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Today I got my second shot of the Pfizer vaccine. The whole thing was extremely efficient. I am expecting to feel a few side-effects later, but it’s worth it to know that I have vastly reduced my chances of being hospitalised with Covid-19, as well as generally reduced my chances of catching it and passing it on.
It did occur to me that, in many ways, I got to experience the peak of human civilisation. The period of time from when I was born to now has been remarkable. I’ve had access to incredible medicine; vaccinations that have protected from terrible diseases, specialist spectacles to help me see, antibiotics to cure me of various things at various times, and reliable, free, birth control.
That’s not all: I live in a warm house that’s centrally heated, enjoy hot and cold running water piped directly to multiple rooms in my house, indoor plumbing that whisks away my waste, a weekly rubbish collection that comes to my street. As if that wasn’t enough in the way of wealth and comfort, I can eat bananas all year around, order a curry, perogi, sushi, pizza or indeed whatever takes my fancy from every cuisine around the world, or cook with spices shipped from far away places.
I can eat chocolate whenever I want, meat is cheap and plentiful, life is incredible.
That we were able to develop not one, but multiple, effective and safe vaccines in less than a year is a testament to the power and wonder of science. What incredible work from everyone involved, to the selfless people that volunteered for the clinical trials to the scientists that have been thanklessly studying coronaviruses for decades just so that we would have the knowledge we needed when the time came!