The End of the Line

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The End of the Line

At a very early stage of the pandemic, the FDA in the United States released guidelines regarding domestic animals, suggesting among other things that owners keep cats inside and away from other animals or people. Although it may seem like a lifetime away at this point, one of the first reported cases of an animal being infected by the disease was a tiger at the Bronx Zoo. In turn, four more tigers and three lions all managed to test positive. Unfortunately the symptoms of COVID-19 for household cats are quite severe, including fevers, coughing, difficulty breathing, nasal congestion and discharge, vomiting and diarrhoea. It seems their poor little bodies have a particularly hard time fighting off the virus. Many readers might testify to similar experiences and lament the fact that very little can be done for your cat once it actually becomes sick.

While the reaction to the virus is significantly less severe among humans - as has been well documented at this point - it has led to both hospitalization and, in even worse cases, death for a large number of people. The fear of the virus along with a general exhaustion in regards to mask mandates, quarantines and social distancing rules has led to a vaccine being developed at record breaking speed. At least this is what the current narrative seems to be. These have promptly been distributed to countries around the world in a remarkably effective manner. The question that seems to be on everybody’s mind, which in many ways is a frightening and at times dangerous one to ask, is how far we ought to take the requirements of vaccination. It has become an increasingly divisive issue and has at times erupted into that social and political turmoil and violence which seems so indicative of our current age of interconnectedness.

I do not doubt that some if not most of you readers have gotten at least one of your doses. Some of you might even be planning on getting a third “booster shot” in the near future. For those few of you who may have read some of my other

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articles or perhaps know me personally will probably be able to guess where I stand on this issue. If not I am sure you are smart enough to figure that one out. In this article I plan to confront some of the more common arguments, as well as some misconceptions, that I have run into regarding my position. However, I would like to preface this by saying that I will not be raising doubts regarding the efficacy of the vaccines. Although one might raise some questions regarding the fact that a “booster shot” is at all necessary for a treatment that is, by definition, supposed to be permanent and the fact that this might lead to what are sometimes called “leaky vaccines”, it is simply not something that I am interested in. Furthermore, I will not be making any value judgments regarding your personal choice to take the vaccine. Instead I only hope to dispel some myths and perhaps even make you see this issue from my point of view, or at least make you understand it better.

The first and most prevalent argument that I am met with goes something like this: “You’re just an anti-vaxxer”. Interestingly this is usually where the debate ends. Whether it is intentional or not, the labelling of your interlocutor as an “anti-vaxxer” seems to be the knee jerk reaction for most people when faced with someone that is sceptical towards vaccine mandates. This is little more than a strawman, constructed in order to make your debate partner seem like somewhat of a lunatic, while simultaneously making your argument seem stronger, without actually saying much of substance. The effort by the media to conveniently lump together people that are sceptical of vaccines in general and those that are sceptical of government intrusion upon liberties has made it easy to dispel anyone that even questions a mandate as crazy. For the readers that might wonder why shaming people that question the decisions of the government might be a bad idea, I direct you towards George Orwell’s 1984.

A second argument is the one of personal and public health. One ought to take the vaccine in order to shield oneself and others from acute reactions to the virus. It would, in a sense, be the moral thing to do. As a strapping, young specimen of male physique I must admit that I do not worry too much about catching the virus. In fact, the time that I did get infected I had only a mild fever that lasted a night. So as much as somebody’s concern for my personal health is flattering, I think I would rather take my chances with the 99.98% survival rate and subsequent natural immunity. As for the issue of public health, I find it nearly laughable that anyone would believe that Big Pharmaceutical companies in the US would have any real concern for the health of the citizens of their country, not to speak of those of other nations.

