Do you know what the phrase a double-edged sword means? It means that something can have both favorable and unfavorable consequences. The COVID-19 vaccine is, to me, a double-edged sword. The seemingly never-ending COVID-19 pandemic has presented each one of us with a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation. The COVID-19 vaccine is not a panacea. It's efficacy, longevity and safety is still a work-in-progress and a lot of the questions we have about the vaccine are understandably being answered with ambiguity. Regardless, people are turning up in droves to be vaccinated for fear of dying because the media has created such a panic that people are afraid to be human (i.e., afraid to breathe, afraid to be around people, afraid to just be). This is a true risk assessment situation. Does the risk of becoming infected with a potentially deadly virus outweigh the risk of becoming ill from a very new vaccine? Does the benefit of a potentially life saving vaccine outweigh the risk of becoming seriously ill or dying or continuing to perpetuate the spread? Even though I know that the risk of going unvaccinated is higher for some people than for others (i.e., the elderly, the immunocompromised, those with pre-existing conditions, etc.), I believe that the ambiguity on how our bodies will react if we indeed become infected makes this a no brainer. Nevertheless, listen carefully to the information being published about the vaccine and make your choice on whether or not to get vaccinated judiciously. The decision for most people on whether or not to get vaccinated is an overwhelming yes. I remain cautiously optimistic.
Jacqueline Sebiane
