Initially, I was
uncertain about my stance on the COVID-19 vaccines. This was due in part to
public hysteria about COVID, accompanied by the constant pressure to get
vaccinated from nearly all quarters—family, friends, co-workers, employers,
corporate media, and government.
It was also due to the fact that, as
someone with a biochemistry background, I was keenly aware of the public health
risk posed by SARS-CoV-2. But the same biochem background made me throw up my hands in utter consternation at the preposterous COVID-related assertions made by various government
agencies and parroted in the mainstream media. These included suggestions that viral growth
could occur on doorknobs, stanchions, and restaurant tables.
Other clearly
ludicrous ideas were propounded by family members and friends: Put all
your clothing in the dryer as soon as you enter the house to remain safe. Don't
touch your shoes; the virus may be growing on it. Shave your beard if you have
one; it may be harboring virus. After a trip to the grocery store, wash
(literally wash!) your groceries with soap and water to avoid getting virus.
Wear a mask while walking outdoors in a park, even on a breezy day.
Such was the hysteria
that a blood relative, who is highly placed in the medical field, attempted
to convince me and other family members to preemptively take hydroxychloroquine
(HCQ), an anti-malarial, against SARS-CoV-2. He successfully convinced one of
my relatives--also in the medical field--to take the drug. Soon after, HCQ was
discredited as a COVID treatment. Risk of heart rhythm abnormalities, liver
inflammation, and kidney failure were correlated with HCQ use. But neither the
relative promulgating it, nor the one who took it, offered explanation or
apology.
The CDC's
recommendations to the public--specifically about the propagation of
virus--ranged from inconsistent to outright unscientific. And that was
coming from a government agency tasked with protecting the public health. And
Americans' reaction to the agency's guidelines illustrated complete ignorance
about basic science. Unfortunately, the knowledge void allowed the
most ridiculous ideas to be sold to the populace.
Due to my background in,
and love for science, I wanted to read as much as possible about SARS-CoV-2 and
the vaccines targeting it, and draw my own conclusions. And for that, I
had to work hard to drown out the background cacophony.
While it is generally
not considered proper to delve into another person’s health status (e.g. if she
is fertile; if she has taken the MMR vaccine or seasonal flu shot; if she is
using contraception, and so on), COVID-19 vaccination status seems completely
exempt from all of this. It is perfectly acceptable to accost someone with the
question "Are you vaccinated (for COVID)?" If the person answers in
the negative, it is equally legit to deliver a proper browbeating on how she is
selfish, a danger to society, etc. In a nation otherwise obsessed with privacy
and personal choice, all of this is very contradictory.
There is vast
guilt-tripping and the assumption that the un-vaccinated person is personally
responsible for the demise of the public health. While it is not okay
to accost someone and demand she stop smoking (since second hand smoke puts
others at risk of various cancers), it is acceptable to pummel the unvaccinated
person with the notion that she is endangering others by retaining that status.
Alcoholics, homosexuals, obese people—none of these are given admonitions that
they are endangering society with their choices (although it can be argued that
they are, as a consequence of public endangerment during drunk driving;
through decreased population numbers; or as a result of increased
insurance costs, respectively). But, those who remain unvaccinated are
regularly excoriated in the public sphere.
Some employers are
making it mandatory to take the vaccine to continue employment. Similarly
universities and colleges insist on vaccination as a prerequisite to attaining
or completing a degree, never mind prior time and monetary investment by the
student. All of this is, in my opinion, extortion.
The experimental COVID
vaccines exhibit an extremely high percentage of breakthrough infections. Such
a large percentage was unheard of with other vaccines even in their incipient
stages. (A small percentage of breakthrough infections are considered normal
with any vaccine). One can take the COVID-19 vaccine, and still get a
life-threatening dose of COVID. It is inexplicable. Even if COVID presents
differently in vaccinated individuals (versus unvaccinated), the fact that the
vaccinated person experienced illness at all is extremely off putting. For
example, would you take the Polio vaccine if you thought you’d only get a little
bit of Polio after taking it? Or take the MMR vaccine if you thought you'd just
a touch of Rubella afterwards?
There are lotteries with
prize money for those who take the vaccine. New York and other locales are
offering free beer to those who take the vaccine. Imagine that: a toxic, cancer
causing, diabetes-inducing, cirrhosis of the liver triggering, calorically
high, deleterious substance is the reward for taking a vaccine, which
purportedly protects your health. This oxymoronic nonsense was, for me, the
tipping point. Alcohol as a bribe to take the COVID vaccine spelled out extreme
desperation, and complete lack of faith in the product being sold.
Gradually, I realized
there was only one position which worked for me on the question of the
experimental vaccine. It might cost me my job, the company of friends and
family, or a future degree. But, I believe in standing for my principles, and
have spent a life time doing so.
I don’t take
prescription drugs. I don’t even use OTC drugs, such as NSAIDs. I take
none of the seasonal and other vaccines peddled by Big Pharma (influenza
vaccine, HPV vaccine, etc.). I am rarely in the doctor’s office, and almost
never sick.
I believe strongly that
Big Pharma is all about profit. And yet people, even highly politically
conscious activists, who don’t toe the government line on other issues, seem to
have complete trust in Big Pharma, as if that entity cares about- and will heal
them. My view is that it is in the interest of the pharmaceutical companies
that people remain sick and dependent on their products. So, I refuse to trust
Big Pharma with my health.
I do, however, believe
in the power of food as medicine. I eat about four full heads of romaine
lettuce (or the equivalent) every week, along with lots of other raw vegetables
and fruits. I consume whole grains, nuts, and seeds near daily. I eat very
little meat and eschew pork, as I am a Muslim. I don’t touch fast food and
other deep-fried foods. I rarely drink coffee, as it is a narco-disrupter and
one of the most heavily pesticide laden products available in the grocery store
(unless one drinks only organic coffee). I don’t touch alcohol or soft drinks.
And although I love sweets, I severely limit refined sugar, understanding it is
a carcinogen.
Further, I consume 4,000
– 6,000 mg of vitamin C daily, far more than average, along with trace amounts
of zinc. I avoid most other supplements, as I feel their absorption is highly
questionable. And- I believe strongly that food should be one’s primary source
of vitamins and minerals, not quick fixes like supplements.
I run 40 miles per week,
lift weights, and at age 52, am overall very healthy (by Allah’s Grace). My
sport is the marathon. I have run 46 of them. And I very often report to work
after running the 26.2 miles, to complete a 10-hour shift. I have worked with
the public since the start of the pandemic, completely unvaccinated, and (by
Allah’s Grace) without any negative repercussion.
And yet, I am told,
usually by people who have serious health problems, are on a litany of
pharmaceutical drugs, are in- and out- of the hospital, and can barely walk
half a mile—that I must get vaccinated, or I will die, be in the hospital, or
endanger the public health with my selfish and ill-informed choice.
I believe in the power
of the immune system, a great and miraculous gift to humans from the
Creator. When properly harnessed (through highly nutritious foods, high quality
sleep, de-stressing, and vigorous aerobic exercise), it is the best defense
against all pathogens, not just COVID.
Given all of this, it
would be extreme cognitive dissonance for me to do anything other than to
refuse the SARS-CoV-2 experimental vaccines.
--Nadrat Siddique
