The choices before you are ominous and unsettling...what do you choose?
A good friend of mine who's a nurse (her mother was a nurse too) tells me; "there are worse things in life than death" and while I have a hunch she and her mother are right because they've seen adversities I hope never to see...I still have trouble swallowing it.
2020, and I'm guessing 2021, might force me to swallow that pill after all.
Not that I'm without hope and I don't want to die anytime soon but we've been staring death in the face quite a bit during this pandemic.
By way of comparison, the Spanish Flu killed 50 million people worldwide between the years 1918-1919. Case fatalities were greater than 2.5%.
The seasonal flu death rate is 0.1% and COVID is roughly 1% or higher.
Why is everyone optimistic about 2021?
While it's good to be positive and optimistic, it isn't good to ignore reality or pretend everything is going to get better just because we want it to be so.
Do you feel vaccines are THE SOLUTION to THE PROBLEM? If so, you're being led down that path by every institution clamoring for attention. (Other major news will have you believe the next president will solve all our problems...)
Here's a quote from Oregon Health Authority Director Pat Allen: “We need to get vaccines to every Oregonian because vaccination is the safest, most effective and most reliable way to prevent yourself and the people around you from becoming infected with COVID-19.”
That's a staggering statement; the safest, most effective, most reliable way to prevent infection is from a vaccine? Is he trying to convince himself or the public? I hope he's right! But mostly I think that's idealistic. Let's examine that ideology but before we do...
Disclaimer!
Whether or not to accept any vaccine is a personal decision!!! You will never hear me say: "You should or should not" get a vaccine. You are responsible for your health. Do your own research.
That disclaimer isn't here for legal reasons, it's to emphasize my BIGGEST concern about vaccinations is our right to choose (safety is number two on my list).
Vaccine safety is a hotly debated subject, even when the safety trials were several years long, but with the COVID-19 vaccinations, WE ARE THE SAFETY TRIALS. (Something to think about 🤔) The program is called V-safe. You report to them daily and then weekly how you are feeling after the vaccine.
There are too many unknown factors with this new vaccine making it impossible to determine the long-term reliability, safety, and effectiveness of it.
This is in addition to the fact that COVID-19 vaccinations use a NEW TECHNOLOGY that has never been used before on humans called mRNA.
Here's a 4-minute video explaining the technology.
Safety and side effects are pieces of the puzzle but not the whole picture.
The scariest part might be the elimination of our choice in the matter. At the moment, they don't have enough vaccines to mandate it. But if they don't reach 'herd immunity' what will stop them from demanding that every single person get vaccinated?
If you choose NOT to get the COVID-19 vaccine, what are the ramifications? Will you be forced to get vaccinated by law? Could you lose your job? Would your passport be nullified? Or travel be restricted in other ways? How about the right to public transportation or meeting in larger groups? When a vaccine is approved for children, will it interfere with their education or will you lose your right to homeschool if you choose against it?
Will the unvaccinated be condemned for their lack of cooperation in SAVING the world from COVID-19?
2021 could be more frightening if we are heading into a world where our rights are slowly taken away...I pray this doesn't happen.
Another strange thing...in order for this vaccine project to be savior to the world, all other options would have to be removed from the table. And that is precisely what has happened over the last several months.
When the pandemic first started I followed many natural and holistic doctors who were treating patients successfully with natural remedies. Each of those websites has been removed and information regarding any natural remedies has been mocked, suppressed, and eliminated.
What about those promising drugs they were researching before the vaccines? All of a sudden, no more talk of any other remedy for coronavirus but vaccine.
Why?
Is it about profit? Control? Tracking? World domination? Depopulation? World peace?
I don't know❓
Conspiracy theories abound and we may never know the full truth or we might have the answer in the next few years or so.
Here's what we don’t know about the vaccines
How long does immunity last? 6 months, 1 year, or more? Will we be getting two doses of a vaccine every year?
What about mutations? At the moment, we're being reassured that the mutations are covered. Time will only tell if the various strains will weaken or strengthen.
One disappointing bit of news is that the vaccine doesn't prevent transmission. You can still carry the coronavirus and infect others. So they are still recommending everyone wear masks anyway!
There's no vaccine for children under 16. I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time.
Is the vaccine safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women?
So what does 2021 look like?
The truth is, 2021 is not looking much better than 2020.
We're still facing a raging pandemic and possible future lockdowns.
Many people still think the pandemic is a hoax.
The rate of infection will continue to increase after the holidays. Death rates lag since most people don't die from the virus right away. So while cases of infection are confirmed, the true death rate won't show up for weeks.
There's a lot of uncertainty about the leadership to come.
Unemployment and poverty are rising and small businesses are shutting down.
Isolation, depression, violence, drug, and alcohol abuse won't magically go away in 2021, vaccine or not. Some damage cannot be easily undone.
Many people are fed up with social distancing and masks. Complacency is setting in, which leads to risk-taking and most likely higher infection rates.
The vaccine process is slow and its effectiveness is uncertain, remember we are the safety trials.
What does your future look like?
There exists only one path for everyone. On the day of your birth, you inherited a one-way ticket with an unknown expiration date to a common destination...death. Like a train along a track.
Not one person has escaped the destination. For some the ride is long and for others, it's not long enough.
If you believe in God, you live with hope.
If you don't believe in God, then death is a natural consequence and there's little room for a purpose to life.
We're on this earth for a few years. A tiny fraction of that time is for play (if we're lucky to have a good childhood) and the rest of our days are working and toiling.
The choice we have is to make the journey a little happier and a little more comfortable for ourselves and for those around us.
No matter what happens in 2021,
make it your aim to leave the world a better place than you found it.
Stay safe! Wear a mask! Social Distance!