BY: MAX WILSON
Staff Writer
Get the vaccine.
I don’t care if you’re young and have no pre-existing conditions. That’s great. Good for you. Get the COVID vaccine anyway.
Get it out of spite if you have to.
Bribe yourself with a Starbucks drink for after the appointment.
Set up appointments for you and your best friend to get vaccinated together.
Even though you may be unlikely to get seriously ill, get the damn vaccine.
A few weeks ago someone asked me if the only reason I was so passionate about vaccines and mask wearing was because I am high-risk for severe illness and death.
Is that a reason? Sure. Yes. Absolutely. How could it not be?
I’ve done everything right. I got my first dose of the COVID vaccine literally the same day I became eligible. I got my second dose three weeks later, and, a few weeks ago, I got my booster dose.
I switched to online classes because my doctors said it would be too risky for me to be in a face-to-face class.
I wear a mask. I usually double mask. I wash my hands for 20 seconds after I return, and I try my best to not touch my face.
Even something as simple as going out to eat in a restaurant becomes a math problem.
If I eat outside, during off-peak hours on a weekday, and the positivity rate is x, and I put my mask on unless I am actively eating or drinking, what is the chance I’ll get infected with COVID and end up on a ventilator?
Early on in the pandemic, a common refrain was, “Well, only high-risk people and old people get sick. So it’s fine.”
Even though this is untrue—many healthy, young people have gotten sick and died, as well as old, sick people—the implication is there.
Does my life matter less because I have a chronic illness? Would my death be an excusable one because I am immunosuppressed?
Now, even after I’ve been triple vaccinated, my doctors still warn me to take all precautions. I was on steroids when I got my vaccines—it’s likely that my immune system didn’t generate enough antibodies to the vaccines — leaving me essentially unprotected.
