When I started writing my blog it was mainly to document my journey through medicine from a patient’s perspective. As it developed it became somewhat of a commentary on medicine from my perspective, trying to keep it sensible, intelligent and thought provoking. Never did I think it would have to become political, yet thanks to COVID19, medicine and politics have never been more intertwined.
Sadly, the reason that it is a political is because our decision makers have decided to play politics rather than make decisions in the best interest of their country. But today, I’m going to talk about vaccines.
To start I want to just clear up exactly what my personal opinion is on vaccines is:-
1. I am pro-vaccine.
2. I am pro COVID19 vaccine.
3. I am anti mandatory vaccination.
So what am I trying to achieve in this blog? Even though I believe everyone that can be vaccinated should be vaccinated I don’t want to try and convince you of that. What I want to do is try to get you to think critically about the information in front of you and available to you and then make an informed opinion. So I won’t be giving you a link to check out or asking you to read a certain article. If you truly want to be informed you have to find the information yourself, not simply what someone gives you. It is also perfectly okay not to inform yourself. Just know that your opinion is uninformed and you should just keep it to yourself.
What should you do to inform yourself? First, it is important to find the primary data sources. If you are listening to someone that said they read on the internet that….. You are at least three degrees separated from the original data. First degree, the journalist interpreting the data (which you’re not sure whether it is the primary research or not), second, your mate reading the article and third, your friend telling you. Three points where the information could be distorted or manipulated.
When it comes to the vaccine the primary data is what the biotech companies publish, so make sure that what you read is also in a reputable journal and it has been peer reviewed. Unfortunately, there is always going to be an element of trust that the company has conducted their research ethically and truthfully but that is why it is important to make sure that the data is extensively peer reviewed.
When you review the data, the hardest thing is to divorce yourself from any preconceived opinions you might have had. You need to try and be as rational and impartial as possible and once you start developing an opinion you need to thoroughly scrutinise it because nobody can objectively and forcefully argue that they are right until they have seriously considered that they might be wrong.
Once that process is finished, you may wish to discuss this with family and friends and provided you can do so in an amicable and cordial manner with people that may disagree with you. If you cannot find anyone to discuss this with you can always go and see your GP. They are more than willing to discuss this with you in a safe and rational environment.
Lastly it is okay to change your mind. Information is changing and being updated all the time and this is normal. As time goes by, more data is added, and this changes what we know. As this natural process happens we have to adapt with our knowledge. If our firm belief based on what we knew is no longer viable given the introduction of new evidence we have to change our mind. This is not a sign of weakness or failure. This is actually a sign of strength. To admit you were wrong and be able to move past it is a sign of great intelligence. And this is why we have to keep scrutinising our beliefs no matter how intrenched and firm our beliefs are.
Next time I’ll be a little more opinionated and take you through my thought process when it came to the COVID19 vaccinations.
Until then, Stay well
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