A Sideline View - Happy to roll up my sleeves for second jab

Vaccination clinic administrator Shayla Kaiuha (left) and vaccinator Hayley Clifford

The words vaccination, inoculation, immunisation — whatever you want to call it — used to give me the heebies.

I guess back in the day when my kids were little, in today's terms I would have been labelled an 'anti-vaxxer'.

I belonged to a small group of concerned people who met in someone's lounge, breastfed baby asleep in the backpack, and discussed our latest 'findings' about vaccinations. There was no marching, flag waving or whining a load of old garbage from the rooftops.

We read screeds of printouts of numerous studies and research circulating at the time. We believed what we read, all sorts of confusing scientific and medical terms which were digested with gusto. There was no way on earth we would be subjecting our poor, innocent babies to be pricked with God knows what.

So I do have a modicum of sympathy for the handful of individuals who are 'vaccine hesitant'. My philosophy back then, which still stands today, is if you are more afraid of the possible effects of the illness, than the possible side effects of the vaccine, then get the jab. And from what I can see, there is an awful lot to be worried about.

When the Covid vaccine first became available, I probably did an eye-roll, thinking "Oh well, here we go, typical" — something along those lines. But as time has gone on and I have a much better understanding of the world view of this potentially deadly variant of the virus, I now have a profound gratitude for the vaccine.

Although symptoms of the illness itself can be horrendous, lungs so full there's no room for air, I'm also concerned about the enormous load this will have on our hospitals, our workforce, families, our children — the list goes on.

And not to mention 'long-Covid' — some people will suffer for a long time to come. I do not believe there are microchips in the jab, we are rendered infertile or magnetic, it's an 'experimental' vaccine (I guess they all are to a certain extent), or our government is trying to control us.

I think we are extremely lucky to live in an age when we can potentially wipe out a deadly virus before it wipes us out.

Some studies put the survival rate from Covid at around 97 per cent. This is a number spread by anti-vaxxers as a reason not to take it seriously. If my maths is correct, let loose in New Zealand, that would equate to around 150,000 people potentially dying. So while the survival rate does indeed sound high, 3 per cent can add up to a lot of deaths.

Common sense seems to have gone out with the contaminated wastewater. On one hand protesters are bleating that our government is bankrupting us, while putting their other hand out for a handout.

They won't get vaccinated, but will expect our health system to bend over backwards — maybe that should read 'buckle' — to give them the best care if the time comes. And for thousands upon thousands the world over, their time comes way too soon.

In one report at the end of September, just one of the 112 people who had been in hospital in the latest outbreak in Auckland was fully vaccinated, while 90 had no vaccination. No-brainer. Which is what it appears some people seem to have.

Now I'm reading post after post on that bastion of reliable news, Facebook, 'what a sad day this is' for all those who have lost their jobs. I'm more thinking, what a sad day this is for all those people who have lost their lives! And they will continue to do so whenever unvaccinated people continue to move about.

On a day-to-day basis, we are all victims of our environment — inhaling petrol fumes, agricultural spray drift, swallowing pharmaceuticals, antibiotics — the list goes on.

And while many choose to smoke cigarettes, vape, eat processed and non-organic food, mercury and plastic infested fish, wash and dye their hair, use deodorant and apply makeup full of chemicals — I don't. But this is way bigger than me and what I want or don't want to put in my body.

I'm not worried about 'body sovereignty'. This is about my children, grandchildren, friends, neighbours and community. I chose to roll up my sleeve for my second jab at Te Kupenga Hauora - Ahuriri's drive-through clinic at Tamatea Pak'nSave a couple of weeks ago, to try and slow this thing down, save lives and get back to our new normal. I'm also not bothered about my 'freedom' — I have plenty thank you.