Gissele Taraba

COVID19 has brought a number of challenges and opportunities. From the chaos, greater clarity has arisen over what is working and not working in our world. Although we are seeing greater and greater calls for compassion and kindness in our society, there is still a great deal of division among people. One of the topics which is currently dividing people is the issue of vaccination. Although Canada has one of the highest vaccinations rates in the world, with 67% of people being fully vaccinated (80% have received 1 vaccine) there are still a reported 3-5 million people who are not vaccinated even though they can be. Worldwide vaccination rates range from 60% to 6%. The new variant, the Delta variant, is causing a great deal of strife and adding to the divide between those who are adamant that everyone be vaccinated and those who feel their rights are being violated by being forced to vaccinate.

I am lucky enough to have friends of both sides so I can hear their different perspectives. My friends who are vaccinated tout the research shared with them, the minimal side effects and the fact that the vaccine has been shown to decrease the potential of hospitalization and death. The majority of my friends have been vaccinated without much ado. These friends are shocked that anyone would not want to get vaccinated and feel it is irresponsible not to get vaccinated. Even Jennifer Aniston has decided to cut ties with “friends” who are not vaccinated due to the fear that those who are vaccinated are spreading the disease to others and are responsible for keeping the Delta variant alive.

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