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Originally Posted by S3X_Jay
I came out in the middle of the AIDS crisis and had a lover die of AIDS when I was still in my 20s. I cared for him to the end. So I take pandemics seriously. I was also told I had a brain tumor at the age of 18. 22 years later they said it was just a scar, but I've thought a fair amount about my own mortality.
What I learned from the AIDS epidemic is that you listen to science and do risk reduction. So I simply stopped indoor activities with people other than my husband. I still did stuff with my cycling club. And took commuter rail trains and the subway to go on bike rides since neither had been identified as particularly risky. The big "splurge" was going to spend the weekend with a friend and her daughter. But we knew they were low risk as were were and we got tested a couple days before. And of course I put on a mask when outside my home (though not for exercise).
And having had my lover die a year before ARVs came out, when the vaccines came out for COVID and they were 95% effective I got even stricter about risk. My motto was "you don't want to be the person who dies a week before he could have gotten a vaccine". Been there, done that with my lover. Lesson learned. (Though the AIDS crisis was completely different - it's not like he took risk at a time when there was any real hope.)
So it's not like my life stopped. But certain things stopped. I was fine with that but I look forward to having a full life again.
As far as people who didn't stop their lives… I wasn't going to be one of those people for three reasons - 1) my life is worth more than that, 2) I have a problem with killing other people, which is exactly what can happen if you pass it onto someone else, and 3) the pandemic ends more quickly and it's less severe if everyone just sucks it up and does what's best for the community (e.g. like they've done in Taiwan and New Zealand).
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Going through what you have with the AIDS epidemic and losing someone is life changing I can imagine. It would of course lead you to the conclusion that you should reduce risk and listen to the doctors to make yourself better. To contemplate your mortality and see the world differently afterwards. I can fully relate and agree.
I think that if you want to take the vaccine and feel it will protect you then that is the right choice.
My only gripe was about the fact that we can't "discuss" what the right choice is nowadays. That there are thousands of scientists who don't get any airtime because they don't hold the mainstream opinion. Not that the vaccine is bad, but why can't we even question it? That's pretty much what science is all about. Questioning and questioning some more.
Like you I too want to NOT hurt people, but my belief is that these measures are hurting more people and they are doing more harm than good.
On the vaccine front, I'm happy it's working and feel that it's a "good thing" it's available.
Again, I want to know why if I ask certain questions of it am I dismissed or lumped into the anti vaxer crowd when I am pro vaccine and not against people taking this at all.
My conclusion is that this covid issue has become political and emotional, and once that happens it's hard for people to see clearly enough to have a discussion and make the best decisions.
Emotional decisions cost us even though we all do that everyday of our lives.