jabby jabby jab
Ah, vaccinations. A topic that has been highly politicised in recent months with COVID, and now everyone has had their say, pro and anti-vaxxers. But it's quite straightforward: get your vaccine, you privileged idiot.
I got my first COVID vaccine in March. I was 18 at the time and able to because of drop-in clinics offering vaccines in my community because older people weren't turning up for their appointments. I have been 'pro vaccine' for as long as I can remember, having had all my jabs as a baby and then later in secondary school. As a child, it was always about superpowers. I don't want to get meningitis, so why wouldn't I proetct myself from the disease if the vaccine is available to me? More vaccines meant I was more 'powerful' as there were diseases I couldn't get, diseases I was immune to.
When I was born in the Noughties, there was a huge vaccination debate, because doctor Andrew Wakefield had linked vaccines to early autism in children. The effect of this was parents refusing to vaccinate children, so I went to school with those who had never received their MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) jabs. This was completely false, and the paper was retracted in 2010, but anti-vaxxers still use this as an argument. The consequences of this man's actions helped directly to create the atmosphere we have surrounding vaccines today.
Vaccines are science, and scientific facts are not debatable. Vaccines protect you against diseases, and yes there can be side effects, but there are side effects to paracetamol and no-one seems to debate that. I don't even think pro vaccine should be a thing, because who says they are pro paracetamol or pro ibuprofen? It should be acknowleged that vaccines are a necessary tool in protecting our nation against a whole host of diseases, not just COVID.
Maybe being an ethnic minority affects how strongly I feel about this. Ethnic minorities have been the ones most likely to be hospitalised and die from COVID, yet this community is the most reluctant to take the vaccine. This can be because of conspiracy theories, lack of education can mean people are unsure what sources to trust. Mistrust in the authorities is another reason, because there is no-one protecting our interests at government level. We are the most at risk, so we should be taking the vaccine as quickly as possible. It's on the younger generations to push our elders to get the vaccine for their health.
And again, being an ethnic minority means I know this vaccine situation is all about privilege. Pakistan and India are struggling with COVID, as bodies pile high. Some countries are STILL awaiting their first shipment of the vaccine. I am lucky to have received my second jab today, because this wouldn't have been the case in Pakistan or any other developing country. We are in a position where we can have a vaccine, yet we are debating whether it is safe to take, despite it being approved by various international regulators.
These developing countries are in a crisis, and the privileged West is moaning about having to take a vaccine.
We have to use what privilege, what platform we have to help others. What else is the reason for our existence?
Get your jabs and stop being so privileged. You really don't know how lucky you are.
ps: I got my second jab today hence the extra sense of determinedness (is that a side effect?)
*Article assessing 20 years of Vaccine-Autism Myth
https://time.com/5175704/andrew-wakefield-vaccine-autism/
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