Tag nu den vaccine, så vi kan komme videre!

Det er en privatsag, hvad man mener og tror, så længe det ikke skader andre. Men det gør afvisningen af covid-19-vaccinen, og det bør have konsekvenser.

Tegning: Rasmus Sand Høyer

DESIREE OHRBECK

cand.mag., Seattle

»Vi var bange. Vi arbejder ikke i sundhedsvæsnet. Det eneste, jeg vidste, var, hvad mine venner på de sociale medier og mine online mødregrupper sagde. Vi var bange for, at det var for tidligt, det gik for stærkt med den vaccine.« CNN-programmet ”Out Front” interviewede for nylig kvinden April, hvis 59-årige ellers sunde og raske mor nu ligger på hospitalet med covid-19 på 159. døgn.

Samme holdning, altså at det er gået for stærkt, og at vi ikke ved nok om de langtrækkende konsekvenser af vaccinen, kan jeg nu også høre i den danske debat. Hvordan ikke-viden kan stå så stærkt – de interviewede siger jo selv, at de ikke er uddannede sundhedsfagligt – kan man kun himle med øjnene over. Hvornår er information om vacciner, som diverse internettrolde uden nogen form for faglig viden tilvejebringer, blevet en lige så legitim videns- og argumentationskilde som sundhedsfaglig og forskningsbaseret viden?

Det er godt at ville tilegne sig viden, men det er ikke al viden, man tilegner sig, der faktuelt er evidensbaseret. Blot fordi det står sort på hvidt eller kommer ud af en karismatisk personlighed, bliver det ikke til en sandhed – det har jeg erfaret, både som tidligere Jehovas Vidne og som bosiddende i USA under Trump.

Det er sagt mange gange, men det kan åbenbart ikke siges for tit: Der er blevet forsket i mRNA-vaccinationer i mere end 10 år. Desuden viser den hurtige udvikling af vaccinerne, at det hjælper med offentlige støttemidler. Jeg siger sjældent noget positivt om Trump, men han brugte 18 mia. dollars på at sætte skub i en hurtig udvikling af vaccinen – for han vidste nemlig godt, hvor fuldstændigt vanvittigt slemt, det kunne gå. Projektet blev brandet som Operation Warp Speed.

Det er tragisk for April og hendes familie, at moren ligger dødssyg på hospitalet. Det er en tragedie for hver eneste familie, der bliver ramt. Men det kan være svært at finde empatien for lige præcis mennesker som April, når man ved, at det var et bevidst valg ikke at blive vaccineret.

Frygt og skepsis afholder mange fra at lade sig vaccinere. Det samme gør konspirationsteorier. Derfor ligger Aprils mor og 20.000 andre amerikanere på hospitalet med en af de nu efterhånden talrige SARS-CoV-2-varianter. Aprils familiebillede består nu ikke af en glad poserende familie i smuk natur. I stedet holder hun et indrammet familiefoto op for skærmen, hvor en hvid hospitalsseng dominerer. Skal det virkelig så tæt på, før vi føler, det har noget med os at gøre? Før vi føler en forpligtelse til at yde vores del? Er vi virkelig så ligeglade med vores næste eller vores næstes næste?

Jeg og millioner af andre borgere vil gerne vil kunne færdes frit igen – og føle os trygge, når vi gør det. Men fordi en lille gruppe mener, at de har ret til at lade deres personlige og temmelig fejloplyste valg dominere alle os andre, så er mit og mine børns liv og bevægelsesfrihed begrænset. Hvad siger det om vore evne til empati og ja, jeg tillader mig at bruge store ord, næstekærlighed, at vi ikke kan lade os besvære med at yde en indsats, hvis vi ikke synes, situationen har noget med os og vores kære at gøre, og derfor ikke handler?

Jeg bor i USA. Her har vi virkelig følt konsekvenserne af pandemien. Jeg var villig til at gøre det, der skulle til, og lade mig begrænse, da alt her var kaos, og vi ikke havde adgang til vacciner. Folk døde som fluer, det var skræmmende. Vi isolerede os, havde børnene hjemme fra skole i halvandet år, sås ikke med venner, gik ikke til hverken sociale eller sportslige begivenheder, fik alt leveret til døren. Det var ikke let, men vi var indforståede med, at det var nødvendigt i den givne situation. Videnskaben skulle have mulighed for at indhente dette dræbermonster, og imens måtte vi hjælpes ad og hver især yde vores, så færrest muligt blev smittet og døde.

