Science wins vs ignorance

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.”

—Albert Einstein

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

AFTER two years of being battered by Covid-19 that killed some 5.6 million people and infected at least 351 million people worldwide, some countries are reportedly beginning to recover from the pandemic.

This positive development became possible because of medical science, when health experts were able to produce the vaccines that finally helped stop the pandemic on its tracks, at least with good results in many countries where the vaccines have been successfully rolled out.

Most of those who have been inoculated were the ones who survived when the deadliest waves of variants slammed the humanity these past months with horrific results.

Most of those who either died or landed in the hospitals, statistics showed, were those who either refused the vaccines even if they were available, or weren’t vaccinated because of different circumstances.       

Ignorance became one of the major factors why some of those who shunned and denounced the Covid-19 vaccines suffered the worst. 

Science has triumphed over ignorance.

 

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If we know nothing about medical science, the least we can do is to trust the medical experts—the scientists, instead of embracing unproven negative allusions and outlandish theories that only exacerbated our ignorance and put to risk the public health.

I believe the health experts when they exhorted us amid the pandemic that getting vaccinated against Covid-19 can lower our risk of getting and spreading the virus that causes Covid-19. 

Experts have repeatedly asserted that vaccines can also help prevent serious illness and death.

Also, all steps have been taken to ensure that vaccines are safe and effective for people ages five years and older.

If we already had Covid-19, we should still get a Covid-19 vaccine for added protection, according to the medical experts. 

When we are up to date on Covid-19 vaccination, we can resume many activities with proper precautions like mask wearing in indoor public spaces.

As simple as that. There’s no need to argue and fight if this is all about public health. 

We must show that we belong instead of being rebellious and acting geniuses over matters we actually don’t have any expertise.

 

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I believe, and I never doubt from the beginning, when medical experts claimed that Covid-19 vaccination is a safer way to build protection. 

Getting a Covid-19 vaccination is a safer way to build protection than getting sick with Covid-19, we have been told by medical experts. 

Covid-19 vaccination helps protect us by creating an antibody response without us having to experience sickness, added the medical experts. It has been proven anywhere in the world that getting sick with Covid-19 can have serious consequences.

Getting sick with Covid-19 can cause severe illness or death, even in children, and we can’t reliably predict who will have mild or severe illness.

The guidelines and warnings by medical experts are very basic and easy to understand and there is no reason to oppose them not unless we can offer the best solutions other than the ones being given by the medical experts.

We may have long-term health issues after Covid-19 infection, and even those who do not have symptoms when they are initially infected can have these ongoing health problems.

People who are sick with Covid-19 may spread Covid-19 to others including friends and family who are not eligible for vaccination and people at increased risk for severe illness from Covid-19.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)