Informed

The Covid vaccine and masks. Subjects I am spoken to about on a daily basis at work and out of it. I have even been tagged on Instagram in debates about whether it should be mandatory for healthcare workers to be vaccinated or not. My opinion is that the vaccine should be a personal choice and I don't think any government should have the power to impose medication of any sort on a person. My opinion on masks is that unless you have a truly valid medical reason for not wearing one, what possible harm can it do to put one on when required? The point of them is to stop the spread from you, not to you, and I think wearing one shows that you respect those around you. Choosing not to simply because you don't like it isn't an excuse. What is important when deciding whether to have the vaccine or not, regardless of your profession, is that your sources of information are trustworthy and reliable. I'm sure anti-vaxxers will step in here and tell me that the government are not providing this kind of information. And I will have to leave you to decide whether you believe that or not but I would say medical research is the best place to educate yourself to enable you to make an informed choice.

I fully respect the decision not to have the vaccine as long as it's an informed one. I didn't immediately leap to the decision to have it myself since it's such a new vaccine. It wasn't until I had completed the training to administer it and come to understand the science behind it that I felt comfortable enough to have it. I also appreciate that deciding to have it yourself is one thing but that making the choice to give it to your children is another entirely. I spoke to my children who are 15 and 12 and allowed them to be part of the decision too. They have both opted to go for it but I appreciate it's a tough one. 

You've probably seen recently that celebrities are joining in the debate. Jennifer Aniston has actually cut off her friends who won't have the vaccine or reveal if they've been vaccinated or not. Her argument is that she wants to know if she comes into contact with someone who may have the virus so that she can avoid passing it on to others more vulnerable. She said "It's tricky because everyone is entitled to their own opinion - but a lot of opinions don't feel based on anything except fear or propaganda."

And this is what horrifies me -  the amount of status updates, memes and arguments on Facebook and other social media platforms apparently proving that the vaccine is harmful or ineffective or a conspiracy. And by the way, if you're writing a meme hoping to convince people of anything, please check your spelling! The amount I've seen written incoherently is hilarious.

Nicki Minaj recently claimed that the vaccine can make men impotent. This even caused England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty to step in and speak about her claim. He said that Nicki "should be ashamed" after she tweeted an unfounded story about a man who'd been given the vaccine and then apparently became impotent. During a news conference at Downing Street he said "There are a number of myths that fly around, some of which are just clearly ridiculous and some of which are clearly designed just to scare. That happens to be one of them." He also said that there are "people that go around trying to discourage other people from taking a vaccine which could be life-saving or prevent them from having life-changing injuries to themselves".

I'm not saying you must or mustn't get the vaccine, the choice is yours. But please make sure your sources are accurate and reliable, not from some anti-vaxxer hothead with no real medical knowledge splashing their unsubstantiated opinions all over social media.

I'll leave you with my favourite tweet on the subject of masks which I feel demonstrates my point perfectly: