Back in late September, Kim and I were wondering when the best time would be to go get our flu shots this year. We knew the time was approaching.
We haven't missed our annual shot in more than 40 years and we weren't about to miss it this year, either.
Then, a week or so ago, a news item popped up indicating that this year's flu strain was expected to be particularly virulent, and the best time to go for the vaccine would be ... right now, if not sooner. So Kim went ahead and lined up appointments for both of us at Lexington Family Physicians for this past Thursday.
Oh, and by the way, let's get the Covid shot, too.
So we did. Flu shot in the right arm, Covid jab in the left.
Every once in a while, an antivaxxer will post some nonsense about how well the antiparasitic Ivermectin works and that the Covid-19 vaccine, by contrast, has caused the death of millions.
A simple Internet search quickly debunks many of those claims:
• Since the Covid-19 vaccine rollout began in 2020, more than 13.5 billion vaccine doses have been administered worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). That covers 70.5 percent of the world's population (8.5 billion) who have received at least one dose. If you noticed that more doses have been administered than there are people, remember the initial vaccinations were a multiple step process.
• Perhaps the more pertinent question would be how many lives have been saved by the Covid-19 vaccine? According to The Lancet Infectious Diseases hosted by the National Institute of Health (NIH), Covid-19 vaccines saved an estimated 14.4 million to 19.8 million lives from December 2020 to December 2021 – or a 63 percent reduction in total potential deaths.
In the United States, the Commonwealth Fund writes that independent modeling indicates over three million lives have been saved and tens of millions more have avoided hospitalization.
Just keep in mind that Covid-19 is a moving target and that the vaccination is aiming at a constantly changing virus, and thus requires unending vigilance and research. Consequently, the Covid-19 vaccine formula is updated every year to match the virus variants, much in the same way the flu vaccine is prepared.
• One of the antivaxxer assertions that tickled me claims that thousands of virologists supposedly have questioned the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine, but according to WHO, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), just the opposite is true: Covid-19 vaccines are safe, effective and have saved millions of lives. Those suggesting otherwise are either deliberately lying or otherwise reporting false or conspiracy-based misinformation to support a political agenda. Laugh at them.
I've always been worried about influenza. Years ago, when I first learned of the great Spanish influenza outbreak in 1918, I was shocked to learn that an estimated 50 million to 100 million people died in that pandemic worldwide.
The virus claimed 675,000 American lives, more than the combined American combat casualties of World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
Up until I reached my late 30s, I thought the flu was pretty much just a bad head cold. Silly me. But for nearly as long as Kim and I have been married, we've gotten our flu shots. And as far as I can remember, we've never gotten the flu.
I've never quite understood why some people avoid getting flu and Covid shots, especially when the evidence is clear that the vaccinations actually protect the community. I mean, it's my understanding that even if you don't get the shot and you don't display any flu symptoms, you can still carry and transmit the virus with a simple sneeze or touch. Why would you do that? It seems to me the object here isn't only to keep yourself safe, but also your friends, family, neighbors and colleagues as well.
I have this picture in my head of a young child crying real tears as she is being administered the flu shot. For some reason, I think this is a lasting image that many people carry into adulthood. I bet deep down folks opposed to vaccines just don't want to feel the needle's sting again. It's the only thing that even remotely make sense to me.
These shots didn't hurt.
C'mon. Get your shots.
