I am not anti-vax but I am pro-choice

I am not anti-vax but I am pro-choice and yes I have been vaccinated myself, one jab of J&J in the first rollout. Nothing seems to be dividing people more right now than the vaccine rollout, I lost many a friend suffering from TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) and even to this day, I have friends you start the vax debate with “well you are a Trump fan so therefor…”

What the actual fuck people? You wanna get vaccinated, get vaccinated. You do not wanna get vaccinated then do not but surely it is just about respecting people’s choices? For one thing perhaps they are not “anti-vax” just like I am not “anti-vegetables” I just choose not to eat them, or I am not a science denialist because I believe decisions made around “climate change” are poorly thought out and executed.

The part that really freaks this little brain of mine is that many of the same people who feel it is cool for anyone to choose their sex, use any bathroom they choose, advocate for late term abortion based on a woman’s right to choose what she does with her own body or even think it is okay for parents to encourage puberty blocking medication in preteens who are transgender are the VERY ONES who seem to think that people should be forced to take a vaccine that has certainly had no long term testing.

At the same time the anti-vax advocates who constantly remind us that they will never put something in their bodies that they do not have complete knowledge of, are eating garage pies and would never dream of asking a doctor performing a lifesaving procedure on them or their family member EXACTLY what is in the anesthetic or the life saving drip going into their arm, at some stage you need to trust that the notion that doctors are out to help and not hurt.

I get that it was developed fast and that in today’s connected and advanced world, that is very plausible. I almost understand that the drug companies have zero liability as it was urgent for them to get this out.

The other day a friend said, “those unvaccinated people must just stay the fuck away from me” which is pretty different to “I choose to stay away from unvaccinated people”. Soon, you may need a vaccine to travel, to go to a club or even eat in a restaurant… well let’s start the debate, from what age do you HAVE to be vaccinated? From 18? From 21? From 35? Think about it and let me know because here I have a real problem.

I am almost 60, I do not mind being part of this great experiment… as I often joke with Sashki “tell those boys to treat you nicely, ‘cause life imprisonment in not that long for old people like me” but what about her? She is 18, she is fit and healthy, this disease has an almost zero mortality rate for people her age and most importantly in my mind, she has not started a family yet. My advice to her is “Don’t even think about it at this stage of your life” and this from a father who was one of the first, it is confusing, even for me.

Yes, I have heard the argument that she may contract it and pass it on to someone who is not as strong as her but then surely THAT person should be vaccinated and that person should be more cautious and anyway if that person has been vaccinated what is the argument? Being vaccinated does not prevent you from contracting or spreading the disease, it simply increases your body’s ability to fight it. So yes, get vaccinated to minimize the risk of hospitalization and a visit to intensive care, but do not kid yourself that you are suddenly bullet proof. Perhaps vaccinated people who believe they are bullet proof will be more dangerous to everyone else than those that are not? (in fact is this not EXACTLY what we are currently seeing in the UK, the numbers are climbing but the death rate is dropping. Explaining perfectly that having the jab is for YOUR safety and YOUR decision)

This is clearly a highly emotive discussion and both sides will quote the “science”, how about we all just step back for a second and show some basic respect for people’s choices.

PS since the vaccine I can see in the dark, receive 5g signal without a phone and Bill Gates is logging into my Netflix account and called me personally to tell me to be careful when I crossed Empire Road. I asked him how he knew where I was, but hey, he just snickered, and the line went dead.