If one wants to see the truly devastating results of Big Pharma’s plots one does not need to look further than the homestate of my university, West Virginia. Although a marvel of nature, its rolling hills and towering mountains hide ghost towns and devastated hollers, emptied of people. Many are dead or soon to be as a result of reliance on prescribed Oxycodone; the citizens of this already poverty stricken state suffered particularly much during the opioid crisis. This also dispels the idea that Big Pharma would be held accountable for any adverse reactions to the vaccines. The fact that thousands of people across the US have suffered like this and yet little to no legal action has taken place against these companies show just how much power they hold. Besides, there is something called informed consent which makes holding them legally liable highly unlikely. Had you asked anyone even moderately left leaning - especially in the United States - prior to the pandemic of what they thought of Big Pharma, you would be surprised if they didn’t answer by spitting on the ground. The same kinds of people are now lining up in order to not only receive the Pfizer or Johnson and Johnson vaccine, but are also campaigning for it to become practically mandatory for everyone. As for whether I am concerned about infecting those around me - perhaps specifically those that have underlying issues - I have only this to say: if you feel safer because of it, then I encourage you to do it. However, I fail to see how it is that this vaccine is effective only if every single citizen is vaccinated.

Some readers might recall - or perhaps they were told by a parent or older relative - that at one point in history, there actually was such a thing as vaccine passports. In fact, for a while, in order to board planes to travel, one was required to prevent evidence of one’s vaccination, including dates, signatures and origins of the vaccination. These International Certificates of Vaccinations (ICVs) or Yellow Cards, were a commonplace item for travellers in countries that were particularly susceptible to infectious diseases. This might even serve as a good example for some of why vaccine passports in fact would be a good and effective idea. However, I ask them to sincerely consider whether they believe that this ought to be absolutely necessary in order to even participate in society. Should I be able to get fired or removed from my place of education because I choose not to get vaccinated? Does that sound like something that someone who is truly concerned for my health would do?

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This idea that modern governments or companies have even a morsel of interest in the wellbeing of their citizens is seeming less likely for every day that passes by. If they did, would they then not instead campaign against smoking or obesity? Would they not encourage exercise, eating vegetables, drinking more water and in general improving people’s immune system naturally? Arguably this is the most effective way to prevent a severe reaction from COVID. Maybe we should just mandate daily training. Or would that be an infringement on people’s rights? If we are truly concerned about people’s health and we are willing to throw rights out the window, why not take it all the way?

At the time of writing this, protests have been taking place in several countries for months in retaliation against stringent mandates enacted by governments around the world. Thousands of people have marched through the streets of Rome to chants of “liberta!”- liberty from so-called “Green Passes”, which allow those vaccinated, recently recovered or tested to dine indoors, use long distance trains or practically any leisurely activity. Recently there seems to have been an even greater push by the Italian government to enforce the same rules, this time even covering workplaces. This has prompted a strong reaction from labour unions and prominent political movements which are now on track to strike at Trieste and Genoa, blocking operations at two of the largest ports in the Mediterranean. The strike seems to consist of both unvaccinated and vaccinated workers alike. Simultaneously at the other side of the world in the cities of Melbourne and Sydney, hundreds of thousands of people have been protesting against seemingly dystopian measures enacted by their government.

It is for these reasons that I chose to label myself as staunchly opposed to any effort to mandate a vaccine. Do I believe that there is some kind of conspiracy at work? Only if by conspiracy you mean a vicious cash grab by big pharmaceutical companies by preying on fearful citizens. I do not believe that the vaccine will sterilize all people or inoculate them with some kind of Nano-chip. I do however believe that once the powers that be get a taste for blood, it is highly unlikely they will relinquish that control. An example of a similar situation would be that little project called the US PATRIOT act, the consequences of which we are still living with. Throughout my twenty-some years of life - which is admittedly a relatively short time - I have yet to witness such a coordinated and loud movement of encouragement by social media and TV stars to do something, least of all getting a certain kind of treatment. I believe I could be forgiven for at least showing a bit of caution. It is as if a strange man is beckoning me to enter his white van, his pleas becoming increasingly hostile and desperate the more I refuse him.

When someone asks me why I have not yet gone to get the vaccine I therefore answer that it is because I am protesting. I refuse to partake in creating a system that does not recognize bodily autonomy and self-reliance. I will not participate in this game. Until talks of these stringent mandates cease, I will not be getting vaccinated. If I cannot refuse to put something in my body because I do not want to and I truly do not need it, then of what use is my will? If it does not end here at our own bodies, then where? Being ever the pessimist I unfortunately believe that it is the end of the line for people like me. It might even be too late to change anything at all. The wheels have been set in motion and soon a time will come when people’s true colours will be revealed.

By Luke Litvinov