Covid vaccines for Georgians

“CDC recommends a 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine for most adults ages 18 and older. Parents of children ages 6 months to 17 years should discuss the benefits of vaccination with a healthcare provider.”-CDC website

In 2021, Scott Apley was an up-and-coming GOP star, on the Texas Republican Executive Committee. From the beginning of the Covid pandemic, Apley had been a skeptic. He was healthy, young (45) and unafraid of “woke folks” and their scientific experts. He misled people into thinking that the science was wrong about Covid-19. Opposing vaccinations, Apley equated mandates to the Third Reich and decried the loss of freedom due to vaccines. 

But Apley was fighting a non-political virus. Covid-19 didn’t care if you were a liberal or a conservative, a fascist or a socialist. It still doesn’t. Apley never learned this simple fact. And this failure caused him to pass away from the virus that year.

Due in part to politics and mismanagement, the US had over a million deaths from Covid (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/united-states). The rate of death per million was higher here than other developed nations. Some anti-vax politicians have started up again. 

Here are the facts versus pre-conceived notions for adults:

• Notion 1 – I already had the Covid-19 virus, so I am immune.

You can get Covid again. Ask your MD if you should get the shot. He will probably tell you that you do still need it, especially if you are a senior or have health issues.

• Notion 2 – I’m a young adult and healthy so I don’t need to be concerned with any vaccinations.

You may not worry much about yourself, but what about the at-risk people (seniors, those with medical conditions) you might unknowingly infect? And even younger people can get ill with Covid-19. So, why take the chance of hurting yourself or your friends and family; go get the shot.

• Notion 3 – Healthy people like me get it and it’s just like a cold.

Some people who get Covid-19 are “long-haulers.” They can be young and otherwise healthy. “Long-haulers” get long-term symptoms like difficulty breathing, pain, dizziness, fatigue, and loss of memory, taste and smell. Why chance it?

• Notion 4 – The Lord has protected me so far and will take care of me.

Maybe, but God gave us a brain. Each of us should use it to analyze right from wrong. Infecting yourself or others is against God’s wishes; that’s why He gave us the vaccine. Many religious people refused the vaccinations and were killed by the virus. 

• Notion 5 – Vaccinated people get Covid-19 anyway, especially with the variants, so there’s no reason to be vaccinated.

If you are vaccinated, the chances of getting Covid-19 are less and the health impact is usually minimal. Science says get the shot.

• Notion 6 – I heard the vaccine side effects are very bad.

There are minor side effects that show up in some people who are vaccinated (i.e. arm ache). But these side effects are almost always transient. Covid-19 can kill and have a multitude of long-term side effects. Just go ahead and get the shot.

• Notion 7 – The vaccines do not work. 

There’s no disagreement in the medical community about the efficacy of the vaccination. It works and almost all MD are vaccinated, including those in my family. Ask your MD.

The Georgia DPH expects that the new FDA approved Covid vaccine (from ModernaTX Inc. and Pfizer Inc.) will be available at public health departments throughout the state by the end of September. Some pharmacies throughout Georgia may require a prescription (https://www.11alive.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/vaccine/new-rules-for-who-can-get-covid-19-vaccine-in-georgia/85-8be88502-27bd-496c-9836-4e0979358837).

In conclusion, per Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research- “Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention” (https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-and-authorizes-updated-mrna-covid-19-vaccines-better-protect-against-currently). Research the facts via the CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/covid/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html) and the Georgia Department of Public Health (https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19).