By Vernetta R. Freeney
March 2020 was the culmination of slow, poor decisions and an unprepared global society. One day we’re living life as we each do and the next people are buying up toilet paper and hoarding it. While others thought we’d only be stuck in the house a few weeks, maybe a month at most. Then the tide grew wider and uglier.
Fast forward to January 2021 and vaccines are beginning to roll out to healthcare professionals. And with the inauguration of a new President he made it a priority for the most vulnerable and eventually everyone by May 2021.
As soon as I was allowed to register on the Houston Health waitlist for a vaccine, I did. I received my first jab in April and my second in May 2021.
Now I’m a person who is absolutely afraid of needles. I legit cry in public when receiving any type of shot. And it’s best if someone holds my hand too. So I was anxious about having to go alone to receive the vaccine. But I did it. I pushed through my fear and got 2 jabs. In my right shoulder, y’all.
Here’s why I chose to get vaccinated:
- My mom is part of the vulnerable health compromised population. I didn’t want to put my mom’s health at risk even if needles scare me. Having my mom here as long as possible is worth more than anything. It would be extremely selfish of me not to think of my mother when it came time for me to be eligible to get vaccinated.
- I understand that a virus is airborne. There’s no way we can see it to stop it like swatting a fly. Over the course of 2020 we saw how aggressive the COVID virus became. Masks are a solid protective barrier but they’re not enough alone. A vaccine would ensure that transmission of the virus diminishes.
- I personally saw and know people who caught COVID and it devastated their body. How they were in painful agony. One person told me it was the worst experience of his life. The touch and go of another who was on the brink of not making it. The uncertainty of someone you know suffering and there’s no help you can provide but to pray, make them comfortable and rely on others is nerve-wracking to say the least. We lost too many people needlessly. And it didn’t have to be that way.
As a society we have to make a community collective care decision. We can’t say we love our neighbors let alone our own children if we choose not to do all that we can to protect ourselves and them with a vaccine as the strongest solution to the problem right now.
I’ve partnered with National Black Cultural Information Trust in their Inform Unite Heal campaign to share why I chose to get vaccinated as well as provide crucial data-driven information to help you make a more informed decision. Please check out the information they provide so you can help yourself find a vaccination location, speak to family/friends who are hesitant as well as see how it’s affecting our community.
I implore you to not consume social media “experts” who lack the credentials to share. But those who have studied virology and share that information with us.
My hope is you do choose to get vaccinated so we can begin the emotional healing and economic recovery journey to strengthen our community.
Originally published on VernettaRFreeney.com.
