I’m fully vaccinated and got boostered last week. No, I don’t know “what’s in it”. Neither this vaccine or the ones I had as a child. Nor do I know what’s in the 11 secret herbs and spices at KFC.
I also don’t know exactly what’s in Ibuprofen or Tylenol — they just cure my headaches & my pains.
I don’t know what’s in tattoo ink, botox and fillers, or every ingredient in my soap, shampoo or deodorants.
I don’t know the long term effect of mobile phone use, or whether or not that restaurant I ate at restaurant REALLY used clean foods and washed their hands.
There’s a lot of things I don’t know.
I do know one thing: life is short. Very short. And I, personally, still want to do things. I want to travel and hug people without fear, and find a little feeling of life “before”.
Throughout my life I’ve been vaccinated against many diseases. Measles, mumps, rubella, polio, chickenpox, hepatitis, pneumonia, influenza, rotavirus, tetanus, pertussis, rabies, yellow fever, typhoid and cholera. My parents (and I) trusted the science.
And bummer, I had a fit with typhoid for a few months in my life. No fun. It was like all the Dengue I had, times 10. It was a variant I wasn’t vaccinated against.
I’m vaccinated. Not to please a government. Or the lady at the store next door. Or to get a Green pass on my app.
Not to make other people do it. But I don’t want to not to die from Covid-19, clutter a hospital bed if I get sick, not able to hug my loved ones, have to test myself routinely and live my life in fear.
I can’t say it any clearer.
Ramon Stoppelenburg