In our modern world of technological advances, it’s hard to believe that inoculations were first introduced in China and Indian more than 500 years ago. The first successful vaccine was developed in 1796 by Dr. Edward Jenner, which eventually resulted in the worldwide eradication of smallpox by 1980.
More disbelief when you learn that the word “vaccine” is based on the Latin word vacca, meaning cow. Over two centuries, vaccines have been created to combat smallpox, rabies, cholera, polio, influenza, hepatitis A and B, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, chickenpox, measles, mumps, rotavirus, rubella, HPV, Ebola, and most recently, COVID-19.
The concept behind vaccines is the introduction of a modified disease (bacteria or virus) into a person’s immune system, which then develops what are called antibodies. Those antibodies destroy the virus and prevent it from entering the body again. In today’s world, some vaccines are microorganisms whose DNA has been modified. However a vaccine is created, its purpose is to instigate immunity in people.
Vaccines have been credited with saving millions of lives, as well as suppressing diseases such as polio. Yet, they are not without their issues, and several things need to be taken into consideration.
Age and health
Many people receive a vaccine when they are young children. For most children, this isn’t an issue. Some young people have allergic reactions or seizures to specific vaccines (this is a small percentage of the population). Rarely has a vaccine been fatal. There has been concern that vaccines cause autism, but researchers haven’t found a correlation between the two. Children under the age of two and those with a history of asthma or wheezing are urged to avoid specific vaccines such as the one for the flu.
Doctors advise that adults who should avoid taking a vaccine include pregnant women, people with severe allergies, anyone with a current moderate-to-severe illness, people with muscle or nerve diseases that cause breathing problems, and those who have a chronic disease such as heart disease, liver disease, asthma, or AIDS. People who are on certain drugs, such as high-dose steroids or who are taking cancer treatments, are cautioned to avoid vaccines.
For older adults, a vaccine shot will most likely have the usual symptoms of soreness at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, dizziness, joint pain, fever, nausea, and chills. What also has to be taken into account is the older adult’s level of health and any health issues that have compromised their immune system and ability to respond effectively.
Becoming a carrier if not vaccinated
There are those who absolutely will not get vaccinated for any number of reasons. If they don’t get vaccinated, they contract a disease, they don’t realize it, and they then go into public venues. They are considered a carrier or even super-spreader, depending on where they go. One infected person can infect untold numbers of people, who can then spread it to others.
Misinformation, myths, and conspiracies
Many people have very strong opinions and judgments about vaccinations, which they’ve derived from their religious beliefs, what they’ve learned through social media, the news they listen to, who they consider an authority, and, most importantly, what they fear.
The first myth is that vaccines don’t work. The fact is that there is overwhelming data showing that vaccines do work and have effectively reduced diseases worldwide and thus saved countless lives.
Another myth is that vaccines, like the COVID-19 vaccine, will turn people into a magnet because of the 5G telecommunication towers in use. This turned out to be false for the obvious reason that people aren’t walking around attracting metal to them.
Three more myths about the COVID-19 vaccine are that it will rewrite a person’s DNA, it will cause long-term complications, and it will make a person infertile. First, the vaccine doesn’t get near the DNA in our cells. Once the vaccine has done its job, it’s excreted immediately from our cells.
Secondly, no vaccine has been proven to create long-term effects. Dr. Robert Amler, dean of New York Medical College School of Health Sciences and Practice and a former CDC chief medical officer says that “The US government system (VAERS), as well as the manufacturers, identify and investigate any long-term events and follow up with appropriate recommendations whenever an unexpected issue presents after an extended time period.”
As for infertility, it was determined by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) that the COVID-19 vaccine was safe for people “thinking about becoming pregnant, wanting to become pregnant, are pregnant, or who are breastfeeding.”
That brings up another myth: vaccines contain the lung tissue of aborted fetuses. Dr. Michael Head, from the University of Southampton, reported that “There are no fetal cells used in any vaccine production process.” This myth was based on a study concerning a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The truth is that the study explored how the vaccine reacted when introduced to human cells in a lab. The cells were grown in the lab and were descendants of embryonic cells that would otherwise have been destroyed. So, no fetuses were aborted for research purposes.
One conspiracy theory involves Big Pharma. The theory is two-fold: 1) Big Pharma created the virus or disease to make money, and 2) Big Pharma is part of an insidious government plot to turn people into malleable puppets who can then be tracked and controlled. What people feared was that microchips were being implanted in them via vaccine shots. It turns out that microchips aren’t small enough to fit through injection needles.
Supporting this conspiracy are adherents who believe a plot by the “deep state” is focused on controlling humanity through two processes called the “Great Reset” and New World Order. The Great Reset believes that “global elites are using the COVID-19 pandemic to dismantle the capitalist economy and enforce radical social change at the expense of personal freedoms.”
The New World Order theorists believe global elites are conspiring to replace sovereign nation states with a tyrannical “one world” government in order to rule the world with a globalist agenda. It’s believed that Jewish people are the masterminds behind this cabal, which would use scams like COVID-19 to institute repressive government edicts (like forced vaccinations and lockdowns). The QAnon conspiracy movement strongly backs this, as well as other theories.
The final conspiracy theory is that forced vaccination could be used to depopulate Earth. This ties in with the theory that our DNA could be altered in the nucleus of cells. But since vaccines can’t enter the nucleus, they can’t alter DNA.
So now you see why the conversation about vaccines is all over the map. The proliferation of purposeful mis- and disinformation has made it difficult for people, especially parents concerning their children and their own parents, to make an informed decision about whether to get vaccinated or not. Communication is considered to be key in making a determination, but even that has its challenges.
Fear and distrust have undermined even the most trusted institutions we’ve relied on for so many years. Competing agendas at all levels of society have backed us into a corner to the point where scare tactics and alarmist predictions have caused us to be skeptical to the point of paranoia. Additionally, humans have a propensity to gravitate toward information that supports what they already believe and value and thus disregard anything else — even proven evidence and data. It’s quite the conundrum!
Much of the debate about vaccines comes down to people feeling helpless against a disease and, therefore, not in control of their lives and destinies. Putting their trust in someone else can be terrifying and even abhorrent to someone wanting to shield their family from a deadly virus. With COVID-19, one’s job, livelihood, lifestyle, and ability to thrive day to day was seriously negatively impacted. Like spreading bacteria in a Petrie dish, conflicting information turned the dial up on our distrust, fear, paranoia, and feelings of hopelessness.
The keys in all of this are communication and research — doing your homework. Yes, it takes time and energy to find information you can trust and rely on, but it’s imperative to help allay our fears and to help us stay balanced and grounded. Viruses and diseases will continue to proliferate, but we have our critical thinking skills and chutzpah to rise above it all! Go for it!
