Category: Current Affairs

COVID-19 vaccination

On Wednesday I got my COVID-19 vaccination. I recorded some short videos for my instagram story and I’ve created a highlight including them all – click here.

My understanding is if you’re not vaccinated, you can have COVID and not know for 2-14 days. You can then still be contagious for 10 days.

If you’re vaccinated and you “catch” it, you’re only contagious for a couple of days whilst your body fights it off. During that time you would have a much lower viral load (so less likely to pass it on to others and less severe) and you’d only be contagious for a few days.

It also means (with the vaccine) you’re 70-95% less likely to get it (depending on the brand of vaccination), and very unlikely to be hospitalised (according to a study I read of 11,000 people, no-one who got COVID after receiving the vaccination was hospitalised).

I’ve had my first dose, and honestly, I’d have it even if it were less effective. I’d hate myself if I gave it to someone and they died or got long COVID or serious after effects.

It’s a lottery how it affects people. Of course, there’s older people (as old as 80-100) who are surviving COVID, but there’s people in their 20s dying who had no underlying health issues. I know a lot of people (through work, and friends) who’ve had very serious side effects from COVID, one lady in particular was just 33, very active and healthy and now cannot breathe when she lies on one side, as one of her lungs is so damaged from COVID.

Lockdown Lows

When Coronavirus/COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 struck the UK in March 2020 and we were plunged into a “lockdown”, it was a strange time.

Initially, there were some scary moments. Learning that those who had the virus would normally show symptoms after 5 days, but it could take up to 14 days to surface, caused many into a panic. The sensible consensus was; act as though you have it and assume everyone else has it.

In the UK scores of people began “panic buying”, many situations descending into chaos. Rumours of toilet roll made in China being destroyed meant everyone rushed out and bought 128, because that’s exactly how many a family of 4 uses in a month /s

My parents are older, and one has health conditions that place them in the “at risk” category more than once. As I insisted to friends and family to isolate, I shopped for friends and family more vulnerable than myself. I searched high and low for magical toilet roll once! A few 6am shopping trips were made. It was more stressful than it should have been.

Fast forward 4/5 months… and lockdown in being eased in some areas and made tighter in others. There’s frictions as some people try to “get back to normal” and others shout “but, nothing’s changed”.

Reflecting on the last 6 months, I’ve not coped well. Work has been overwhelming. Providing emotional support for those around me (through work, friends and family) has been beyond exhausting. It’s taught me that I encourage people around me to call me, text me, let me know their troubles, ask for help… but I don’t do the same.

Parts of lockdown, I think I shut down. Just worked and slept, auto piloted until Friday night video chats. Avoided 1:1 contact. In hindsight, it was lonely, I isolated myself. I’ve never been the best at texting people, I never think I have anything interesting to say, but I’m making a ¾ year resolution to text people, to let people in, to reach out.