Getting a COVID Jab Doesn’t Make You Invincible

I’m not here to berate anyone. In fact, I’m glad you’ve decided to get vaccinated. You weighed up the risks and the benefits and made an informed decision. We need more of this, we need more common sense. In a world where people still believe this virus is a hoax and/or vaccines are poison it’s essential to spread awareness. Just be careful, because we are not out of the woods yet.

Infection rates are still high

Things are looking up for some of us. Here in the UK, we can finally do our non-essential shopping in actual physical stores, sit in a beer garden and get a haircut. But that’s not the case for everyone and occasional spikes are to be expected. Perhaps even another lockdown?

We’ve seen how quickly things can escalate, most recently in India. Although there are many factors at play here (the state of India’s health care system, overpopulation, lack of vaccines), there’s no denying that large social gatherings and inadequate safety measures have contributed to the rapid spread of the virus. Let’s bear this in mind when we next venture outside.

Another problem is the rise of new variants. Viruses need to spread and they will do anything to find as many hosts as possible. Sounds a bit dramatic but it’s just their basic survival mechanism. It’s a ramped-up version of evolution. It’s quite fascinating really since most scientists don’t consider viruses to be living organisms. There’s no way to know for sure how these new variants will respond to the existing vaccines.

Not everybody has had their vaccine yet

Some people never will.

Those of us who have autoimmune conditions or are allergic to certain components in the vaccines might not get a choice. Taking the vaccine could be more detrimental to their health than doing nothing. Healthy young adults are still mostly waiting for their turn.

Vaccine hesitancy is another serious issue. Certain individuals are either fundamentally against vaccinations or simply don’t trust the newly developed vaccines for various reasons. They have voiced concerns over rushed COVID-19 vaccine development and inadequate testing. I’m not saying those concerns are entirely invalid, but in my mind, the benefits of the vaccine greatly outweigh the risks.

No vaccine is ever 100% efficient

You can still catch and spread the virus.

Ranking by reported efficacy gives relative risk reductions of 95% for the Pfizer–BioNTech, 94% for the Moderna–NIH, 90% for the Gamaleya, 67% for the J&J, and 67% for the AstraZeneca–Oxford vaccines

These figures were published in a peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet. It’s important to remember that vaccine efficiency also depends on the specific population and individual risk behaviours. Naturally, the more you expose yourself to the virus, the bigger are your chances of catching it. With or without a vaccine.

So don’t go rubbing elbows with strangers in the supermarket just yet (figuratively and literally). Give them some space.

Give people time to acclimate

I know most of us are eager to jump in and socialise, but remember that certain people need more time to adjust. After being “locked up” for so long they have developed some new hangups. Months of Zoom calls can make physical contact and being face to face with someone feel intimidating. Let them ease into it.

The pandemic has left many with low self-esteem and body confidence issues. Loss of work, constant uncertainty and an ever-increasing waistline can easily make you feel like you’re not good enough. There is no easy fix to this problem. Hopefully, a slow return to our old ways will help to restore some sense of normality.

The bottom line

Be cautiously optimistic. Enjoy your newfound freedom, but don’t grumble if you’re still asked to wear a mask or forget to practice social distancing. I’d hate to see that flickering candle at the end of the tunnel extinguished.