Thread by @FreedomFriesInc

#HospitalCollapseKills by destroying the life-saving hospital access on which we rely for NON-Covid illness & injury.

Is the vax a "personal choice"? Technically yes. Morally, no.

Vaccine deniers cause death, indirectly. I make no apologies for saying it. I could save a life.

https://twitter.com/mcharlesworth7/status/1473327815726710787

Of course, some vaccine deniers also fervently believe they could save lives by dissuading people from being vaccinated against Covid.

Both of us are motivated to promote our belief, as a life and death matter. The difference is that my belief is based on verifiable facts...

Vaccine denial is a mind virus that's been around since vaccines were first used more than a century ago.

Between pandemics, saying that it kills innocent people is a longer bow to draw than during a pandemic in which a safe and effective vaccine is available and accessible.

During this pandemic, I can utilize a ton of choices, such as the vaccine, to reduce my risk of death (from Covid OR from hospital collapse.)

But I am unable to influence whether or not hospitals can remain open if I need one (for a NON Covid reason.)

Esp. with Omicron.

The individual severity of the Omicron Covid variant is largely irrelevant bc the extremely high transmissibility of it will ensure that enough cases of unvaccinated people being hospitalized will shut out all other patients, for a time.

These are facts.

#CovidIsAirborne. If you aren't yet aware of why this matters, have a look at some of the tweets and accounts with the hashtag in them.

It is why people are getting infected just by walking through a room where a carrier stood minutes earlier. 6' is not enough distance.

Adequate HEPA filtering can dramatically reduce the risk, but can you imagine the time and cost involved in making all our indoor spaces air conditioned in this way?

Organizations and businesses who were in the know have already invested in this and are reaping the rewards.

The risks from Covid vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna are infinitesimally lower than the alternative. Almost all the risks can be managed by nurses or doctors before you get the shot.

Pretty much everyone at higher risk from the vaccines is at very high risk from Covid itself.

Around 80 million people in the US alone have been vaccinated against severe Covid. The number of genuine cases of significant adverse events is extremely low. You face higher risk driving a car, flying in a plane, etc.

No one is actually forced to get the vaccine...

Although I'm starting to think an actual mandate would be useful.

You can CHOOSE the inconvenience of vaccine denial. It won't destroy your career forever. There are plenty of jobs around if you admit this fact and start looking.

Serious illness *can* destroy careers.

That happened to me. Illnesses that were not diagnosed &/or have few if any viable treatments cost me my career & ability to work. I was progressing my dream to be able to work again, when the pandemic hit.

The pandemic has worsened my day to day health. But I keep on fighting.

Chronic existential or other major stress can wipe out an already challenged spoonie* like me for months or years.

There are millions of us living this reality:

butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/writt…

And spoonies are being joined by millions worldwide who have #LongCovid or another severe ongoing Covid effect.

I've had decades to adjust (during most of which I worked full time) but it's sad to watch these previously healthy individuals join the club no one wants to join.

Covid is not "just a cold," and that includes the Omicron variant of Covid, too.

"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" should be a protected right everywhere.

Life comes before liberty. Clearly.

For those who support Trump or the GOP, remember in his 2019 SOTU he said: "Let us work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life.”

We all know which lives he was talking about, but really the concept should be universal. Caring if others die should be normal.

There are vaccine deniers in every country, but the dramatically high number in the US is now blatantly obvious.

It is a national security threat. America's adversaries are licking their lips at how weakened the country now is because of the low vax rate in many states.

Some may not yet be aware that political affiliation is one of the strongest predictors of Covid vaccine coverage in the US. That fact alone should cause more people to wake up and think about what it will mean.

If after reading this thread you are still defiant about the effects of Covid vaccine denial on the lives of other people and the fate of the US as a whole, then I make no apologies for wanting the consequences of your choice to affect you more than they affect innocent people.

And I know full well that my thread won't likely change many hearts & minds directly. I didn't write it for vaccine deniers. I wrote it to offer some moral support & comfort to those who, like me, are doing everything they can to avoid harming others. Because we see what's ahead.

Far from being an overcount, the >800,000 reported US Covid deaths are actually an undercount.

Many Covid-caused deaths are not identified as Covid-caused. Many deaths have occurred at home, not in hospitals.

In some cases other causes eg suicide, murder are pandemic-related.

Those of us who live in reality recognize a similar situation to the 1860s American Civil War. Read the letters and diaries of ordinary people, on either side of that conflict.

The deep pain of knowing great harm is being done, for nothing, that will take decades to repair.

The ideological and tactical similarities between today's Republican Party and the CSA of the 1860s are striking.

Militarily, the CSA never stood a chance. The USA won then and it can win now. But how many innocent lives will be lost in the process?

It is depressing to ponder.

For everyone who is doing the right things to protect self, family, and community, thank you. We are the majority, and we should keep standing our ground.

END

Photo: 1/20/21