Editor,
“We don’t know what we have till it’s gone.” But, is it necessary that one has to go through that path of unimaginable sorrow like the loss of someone very precious to them, or does one have to suffer a dreaded disease or face death and come out alive, for us to be thankful? I believe not.
“My body, my right”, I said that too… I felt it too. I was skeptical of the speed at which the vaccine was developed. I had doubts about the effectiveness. Like most people I too was fearful of the side effects. I may have even thought that Covid-19 was a sham and a scam. I may not understand what is going on in all our minds, but I can relate to it.
I am a doctor of medicine working at the very eye of the storm. In the last few months I have seen things which I’d never wish upon anyone. But if a medical practitioner like me can have reservations about a scientifically developed vaccine with proven benefits, which have the ability to change the very course of this pandemic, then like I stated earlier – I can relate.
But I could not let these personal skepticisms stand in the way of protecting my family and myself. Science and facts overpowered personal opinions and logic, so I got myself and my family vaccinated.
Will it keep us safe from infection? I don’t know. Will it have irreversible side effects? Time will tell. Science says it may prevent devastating effects of the disease. It says it will help prevent the spread. It says it will help us come out of this pandemic and lockdown on life as we know it. If there is even a 1 per cent chance of offering us a new lease of normalcy I have taken it. Isn’t that what we are all hoping and looking forward to?
Let us all come together, old and young, religious leaders, elected representatives, village headmen and medics. Let us create more awareness amongst the masses. We can lose this together or we can win this together – one vaccine at a time. Praying and hoping for normal days again
