Ruminations on Polemics, Covid 19 and anti vaxxers

Originally circulated on 21 January 2021

Aweh fellow Ruminants & Groupies in Modified Lock Down Level 3.

Aweh from  day 293 of lock down.

Firstly a Covid update. It has been rampant in our family which gathered for the Christmas holidays. I am recovered from my bout with Covid as are my two sons and Nerine, my wife, had no symptoms. I have just taken my 79 year old mother home from the Milpark hospital where she spent the last 5 days on oxygen. Looks like she is now recovering. My brother and sister in law are still sick in bed in Cape Town on day 10. My brother in law, nieces and nephews are all recovered.

Thus, self-indulgently, the theme for this Ruminant Pink Friday ™ is Covid 19. I have avidly followed the science around Covid 19 and being a scientific technophile I am in awe of the progress medical science is making. A host of different vaccines using different technological approaches have been developed in record time and are now being rolled out across the globe in a huge campaign which is logistically challenging.

The science and research behind vaccines is some of the most thorough and careful scientific work occurring on the planet. Rigorous testing protocols and double blind trials with thousands of volunteers are used to test the efficacy and safety of the vaccines. In this very short submission I am not going to bore you with the extremely extensive work done in this area. This is readily available for those who are interested. Of course no research is ever perfect and one can never eliminate all risks. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/is-the-covid19-vaccine-safe.

Vaccines have made an enormous difference to humanity and have conquered dreadful diseases like Smallpox, Polio, Ebola and Measles. Although I have had Covid I will also be vaccinated as soon as I can. This will boost my immunity to Covid. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html#:~:text=Yes.,already%20had%20COVID%2D19%20infection.

As you might have gathered by now I am in favour of vaccination!

I now turn to the topic of polemics. A polemic is a strong attack or argument against something. … For example, a person who is strongly opposed to the death penalty would perhaps deliver a polemic against it, asserting that the practice is wrong and identifying the reasons why.

In these days of political correctness and the ability to  scrutinise every word you write on social media a trend to inoffensive blandness is encouraged lest a future employer, customer or other stakeholder gets offended by something you say. Your song should be – “All things bright and beautiful ….” Do not ever sing “All things dull and ugly…” Nothing dull and ugly exists.

Lance Corporal Young is about to hand in his uniform and his single stripe. I have fortunately reached that point where I can write a polemic and if an employer, customer or stakeholder doesn’t like it then they can lump it.

This brings me to the topic of anti-vaxxers and I don’t have kind things to say about them. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/anti-vaxxer. More specifically the people who spread misinformation and untruths about vaccines are of particular concern.

I have strong libertarian tendencies so I would never agree to the state forcing you to be vaccinated. It should remain your choice. However I see no problem with you being refused entry to a country, region, club, restaurant, school, office or university if you don’t have a vaccination certificate.

Get vaccinated as soon as you can! If not for yourself then for those around you.

Thank you very much for the many helpful suggestions and input which I’m researching and please keep the submission ideas flowing.

Regards

Bruce