Virussen er stadig et stort problem. I visse områder i USA er graden af vaccinerede under 25 pct. 99 pct. af dem, der ender på hospitalet, er ikke vaccinerede. Europa har stadig store problemer med virus, især vinder den nye Delta-variant frem. Det samme har Brasilien, Indien, store dele af Afrika, Japan – listen er lang. Adgangen til vacciner er mange steder et problem, men det er den ikke her i USA. Her kan du til hver en tid valse ind fra gaden uden at have bestilt tid og blive vaccineret på et vaccinationssted eller dit lokale apotek. Det er tilmed gratis.

Min tålmodighed og forståelse er brugt op. Vælger du ikke at lade dig vaccinere, er det kun rimeligt, at det får konsekvenser for dig – ikke for mig. Jeg og millioner af andre har gjort det, der kunne forventes i form af at holde afstand, lide afsavn og forholde os til konsekvenserne for vores børn, der ikke har haft noget socialt liv i over et år.

Vi har i vores familie ladet os vaccinere. Så vi alle kan komme videre, så vi kan få vores liv tilbage, sørge for, at så få som muligt ikke får denne dræber af en sygdom. Nu må skeptikerne gøre deres del – om ikke andet så for deres egen skyld. Delta-varianten er anderledes end den variant, vi så for et år siden – den er langt mere aggressiv og rammer yngre befolkningsgrupper hårdt. Hvem ved, hvilken endnu mere forfærdelig variant vi bliver introduceret for i morgen?

Kære vaccinationsmodstander: Din insisteren på et frit valg skal ikke påvirke mit frie valg og mine livsmuligheder. Du må selvfølgelig gøre, som du synes – men det vil jeg ikke hæmmes af. Det bliver jeg dog – men ikke så meget længere, håber jeg. Så længe, der ikke er sat beslutninger i spil, der hæmmer muligheden for, at vaccinemodstandere kan færdes frit til fare for os andre og vores kære, er jeg nødt til at indrette mig. Det er bøllekultur, og det skal stoppe.

Den offentlige sektor i Danmark er enorm. Det kan med fordel udnyttes i forhold til at øge vaccinationsgraden i befolkningen. Så snart alle danske borgere har haft mulighed for at modtage vaccinen, skal offentligt ansatte – minus dem, der af helbredsmæssige årsager ikke kan – være vaccineret for at få lov til at gå på arbejde. Vil en medarbejder ikke det, skal han eller hun fyres.

Private institutioner her i USA har set lyset. Måske ud fra deres gode hjerter, måske fordi det koster en formue økonomisk og i omtale, når de sender medarbejdere hjem i isolation. Grunden er ligegyldig, så længe målet nås. For private virksomheder er det logik for burhøns, at de stiller krav om vaccination til deres medarbejdere.

Det er ens private sag, hvad man mener og tror, så længe det ikke skader andre. Men det gør afvisningen af covid-19-vaccinen. Hvis du ikke vil vaccineres, så er det fair, at du ikke må gå på arbejde eller færdes på steder, hvor du sætter andres liv i fare.

Jeg vil gerne af med min maske. Jeg vil gerne igen kunne færdes frit i det offentlige rum. Det samme ønsker jeg for mine børn og mine medborgere. Jeg har gjort min del. Det burde give visse frihedsrettigheder.

Men lige nu vægter konsekvenserne af vaccinemodstandernes frihedsrettigheder tungere end mine. Deres personlige frie valg er mere værd end mit. Det burde være omvendt. Deres fravalg af vaccinen burde have betydning for, hvor de kan færdes.

Få nu bare den vaccination, hvis ikke for fællesskabets skyld, så i det mindste for din egen bevægelsesfriheds.

Just get the vaccine already so we can move on!

It is a private matter what one thinks and believes, as long as it does not harm others. But that´s just it, though, because rejecting the covid-19 vaccine does, and that ought to have consequences.

“We were scared. We do not work in healthcare. The only thing I knew was what my friends on social media and my online mother groups were saying. We were afraid it was too early, that vaccine went too fast. “The CNN program” Out Front “recently interviewed the woman April , whose 59-year-old otherwise healthy mother is now in hospital with covid-19 at 159. day. 

The same attitude, ie that it has gone too fast, and that we do not know enough about the long-term consequences of the vaccine, I can now also hear in the Danish debate. How non-knowledge can be so strong – the interviewees themselves say that they are not educated in health sciences – can only be glared at. When has information about vaccines provided by various internet trolls without any kind of professional knowledge become as legitimate a source of knowledge and argumentation as health professional and research-based knowledge?

It is good to want to acquire knowledge, but not all knowledge that one acquires is factually evidence-based. Just because it’s black and white or comes out of a charismatic personality does not make it a truth – I’ve learned that, both as a former Jehovah’s Witness and as a resident of the United States under Trump.

