DEAR EDITOR:
There are some rebels who have decided not to get vaccinated. Their reasons may be quite varied and they may not be of the tin foil hat wearing anti-vaccine persuasion. They may simply be folks who are not comfortable (on a gut level) with this particular vaccine, or people with sensitive bodies and nervous systems who are concerned about the vaccine’s effects on them, or they may be persons who trust their immune system and the accumulated protection of their virome.
However, the consequence in not following the medical/pharmaceutical/governmental model could be exclusion from various groups or even from employment opportunities, as though even without any symptoms, they are somehow a walking contagion. Even the World Health Organization is not enthusiastic about supporting the notion of asymptomatic transmission. This divisiveness creates an Us/Them scenario and is not helpful.
Social distancing, mask wearing, staying home if you are sick, and coughing or sneezing into your elbow; these basics, are still the best ways to avoid contamination.
Fortunately we have learned a lot from these simple safety protocols and hopefully we are beyond the point where some folks think it is okay to go to their scheduled public tasks with cold or flu symptoms.
My thinking is to trust the science, (not necessarily the media which are addicted to reporting the next thing that we need to fear), trust your gut, and support your microbiome for stronger immunity and a better mood.
And most importantly respect people’s choices in what they feel are best for themselves by not judging or excluding them.
Richard Best
