Just One More Thing

I’m hearing from your messages that there are a lot of bewildered and weary people, just wishing for some clarity, and wanting to be able to make decisions that they can live with when this pandemic is over.

If you’re the kind of person who yells NEVER in very loud capital letters as soon as you hear a V, this is probably not where you want to be.

Some of you wanted to know how I came to decide to get such a controversial vaccine. I am not anti-vax, but I have never gotten a flu shot and we have curated the vaccines that our children get. I feel like I don’t fit into any camp when it comes to vaccines.

We take vitamins, we drink elderberry syrup when we have the flu, and we use garlic for things like earache and plantain for stings. We nearly always try the natural route first, and very rarely have taken antibiotics for anything. But when we need it, we go get what we need from the pharmacy and we are grateful.

I have an eighth grade education, (a good one, but still) and a GED. I am a mom, and life happens. When I am in over my depth, I ask advice from people (doctors) who know a lot more than I do, and I trust their knowledge and skill. I am a wife who believes in God’s headship order, and under my husband’s direction I am free and secure. He knows a lot more than I do about how our bodies work, but I might know more about how our bodies feel. He respects my opinions and I respect his.

When the vaccines became available for frontline workers, my husband got his before Christmas. I was nervous, and said, “What if you have a horrible reaction because nobody really knows if they’re safe?” He wasn’t afraid, and had no side effects except a sore arm after the second shot.

When it became available to the general public this spring, my husband said, “I think you should get the vaccine.” After so much exposure, our family had still not gotten sick, so we had no natural antibodies. “Maybe I should,” I thought, but I didn’t consider myself to be in a risky demographic, being a woman in my 40s with type O blood, (at the time that this was thought to be an advantage) and healthy overall.

I did a half-hearted poke into some research, found myself thoroughly confused, and ignored his suggestion.

When Delta started swirling, he said it again, “I wish you would get vaccinated. I really don’t want to see you in the ICU ever, but for sure not now.”

Well, it looked like it was time to do more research. Do you know what it looks like to research these days? (Unless you’re a virologist or am epidemiologist or some other -ist with a lab.) Oh yes, you’re the ones who are so tired of all the controversy. You know. It didn’t matter what I researched, there were experts equally sure they were right on both sides of the issue. It was extremely frustrating and I could not come to any solid conclusions.

I did look at the statistics though, and found a common thread. A huge percentage of hospitalized covid patients were unvaccinated. Surely there had to be a correlation between that fact and the efficacy of the shot. “Basically,” my husband said, “it’s not fail proof, but it’s the best we have right now to fight this virus.”

What about reactions? “How many people do you know who have had the vaccine? How many of them had reactions? Do any of them say that nobody should get it?” I asked him. When he told me he knows hundreds of people who have gotten the shot and none of them, to his knowledge, have regretted it, I asked myself, “Do I believe that or do I believe the online forums full of people I’ve never heard of talking about reactions and cover-ups? Which makes more sense to me?”

What about how rushed it has been? I did find that the mRNA technology has been in the research phase for a long time before covid, and showed enough promise that the government (Trump, if you wish to know) threw massive amounts of money and resources at it to speed it along.

The argument that it’s not FDA approved holds no water for people who regularly self medicate with herbs and vitamins. I wondered how we would be dealing with this if the shot were illegal in our country, but we could get it in Mexico if we paid enough for it? I’m guessing there would be an outcry of government conspiracy to keep people sick, and lines at the borders for the revolutionary life-saving technology that our stupid healthcare won’t let us get. (Sorry about that snark, but I feel like it’s a clever and true observation. In my spare time, I study human behavior. 🤨)

What about the long-term effects? I don’t know. Does anybody know? Does anybody know about the long-term effects on the body’s systems after having had covid? Does anybody know about tomorrow?

So, there I was, still on the fence. I decided to ask God if He had an opinion. It wouldn’t have hurt to do that first. He reminded me that I should probably make my decisions in faith, not fear. I realized that either way, I need to own my decision, and be at rest.

Because I believe that my husband is given to me by God to help me find my way in this life, I could not feel at peace to ignore his wishes any longer. But it was my decision, informed by his experience. I know that’s not especially helpful if you don’t have a husband, but I’m just saying my bit here about how I got off the fence, made the phone call to Rite Aid, got the shot with a needle so fine that I didn’t even feel it. I felt a little tired the next day. My arm was sore and I was achy for a day after the second dose.

Just for fun we tried the Make a Coin Stick on Your Injection Site trick, but it didn’t work. I guess whatever is injected is supposedly magnetic, only quarters have no magnetic metal in them, so whatever.

I would just like to conclude with this: I hope it works, but if I get sick, nothing will change in terms of who is in control. I have not aligned myself with the devil or accepted the mark of the beast. I love Jesus as much as ever and He is with me now and in the future. I am trusting Him with all of it.

How else can we live?

:::I’m not sure if I want to risk leaving the comments section open. I witnessed some pretty scary dogpiling recently, but for now I’ll trust that you graciously accept my motivations to write this as being without guile.:::