It has been said many times, but it obviously cannot be said too often: mRNA vaccinations have been researched for more than 10 years. In addition, the rapid development of the vaccines shows that it helps with public funding. I rarely say anything positive about Trump, but he spent $ 18 billion. dollars to boost the rapid development of the vaccine – because he knew very well how completely insanely bad it could go. The project was branded as Operation Warp Speed.

It is tragic for April and her family that her mother is dying in hospital. It is a tragedy for every single family that is affected. But it can be hard to find empathy for just exactly people like April when you know it was a conscious choice not to get vaccinated.

Fear and skepticism deter many from getting vaccinated. So do conspiracy theories. That’s why April’s mother and 20,000 other Americans are in the hospital with one of the now numerous SARS-CoV-2 variants. April’s family picture now does not consist of a happy posing family in beautiful nature. Instead, she holds up a framed family photo in front of the screen, with a white hospital bed dominating. Does it really have to get that close before we feel it has anything to do with us? Before we feel an obligation to do our part? Are we really that indifferent to our neighbor or our neighbor’s neighbor? 

I and millions of other citizens want to be able to move freely again – and feel safe when we do. But because a small group believes they have the right to let their personal and rather misinformed choices dominate the rest of us, my and my children’s lives and freedom of movement are limited. What does it say about our ability to empathize and yes, I allow myself to use big words, charity, that we can not let ourselves be bothered to make an effort if we do not think the situation has anything to do with us and our loved ones, and therefore do not act?

I live in the United States. Here we have really felt the consequences of the pandemic. I was willing to do what needed to be done and let myself be limited as everything here was chaos and we did not have access to vaccines. People died like flies, it was scary. We isolated ourselves, had the kids home from school for a year and a half, did not see friends, did not go to either social or sporting events, got everything delivered to the door. It was not easy, but we agreed that it was necessary in the given situation. Science should have the opportunity to catch up with this killer monster, and meanwhile we had to be helped along and each provide ours so that as few as possible became infected and died.

The virus is still a major problem. In some areas of the United States, the rate of vaccination is below 25 percent. 99 pct. of those who end up in the hospital are not vaccinated. Europe still has major problems with viruses, especially the new Delta variant is gaining ground. The same goes for Brazil, India, large parts of Africa, Japan – the list is long. Access to vaccines is a problem in many places, but it is not here in the United States. Here you can at any time roll in from the street without having booked an appointment and be vaccinated at a vaccination site or your local pharmacy. It’s even free.

My patience and understanding have been used up. If you choose not to be vaccinated, it is only fair that it has consequences for you – not for me. I and millions of others have done what could be expected in terms of keeping distance, suffering deprivation and dealing with the consequences for our children who have had no social life for over a year. 

We in our family have been vaccinated. So we can all move on so we can get our lives back, make sure that as few as possible do not get this killer of a disease. Now the skeptics have to do their part – if only for their own sake. The Delta variant is different from the variant we saw a year ago – it is far more aggressive and hits younger populations hard. Who knows what even more awful variant we will be introduced to tomorrow?

Dear vaccination opponent: Your insistence on a free choice should not affect my free choice and my life options. You must, of course, do as you please – but I will not be hampered by that. I will be, though – but not so much anymore, I hope. As long as there are no decisions in play that hamper the possibility that vaccine opponents can move freely to the danger of the rest of us and our loved ones, I have to adjust. It’s bullying culture and it’s going to stop.

The public sector in Denmark is huge. It can be used to advantage in relation to increasing the vaccination rate in the population. As soon as all Danish citizens have had the opportunity to receive the vaccine, public employees – minus those who for health reasons can not – must be vaccinated to be allowed to go to work. If an employee does not want to, he or she must be fired.

Private institutions here in the United States have seen the light of day. Maybe from their good hearts, maybe because it costs a fortune financially and in publicity when they send employees home in isolation. The reason does not matter as long as the goal is reached. For private companies, it is logical for caged hens that they require vaccination for their employees.

It is one’s private matter what one thinks and believes, as long as it does not harm others. But so does the rejection of the covid-19 vaccine. If you do not want to be vaccinated, then it is fair that you must not go to work or move to places where you endanger the lives of others. 

I want to get rid of my mask. I would like to be able to move freely in public space again. I want the same for my children and my fellow citizens. I’ve done my part. It should grant certain freedoms.

But right now, the consequences of the freedom rights of vaccine opponents weigh heavier than mine. Their personal free choice is worth more than mine. It should be the other way around. Their opt-out of the vaccine should have an impact on where they can go.

Just get that vaccination, if not for the sake of the community, then at least for your own freedom of movement.

(Google translate)