COVID Now

I know I have made many articles on this in the past, especially when it was beginning and a pressing issue. While there may have been a few changes towards my perspective from the beginning articles, I am not going to change it now because I think it shows how my thoughts have changed, instead of just trying to erase the bad from my mind or from history. Instead, it shows where I have grown in my understanding of the topic. 

So, my plan in this article is: to give a brief explanation of what my opinion is on the virus, explain my view on the news/government's involvement, show what I understand about getting tested, and verbalize my opinion on the vaccine. I might even talk about masks, but I will see as this gets written. Then, I will finally end with a pressing matter on this subject that not many people seem to be talking about.

1. Opinion of the Virus, currently 

While I have not personally been close to someone who has died from COVID, I know quite a few friends who have lost family to this virus. I understand that this virus is real, and it is a real problem. I understand that it can attack our respiratory system and many can die from it. This does not mean that the government is taking control of the situation in the humanly best possible way. But then again, what they are asking of us is not too hard to give- they are the authority in my life and they are not asking me to do anything that goes against what God's Word says, so I can: wear a mask, stand 6 feet apart, quarantine if I was around someone that has COVID, etc.  

2. Getting Tested 

Above, I mentioned that I was able to respect the quarantining if I was around someone who had COVID or was not feeling well, but I sometimes did find it a little excessive. Of course, who am I to speak- I have only been in quarantine once, and it was simply because a friend (who defiantly had COVD) had spent about an hour or less with me two days before she started getting symptoms. According to the rules of the place, I was staying at, and the timing of the government's rules about quarantine at the time, I only had to be 'locked up' for a week and a half instead of a full two weeks. It was not horrible. While I missed out on work, I made up for my hours in the next week. I was able to stay on top of my schoolwork, and I had so much free time. I was able to sleep in every day if I wanted to, and I wanted to. On top of all of that, I was able to have visitors- just not in my room and we had to be distanced enough. I had people bringing me my food because I did not have a fridge or any way to make food in my dorm room at the time. Yet, I just did not want to be in quarantine. I wanted to have the free will that us humans think that we have. 

Oh, right, I was talking about getting tested under this section, though. During my quarantining process, I took a friend who had to quarantine at the same time as me (because we were both in the same social gathering with the mutual friend who got COVID). So, because we were together this whole time, I thought it would be fine if I brought her to get tested. Apparently, this was not considered okay by the authority I had in the dorms because I did not take the test as well, so if my friend was also positive then I would have to extend my quarantine. She tested negative, so it was not a problem but it was definitely something that I was able to learn from. 

Many might wonder why I did not get tested. I mean, my friend went to CVS and it was free to get a test. I was in the same boat socially (and quarantine-ly) as her. So why did I not take the test? Simply, because I did not want to go through the work. At this same time, there was yet another friend of mine that got COVID (yes, my dorm had two 'outbreaks' and this was one of them). She took her test at a different location, and she did not get the test results back for about a week or two weeks. The funny thing is that she took rapid testing. She was not feeling well, so she was in quarantine for the whole time she had to, but it was ridiculous that it took the company more time to get the results analytically than it did for those who were close in her life to tell that she was not feeling well, and it was not the average flu. She lost her sense of taste and smell and had almost all the symptoms. So, partially why I am opposed to taking them, now, is because I doubt their accuracy and I don't like the time it takes for some to come out. 

All of that to be said, I will have to take the test to go to a summer camp in about a month, so I will take the test. I'll be fine, and lord willing the results will come in with enough time. 

3. Vaccine

Why I find this topic kind of ridiculous is a little bit up in the air, but this topic is humourous in my opinion. Like, some think that the vaccine is made of chips that will be able to track us, or aborted babies. While neither would be a good thing, and I would sure hope thatno one would take either of those, it is kind or ridiculous that these theories become popularized by those that need something to add to the drama that is already going around. 

Based on a trustworthy article I read, I now understand what is in the vaccine. The vaccine is totally safe and very effective. The goal was to create a vaccine that is about 75% effective. Yet, these vaccines are closer to, if not over 90% effective. 

The first dose gives fairly normal results. The person who takes it, from the many first hand accounts I have in my life, will still be feeling and acting normally. Yet, after the second dose the person who takes it will feel very tired and 'brain dead' as I call it. It takes much work for them to think or for them to be able to stay active. Yet, one of the people in my life who works a very busy job was still able to show up to function. I just know that this person was trying really hard to make it work. He made it through the shift, but there were some scetences that came out a little off. After a few days, and good rest, most people should be doing as great as normal. 

4. Government

While I understand that such a pressing and detrimental issue as this would need the governmnet's involvement, I think they are borderline stepping the boundaries of how much they want to control us. Yet, what is most important about all of the control, is that so far they are not telling us to do something that God does not want us to do or vice versa. As I have mentioned before, I do not mind the masks or the social distancing too bad, and I do not like the idea of quarentining but I understand that it is necessary. Yet, I think that the matter that the government took on this, and the indicivness of the states or the House and State just added to the confusion of the matter. At this point, they have not required that everyone be tested, or everyone take the vaccine so they are not using all the control that they could have tried to use. Most importantly, though, if the government does not try to supercede the authority of God himself, I and all Christians should follow what the government says.