‘The vaccine is my way back to holding our grandchildren again.’
Updated: Dec 14, 2020
By Dr. BILL HODGES
Special to BTS NEWS
I plan to take the Covid-19 vaccine as soon as it becomes available to us. There are a couple of reasons for this: First, I personally know one of the physicians involved in the development one of these vaccines.
We've been friends for over 50 years and he was a groomsman in our wedding. I have long admired his intellect and character. He has been involved for years in the development of pharmaceuticals and I have faith in this latest product. Second, and more to the point, these vaccines are reported to have a high degree of efficacy and protection. I am in the age group and have other health issues that place me in the most vulnerable U.S. population.
For my subset of people in the world, the Covid-19 virus can be, and has been, lethal.
Most everyone is aware of the hundreds of thousands of deaths here in the U.S. and around the world.
Too many of us know family, friends and acquaintances who have succumbed to this virus. For me, the vaccine is my way back to holding our grandchildren again.
My wife and I would like to resume a more of a normal lifestyle in having friends and family to visit without worry of touching or meeting folks outside and having to note which way the wind is blowing.
If enough of those vulnerable become protected, entire communities can open and resume normal life with more normal economic function in our communities. I do not believe these vaccines were rushed in their development.
Incredible cooperation, including that of the U.S. government, led to more rapid dissemination of needed information for these drugs' development.
In my view, no corners were cut to produce these vaccines, although red tape and bureaucratic delays were certainly limited. A word about risks: There are risks to taking any medical therapeutics.
(Ever read all the paperwork that your pharmacist provides with a new prescription drug? I've long thought that if patients read the Physician Desk Reference on medications, fewer people would take them. But they and their physicians know they need them.)
There are risks to having an intramuscular injection (a shot). Could there be a risk in taking any vaccine? Of course, but the greatest risk to those patients that live with me in our vulnerable subset is in NOT taking the vaccine. That's why my decision to take the vaccine isn't hard.
It's my path to a healthier, a more normal, and, hopefully, a longer life.
Bill Hodges, MD, is a resident of Morgan Mill, Texas.
