Look from what I read from your posts, you are gung-ho on the vaccine—and tho I don’t know your motivations, it is very clear that you are very passionate and want everyone to be on same page. You seem to think the vaccines are absolutely safe, consider it your patriotic duty to go get one in order to support the President, and trust the medical establishment. (Good luck with “Pretty Little Liar” Fauci.)
No one is stopping you from getting jabbed except perhaps government priorities. And I believe Pfizer will be collecting data from all who get the vaccine now in order to contribute data...likely to help with determination of just how long immunity lasts, impact of vaccine on the new strain, ETC. Again, you can share your experiences and impressions...All good.
But please...
1. don’t put words in my mouth.
2. don’t try to imply or accuse me of not supporting the President because I am asking questions or am skeptical.
3. do allow me to disagree—I have my concerns and sources, and my interpretation of the facts just as do you. We don’t all need to be on the same page—and over the years, often we Freepers aren’t.
The vaccines are how we stop new cases, stop deaths, end the shutdowns, end the masks, end the social distancing, and return to normal. They’ve been well tested and proven to be both safe and among the most effective vaccines ever produced. So yes, I’m pretty gung-ho about all that.
Are they “absolutely” (as in 100%) perfectly safe for each and every individual on Earth? No. No vaccine is. No drug is. Penicillin causes allergic responses at a rate something like 2,000 times higher than the two vaccines out currently for COVID-19. Every drug on the market has warning labels. When you start talking about the individual physiology of 7 billion people, you can’t say Tylenol is “absolutely” safe. But they’re safe, in the context of what we generally consider to be safe medications you find in any store and considering the simplicity of the components, there’s no indication nor any reason to believe that our judgement of the two approved vaccines’ safety will change with time.
I consider it a wise choice both for yourself and for the good of the country (see above: returning to normal, no more shutdowns, etc.) for as many people as possible to get vaccinated as quickly as possible. Our economy needs people to be inoculated sooner rather than later so the Democrats will quit killing small businesses.
My objection to what you said comes down to you saying that they skipped animal trials (not true, and I know you acknowledged that above), that the process for testing was not normal (it’s perfectly normal to put any drug that’s needed quickly into the FDA’s established “Fast Track” program), and that the approved vaccines are “experimental”, implying they haven’t been properly vetted. They have - in fact - gone through full Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 clinical trials. We have all the data from all those trials. Tens of thousands of closely monitored volunteers over the course of months, carefully evaluated for any sign of problems and to ensure the vaccines actually do what we need. And they work.
But maybe that’s not enough for you. Maybe you want years of testing and studies. Maybe you want a million or ten million people to have it. That’s fine; that’s completely your decision. I respect that decision and I’ll never support anyone trying to mandate you take any vaccine or drug you aren’t comfortable with. That’s a personal choice between you and your doctor.
My issue is only with misrepresenting the situation to others who are also trying to make their own decision. They may be fine with taking something that’s gone through Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 clinical trials (i.e. something that’s been well tested), but not okay with taking something that is “experimental”. They may be happy to get a vaccine that’s safe and effective, but not one what “skipped animal trials” or hasn’t followed a normal testing process. There’s a lot of misinformation thrown around about these vaccines, including a lot of nonsense about them “altering your DNA” or “making you infertile”. Absolute hogwash. Not saying you’ve made those claims; just saying there’s a lot of bad info being passed around.
What I want is for everyone to have all the facts in front of them so they can make an informed, intelligent decision about what’s best for themselves and their family. When bad information is given out, it takes away the RIGHT each and every person has to make their own decision. The decision itself is yours and everyone’s. But the information that decision is based on must be truthful and accurate in order to properly exercise that right. The facts are my concern; not the decision you ultimately make for yourself.