"To vax, or not to vax, that is the question:"

 "The essence of philosophy (of stoicism) is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things." - Epictetus

First off: I apologize to Shakespeare for the title of this post.  

In an earlier post, I suggested that it would be wise to wait on getting vaccinated for Covid-19, at least for those of us in a position to wait.  Everyone has different circumstances, and obviously if you are very aged or in fragile health, the risks of getting Covid probably outweigh the near-term and potential long-term side effects that the vaccine(s) may have.

Below: Danse Macabre, unknown German Artist, ca 1700's.  In the center, a ring of women of all social levels dance with death - from a peasant woman to a queen.  No one is spared from the dance.

We now know that some of the vaccines have side effects that are more serious than Bell's Palsy and fainting, which were mentioned in the previous post.  The AstraZeneca vaccine and the Johnson and Johnson vaccine have been linked to rare condition called Cerebral Venous Thrombosis (CVT).

In layman's terms, this is a blood clotting event in the veins that return blood from the brain.  AKA a stroke.  And Bell's Palsy has several symptoms that are similar to a stroke, like paralysis on one side of the face.  Which makes me wonder if the original test subjects were given brain scans to see if maybe they too had a CVT, and if that were caught, might have prevented further mishaps?  I don't know...

You might find it interesting that if you do an internet search for "CVT Vaccine" (go ahead, follow the link!!!), every single article that comes up will say the same thing:  "Get your shot." "Covid is way more dangerous."  "Covid is more likely to give you a clot than the vaccine."  It's almost as though the "authors" are copying from a common script that some government agent sent them via email.  Based on how identical these articles are, that's exactly what they are doing.  At some point you have to recognize that these people aren't really reporters, but just repeaters.

In the world inhabited by the chattering class, there is now a desire to segregate people.  The upper-class yuppie citizens will be law-abiding "clean" people, who have proudly vaccinated and have the appropriate "vaccine passport" app on their phone to prove it.  The "unclean" of course are the rest of us:  The wrong-thinking working-class grunts who haul their trash, fix their cars, clean their pools, and fuel their Gulfstream jets.

Thing is, there are some serious problems with these vaccines, so the lines of "clean" and "unclean" are not so sharply defined as these smug, self-righteous people think they are.  You can still get Covid even after being vaccinated.  The vaccine *may* keep you from getting so sick that you die, but it may not keep you from spreading the disease.  This makes the Covid vaccines quite a bit different from the other vaccines that we all know, love, and trust.  Those vaccines actually work very well at *preventing* disease, and sterilizing you from also spreading the disease.  They are also different in that they've successfully completed Phase III trials - what *used* to be the standard for our medicines.

Your mileage may vary when attempting to segregate the "clean" and "unclean" by using a "vaccine passport" app.  But it will probably make some Silicon Valley D-bag rich, so there's that...

 Below is a quote from the CDC website, dated 28 April 2021:

"What We Know

• COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, especially severe illness and death.
• Other prevention steps help stop the spread of COVID-19, and that these steps are still important, even as vaccines are being distributed.

What We’re Still Learning

• How effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. Early data show the vaccines may work against some variants but could be less effective against others.
• How well the vaccines protect people with weakened immune systems, including people who take immunosuppressive medications.
• How well COVID-19 vaccines keep people from spreading the disease.
  • Early data show that the vaccines may help keep people from spreading COVID-19, but we are learning more as more people get vaccinated.
• How long COVID-19 vaccines can protect people.

As we know more, CDC will continue to update our recommendations for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Until we know more about those questions, everyone—even people who’ve had their vaccines—should continue taking steps to protect themselves and others when recommended.

Want to learn more about these recommendations? Read our expanded Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People.

± This guidance applies to COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson (J&J)/Janssen COVID-19 vaccines.  This guidance can also be applied to COVID-19 vaccines that have been authorized for emergency use by the World Health Organization (e.g. AstraZeneca/Oxford)."

Straight from the horse's mouth - those are their words, not mine.  

Bio-ethics:  It's worth bearing in mind that the CDC oversaw the last 35 years of the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment, in which hundreds of black men were intentionally, and without their knowledge, infected with syphilis.  They were then studied for the long-term effects of the infection.  The CDC is is not an organization with a good record of human rights, or even having a functioning ethical compass.

At least now we are aware of some rare lethal short-term side-effects of these vaccines, but of course the long-term side effects are an unknown.  They may cause cancer, induce genetic mutations, or cause reproductive issues.  Not an issue if you are 94 years old and waiting out your remaining days in a nursing home, but a huge issue if you are a teenager.  Like I said above, everyone has different circumstances, and needs to gauge their risk/reward appropriately.  

And speaking of risk, Covid carries a massive risk as well.  In the short term, it will can fill your lungs with fluid, deprive you of oxygen and kill you.  Long term: Possible permanent lung damage, damage to the heart, liver, brain, blood vessels.  It's really bad news.  So consider the risk of a shot with a minor possibility of a CVT event...  Then consider the risk of getting Covid and having your lungs permanently scarred - as if you had smoked unfiltered Camel cigarettes for decades - overnight.

The Johnson and Johnson vaccinations were halted on April 13 after six CVTs - all in women, all between the ages of 18-48.  Vaccinations with the single-shot JnJ vax resumed around the country today, with some caveats.

The status of the AstraZeneca vaccinations vary by country, with some countries only allowing it to be given to those over 60 years of age.  The mechanism by which the AstraZeneca vaccine causes CVTs is close to being understood, and with that knowledge, possibly the CVTs might be prevented.

It is believed that since both the JnJ and AZ vaccines use an adenovirus to carry the vaccine's protein information into the human body, that probably the adenovirus is causing the clotting issue.  The mRNA vaccines do not have this carrier, and also don't have this side-effect.  The concern is of course, the mRNA vaccines may have other - as yet unknown - side effects. 

I will say this - if I were in a high-risk category from a health standpoint, had a public-facing job, or had a job caring for the elderly (nursing home), I'd have had the shot already.  As it is, I can minimize my exposure to everyone, mask up for every interaction, disinfect, and keep a distance.  It's not too hard, and I've been doing it for a year now. 

The earliest recipients of these vaccines (and actual Covid cases) are probably already in need of booster shots, as the health authorities seem to be saying the antibodies wear off after 6 months or so.  The shots may or may not be effective against the several variants that are now making the rounds.  So once again, I'm going to wait out this dance.  

Not casting judgement on anyone, for or against.  Each person needs to make their own decision, but it needs to be an *informed* decision - and it doesn't seem like the authorities are being forthright about the benefits, limitations, drawbacks, and the risks.  To me the whole thing feels like a stop-gap measure, like sand-bagging around your house when water is already up to the windows.  It may help, but it's not going to fix your problem.