#get vaccinated

[our-queer-experience]

[victusinveritas]

Sidenote: We left a baby prep class early when the nurse idiotically said that skipping the vitamin K shot was fine...after objecting and saying hey what the fuck? This wasn't a "and then everyone clapped moment" because there were three other couples there and they all looked at us like we were insane. Worth it to not have wasted the rest of our afternoon listening to more MAHA claptrap. And thankfully the rest of the maternity unit was super science based and sane.

[onlytiktoks]

[alexandritte80]

These days I had to go get vaccinated against measles again (BECAUSE SOME IMBECILES IN MY COUNTRY STOPPED VACCINATING THEMSELVES AND THEIR CHILDREN AND NOW A DISEASE THAT WAS ERADICATED IS BACK!!! I HATE ALL ANTI-VAXXERS!), and right in front of me was this group of friends, like four strong guys, with tattoos and piercings. Three of them fainted from the vaccine. The only one who stayed standing needed to be consoled by the nurse and even got a lollipop.

It got me thinking a little...

"Captain Price? You know your squad is overdue for their vaccines, right?" The base's new medic said, walking into the Captain's office without even knocking.

"Vaccines? No, I clearly remember taking that last year," Price replied, and she slowly lowered her clipboard to look at him.

"You have to take it every year, Captain."

"I'll take my squad at the end of the day."

"Great! See you later!"

"See you later, love."

Except the "later" never came. Not the next day, nor the day after. Not even the following week.

And she couldn't even confront him, since every time she went after the Captain or any member of the squad, they ran and hid as if she were an enemy.

"Still trying to vaccinate them?" one of the medical lieutenants asked. "You know they only managed to get vaccinated last year because they were hospitalized, right? I think Sergeant Mactavish was on top of that, actually."

"Really?"

"Rumor has it, they're afraid of needles."

"The 141? Afraid of needles?!"

"Yeah... I think you're going to have to forget about their vaccines," he murmured, and she looked at the clipboard in her hands again.

"Or... I catch them by surprise."

"What?!" Before he could question further, she was already gone.

The first target was obviously Price.

He had an easy schedule to follow. Always went out to smoke at the same time. Ate lunch in the same place. Went for a run at the exact same second. He was predictable. That didn't mean he was easy.

The first attempt was catching him during his run. She put on her sneakers, stuck the needle with the vaccine inside her small fanny pack, along with alcohol cotton and a band-aid.

"What are you doing here, love?" he asked as soon as he saw her "warming up" on the grass.

"Decided to do my cardio outside today. Beautiful day, don't you think?"

"It's overcast and drizzling."

"I know! Beautiful!"

He rolled his eyes and started running. She ran alongside him.

The medic waited for the moment when a drop of sweat was running down his arm to act.

"You're sweating..." she commented, using the cotton to wipe it, and before Price could question what she was doing, the needle was in his arm.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

"VACCINATING YOU!!!" she screamed, pushing the needle and injecting the vaccine into his body. "All done, Captain! See, it wasn't so bad!" He fell to his knees. "Captain? Price?" And then he passed out on the grass. "At least I got it done."

Next target was Kyle.

Now it would be harder, since the entire squad (and base) had found out she vaccinated John Price. And that he had to be taken to the infirmary afterward.

It was difficult. Not impossible.

She caught Kyle during lunch, taking advantage of the cafeteria line to stick close to him.

"Oh no! Looks like you dropped something here... I'll clean it up for you!" She said, pulling the cotton from her pocket. But Kyle was alert—he grabbed her hand mid-air and spun her against the wall. "Sergeant Gaz!"

"I know what you did to Price!"

"Oh, for God's sake!" She tried to get out of his arms but he was stronger than her. So she did the old trick she'd learned in life. She pretended to cry.

"Ah, shit! Did I hurt you?" He immediately let go, and as soon as he did, the needle hidden in her hand pierced the side of his arm. "Traitor," he said before finally letting his body go limp against hers.

Now came the hardest one of all: Lieutenant Simon.

With Simon, things had to be different. She had to be better. Smarter.

So she decided to wait for him to finish training and go to the showers. She crept in, hiding in the shadows like a cat. She waited for him to turn on the shower to make sure there was enough noise to mask her presence.

