A new fall tradition

The COVID-flu booster cocktail

Last Friday, I followed a new tradition that I’ve had for the past few autumns. I went to my local pharmacy, rolled up my sleeves, and got a flu shot in one arm and COVID booster in the other.

Getting vaccinated again doesn’t mean that I’m afraid of COVID-19, although all other things being equal, I’d rather not get sick. That wasn’t always true. In the early days of the pandemic, I knew several people who died of the disease and quite a few others with serious cases that turned out not to be fatal. That fear died with the introduction of the vaccines.

Photo by David Thornton

I haven’t worn a mask in a long time now with the exception of visits to hospitals and doctor offices where their use is encouraged. If asked, I don’t mind wearing a mask to protect others, but I’m not in the habit of wearing one on a normal basis and haven’t been for years.

I’m also not afraid of vaccines, COVID or otherwise. At this point, I know lots of people who have been vaccinated multiple times, but I don’t know a single person who has any complications beyond a temporary fever and lethargy. After multiple COVID vaccinations, I haven’t developed zombie-ism, a third eye, or the ability to pick up radio stations without a radio.

I am often very critical of Donald Trump, but I also like to give him credit when he does something right. One thing that he did right was to clear the way for rapid development and approval of the COVID vaccines through Operation Warp Speed. Operation Warp Speed may be Trump’s most important and beneficial legacy, but he seldom gets credit for it from either side. The conspiracy right wants to forget Trump’s role in vaccine development, and the left wants to forget anything positive about Trump.

My anecdotal experience is backed up by data, despite the conspiracy theories advanced by the same people who are telling you that the government can control hurricanes. The CDC notes two possible complications from COVID vaccinations: Anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction that is possible after any vaccine, and inflammation of the heart (myocarditis or pericarditis). In both cases, the problems tend to be both rare and temporary.

The possibility of vaccine-induced death is remote. Per the CDC, “People receiving COVID-19 vaccines are less likely to die from COVID-19 and its complications and are at no greater risk of death [emphasis in the original] from non-COVID causes, than unvaccinated people.”

With billions of doses administered, the results are now in and the COVID vaccines have been verified to be very safe. The conspiracist claims have been disproven and the statistics incontrovertibly show that COVID vaccines are effective at preventing premature death and serious illness from COVID -19.

The new generation of COVID vaccines is very effective indeed. The fact that the virus mutates more slowly without the massive rates of transmission from the pandemic is paired with more refined technology to once again make the vaccines even more potent against the virus. Yale Medicine estimates the effectiveness of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines at about 95 percent and the new Novomax, which does not use mRNA, at 90 percent. The CDC reported that people who got an updated COVID vaccine were 54 percent less likely to contract COVID.

I got the Novovax this time since I already had the trifecta of Johnson & Johnson (which is no longer available), Pfizer, and Moderna. I wanted to collect the whole set.

I haven’t known anyone to die from COVID since the introduction of the vaccines into widespread use. I have known a few people to get seriously ill recently. My pastor contracted COVID over the summer and had what he described as a “rough time.” Not long ago, he told me that he was still struggling with lingering effects such as loss of stamina. But he didn’t have to go to the hospital and he was never on a ventilator.

My wife and daughter both had COVID in early September. They felt like crap for a few days and my wife lost her sense of smell and taste again, but it wasn’t nearly as problematic or worrisome as it might have been in 2020. A few days later, they were back to normal (or what passes for normal in my family).

I finally got my first case of COVID last February. It was a mild case that only lasted a few days. I almost didn’t know I had it. I felt feverish one night and took a test, which came back positive, a few days later when my wife developed more severe symptoms (after skipping the booster last year).

But Dave, you may say, didn’t you have prostate cancer after you got vaccinated?

Yes, and thank you for asking. I’ll note that every single (and married) person who confuses correlation and causation ends up dying (hat tip to a recent cartoon I saw on the internet).

The fact is that there is no evidence that COVID vaccines cause cancer and at least one study found “spontaneous regression” of a cancerous tumor after vaccination. In other words, the patient’s cancer shrank. Further, it’s true that cancer rates are increasing (even as cancer deaths decrease), but this trend was observed long before the COVID vaccines came on the scene and can be explained by a variety of lifestyle factors.

I can be certain that my cancer was not related to any vaccine. In my case, I have a family history of prostate cancer and my profession also has a higher than normal incidence of certain cancers, including prostate. The chances that the thousands of hours that I’ve spent in the upper altitudes allowed cosmic radiation to mutate my cells are infinitely greater than that vaccines are responsible. If that weren’t enough, prostate cancer moves so slowly that I probably had it before I was ever vaccinated.

As we get older, vaccinations are more important, especially for those with existing medical conditions. I used to not worry about getting a flu vaccine, but just before the onset of the pandemic, I had a friend who spent time in the hospital with a severe case of the flu.

For my part, I started getting flu shots again when my daughter got sick about 10 years ago. I took her to the doctor and she tested positive for the flu. The doctor said, you’ve been exposed, do you want to go ahead and get a flu shot?

I decided to get “the jab” that year, and believe it or not, I never really got sick. I fully expected a full blown case of the flu, but it was more like a cold. I felt bad but not as bad as I expected.

And I also didn’t feel too bad after the COVID and flu shots last week. The only time I’ve had a bad reaction to the COVID vaccine was last year when I added a shingles vaccine to the mix. I felt bad for 24 hours or so and slept a lot. This year, I went to bed early and felt fine the next day. The flu shot hurt more than the COVID jab.

At this point, it’s apparent that COVID-19 is going to be with us for the rest of our lives. We need to learn to live with it, and part of living with it is protecting ourselves. A big part of protecting ourselves is eschewing the conspiracy fearmongers and defending ourselves against COVID just as we would from the flu and other diseases.

ON COMET: I was able to see C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS last night. The comet is visible low in the western sky shortly after sunset. The comet will be visible for a few more nights. More details on how to watch can be found here: https://www.npr.org/2024/10/10/nx-s1-5148895/how-to-see-comet-c-2023-a3-tsuchinshan-atlas

It’s been an astronomical week after the appearance of the aurora borealis across the country a few days ago. I took the pictures below with my iPhone.

All photos by David Thornton

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