The BFD | The Case for the Defence, M’Lud

I haven’t had The Vax. Not even the first one. Sorry.

There, I’ve said it. And of course, I am hiding behind a nom de plume so my employers, clients, suppliers, ISP, bankers, friends and relatives don’t drag me out onto the street and kick me to death for the greater good.

Here is the case for the defence, M’lud.

No, I am not an anti-Vaxer, I’ve been jabbed since the 1960s, and there’s a good chance vaccines have saved my life from measles, TB and whatever else I have been vaccinated against.

My kids have been jabbed since birth, although as a prerequisite I have done my research, weighed up the evidence, and decided from that. The pros of a Vitamin K shot at birth outweighed the risks, in my opinion, and so far I’ve been vindicated. And, of course, each of these jabs has been through rigorous testing over many years before being injected into me and mine.

So why haven’t I had ‘Te Vax’ myself? My kids (now grown up) have had it, but that is their decision and I absolutely agree with their right to decide their own future. But I have concerns…

Do I think Bill Gates has planted a robotic tracking device into each shot? No, of course not. Do I think Pfizer and the UN want to kill me? Don’t be absurd. Is this a step nearer to The Matrix? No, Neo. Is this an attempt to correct overpopulation? Stop it. Do I refuse vaccination because I hate Jacinda? No, I’ve never hated anyone enough to inflict damage on myself.

So why not?

For the past 40 years, I’ve been living and working in the real world. I’ve worked for big multinationals, medium-sized start-ups, and as a one-man-band. I’ve had customers who have turned over billions, and some that can barely make ends meet. Government departments, local councils, telcos, industry of every sector and scale.

What you realise in the real world is that the people, companies and sectors you deal with vary. Anyone who has done a ‘Sales 101’ course knows about personality types and how to sell to them. Every salesman loves the ‘early adopters’. They are the ones that see a new technology/feature/shiny-thing and they want it now. They don’t care about the risk that it might leave them exposed (BetaMax anyone?); they are prepared to contribute towards the R&D costs to be the first in the door. Early adopters of the iPhone back in the late 2000s paid the national debt of Bolivia for the privilege. Why do they do it? Kudos, adventurism, and the fear of missing out all weigh heavily.

The majority then follow. They’ve found out that the technology works pretty much as described, they’ve read the reviews, and the price has come down because the R&D costs have been recouped and competition has crept in. In many cases the technology is now better than initially because long-term use has led to problems being found and corrected, and initial designs being improved upon.

Later come the laggards. By the time they adopt the technology the prices are lower still, the products more refined: proven, even. Adoption – at bargain-basement prices – might even be just before the next big thing comes in.

I understand people flocking to have the jab as soon as it became available. The amount of fear that was heaped on them by an inept government and compliant media has been intense, to say the least. If you are in your 60s/70s/80s or of minimal intelligence, and your Prime Minister tells you that you will die unless you are jabbed, then you are likely to be swayed. If your political dogma and political capital are tied up with the government’s ideology then yes, you are going to go with your political leaning and toe the party line.

Once the brave young things have taken the dip – why wouldn’t you follow? No one has had their face melt off after the jab. There isn’t a zombie apocalypse. Deal me in! Give me the free bacon butty! And now I’m one of the ‘team of five million’ and I can stick two fingers up to the Trumpist, white-supremacist, male, grey outcasts. Kick them off the plane! Make them wear a badge! Unclean! I’m in with the in-crowd!

But here I sit, watching and waiting, happy to be a laggard. I have my own health problems, and as yet no one can answer my concerns. ‘Oh, you’ll probably be okay’. ‘There’s nothing in the leaflets to say it’ll be a problem’. ‘Statistically you’re better off with the Vax’. But here’s my dilemma: my Vax reaction is unique to me. If you draw a pretty Venn diagram there will be a square of everyone in the world. Inside that will be two very small interlocking circles. One will be labelled ‘people who will die of Covid’. The other will be labelled ‘people who will die of the Covid Vax’. And there will be an intersection, ‘people who will die of Covid having had the Vax’. The bit outside the circles will be 99.7% of the square, and will be labelled ‘people who won’t die of Covid or the Vax’.

My concern is that my particular circumstances might mean that I fit in the circle that only dies because of the Vax. And the bit of the diagram that says I don’t die otherwise is pretty big. In TAB terms, odds on.

So I still sit and watch and wait. And already the science has changed, apparently. The optimum duration between jabs has changed, it seems (assuming it’s not due to delivery issues), and is now 6 weeks to give the best protection. Originally it was 2 weeks. But also, from observing countries like Israel that went hard and early on the vaccine front, it seems that protection is for a limited period only. You know, like the ‘flu jab. The UK is now giving health workers a third, ‘booster’ jab, as are parts of the US. Is anything else likely to change? Seems the early adopters’ protection might be waning, but nowhere is that story being told in the NZ media. Why is that?

If the Vax is less than a year old, and we are still finding out about its behaviour, then the long term effects are by definition unknown. Sure, the short term effects have been studied. But the long term? For all I know my ears might fall off in five years. Or I might become infertile. Or spoons might stick to me. Or more likely none of these. And while I doubt the effects could possibly come close to those of thalidomide or the original polio vaccine, I’d rather be certain before I succumb. Is that bad? I’m guessing ‘due process’ for medicines and anything else I put into my body is for a reason. Is that right, Medsafe?

And this leads to my big issue. I want the right to decide what is best for me. I want to be able to research, decide what is political BS, and come to my own educated, considered conclusion. But now others are deciding for me.

The NZ Bill of Rights says I do not have to undergo ANY medical procedure I do not want to, without prejudice. The Human Rights Act says I cannot be discriminated against for ANY reason, including my health. The Privacy Act says that my vaccination status is no one’s business except my own. But those fundamental rights have now been trampled on by Air New Zealand, restaurants in the Viaduct, and potentially anyone else who wants to – I can feel supermarkets already vying to not have my custom.

Imagine if I decided that gays/blacks/Jews/trans-genders/women/left-handers/Geminis were not allowed to set foot in my shop. I’m sure the Bill of Rights might magically apply then. But don’t worry folks, once this door has been pushed open, your turn will surely come.

What really gets my sabre rattling is that politics is probably going to force me to get the Vax against my will. My parents live overseas and are getting old. I will need to visit them at some point, or bury them. (I won’t be able to get home to support my family afterwards, but that’s another government failing.) But all airlines will band together with equivalent requirements of their ‘customers’.