The Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine is here. Many of us have already taken the proverbial plunge of that elixir within the syringe, but quite a few still have not. Let me be clear in saying that it’s absolutely okay to have questions and even be a little hesitant. This doctor has no problem with that, but I do see irresponsible posts on social media that makes me cringe sometimes. It’s hard to sort out fact from fiction. I get it.

One thing should be understood from the get go; Vaccines do not and are not designed to prevent contracting any virus or pathogen. This is not the function of a vaccine. The function of a vaccine is to prevent death or serious illness and hopefully dampen transmission to others.

First let me tackle  the legitimate negatives.

1. ‘This thing develop very fast!’ —True. But practically all of the world’s major pharmaceutical companies dedicated their smartest scientist to address the pandemic, plus technology has improved at a seeming exponential rate in the last few decades.

2. ‘But I don’t know what’s in the vaccine.’—Um, I don’t know what’s in my Panadol or in my nasal spray either for that matter, but I still use them.

3. ‘But the vaccines have risks.’ —Yes they do, but so does riding my bicycle or even crossing the street. Everything worth doing has risks. In all seriousness, this vaccine is associated with the rare risk of a particular kind of brain clotting in younger females. To this I say consider the greater than 70% chance that severe Covid-19 infection will produce some degree of clotting as a result and affect one or more of your organs, possibly leading to death.

Now let me turn the page and list my 7 reasons why you should receive the vaccine.

1.  It’s free. Not a penny needed for this life saving medicine.

2.  Even if you get infected with the SARS-Cov2 virus, it’s safe to say that you will not die or be hospitalized. You might not even get sick.

3.  You can lime, party and fête without anxiety very shortly. So watch out for independence and Christmas. Not to mention carnival next year.

4.  You’ll be able to attend shows and sporting events without worry.

5.  You can travel and cruise now on vacation with confidence.

6.  The end of the face mask outdoors is in sight the more the rates of vaccinated go up.

7.  You can hug and interact with your elderly parents and grandparents, as transmission is determined to be highly unlikely.

Written by Dr. Derek B. Thorpe
Dr. Thorpe is a nuclear medicine and functional medicine physician with post graduate degrees from Cornell School of Medicine and the University of Florida. He mentors clients through the ketogenic diet and treats pain and injury through optimisation of blood flow. mongo505@hotmail.com | (246) 244-9555