Who Wants a Covid Jab?

When COVID-19 came to the forefront as a grave threat to public health in January 2020, people did not know what to make of this insidious and unknown enemy. On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organization’s China office was notified that several patients presented with pneumonia of an unknown origin–and they had concerning symptoms of shortness of breath with a high fever. The cases originated in Wuhan, China. Scientists linked the illnesses to a seafood wholesale market in the city of Huanan.

A sense of helplessness and panic erupted after the grim news came out. Do you remember graphic photos of body bags lined up, waiting to be loaded on trucks for disposal? From rural corners of America to remote outposts in Europe, deaths mounted–and fear increased. There had been nothing quite like the COVID-19 pandemic in the 21st century.

Infectious diseases have threatened the health and security of people all over the planet for centuries. Remember the Spanish flu? 550 million people were infected from 1918-19, and 50 million died. The AIDS-HIV crisis earlier in the century also took many lives. According to the World Health Organization, roughly 88.4 million have been infected with HIV since the disease was first detected in 1981, and about 42.3 million succumbed to it.

Infectious diseases have threatened the health and security of people all over the planet for centuries. Remember the Spanish flu? 550 million people were infected from 1918-19, and 50 million died. The AIDS-HIV crisis earlier in the century also took many lives. According to the World Health Organization, roughly 88.4 million have been infected with HIV since the disease was first detected in 1981, and about 42.3 million succumbed to it.

SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, H1N1 Flu, and Ebola erupted before COVID-19 and were also challenging to manage. But the most recent threat, COVID-19, seemed to have a more profound effect because we had not seen an infectious disease spread so quickly and across so many borders in recent history. The unknown is historically terrifying.

But coronaviruses are not brand new and have existed for centuries. Scientists formally identified the first coronavirus in the sixties. Yet the viruses presented hundreds of years earlier.

To date, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports as of October 31, 2024, 1,212,160 people have died in the United States alone from COVID-19. Eighty-seven percent of those deaths directly align with COVID-19, and the rest have COVID-19 listed as a contributing factor. The World Health Organization dashboard just posted that 7,072,509 have died over the globe since the health pandemic began. But the numbers are likely way higher than that, said the Organization, possibly double, because sophisticated health tracking was not in place in 2020 and 2021.

When COVID-19 cases began and started to spiral out of control, scientists frantically worked to develop a vaccine. Images of people healthy one moment and shortly after contracting COVID-19, ending up in a hospital on a ventilator, and dying within a short period, made the need for a vaccine to be available as quickly as possible. Those with underlying conditions that left them immunocompromised and the elderly seemed to be more at risk. Shortness of breath, cough, sore throat, high fever, chills, fatigue, nausea, loss of taste and the sense of smell, headaches, body aches, gastrointestinal disturbances, night sweats, all these symptoms and more were reported. It was not a ‘one size fits all.’

Some patients reportedly had COVID-19 so mildly that they did not even know they were sick. Many factors contribute to why some get so ill and others do not-along with the reasons why some people never are infected with COVID even after they are exposed to it. Genetics and immune response likely play a role.

The suggested prevention plan is to get a COVID -19 vaccine. The initial vaccines seemingly came out in just a year from the first cases. Understandably, people were skittish about taking a jab that they thought was developed in a ridiculously quick time frame. But that is just part of the story.

RNA use in vaccines has been studied for decades. A collaboration of highly skilled researchers and scientists might have ‘fast-tracked’ a vaccine, but the research was in place for many years. Something had to be done with so many severe illnesses and deaths from COVID-19.

Scientists report that the vaccine, which began in a series of two shots with a booster, serves to boost immunity by producing antibodies in the systems. Will it prevent a person from contracting COVID-19? No. But it has been shown to prevent more serious illnesses or hospitalizations and reduce deaths.

The science seems to be pointing in the direction of a jab being beneficial. But again, it is up to the individual to decide what is best for them, considering their health history, along with their healthcare provider’s opinion. Side effects and long-term effects are concerning–and it is terrible if side effects debilitate a patient. But that risk is also true for other vaccines on the market for centuries. However, the choice to take a vaccine should remain strictly personal.