This is long overdue but I have time today so here it is……………………………..

Let me first say that I have no affiliation with the NIH or CDC and am in no way reimbursed for this post.

I am very tired of seeing all the miss-information and distorted facts that are going around about the COVID virus and the vaccines associated with it. Let me simply state that COVID does exist and if you think it’s a hoax you definitely have your head stuck in the sand. Statistics have proven that it is more contagious than the common flu and can be more deadly. With that said, does that mean everyone will contract COVID and become acutely ill? Absolutely not. Most educated people (That’s people with common sense education) that take common sense precautions have a high probability of not contracting the virus. And those that do contract the virus can have very mild symptoms or they could die depending on their physical healthy and underlying issues. There are a lot of variables here as well as many issues. Let me address them one at a time.

Is the COVID vaccine safe? In my humble opinion it is as safe as most everything else we are exposed to in life. The very food you put in your mouth could be deadly if not prepared and handled appropriately. How many food recalls have you seen? The technology used to make the COVID vaccine has been around for many years. Was it rushed through the system? Yes it was. But you might also check some of the websites about the development of the vaccine and you will notice that it had been worked on several years ago but the efforts were dropped because it wasn’t in the financial interest of the drug companies to refine it. It was pushed through the FDA approval process to make it available more quickly. But what is the FDA approval? Well, to my knowledge the most of it is paperwork. Very little actual testing. And Pfizer now has all the testing completed and has applied for that FDA approval. I really doubt they would do that unless they had all their ducks lined up. It would be very costly to submit something for approval and have it denied.

Should the vaccine be mandatory? I have mixed feelings about this. It’s not a new concept. When I went to school we had to be vaccinated for Small Pox. Sometime later, the polio vaccine became available. That is why today we have an extremely low incidence of Small Pox and polio. Later when my children went to school, it was Mumps, Measles and Rubella. When I enlisted in the Pennsylvania Air Nation Guard I was issued a shot record in boot camp. We were required to be vaccinated against various things we might be exposed to if deployed. We carried that card for two main purposes. The first was to make sure the SOBs didn’t try to give us the same kind of shot twice. The second was to show that we were medically protected in the event of a deployment outside the USA.

You see, the employer here is responsible for our well being and the well being of others. That is why the US government made sure we had all those shots. That carries down to the civilian population as well. Any employer that is responsible for the well being of it’s employees and the people they come in contact with has a right to mandate that it’s employees are vaccinated. It’s only common sense. If you were running a company that provided a service to clients and one of you employees carried a communicable disease and infected a customer/client. You would be liable. And if one of your employees became sick, you lose money in wages as well as increased health insurance. So if you don’t want the vaccine, find a job that doesn’t require it.

As for the general population, I think the only way to completely eradicate the virus is to mandate that everyone be immunized. Will that work? Absolutely not. Back in the 60s and 70s it would have been very effective but not today. With all the international travel and the open borders, the whole world would have to be immunized for it to work. The other problem with this virus is its mutation. Unless everyone cooperates this thing will continue to mutate and reinfect people. It’s not going away.

With all that said, do I think people should be vaccinated? Most definitely. Let me give you some statistics from the Kentucky Hospital Association. Between March 1st and August 25th of this year, 4,561 people were hospitalized with COVID. 4,143 of those people were not vaccinated (90.8%) and 418 were vaccinated (9.2%). Will there be side effects? Absolutely. Based on information I have gathered from my daughter and son-in-law, there have been no major side affects when the vaccine was administered to adults. There has been indications that a small percentage of children have developed some cardiac issues with the vaccine. Therefore, if you have a special physical condition and you are concerned, you should definitely check with someone knowledgeable before getting the vaccine. Otherwise I think the numbers speak for themselves.

NOTE: My son-in-law is a Physician’s Assistant (PA) and works for a local hospital in the human resources department. As part of his job he records and tracks all the issues associated with the administration of the vaccine. My daughter is a Physician’s Assistant (PA) and works in the palliative care department.

A very intelligent and lovely young lady that I have a lot of respect for once asked “Who do you believe”. She was referring to all the news and social media hype. It’s sad to say but it’s all about the money. The news sources run the gambit from the Clinton News Network (CNN) to the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Tucker Carlson. They are all in the business to make money. They will tell you what you want to hear so they have more listeners which translates into more sponsors and more money. About the only news source I trust is NPR. They are not commercial and don’t depend on advertisements. Otherwise you must listen hard, sort out what is possible and was in impossible, look at the extremes and the truth is somewhere in the middle.

In closing, these are my opinions and observations. Please give the ideas here a little consideration when you decide for yourself what you chose to believe. I will respect everyone for whatever they decide and in return I expect the same consideration. Please stay safe and healthy. Good Night.