COVID-19
One of the most challenging years in recent history has been 2020, with COVID-19 causing havoc throughout communities and countries across the world.
COVID-19 is no ordinary flu, with relatively high death rates (up to 40 times the death rates of seasonal influenza) and long-term health complications.
Globally, many people have had their lives turned upside down with the loss of loved ones, loss of good health, loss of employment and loss of freedoms that we have all taken for granted as governments try to grapple with the pandemic.
There is hope in Australia that the fight against this virus will be won with the introduction of a vaccine over the coming weeks.
Unfortunately, when the word vaccination is mentioned, there is an enormous upwelling of misinformation and conspiracy theories that emerge that challenge every aspect of vaccination from the so-called moral and ethical perspectives to weird and wonderful theories of microchipping on a mass scale.
This misinformation is very widespread and can be quite compelling.
With little wisps of truths, large doses of fear impregnated with a huge bolus of rubbish, many people can be swayed into believing the unbelievable.
The best place to find factual information about these vaccinations are from government websites and the World Health Organisation.
The world’s greatest medical and scientific minds are on this problem.
They are spending countless hours getting the solution to the pandemic out into the population.
People may feel a sense of distrust of governments, public officials and ‘Big Pharma’ who are expediting the process of mass vaccinations for COVID-19 but the reality is that these people and companies are backed up by the science of medicine and epidemiology.
This is beyond politics, profit and population control.
This pandemic and the solution to it in the form of a vaccine is about people and communities.
The sooner the wider population is vaccinated against COVID-19, the sooner our freedoms and freedom from fear can be realised again in a post-COVID-19 world.
I’ll be first in line for the vaccine. I hope to see you there!