I applied for the coronavirus vaccine, I’ll tell you why

I could not say that I belong to the vulnerable age group: I am young, I do not have any known underlying disease, I pay attention to healthy eating and also train actively (although the workouts done at home since March can be considered active). However, I don’t necessarily feel safe: if I do contract the coronavirus, I may not even realize it, but I could also go through the disease with much more severe symptoms, as we have unfortunately seen in several younger patients. Not to mention the non-reassuring news that the virus can have many long-term side effects, even for a healthy body.

But I have an even greater fear: Even if I contract the virus asymptomatically or with mild symptoms, I still have the risk of transmitting it to my other compatriots, to my elderly relatives, which I definitely want to avoid. I am one of those who, perhaps without exaggeration, take this virus more seriously than the average (continuous use of masks since March, disinfection of purchased products, etc.). I have minimized the number of my contacts, I have not met my distant relatives for months. For many, such a “way of life” can be shocking, as I know people whose lives have largely remained unchanged due to the pandemic.

I have been living in this “new life situation” for months, though this life is not what i want at all. I am tired of the virus and the fact that it determines my life at the moment and I have to adapt to it. Or rather, no, you don’t have to, I chose this path. Why? To protect myself, my loved ones, and other people because social responsibility is important to me.

Now, however, there are promising vaccines in the world, so there is hope that this period, which is by no means a normal way of life in my interpretation, may end. The efficacy of vaccines with higher transparency and western vaccines (mRNA: Moderna, Pfizer) using new technology is very high, to our knowledge, we can trust their effectiveness and expect their safety. Tens of thousands of people have already been tested for these vaccines, which is a large enough sample in terms of results, which means that we will NOT be the next test subject. Sure, that doesn’t mean a 100% guarantee either, but if he does get infected with the virus, can anyone be sure that there will be nothing wrong with him and whoever he transmits it to?

Of course, there are risks, such as the fact that this technology has not been used widely before, and the long-term (side) effects will only be known for years, even decades, if they are known at all, but we don’t have that long to wait. There are those who fear that these vaccines have developed too fast, even though it used to take years to achieve such results, but let’s not forget (and this opinion is shared by several virologists) that we have much more advanced technologies now than 10 years ago, plus La The pandemic has directed enormous attention and resources to vaccine development.

THEREFORE, FOR THOSE WHO REALLY REJECT THE POSSIBILITY OF VACCINATION, THE QUESTION ARISES: WHAT DO YOU EVER WAIT, WHAT DO YOU WAIT FOR A SOLUTION? How will the virus disappear from the world by magic?

Or are they also reinforcing the field of those who believe it is also “just a little flu”? The “influenza A virus” that causes the Spanish flu has also not disappeared from the world, causing pandemics decades later. We are not experts in epidemics, but we probably cannot expect much from the coronavirus either.

In the end I see two roads:

• or you get caught and you see what happens (over time, there seems to be little chance of avoiding it, especially for someone who wants to live an active life),
• Or get vaccinated and trust it will work.

I would choose the latter, protecting myself and my loved ones, because I think the risk from the vaccine is lower than from the virus itself. Buying time can be useful, of course (more medical ability, more experience, knowledge of the virus), but I ask, for how long? Personally I feel more secure as a result of the hard work of scientists than living by “what will be”.

As far as we know, I clearly classify Western vaccines as more transparent vaccines, as the Russians and the Chinese have “won” the vaccine development competition by skipping a number of important phases of development, so they are rigorously testing the vaccines. who do not want to be subject.

So if I get a chance to get one of the transparent vaccines in Hungary, I won’t think for a minute whether I should get vaccinated. That is why I requested the vaccine and would be willing to pay for it.

but only for a vaccine that I consider safe that I can choose.

Cover image: Getty Images