis, and each fall, I get a flu shot that is less effective at preventing flu than the Covid vaccine is at preventing Covid-19). Yet, my parents and I trusted science and never had to suffer through or transmit any childhood diseases that used to kill children and adults.

I'm vaccinated, not to please the government but:

 

• * to not die from Covid-19.
• * to NOT clutter a hospital bed if I get sick.
• * to hug my loved ones without fearing I may transmit a deadly virus to them.
• * to not have to do PCR or antigenic tests to go to a concert, go to a restaurant, go on holidays, and many more things to come.
• * to live my life.
• * to have my kids/grandkids go back to school and play sports—safely.
• * to make these days of Covid-19 become just an old memory.
• * to protect us—all of us.

 

Finally, Dr. Jeffrey Dietzenbach, an Iowa Clinic general surgeon, wrote the following post last week, and his mes