Sherman Frederick/Properly Subversive
Vaccination season is upon us once again and I am sure many readers are faced with questions about whether to get the flu shot and/or the COVID-19 shot.
Sherman Frederick
I just returned from my GP’s office where I did, indeed, get the flu shot. I have gotten them every year for decades and for the most part have avoided bad cases of the flu.
So, I’m sticking with the “so far so good” philosophy.
As for the COVID jab, well, that’s a different story
I was fully vaccinated until last October when I decided there were too many question marks floating around. I took the year off.
So, I asked my doctor about the shot this year.
He recommends it. I am 73 with a heart history. My doc says that if I were younger and not a cardiac patient I might scoot by without the booster. He says: “You’ve had a good run, a booster can’t hurt.”
I wonder about that.
While I don’t disregard my doctor lightly, I’m still deciding. There are many stories out there about the side-effects of the COVID shot. And there’s at least one good study that indicates the shot may be responsible for the sudden statistical increase in cardiac arrests among healthy, very fit men.
I know one person who was active and fit before taking the shot. In 12 months he had a stent in his artery. And, his Las Vegas doctor has told him not to get the COVID shot again.
I am skeptical about the federal authorities willingness to be honest and a-political about the shot. Remember, the Biden Administration tried to clamp down on medical opinions that contradicted the “science” as seen by the federal government. Thanks to Elon Musk buying Twitter, we may never have known about that censorship. In California, the state passed a law that would revoke the medical licenses of doctors who gave COVID advice that departed from the state’s position on the pandemic.
I’m also puzzled by the apparent duplicity of the federal health authorities issuing “hair-on-fire” warnings about higher COVID death risks for Blacks and Hispanics, but then not mandating vaccinations for them. Remember, the crack Biden Administration did that only 24 months ago for the military personnel.
Now they don’t.
What’s changed?
I also wonder why “The Jab” isn’t required for all illegal aliens seeking to live in the United States. That would be good for all, right?
The medical advice doesn’t match up with the response, or lack thereof.
I have questions.
So, I’ll get the flu shot because I have a long track record with it. COVID? I just don’t know yet. And, I’ll bet I’m not the only one.
HEALTH REPORTING
On a tangential issued, I hope all journalists on the health-care beat treat government information on COVID with healthy skepticism. Don’t take it at face value. Question everything.
I say this because the federal government and journalism institutions, such as Poynter, are now holding hands to “train” journalists on vaccinations. That’s good … and scary.
Good journalists should broaden their sources beyond the “party line.” That’s all I’m saying.
Now, more than ever, we need accurate reporting that holds government health officials far more accountable than they were during the pandemic. That’s how I’m seeing it.
(Thanks for reading. You can find more work from the pen of Sherman Frederick at ShermanFrederick.substack.com. You can reach him via email at shermfredrick@gmail.com.)
ONE MORE THING
