Why vaccines matter...

Over the last few days, I tested positive for Covid. Two lateral flow tests later, with the two double lines confirmed, I have finally caught the dreaded C-19.?

Over the last 2 years, I have been a good citizen; wearing a mask in public places, cleaning my hands regularly and where appropriate respecting government guidelines. And this week I caught the virus. As soon as I found out, I got on to the WhatsApp hotline and to inform family and friends with the broadcast message of ‘Get Checked’.?

Currently, I am experiencing an itchy throat, occasional sneezing, a slightly runny nose, mild congestion, feeling cold, a bit of lethargy, and a strong appetite. It seems the Kalia gene doesn’t care for the “loss of appetite” symptom.

I can only put the mild symptoms down to the effectiveness of the two vaccines and the booster, which I luckily received over the last 9 months. Even though I have caught Covid, does it make me doubt the efficacy of the vaccines? Nope. I am too risk-adverse to want to play with the alternative option of no vaccine.??I cannot imagine how my body would have reacted without the shots. I have an autoimmune condition, which is kept under control by a daily pill (another medical intervention that supports me in managing my day-to-day life).?

I am now day 3 into the 7-day self-isolating period, because I want to protect my mum, sisters, extended family and wider community. Managing self-isolation is no hardship; I am getting through by eating chocolate (a giant pack of Celebrations is appropriate in such a crisis), re-watching the Harry Potter Movies and working my way through Netflix. Though I could take this time to awaken the book that lies dormant within my imagination, I find that option to be too meaningful a way to pass time. Instead I will forward that on to 2022 goals and ambition list.

Today is a public holiday in the UK, and at 9am I drove to the local drive-through testing centre to get a PCR test done to validate the home-kit results. The centre is well organised, managed by respectful volunteers/employees all working together to help our community and the wider society return to a normality as quickly as possible.??The NHS is an amazing service and I want to show them the respect they deserve for all their hard work by taking the vaccine and self-isolating.

If you haven’t already, please consider getting the vaccine. The effectiveness of vaccines has helped me transition from childhood, through to teenage life and into adulthood; medical and scientific intervention has kept me moving and grooving for the last 45 years. If you review what medicine and science has done for you and those you love, perhaps you might find the same? Not everyone has the privilege we have, and not everyone will be as lucky...we know the statistics related to loss.

I am not so na?ve to ignore the sometimes dark side related to this virus, (the internet does well to keep us updated on scandals, fake news, profit over people, corrupt practices etc.), (Netflix recommendation ‘Don’t look Up’), but on this occasion and in this instance, I am all for the goodness of science.?

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/why-vaccination-is-safe-and-important/

#supporttheNHS #community #sciencematters #science