The Jab or Not the Jab

This is the question. Here we go again. As if there aren’t enough sociological divisions in the world, here is the latest. As with all sociological debates there isn’t an end in sight or more alarmingly a winning camp. I thought there was. But the more people I talk to or the more I delve in to it, there isn’t one. Husband vs wife, parent vs kid, sibling vs sibling, the opinions clash and collide. It’s personal.

This argument could be called a parallel pandemic (sociological). There are both emotional and physical casualties. Demonstrators clash regularly with the authorities, both parties incur emotional and physical injuries. Domestic disputes that have led to unnecessary polarisation between family members. Some, as usual use this to hop on the moral high horse, quite undeservingly. They talk about safeguarding society, safeguarding others. Really? I mean at their own expense? Perhaps I shouldn’t be too judgmental. Perhaps there are those driven by purist notions. But, really aren’t we more concerned about our own safety, that of our immediate families and our lifestyle more than anything else?

True, when we get the jab, a natural by-product is safeguarding others. Although I’m told we can still carry the virus and pass it on quite innocently of course, to others. So, in a vaccinated world, the logic is even if we pass the virus, it wouldn’t matter; since the repercussions would be mild. I like this logic. But, in Australia and the rest of the world, there have been enough instances of the fully vaccinated dying from Covid. Undoubtedly a vast minority. A negligible number. But still…

For the record I’m triple vaccinated and thinking or worrying about when the call for fourth, fifth or sixth would be made. Given the trend I feel, maybe this is inevitable. So, who is a pro-vaxxer? and, or who is an anti-vaxxer? Do I like a needle carrying foreign substance in my veins? NO! Conversely, do anti-vaxxers hate any kind of needle carrying foreign substance in their body? No. All anti-vaxxers I have spoken to have taken the entire cocktail of childhood immunisations (they didn’t have a choice of course) and have happily passed the tradition to their off spring. So what is the issue?

One of the main reasons that I could think of, something that worried me for an elongated moment initially, was the relative speed with which this suite of vaccines was developed. Was it enough time to do all the lab research and testing and establish all the downstream consequences of this? Was it enough time to establish how it would interact with all age groups and all biological or physical situations? It was a doubt that cropped up again and again with the blood clots that caused casualties with a particular vaccine. Although the probability was low, we (I) mulled long and hard over it. But people were dying in their hundreds and thousands. With an act of will I disallowed social media to take the decision and bowed down to those much more qualified than me. I have done this all my life, so why stop now? I trusted and stopped thinking. I let go. This is one way, an easy way. But, not the only way, it seems.

In the last few years I have started taking the flu jab every winter and introduced the habit to my family. I knew the flu injection was one of the oldest and researched form of vaccinations. Despite this, the flu dogged me, sometimes twice in a season. And then I have enough friends who had never taken the shot and frustratingly did not fall sick to the flu. These guys swear by immunity, health and fitness; that kind of thing. A well flogged motif. But well flogged or not, if it’s true, then it matters. I have heard this in relation to the deadly Dengue fever as well. Even if the same virus carrying winged bloodsucker slurps on two people, one might be infected and the other not, or one might suffer life threatening consequences while the other gets away lightly.

Another dinner table question that frequently cropped up, something that led to deep reflection on my part was on pregnancy. Would I encourage my wife to take it if she was expecting now? Yes…No…Yes, I’m not sure. The question is easy, looks and feels easy for some. Perhaps brutal for others.

As I digest a good lunch, I wonder about the chemicals that would have laced the ingredients. What is really chemical free in the food these days? Is the air I just breathed in really pure or toxic? Don’t our backyard bounty define all that is organic? as to the rest…Hmmm. So, are we really ingesting toxicity, lovingly, with every mouthful and every breath we take to live? I suspect quite strongly that this dosage may prove lethal in the long run. Perhaps much more than any after effects from the Covid vaccination.

Perhaps the question is when do we get to the point when one jab more is considered one too many.