THE VIEW FROM RIZAL
Dr. Jun Ynares
The word “choosy” seems to have acquired a negative meaning these days.
It is being used to describe people who impose standards that are difficult to meet on those who want to be their special someone. Because the standards are rather high, they usually end up without that special someone. Friends blame them for being “choosy.”
More recently, the word is being used to describe people who refuse to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus because they do not like the vaccine brand that is currently available. The say they will allow themselves to be vaccinated only with the brands that are being used to vaccinate the population of the United States of America.
They are said to constitute the new “choosy” breed.
We do not think being “choosy” is bad at all. Being “choosy” could be a virtue. After all, “choosy” means being very careful with the choices that one makes. The dictionary meaning goes like this: “Taking excessive care when making a choice.”
Another dictionary defines it as “having definite ideas about what you like.”
Sometimes, we want our children to be somewhat “choosy.” We remind our daughters to be extra careful and to adopt stringent standards when choosing friends and a possible life-time partner.
Being “choosy” relies on one very important assumption: That there are a lot to choose from.
“Choosiness” is a virtue that thrives on the luxury of having a number of options. When the options are rather limited, one cannot be picky – especially of the choice that one needs to make involves not only his interest but also the health and well-being of others.
Current circumstance may have made being “choosy” less of a virtue – particularly when it comes to the choice of a vaccine against the COVID-19 virus.
Good choices are made after weighing pros and cons, merits and demerits, advantages and disadvantages.
It appears these are not the basis of the selection made by the “choosy” class.
The obsession with the American brand seems to have been based solely on what others would call the traces of our age-old fascination with everything and anything that comes from the Land of Uncle Sam.
The American brands are not superior to other vaccine brands available today and which were made outside of what people used to think was the “Land of Milk and Honey.” Their only “advantage” is that they are the brands that have made it into the arms of people living in the US of A.
According to health agencies and organizations, as well as to the science community, all the available vaccine brands have their plusses and minuses. They have all been subjected to the same process of scientific scrutiny. They all have so-called “side effects.” Certain brands may work better with certain age groups and with segments of the population that have so-called co-morbidities.
No vaccine brand today guarantees that a person will not be infected by the COVID-19 virus.
No vaccine brand today promises a solid, impenetrable armor against infection from the virus.
They all guarantee certain things in common: The reduced possibility that one would suffer from serious infection; and, the reduced possibility that one would die from it.
The journal Scientific American say, “what we’ve seen with most of the current vaccines is less severe symptoms and almost no hospitalizations and deaths in vaccinated people who become infected.”
It looks like we only have two options today: To survive by giving our bodies the ability to fight the virus, or to face the possibility of serious infection and death.
We are also faced with the choice of helping the world reach the point of Herd Immunity sooner or contribute to its delay.
When faced with only two options, we believe we cannot afford to be “choosy.”
We subscribe to the principle that the “best vaccine” is the one that is in your arm.
It is heartening to note that in many communities, there is no epidemic of “choosiness.”
In Antipolo City, for example, the initial supply of vaccines have been nearly exhausted, and most of those who are in the priority list have received their second jabs. The local government is now waiting for the replenishment of its supply of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine coming from the shipment that is expected to arrive soon.
Again, we say, it is not wrong to be “choosy.”
When there are many options to choose from, be one.
When the choices are limited to surviving or dying; or to protecting or imperiling the lives of others, let’s not be too picky.
We know what the better option is. Make that choice.
*For feedback, please email it to antipolocitygov@gmail.com or send it to Block 6 Lot 10 Sta. Barbara 1 cor. Bradley St., Mission Hills Subd., Brgy. San Roque, Antipolo City, Rizal.