Please Get The Goddamn Shot

[ottarrus]

I found out yesterday morning [Fri, 10 SEPT] that my father lost his battle with COVID and passed away.

He was unvaccinated by choice. He thought that his wife's earlier mild case could provide sufficient antibodies and, being an evangelical Christian, he felt that his faith would keep him safe. He then compounded his error by refusing to be intubated with O2 while undergoing hospital care. At one point, his pulse-O2 level was down to 55%, which is more than half dead.

I do not share all this to elicit sympathy or 'thoughts and prayers'. I'm sharing this to encourage every one of you to get vaccinated as soon as you reasonably can. In the United States, they're advising booster shots of certain brands of the vaccine. I personally plan on availing myself of the booster as soon as it's medically advisable and available to me.

Some important points for you all to remember:

- Viruses mutate. This is normal. It's why you need a new flu shot every year. COVID-Delta is a not a screw up on the part of science, nor is it a government conspiracy. It is a mutation of the COVID virus and this is a normal process.

- Most of the newly infected have been people, like my father, who refused to be vaccinated or were operating on bad advice. Don't listen to the news, don't listen to some political gasbag, don't listen to your preacher. Listen to your doctor.

- For those of you who are Christian believers, I am too, so let me put this in terms that ought to ring true to you. The Lord our God has heard our prayers. He provided us not only with educated and motivated people able to bring multiple vaccines to market in a year [which is un-freaking-heard of], but He also instilled in our political leaders the will to not only fund the vaccines but also get those vaccines to patients and damn the cost. God the Father has provided you with a vaccine, but YOU have to go get it.

- For those of you not of the Christian faith, your faith has provided you with the vaccine too. Now is not the time [AFAIC it's NEVER the time] to quibble and argue over who or what we call the divine. This vaccine was a worldwide effort from people as diverse as hardcore atheists to evangelical Christians to moon-worshiping Wiccans to adherents of the Old Gods of Ashatrur. Whatever or however you name your faith, GET THE FREAKING SHOT.

- Lastly, a lot of people on this 20th anniversary of 9/11 are in mourning for a lot of reasons. We all have so many things that cannot be helped that cause the death of those we love. Not being vaccinated is a choice you make. It is utterly preventable. Don't be the person who chooses to abandon those you love.

For all those in mourning, I can only offer a prayer from my Episcopal priest. It's helping me a little and I sincerely hope it helps you.

"May He that abides in Heaven hold you and keep you in the palm of His hand,

May the souls of our loved ones be forgiven of all their faults and raised up for all they did well,

And may the grief of your memories be mercifully short and the warmth of your memories be blessedly long."

[I'm also on the Chaosium forums; this was originally posted there]

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

The media is the last place you want to get information from. My body. My choice.

 

[ottarrus]

The media is the last place you want to get information from. My body. My choice.

Your rights stop where they impact other people. If you don't want to get vaccinated, then you'd better expect to take the consequences: masking each time you leave your home, social distancing in all venues at all times, repeatedly testing for exposure and contagion. Were it in my power, those who choose not to get vaccinated would be required to bear the entire cost of COVID related hospital treatment completely out of pocket... no insurance, no veterans benefits, no nothing.
COVID is the Spanish Flu of our era and needs to be treated with exactly that level of concern. The CDC reports that, as of 04 SEPT, nearly 650,000 Americans have died directly due to COVID [that is to say, COVID appeared on their death certificates as Cause of Death]. This is the largest single cause of death in the US in roughly 18 months since COVID started being reported.

Look, I get it. A lot of people in the US and Europe are tired of governmental intrusion into their lives. But THIS is the WRONG issue for pushing back. If you want to stop governmental intrusion, how about you look into where the government is REALLY intruding into your life? Things like:
- Patriot Act provisos that allow the government to surveil your phone and online activities without a warrant
- Facial recognition cameras in public spaces
- Automated law enforcement where cities are using cameras and automatic speed traps as a revenue source

You've been getting vaccines all your life. When was the last time you heard of someone getting smallpox or polio? Measles and whooping cough was a major cause of childhood mortality in my grandfather's time [the 30's through the 50's]. How often do you hear of those killing anyone?

And lastly, are you going to get your science information from a scientist and your health information from a physician, or are you going to get it from Youtube and the Playmate of the Year? Because THAT'S where all this anti-vaxx bullshit started.

 

[paltrysum]

I'm sorry for the loss of your father, ottarus, and 100% agree with your statements about the necessity of getting vaccinated.

 

[ottarrus]

Thanks, paltry. I appreciate and thank you for your kindness.

 

[IanBruntlett]

I'm sorry for the loss of your father, ottarus, and 100% agree with your statements about the necessity of getting vaccinated.

Ditto.

For the record I am double vaccinated and will probably be offered a booster jab later on in the year.

I took the jab knowing that with medication there is always the possibility of side effects - I am on meds that are so potent they require regular medical checks so I am no stranger to medical risk. Despite that, I accepted the vaccinations with the attitude that I did not want to catch and spread Covid-19. Getting vaccinated doesn't just help you - it stops you from being a threat to the wider community - especially the old or vulnerable.

 

[Condottiere]

Current prediction is that it should substantially recede by next Spring, barring some really aggressive Chinese bats, or new infectious Greek variant.

 

[ottarrus]

I'm sorry for the loss of your father, ottarus, and 100% agree with your statements about the necessity of getting vaccinated.

Ditto.

For the record I am double vaccinated and will probably be offered a booster jab later on in the year.

I took the jab knowing that with medication there is always the possibility of side effects - I am on meds that are so potent they require regular medical checks so I am no stranger to medical risk. Despite that, I accepted the vaccinations with the attitude that I did not want to catch and spread Covid-19. Getting vaccinated doesn't just help you - it stops you from being a threat to the wider community - especially the old or vulnerable.

I'm on a psychiatric med [a Prozac derivative] that interacts with other meds too. I totally feel your pain on that one.
And yeah, I got mine the minute the US Veterans Administration offered it to me. I'm not a 'sheeple', and I had some ugly side effects in Basic Training to the typhus vaxx they gave us, but it seems to me that not getting a vaxx where I could kill someone else is just irresponsible.

Current prediction is that it should substantially recede by next Spring, barring some really aggressive Chinese bats, or new infectious Greek variant.

Like everyone else on this rock, I'm hoping that is the case. But as I noted above, viruses mutate. I hope that epidemiology can stay ahead of it, but I'm realistic about just how much work that is.

 

[alex_greene]

The media is the last place you want to get information from. My body. My choice.

I believe the last line of this is "Your funeral." Got vaxxed, before your virus kills other people.
I'm now locking this convo, unless some other admin decides to unlock it - something I do not recommend.
Stop covid. Get vaxxed.