Happiness Is Being Fully Vaxxed

Image: Finn Johansen

Can you keep a secret?

I’m fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

It’s not much of a secret. Telling you (or anybody else) doesn’t violate HIPAA privacy rules because I’m not a doctor sharing confidential medical information about some other patient. This is between you and me and the Internet.

While vaccines were being developed, I listened to scientists and medical experts in the field of infectious diseases and pandemics. I read articles about the efficacy of vaccines and how they effectively ended polio and other childhood diseases of bygone days. I paid attention to the FDA, WHO, and CDC, the recognized leaders who make these monumental decisions for citizens.

Thank you for sending me the link to a post that your uncle in a trailer park in Missouri shared on Facebook from “Real America, Real News” about how Bill Gates wants to implant people with nanobots. I checked the source — it’s based in Russia and known for pro-Trump, anti-science conspiracy theories — and deleted it without wasting another second of my time.

A college friend forwarded an online petition entitled “Patriots For Personal Liberty Against The Radical Left-Wing’s Vaccination Agenda.” He probably didn’t realize that the website soliciting signatures required personal information including email, home address…