"Not going to work," he said as soon as she passed through the door. She didn't even have a chance to put her plan into action.

"Come on! I had a whole plan!" She huffed, walking until she was face to face. Or face to his back, since the Lieutenant was facing the wall, protecting his face from her view.

"Terrible plan," he said, grabbing the soap and starting to lather up, still not turning to face the medic.

"Terrible plan is turning your back on me!" She said, running across the wet floor and jumping onto the Lieutenant's back. He, even naked and covered in soap, still managed to dodge. His strong, tattooed arms caught her and pinned her against the wall—one hand holding her by the neck there, the other holding her hand, preventing the needle from reaching his skin.

"I said. Terrible plan."

"You need to get vaccinated!" She huffed, putting all the strength in the world into trying to bring the needle closer.

"And what do I get out of it?"

"A good immune system!"

"Not enough."

"A healthier life!"

"More," he said, getting closer. The scar on his mouth moving like a smile. "I want what you're hiding." His tone was heavy and ominous. "I know you have it." He got closer. "I want your sweet secret."

"How many?"

"All of them."

"Fine, you can have all the lollipops from the infirmary. If you let me give you the vaccine and help me with Johnny—he's next."

"Deal," he said, finally letting the needle touch his skin and the vaccine enter his body.

Minutes later, Ghost was walking around the base showing off his pack of lollipops.

The next day, Johnny knew what was coming. He could feel it in his bones. He avoided the medic and everyone from his squad. Fled his training. Hid. Ran. Everything to avoid the inevitable: the vaccine.

When the sun went down and he saw the medic's car leave the parking lot and pass through the gates, he finally climbed down from the tree.

Only for Ghost's arms to catch him in a muscle lock.

"NO!!!!" he screamed, struggling like a cat about to be bathed. "NO! HELP! SOMEONE! NOOO!!!"

"It's just a little prick, Sergeant," she said, emerging from the bush with the cotton and syringe in hand.

"You're a monster!" Johnny spat.

"And you're being a baby!"

"NO! PRICE! SAVE ME! KYLE!" he screamed, but Price and Gaz were far away, taking a ride in her car.

"It'll be quick, Sergeant."

"You're lying!" he said to the Lieutenant. She heard the Lieutenant laugh before holding his friend's arm, letting the medic do her work.

"NOOO!!!!" Johnny screamed like a demon hit with holy water. And then, he passed out.

"All done! He even got a dinosaur band-aid!" She said, placing it on the tiny spot where the needle had pierced his skin.

"I'll take him to his room," the Lieutenant said, throwing Johnny's unconscious body over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Do you have more lollipops?"

"You've already eaten the whole bag?!"

"You didn't answer me," she rolled her eyes, grabbing the last lollipop she had in the drawer—the one she'd saved for later—and handing it to the Lieutenant. "You need to watch your sugar intake, Lieutenant. I don't want to have to check your glucose."

"Stay away from me," she laughed, watching him walk away.

At least she'd managed to vaccinate the 141... Now, only next year.

[mothmandrivesstudebakers]

Y'all I now know 6 people on my area with covid and the new variant is fucking bonkers:

Lower quadrant abdominal pain

Back pain

Nausea/vomiting

Headache

Insomnia

Fatigue

No appetite

On top of the usual symptoms like brain fog and coughing. This pain mimics appendicitis so PLEASE be extra careful!

Mask up and get vaccinated, protect your immunocompromised neighbor AND your future self!

[fixing-bad-posts]

vaccinate ur kids ✌️

[leapdayeveryday]

COVID-19 boosters are available but RFK Jr. has made it fucking hard. (Here’s my source for everything.)

It used to be anyone older than 6 months could get the vaccine. Now the CDC has limited vaccine approval to those over 65 and “those over 6 months who have a condition that puts them at high risk.” The good news is the “high risk” conditions are pretty expansive. The bad news is this could change any day so if you can get a shot get it NOW.

CVS is offering COVID vaccines in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. In these states, you can self-attest to a condition and receive a vaccine without showing proof.

In the other 16 states, and the District of Columbia, CVS will only vaccinate someone for COVID-19 if they get a prescription.

