Do you drive a car? Are you a passenger in a car? Do you know how many injuries are attributed to driving in a car? Do you know how many people die in car accidents yearly?
In 2019, there were 36,096 automotive fatalities and 2,740,000 people injured in car accidents. I’m willing to bet you that you know someone who has been injured in an automobile accident. Despite millions of injuries a year, we either drive a car or are a passenger in a car on a daily basis. Sure, we buckle up for safety and follow the rules of the road in an effort to lessen the odds of being involved in or injured in an automotive accident; but no matter how cautious you are, you cannot guarantee that you won’t have an accident.
Do you remember when seatbelts first came out? I do! My father refused to wear them. People feared that seatbelts would actually worsen their chances of injury in an accident. My father was afraid that he would be trapped in a burning or submerged car due to the seatbelt. As the years passed, it became more evident that seatbelts saved lives. Of course, there were those cases where the seatbelt did cause injury; but, overall, buckling up made sense.
So, why am I writing about seatbelts? The invention and use of seatbelts can be used as an analogy for the development and use of the Covid-19 vaccine. Just as people feared the use of seatbelts, they fear the use of the Covid-19 vaccine. Driving a car can also serve as an analogy for the Covid vaccine. A car is a vehicle that gets you from point A to point B relatively safely. Wearing your seatbelt helps diminish the risk of serious injury should you have an accident while driving the car.
The Covid-19 vaccine helps you socialize, shop, return to school and work safely. Should you get a Covid infection despite being vaccinated, the vaccine lessens your chance of hospitalization and dying from the infection.
So, why aren’t people getting the Covid-19 vaccine? Fear, fed by the Internet, and looking at the vaccine from the wrong perspective are stopping people from receiving this critical vaccine. The better perspective is everything we do carries risk of injury or even death! As in the case of the car, we follow the rules of the road. In the case of the Covid-19 vaccine, if you have concerns, have your doctor address them, not the Internet’s search engines or Facebook.
Anecdotally, I’ve had Covid-19; and, from personal experience, I can tell you it is miserable. Its effects and damage may well be long term in nature. This viral curse is not done with us yet as evidenced by the recent increase in cases worldwide.
Here’s your joke for today:
I am a proud anti-vaccine Father of 3.
Edit- Two, Now
2nd Edit- One, Now
3rd Edit- Nevermind
4th Edit- WOW, this really blew up. I would like to dedicate all these wonderful awards to my 3 children: Byeson, Dieanne, and Ammunity. They would have been so proud. RIP
