Thanks, but no vax

To the editor:

While I essentially agree with a recent letter writer’s assessment of RFK Jr.’s tenure as Health and Human Services secretary, I have several follow up points ("Doing Harm," The Chief, Sept. 12). 

I tested positive for Covid in April 2020. I was totally asymptomatic. I’ve had nine exposures since and not one positive diagnosis. To keep my job, I took Covid the first two vaccines and the first booster. One-and-a-half months after the first shot, I was sleeping 14 hours a day. After the same period of time following the booster, eczema broke out all over my body. I eventually recovered from each reaction. My 93-year-old mother just had her sixth Covid vaccine with no adverse reaction. Despite her incessant nagging, only a loaded 9mm Glock to the head or a million dollars will make me take another Covid shot.

My father (RIP) was once sidelined for a week due to a reaction to an influenza shot. I just had an influenza shot; a slight headache was my only reaction. In 1980, my father was sidelined with sciatica for six weeks and never fully recovered. I've had it twice; muscle relaxants had me as good as new in a few days.

I generally agree with immunization. I vividly recall my parents' stories about families’ fears before Jonas Salk developed his polio vaccine and my prior family doctor telling me one case of lockjaw he saw was enough for a lifetime. But not everyone's body is the same. Perhaps this is the message RFK Jr. — warts and all — is attempting to convey.

Nat Weiner