If you're not covered by the FDA requirements, you would need to get the vaccine off-label, which means receiving the vaccine outside of the terms for which the FDA approved it. Pharmacists cannot give vaccines off-label, so you will be turned away from CVS. You can technically get an off-label vaccine from your doctor, but some physicians may be uncomfortable administering off-label vaccines because of liability concerns. If you do manage to snag a vaccine, you might have to pay for it.

Get vaccinated if you can. The fact that this is where we are in the world now is fucked but do whatever you can to get that shot. If not for yourself than for those you’d infect otherwise.

[coffee-mage-sans-caffeine]

Antivaxxers are not responsible* for the current pertussis outbreak. In fact, rich countries are! Here's how:

Whooping Cough, also called pertussis is back in a big way in the US right now. Other nations are also seeing outbreaks, particularly 'rich' or 'first world' or 'developed' nations. Wait what? Rich countries are having a bigger increase in whooping cough than countries with limited healthcare infrastructure? You're probably thinking 'ah, it's the antivaxxers, isn't it?' While they're contributing to the problem, but no, they're not in fact THE PROBLEM. In fact, even fully vaccinated people in rich countries are at risk for pertussis. The first thing to understand is that there are two 'generations' of pertussis vaccine available at present. Both are given in combination with tetanus and diphtheria vaccines. As far as I know, tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis are given together in every mainstream formulation of pertussis vaccine globally. The OG (first gen) pertussis vaccine was the DTP vaccine which contains a whole cell inactivated pertussis bacteria so when it is given, the body develops a robust immune response to every antigen (the thing your body can learn to make antibodies to recognise) on the surface of the pertussis bacteria. It is still used in countries where money is tight because it's cheaper to make and the immune response is robust and long-lasting--5-10 years depending on your source. Unfortunately, side effects were higher with the OG. Some children spike high fevers causing febrile seizures (which are terrifying even though they're benign), arm pain is more intense, and people feel worse after getting it. A miniscule number of children given the OG suffer encephalitis and more serious neurological effects, though most cases self-resolve. In rich countries, as the incidence of pertussis (and diphtheria and tetanus) fell with robust vaccination programs, people became more and more afraid of the side effects of the DTP vaccine. Those side effects sound scarier when there's lower risk of pertussis. There were also ever-growing antivaccine movements because since there has been inoculation (a precursor medical practice to vaccination that goes back all the way to ancient China) there have been opponents inoculation and vaccination. Antivaxxers are not new and modern. They have always been there and they were PISSED about the encephalitis. So both antivaxxers and provaxxers who were starting to forget how scary it is to watch a baby with pertussis said 'we need a better option'. This brings us to 2nd gen vaccines, the acellular pertussis vaccines DTaP and Tdap. The little a stands for 'acellular', meaning that there is no longer a whole dead bacteria cell as our antigen. We use specific cut-up antigens instead. Most formulations use 3-5 different antigens. This results in much lower side effects! Immunity without side effects is the goal! The problem is that this vaccine doesn't last as long. In fact, for 0-10 year old children, 98% are immune at 1 year after vaccination while 81% are immune at 5 years after vaccination. For 11-20 year olds, those numbers drop to 72% at one year and 42% at 5 years after vaccination. For people who are older, those numbers drop even faster. And the acellular vaccines aren't as good at preventing infection--they're more like the covid vaccines in that rather than stopping infection, they make the symptoms less bad. And those 3-5 antigens in the acellular vaccine are becoming less common on the surface of the bordatella pertussis bacteria. Yup. It's out-evolving the vaccine. So where does this leave us? 1) Make sure your pertussis vaccine is up to date. This protects you against the effects of a very serious illness. 2) If you have been exposed to pertussis TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT PROPHYLACTIC ANTIBIOTICS. After an hour in a room with someone who has pertussis, if your body doesn't have sufficient immunity there's up to a 90% chance of you getting it and you will be sick for months. This is one of the ONLY CASES EVER where you should be getting prophylactic antibiotics. Usually, I would say do not get prophylactic antibiotics. This is a special case.

3) If a third gen vaccine comes out (many are in development), update your pertussis shot! 4) IF YOU FEEL SICK AND HAVE A COUGH, STAY HOME. If you cannot stay home, then you should wear a well-fitted disposable n95, kn95, or surgical mask (in order of preference) at all times around other people. 5) Mask in crowded public spaces and on airplanes even if you feel well.