Humor
Commonly Prescribed Medications “More Dangerous” than COVID Vaccine
Yet anti-vaxxers take those medications
While many people around the world are still waiting to get a COVID vaccine, here in the United States, we have more than enough vaccines. We also have more than enough morons and many of them are refusing to get the vaccine.
The CDC has reported that the decision to get the COVID vaccine requires the intellectual capacity of a newt. “Unfortunately, that is well beyond the reach of most of those we refer to as anti-vaxxers,” said a CDC spokesperson. “Most of them strain to achieve the intellect of single-celled life forms, such as amoeba.”
I spoke with two “anti-vaxxers” to get additional insight into their reluctance to get the vaccine.
Background
The millions of people who are refusing the vaccine are now responsible for what may most likely be the next surge in virus cases.
COVID cases are rising in all 50 US states as the Delta variant spreads coast to coast. The US was seeing an average of 26,000 new coronavirus cases a day — a seven-day average that is 70% higher than the last week. Hospitalizations and deaths are also seeing increases — about 36% and 26%, respectively. “We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage because unvaccinated people are at risk,” said a CDC spokesperson.
A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll listed the reasons given by those refusing to get the vaccine. They are:
- 68% say the long-term effects of the vaccines are unknown.
- 59% worry about serious side effects.
- 55% believe the vaccines are not as safe as they are said to be.
- 31% think they might get COVID-19 from the vaccine itself.
The Interviews
To conduct these interviews, I visited the waiting room of a randomly selected doctor’s office in an area with low vaccination rates.
Bob
Bob Shmidlap was sitting in the waiting room awaiting his appointment. He said would be glad to speak with me but warned me that he was hoping he would be called back to see the doctor at any moment.
“I’ve been waiting for about thirty-five minutes and I really need to get out of here pretty soon.” Bob told me that they were celebrating a colleague’s birthday with a pizza and cake lunch back at the office. “No way I’m missing out on that.”
Bob is a large man who told me he was getting a check-up for his diabetes. “I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about two years ago,” said Bob.
When I asked Bob about the COVID vaccine, he immediately told me that he hadn’t gotten the vaccine and that he would not even consider it. I asked him why.
“No one thinks about the long-term. No one really knows what this vaccine will do over time. I heard it’s supposed to change your, what do you call it, your BMA.”
“What is BMA?
“You know that stuff inside every human being that makes us human? You know what color we are, what color our eyes are, whether we like hunting or fishing better, even our taste in beer.”
“Do you mean DNA?”
“Whatever,” replied Bob. “DNA, BMA, XYZ. Who cares, it’s just, um, one, two, three stupid letters. What’s important is knowing what the vaccine will do to it. I mean damn! I heard it’ll change the way you look. Like after a certain number of years your face will develop lines and stuff.”
“Everyone develops that,” I said. “It’s part of the aging process.”
“But I think it happens a lot faster. Plus I’ve read that some people start changing appearance. Like their nose gets longer or their face gets fatter, stuff like that. It will do bad stuff to you. You’ll see. As time goes on more and more will come out about how bad it is for you.”
I then pointed out that almost one-third of new drugs approved by U.S. regulators between 2001–2010 ended up years later with warnings about unexpected, sometimes life-threatening side effects or complications. I pointed out that if he was taking medication for his diabetes that it was probably included in those findings.
Bob hesitated and then said, “Yeah but do they change your, what are those letters again?
“DNA?”
“Yes. Do those drugs change your DNA? I don’t think so. Those drugs work on your organs, not on your DNA. Plus, with my diabetes medication, I can still get away with having pizza and cake for lunch every once in a while.”
Brenda
Brenda Wallenda was there to see the doctor about treatment for Crohn’s Disease.
When asked, Brenda proudly stated that she hadn’t gotten the vaccine and that there was, “No way, in Hell,” that she would. “I just don’t trust that COVID vaccine.”
I asked Brenda why.
“Look, I really don’t believe in this whole COVID thing in the first place. I think it’s all fake news. So much of what I read says so. But even if was true, I wouldn’t get the vaccine. A lot of people who have gotten the vaccine have died from it.”
“Where did you learn that?” I asked.
“Oh, I do my research. Like I read about this woman on 4chan who got the vaccine and like a week later she was dead.”
“How old was she?”
“She was 92. And she died right after getting the vaccine.”
“But did they determine that the vaccine killed her?”
“Of course it did. What else could it have been?”
“Her age, for one.”
“She was perfectly fine before that. I don’t need any more proof than that. The vaccine definitely killed her.”
I asked Brenda a little more about her condition and the treatment she was receiving.
“I’ve been taking Humira for the Crohn’s for a while now and it has really helped. But, lately, I’ve been having a little more of a problem and wanted to talk to the doctor about it. I think that maybe I need to start taking a little bit more.”
I pointed out the long list of possible side effects of taking Humira.
“Look, I know that I’m overweight, I don’t exercise, and I eat too much of the stuff I’m not supposed to. But this Humira makes it so I can continue to eat and do what I want and most of the time I feel pretty good.”
I told Brenda that taking Humira can compromise your immune system, meaning you can get sick, including from the COVID virus, more easily. I also showed her research indicating that people taking Humira have gotten serious infections, including tuberculosis and that it can cause a rare type of lymphoma (cancer) of the liver, spleen, and bone marrow that can be fatal.
“Oh, I don’t put much into that. What’s that from? Some uppity, elite university, I assume. I mean why would a drug company sell a drug that was bad for people? C’mon. That’s just unfair.”
Conclusion
Many anti-vaxxers say “no” to the vaccine because the long-term effects of the vaccines are unknown and they worry about side effects.
Logically, this same kind of thinking should be applied to any type of medication. But I would wager that many of those same people have no problem taking prescription drugs. But they should.
The 71 drugs that were flagged by researchers in the previously mentioned study, included top-sellers for treating depression, arthritis, infections, and blood clots. Safety issues included risks for serious skin reactions, liver damage, cancer, and even death.
Just listen to ads for drugs that interrupt your favorite TV shows. The list of possible side effects takes up half of the commercial.
Yet people ignore these warnings and take these medications. Many of them are refusing to take the COVID vaccine.
I know that there is no logic in the excuses spewed out by anti-vaxxers. This is no surprise. And if it weren’t for the fact that these unvaccinated people can spread the virus to others, I could be ok with them not getting the vaccine.
Perhaps we’ll look back at this moment in time and realize that this was nature’s way of dealing with the conditions that have lead to the pandemic. Maybe this is simply natural selection at work.
