Our covid story
Why I trust in the covid vaccines
(October, 2021)
Disclaimer: In this post, I'll be sharing my personal opinion based on my knowledge and background in research. Relevant sources will be added as links below for further reads. Let's all keep our families and communities safe and pray for those lives lost during this terrible pandemic.
As of the date of this post, the weekly number of reported covid infections here in the Netherlands ranged between 12,000 to 17,000 with hospitalizations ranging from 260 to 280 admissions. ICU admissions have been between 40 - 70 patients. Compare this to two months ago from my last post, the number of hospital and ICU admissions was cut in half but this clearly doesn't mean we are out of the woods yet. These weekly figures always change. It can get worse, it can get better. The numbers have not completely plateaued or gone down. To see more information about these given statistics, please click here .
It's not 100% but we knew that
When my son was tested positive for the coronavirus last June, my husband and I already had our first dose of the vaccine. We felt confident from the fact that there is already some kind protection in our bodies but we got ourselves tested anyway to be sure. There is no such thing as 100% full protection in vaccines anyway. So the news did not stop us from being any more careful than the other household. We wanted to keep each other safe and keep each other healthy as much as possible.
As a vlogger, I have shared the reasons why I believe in the coronavirus vaccine and the protection I and my family can get from it. My post can be seen on my Youtube channel by clicking this link. And basically one main reason for me taking the vaccine even though there were a lot of apprehensions about them is because I believe in the science behind these vaccines. I read about it a lot (I still do), I have some questions in mind and I ask around. Thankfully, I am blessed to be a part of an institution that deals with these kinds of research so I have enough reliable sources to help me with my decisions of taking the vaccine. And with regards to the side effects, I personally had to weigh in on my own personal condition and health. “Would the benefits outweigh the risks I have to take?” For me, it was worth taking the risk. But I can understand that to some, the decision may not come as easy. And I completely understand that.
Counting my blessings
It's now 5 months after my first dose and the Netherlands has lifted a lot of its restrictions since 3 weeks ago. We no longer have to stay 1.5 meters from others and indoor facilities are open to maximum capacity. We can now watch a movie, eat out or attend gatherings. We now have a QR code that we keep on our phones that shows our history of vaccination or covid illness. No vaccine, no entry. I can only trust that my vaccine will protect me from the next person I come in contact with who may or may not be vaccinated. But this I guess is the new normal… for now.
I still count my blessings and I am thankful for all those that came our way. When my son had to isolate himself, alone and bored, I was just very thankful that he was not in pain or any discomfort. I was thankful that my husband and I already had some kind of protection from the virus at the time. I was also thankful that our youngest, at six years old, had a stronger innate immune system to protect him from getting ill. We feel blessed to have the means to take care of ourselves, and the means to be properly informed. We were one of the lucky ones whose family member got infected with the virus but thankfully managed to survive without complications of even death. We were very lucky and we feel very blessed. I can only feel sorry and pray for those families who have had it worse.
Because of that experience being isolated for days, and the fear that any of us could have breakthrough infections, we still remain vigilant here at home. The comfort that we get from knowing we have protection from our vaccines will always be there. For how long? We don't really know but we'll just have to trust in our bodies and trust ourselves if we are doing it right. If we refrain from joining crowds, if we wash our hands often, and if we get tested right away once we show symptoms, these will be ways to protect our family. And in a way, we're also protecting our community.
And of course, we continue to count our blessings.
References and other Sources:
WHO Covid vaccine advice, please click here for the link. (May need to be updated)
How covid-19 vaccines are made? An expert explains. Please click here for the link.
When COVID came knocking at our door
(August, 2021)
I was at work when I heard my phone beep. It turned out to be my husband trying to reach me as I read his text message: call me we have a problem.
My boys had to be picked up from school that day instead of going straight to daycare. The reason: one student was tested positive so all students exposed needed to show a negative test first. What were the chances then, right? So I told my husband no problem. We scheduled both our boys to be tested at our nearest testing site.
The shock when we found out
Well, it was a shock when we found out one of our boys tested positive. Our oldest child has covid. Knowing that the rest of the family could be asymptomatic, my husband and I got tested too. Thankfully we were fine. It was truly a surprise though when we heard the results over the phone that our son needed to be isolated. It came to us as a shock because he had no complaints nor symptoms. Imagine if they hadn't asked for them to be tested... he could've infected any of us at home later on.
The following 10 days felt surreal as the whole family went into quarantine. We also separated ourselves from each other as much as we can. My husband stayed in his upstairs office. My youngest stayed in their bedroom. I stayed downstairs in the living room and our eldest stayed in the attic, the farthest from everyone. We stayed where we were, ate there, slept there. We wore our masks and washed our hands as often as we could. I disinfected every possible surface including all that our eldest touched when he needed to use his assigned bathroom downstairs.
Those ten days became exhausting for me as I attended to my family in three different parts of the house. Anxiety even kicked in every now and then because of the 'what if's' that lingered in my mind. I kept it positive most of the time though, cheered my little patient up when he was feeling super bored and down. My husband couldn't help much with our son's care because he himself is at high risk and we didn't want to take chances. Phones calls and text messages were coming in sending their well wishes, hoping that we'd overcome this hurdle without a hiccup. Our neighbors offered their help with the groceries. My colleagues also offered help with the groceries. One morning, one neighbor even left freshly baked croissants and donuts by our door for our breakfast. It felt good to know that we're surrounded by people who cared.
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