By Debora Katz
Will I take the coronavirus vaccine? Like many of you, I do not believe everything the government or the media tells us. I mostly do not believe pharmaceutical companies as they are the ones that profit. As a nurse, my employer has given me the option to take it or not. I am surprised I have a choice. Nurses are often forced to receive testing and immunizations if they wish to work. My faith in a higher power stops me from being afraid. If I did not have this faith, working and caring for patients with the coronavirus would be very difficult.
When you are considering your choices, consider which would be worse? Do you fear being sick with COVID-19 more or less than you fear the side effects of a new vaccine? The vaccine is new, and many questions about it are unanswered. Many people have tested positive for the Covid-19 virus and have recovered with minimal symptoms. Unfortunately, many have not. I have personally known of patients in poor health before they tested positive and had very few symptoms. I have also seen healthy young people die from it.
People that I know and trust, such as doctors and pharmacists, plan to or have received the vaccine for themselves and their loved ones. These are intelligent, educated people that investigated the pros and cons and made an informed choice. Like many of you reading this, I am suspicious of our government these days. I do not believe everything I see or hear. We must investigate information for ourselves. I have read the reports from the CDC https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/index.html and from the World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)-vaccines I have read the 29-page instruction pamphlet from Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company producing the new vaccine, http://www.cvdvaccine.com/. There are many valid arguments for taking the vaccine. I fear bringing the disease home to my loved ones. This is a fear that all health care workers have and not just in relationship to the current pandemic. Fear of the unknown, such as long-term effects of the vaccine. Fear of catching this possibly deadly disease has fueled many decisions in 2020. Have faith and make a choice. 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” I am a nurse, and I will get the vaccine. Will you?
Debora Katz BSN RN, native of Adams County and Nurse for more than thirty years, offers information and inspiration for healthy living. Debora currently works in the community as a case manager and has years of experience in the hospital at bedside and as a supervisor.