A Soldier, father, husband’s testimonial
COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on our lives for more than a year now. We couldn’t travel, visit with friends, go to the movies, or continue to train as we normally would. Instead, we’ve quarantined, cut ourselves of physically from friends and loved ones, and generally remained afraid to do anything that might worsen the spread of this terrible disease.
Then, a few months ago, a light began to shine at the end of this dark tunnel. The FDA announced emergency use authorization for not one but two different vaccines, both of which had an impressive safety and efficiency record.
However, with a new vaccine came a lot of misinformation. People said it would make you sicker than the actual disease it’s designed to cure. Some even said it was part of a larger government conspiracy to pacify the masses. Of course, these conspiracy theories seem crazy, but there are people out there who believe them.
Myself, I decided to rely on science and the fact speak for themselves. No other vaccine in U.S. history has undergone more intensive safety monitoring than that of the COVID vaccines. And its effectiveness at stopping the spread of the virus is impressive, to say the least. But, as with all vaccines, it’s not 100 percent certain I wouldn’t have some form of negative reaction to the vaccine.
So why did I decide to get the shot? Did I think I would be at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19? Of course not. I’m a healthy individual, a Soldier who prides himself on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Instead, I thought about my family. I thought about my baby boy, who was born just one week before the entire country went into lockdown. I thought about how I would feel if I contracted COVID, passed it along to him, and the risk of him becoming seriously ill. I did it for him, the rest of my family, and my community, who may not be in a position to fight off the virus as well as I likely would be able to.
So, to you, I ask, what’s stopping you? Is it because you think it’s not safe? Because it is. Is it because you believe the vaccine symptoms are worse than the virus? Because more than 19,000 vaccines have been administered on Fort Drum with only one non-severe adverse reaction recorded. Or maybe it’s because you think COVID is no worse than the flu. However, that’s just not true. The 2017-2018 flu season was the worst in the last ten years and resulted in 61,000 deaths in the U.S. COVID to date has killed more than 575,000 Americans, and that number continues to rise.
So do your part. Get the vaccine and be a part of the solution. Help protect the safety and health of our communities, our friends, and our families. Only together will we defeat COVID once and for all.
Learn more about COVID vaccinations on Fort Drum here: https://spark.adobe.com/page/FglDRZqjI5Lgc/
