Vaccinated With Reservations

I was ambivalent about receiving the Covid vaccine.

On January 20th, while Joe Biden was sworn in as president, I received the Pfizer vaccine shot #1. Like many, I was on the fence. I didn’t believe the conspiracies about cancer cells or mind control chips in the vaccine. But I was unsure about the efficacy against new COVID strains. I didn’t like the idea of injecting an unknown substance into my body.

I was given an early vaccine opportunity because I teach art classes to senior citizens. The process took place at a Calabasas senior home. I learned that 20 percent of the facility’s employees refused the vaccine. This didn’t fill me with confidence. If the people administering the vaccines didn’t trust them, why should I?

The smartest people I knew advised me to get vaccinated. They viewed the negatives of the vaccine as much less risky than the negatives of contracting COVID. The alternative thinkers in my life took a different stance. They saw the public as guinea pigs in a mad science experiment gone amok.

While waiting in line for the shot, I was greeted by the facility’s activity director. He said he’d contracted COVID in early December and was still feeling the effects. He was 31, a long distance runner and in fantastic condition. Though not hospitalized, he spent two weeks unable to get out of bed. He shed 15 pounds, lost his taste and smell and has battled headaches for nearly two…