I am pro-vaccine, by experience, and this is why!

On February 14, 2021, while it was a regular Valentine’s Day for most (well, not so regular since we had the biggest COVID-19 wave, and we were losing patients by the second), I was personally down, beat-up, exhausted, and terrified since last August, which was when numbers started to increase and the massive blast in Beirut happened.

I was living in fear, in anxiety, succumbing to the ugliness of my reality until, on February 14, I had the most amazing celebration of love, of life, of family, of normalcy, of hope. The way I see it, it was the best Valentine’s gift ever. That day was the day I got the chance and decided to take my COVID-19 weapon, my strength to stand in front of this monstrous virus and tell it that soon enough, it will not scare me anymore.

Some might see it as a huge risk, others consider me microchipped by Bill Gates, others see it as unsafe and would wait on it, and some say that a blood clot might kill me. But, I am an emergency doctor, which means I take quick decisions on spot, I check recent updated studies, and I trust my references—my medical references. They’re the ones I use to treat my patients, the same sources that have helped me throughout this massive pandemic in my medications choices, in my method of oxygenation of the patient, and in figuring out my next step in my treatment plan. These are the sources I trust to take my vaccine with a clear conscience.

I will not trust conspiracy theories; I will not trust rumors. I trust my science—the science that got me to where I am, the science that saved us from tetanus, from smallpox, from the plague. It’s the same science that invented transplants, appendix removals, open heart surgeries, and many deadly diseases that were rendered undeadly by it.

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As for why I’m loving it now that I received my second dose, here is a quick list of what I’m personally experiencing:

1. I can literally see my colleagues’ faces, their smiles, their teeth, their emotions, their expressions. They now returned to more than just eyes and PPE. I can see them and safely lower my guards with them.

2. I am now less terrified by the fact that every time I treat a patient with COVID-19 I might catch it and give it to my family members. The risk is still there but it is much reduced, and it feels safer and easier to offer care for those who need it now.

3. The “maskne” (acne of the mask) has been decreasing now that I am aerating my face more and wearing my mask less (not completely off, but we came a long way).

4. I am slowly returning to life as I knew it pre-pandemic, easing myself into it, de-stressing, and not panicking every time a human being passes within less than two feet from me.

5. I see the silver lining, as the number of infections is dropping, we cleared our COVID-19 floor a few days ago from patients who went back home to their families, the ICU numbers are dropping, and fewer elderly are getting infected by the virus as they are now vaccinated.

6. Traveling—which is basically why I live and breathe personally—is an option again. (Of course, to safe destinations, taking into account all the restrictions, but it is a damn option.)

7. We can now safely celebrate our victories, birthdays, anniversaries, and whatnot with the people we love again—if we all are vaccinated, of course.

Bottom line, I see the vaccine as the ray of hope I needed to get through another day and to feel and see the sunshine again.

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