It pays to listen to your doctor.
A Foothills area doctor, Adam Vyse, closed 2020 by receiving his COVID-19 vaccination on Dec. 29 in Calgary.
It’s a positive note to end the year as people in long-term care, front-line workers begin to get the literal shot in the arm to start putting COVID-19, while not in the rear-view mirror, at least closer to the back burner.
It is anticipated that as Canada, and Alberta get more vaccines, shots will be made available to the general public in the summer or early fall of 2021.
There’s been no indication that the shots will be made mandatory so it will be up to Jane and John Q. Public to decide whether they want themselves – and members of their family – vaccinated.
It is – and should be – a personal and family matter.
Hopefully, not only will it be a personal decision, but one that is based on research and sound logic.
The Primary Care Network, hosted an online Q&A on Dec. 21, in which doctors from the area, including Vyse who resides just outside Okotoks, discussed the vaccine.
Topics included debunking some of the myths of the vaccine – it is not going to alter your DNA – as well as discussing the importance of 70 per cent of the Canadian population receiving the vaccine to reach herd immunity to protect the community.
They stressed the health benefits for taking the shot far outweighed any side effects by several fold.
They also recommended talking to a physician if there are questions.
Doctors are the ones the public goes to with health concerns, from birth to death, with head colds, broken arms, and hockey stitches. Why not listen now?
When someone who has given more than a quarter century to health care to the Foothills – Vyse – gets vaccinated that sends a clear message.
However, it’s not the only message. Do the thorough research, with credible sources and not just a quick click on Facebook or Twitter.
Proper research may be the boost needed to come to a conclusion.
