Clark County Today Editor Ken Vance shares his own story about the decision to receive a COVID vaccination
Those who engage in the comment section on our published content know that I rarely participate in those conversations. When I do, it’s usually just to explain a complaint, criticism or question about our performance. But, today was one of those rare occasions when I got lured into a conversation.
One of my responsibilities as editor of Clark County Today is to decide whether or not to approve the many comments made on our content. Our staff helps with this task so I don’t read every single comment that is made, but I read the majority of them. That means I am very familiar with those who comment regularly on our content.
As you know, I publish content from the WND News Center. Much of that content is COVID related. Clark County Today has been accused of having a COVID agenda. That’s accurate, we do have a COVID agenda. It’s just not the agenda we are accused of. We believe that the national narrative, largely controlled by the mainstream media, is not an accurate representation of all of the facts. So, we believe strongly in publishing studies and information about COVID that is termed “misinformation’’ or “disinformation’’ by others. It’s safe to say that my idea of what is “misinformation’’ or “disinformation’’ is different from others.
Yesterday, I published a story from the WND News Center stating that Dr. Anthony Fauci “complained on Monday that his effort to get people to adopt the government’s COVID-19 health measures has been hampered by ‘misinformation and disinformation.’” We have two individuals who regularly comment on the WND News Center COVID content that I choose to publish. They are appreciative of the content and generally agree with much of it.
Whether you agree with them or not, I challenge anyone to suggest that these two individuals are anything but civil. We also have two individuals who regularly comment on our content who seem to only have differing opinions than those expressed and represented by much of the content we publish. They are also usually civil and respectful and I appreciate that greatly because not everyone is these days. One of those two individuals has been relatively silent recently but the other joined in the conversation this morning and it made me take a rare jump into the ocean of discussion.
I don’t like getting into conversations about COVID. Folks are often too emotional and they take things too personal and it often doesn’t have a pleasant outcome. Also, I often remind folks that I am too old to have the energy to waste on such an endeavor. But, because it was the individual who I wanted to offer a rebuttal too, I was comfortable making this rare exception.
If you care to, you can see the entire thread at the bottom of the WND News Center story on our website. But, the comment that lured me in was a response to a comment that included the statement, “The risk of adverse events from the jab by far outweigh the risk of catching Covid19.”
The commenter replied with, “So, to be clear, you are saying more people have died from adverse effects of the vaccine than have died from the virus? We’re over one million deaths in the US and I’m pretty sure even the useless VAERS data wouldn’t claim that many deaths from the vaccine.’’
I didn’t think that was at all what the original commenter was saying, so I fired off the following:
“That’s not at all what she is saying and you know it. Your counter argument/comparison is irrelevant. The examination that would be more relevant is comparing the adverse effects, loss of freedom and rights of being forced to have a COVID shot vs. the actual (not promised or perceived) benefits of receiving the vaccine. I made the choice to get the vaccine largely because my primary care physician said it would take death and hospitalization ‘off the table.’ We now know with 100 percent certainty that isn’t true. We also know the shot doesn’t prevent us from getting COVID. So, if you want to preach that others should get vaccinated you need a dramatically different argument.’’
And, I wasn’t done with that.
“And in anticipation of your response, I am not stating that I believe there is no benefit to the COVID vaccine. I just believe the evidence strongly suggests the benefits have been grossly exaggerated and the adverse effects have been minimalized or even hidden from us intentionally. And that doesn’t take into account the loss of freedom and rights by the mandates and coercion etc. So have all the shots you want, it’s your right. Even express your desire or belief for others to be vaccinated. Just use truths and relevant facts when making your argument and not the nonsense we’ve been fed for so long now!’’
There you have it. I buried the lead in this column. I decided that if it was worth my time to share those thoughts in that comment thread, it was worth my time to share them with you here. It is the absolute core of my frustrations over this whole debate about COVID vaccinations.
I believe I am a reasonable person. I just turned 59 years old and I have comorbidities that make me vulnerable to COVID. I have taken virtually every precaution that I believe is reasonable and thankfully I haven’t had COVID yet.
As I stated in my comment, I was vaccinated once. I spent months gathering information before making that decision. I had the least effective of the vaccines, the Johnson & Johnson, because I wanted to play Russian Roulette once not twice. I don’t regret that I had the vaccine, but I’m not sure what good it has been for me and the information that I used as my impetus for getting the vaccine was completely false.
I am not saying that I won’t ever get another COVID vaccine. But, one thing I can tell you is I won’t until someone can show me the ACTUAL benefits of the vaccine so I can weigh those against the risks etc. I don’t read as much COVID content and information as some, but I certainly read more than most and I have yet to see anyone provide a compelling and believable accounting of what I’m asking for. I know some believe they have, but they haven’t.
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