Politics, Science (&) Faith in the Era of Covid-19
January 21, 2021 at 7pm EST
Speakers
S. Joshua Swamidass - Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University, Saint Louis
Reverend Stephen Ko - Pastor of New York Chinese Alliance Church
Kayana Jean-Philippe - Healthcare Consultant and COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Trial Participant
Moderator
Rasool Berry - Teaching Pastor at The Bridge Church in Brooklyn, New York
The speakers will discuss the history underlying mistrust of medical science, the development of the COVID-19 vaccines, and faith-informed responses to the pandemic.
Hosted by AND Campaign NYC Metro and The Veritas Forum at NYU
Co-sponsored by Princeton Veritas Forum, UTC Political Science and Public Service Department, UTC Veritas Forum, and InterVarsity Graduate and Faculty Ministry at the University at Buffalo
Got my first dose last week. I’m scheduled to get the 2nd the week after next, but now we are hearing that the province won’t be getting the vaccines originally scheduled for delivery, so it’s a bit up in the air now.
I’m shocked and saddened to say that I have had to explain to friends that “No, Bill Gates has NOT laced the COVID-19 vaccine with microscopic 5G cellular network antennas which report health habits and GPS locations to Microsoft.” Incredibly, some of the people who actually believe such nonsense have post-graduate degrees and positions of responsibility in the community.
I got unblinded from the Pfizer trial yesterday! Woohoo! And all my immediate family has at least one shot done. Light at the end of the tunnel, everyone.
I presume you’re getting it because you’re a doctor, and that you’re grateful to God. If so, it seems oddly selective, like the sole survivor of an airline crash thanking God for preserving his life.
My parents got their first dose yesterday. I also got them groceries that day and texted my dad from the Publix parking lot to let him know the cost, since they live on the side of a mountain and my texts often don’t go through if I do it from their house. Well, he got the text an hour later. I told him his 5G from the vaccine must not be working yet.
Sadly, I did have a friend who truly believed there would be microchips in vaccines based on Bill Gates’s Ted Talk, and no amount of explaining what he said and what the research he invested in was about would convince her otherwise. She was deep down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole.
I should hear from them this week. I’m scheduled for my first vaccine February 17, assuming I’m placebo group, which I’m 99.9% sure I am (didn’t even have a sore arm or anything). They called the other day to ask if I had any comorbidities, since they were grouping us for unblinding. I don’t, but it doesn’t really matter since I already have the shot scheduled and they’ll call everyone before that date.
I got my second dose (Moderna) two days ago, and it was a bit more than I was prepared for. After the first dose I had a bit of a sore arm, but nothing more. The second dose brought on flu-like symptoms and fever that hit pretty hard about 12 hours after the injection which cleared by 36 hours after injection. I have never had a reaction to any flu shot, so this was pretty surprising. A few coworkers had the very same reaction, so I don’t think my experience is that uncommon. My suggestion is that people should plan on taking time off from work/responsibilities after the 2nd dose just in case.
I don’t think I will ever get a Covid-19 vaccine. We don’t have any presently and even the Pfizer batch we are expecting is ridiculously inadequate to cater for a population exceeding 200 million in size. I am guessing they will give the expected doses to frontline health workers first.
Yes of course I am grateful to them among many others, including God. But I did not specify who in the video. Gratefulness is an emotional state that doesn’t require specifying to whom we are grateful.
