Category: News

  • USA’s History of Vaccines

    So, the more that I read, the more that I am coming to the realization that 30% to 40% of this nation just won’t get vaccinated. I really wish this wasn’t true, because I do think that creating the Covid vaccines, manufacturing them, and get it distributed around this country, and now the world, is actually an amazing feat of humanity’s ingenuity. But still, people, for a great number of reasons, won’t get vaccinated.

    The more I think about this, I wonder, why there is this anti-vax contingent of our nation, when 70 to 80 years ago, people got vaccinated in high numbers, close to 90%? In fact, so many people got the measles vaccine in the 60’s, that the disease was virtually eradicated in America. Looking more into the history of this country, when it comes to vaccines, sadly, we have always had some of the lowest rates of inoculation. Especially at the start of the 20th century, even though in 1905 the Supreme Court upheld compulsory vaccination laws in the case of Jacobson v. Massachusetts. Things really didn’t change in the country until vaccine laws were enforced after World War II.

    Before I read this information today, I had created this theory in my head that all the people who lived in the world before antibiotics, and mass vaccines have passed on, so there is no collective memory of what that world was like. That we are the spoiled children of history, because we don’t know what a world without effective and predictable healthcare is like.

    And that theory is wrong.

    The fact is that Americas won’t get vaccinated unless a law is passed and they have to.

    USA! USA! USA!

  • Vax Fail, No Herd Immunity

    I woke up and read this story in the NY Times, which is reporting now that most experts believe that “herd immunity” will not be achieved in America. As the Times reports, a few factors come into play, such as a segment of the population’s reluctance to get vaccinated, and the fact that the percentage needed for herd immunity keeps going up as more variants spread. The end result might be that we will “live” with Covid-19 as a manageable disease.

    Well, this sucks to find out, but I sort of always knew this to be true.

    And I will say I knew this because that 30% of the population that won’t get the vaccine has been around for years, and now they are screwing it up for the rest of us. I know that 30% is made of people who don’t trust science, don’t trust the government, don’t trust drug companies, and also think this whole covid-19 virus is a big lie. Yup, thanks guy. Some of these people are Trumpers, but I also know that some of that 30% is made up of college educated people who still think vaccines cause disease. (I listened to an old high school friends podcast, where they still brought up how autism is caused by vaccines, ignoring the many studies that disprove that notion, and that governments around the world are covering it up. Then they added that climate change is real because, you know, science. Circle that square…)

    But I guess what really bothers me is that in the past, and I understand it did take some time, but polio were eradicated by the American public that was willing to get vaccinated. In that America, everyone was willing to do their part to help everyone. Yes, in that America.

  • When I Heard the Verdict

    Yesterday, I took the kid to the park, which is a very normal thing for us to do. We were there for about a half hour when I got the news alert on my phone that the jury would return their verdict in the Chauvin trial in an hour. Well, I just stopped what I was doing, which was keeping an eye on the kid and writing in my journal, and started the watching the clock till 4:30. I kept scrolling through Twitter, which wasn’t the best idea, but I was sure that would be the place where I would get the news the fastest. I say that it wasn’t the best idea because every tenth post or so, there would be a really awfully racist comment about George Floyd. Then, after 5pm, the first tweet came through;

    Guilty

    Or my favorite;

    Guilty Guilty Guilty All Counts

    Nothing could be more simple or powerful to express exactly what the verdict meant.

    I did feel a huge release of the anxiety from the trial. We all know the history of this country, and we all know that justice and accountability haven’t always been present when the police are on trial. I really wanted to believe that we’d get it right this time, and I was nervous that we’d just repeat past mistakes.

    But we didn’t. And that is a step forward.

    And as me and the kid walked back from the park, the new reality started to sink in; we’re not done, this isn’t over. There is still much work ahead. We still need to march. We still need to demand reform and accountability from the police, but also the DA offices, and our elected officials. Reform isn’t easy, and it takes time, but that arc just bent a little closer to justice.

  • Two Mass Shootings, Again

    Two mass shootings happened in the span of a week, and only now, for me, is it sinking in what has happened.

    I am not proud of this fact, but it felt normal.

    The poor guy in Boulder, CO standing outside of the grocery store saying that he feels like no place is safe pretty much sums it up. No place is safe, and we are all fine with it.

    Asian-Americans have been saying for over a year that they are being scapegoated for Covid-19, but did anyone listen? People had been pointing out for a year that the rhetoric that Trump and his supports were using was hurting Asian communities, but it was blown off. In fact, I saw a conservative friend ask why it was okay to “UK Variant,” but why couldn’t he say, “China Virus?”

    It doesn’t register for most people anymore. Even when it turns violent. Even when the inevitable AR-15 or whatever semi-automatic people killing gun is used, it doesn’t matter.

    Apathy has won.

    Most Americans see the hate, see the use of guns to kill large numbers, and they shrug because we have given up. There will be another racist attack. There will be another mass shooting. And we give up.

    We give up because it will turn into a debate about free speech and the 2nd Amendment.

    But it’s not about that. It’s about hate and fear. And are we going to do something? When will it be different? Or when will I blog about this same thing all over again?

  • Waiting My Turn for the Vaccine

    Is vaccine anxiety a thing? I mean, having anxiety about not having received your shot yet. That’s a thing, or it should be a thing.

    I’m not talking about anxiety of receiving the shot, like “I’m scared of needles,” anxiety. Not that.

    I’m also not talking about anxiety if the shot is safe, or will cause some awful side effect, or even crazy conspiracy theories.

    Nope. I’m talking about the anxiety I’m having just waiting for my turn.

    I’m trying to have patience, or at least I was. Last night, the thought that with all the variants out there, including this new New York City variant, that waiting for my turn is starting to get dicey, maybe even dangerous.

    Fear. This is fear, so let me just be honest. The tiniest speck of fear danced into my head.

    And that fear started kicking at the door of reason, as fear started asking me, why are all of these people getting vaccinated who shouldn’t be getting vaccinated? Social media keeps showing me pictures of people who are younger than me, who are not teachers, or first responders or in the medical field, or essential workers, getting vaccinated. Do all of these people have underlining medical conditions?

    And that fear started clawing open my logical side of thinking by asking, Am I being naïve by waiting my turn? Is everyone out there cheating to get the vaccine, and am I going to be left out in the cold, only to get sick with one of these super variants?

    But then Reason and Logic did take back over. I am healthy. I take precautions, like wearing a mask, social distancing, washing hands, staying home. There are many people out there who do need the vaccine more than I do right now. Also, the faster that the groups in front of me get vaccinated, the sooner it will be my turn.

    I have to remind myself that Covid isn’t the only disease out there. Fear is just as contagious.