This Will Not End Well: Lightening Strikes, the Lottery, and WW II

Do you know anyone struck by lightening? The odds are 1 in 500,000. It’s not likely to happen. The odds of selecting the right lottery numbers are 1 in 14 million. Basically you have a better chance of being struck by lightening. I bought a lottery ticket a couple of weeks ago anyway and indulged in a day of fantasy. What if I won 33 million dollars? I don’t usually buy tickets, but, I’d met friends for breakfast and afterwards we got lottery tickets. I mean, like why not?

Only 2% of WW II vets are alive today and Herman is one of 16 remaining paratroopers. His gait is greatly impaired by his shattered feet. So, before I met him and his wife for breakfast, I took a covid test.¹ Sure, all three of us are vaccinated, but the vaccines are not 100% effective and now there is Delta.² In the last two weeks, I’ve had 8 friends and friends of friends who are vaccinated, but contracted covid. As one friend put it, there isn’t a good number on break thru cases because we’re taking home tests so the numbers are underreported.

There are segments of the unvaccinated, (1) You’re not going to tell me what to do,  (2) I don’t know what’s in it, (3) I’ll take my chances, it’s just the flu and (4) It’s a hoax. Let’s be clear, there are a large number of healthcare workers who are not vaccinated; more than 30%. However, , don’t confuse healthcare  worker with medical professional; 96% of doctors are fully vaccinated. It’s hard to argue with the skeptics or deniers and be respectful.  Beliefs are beliefs. For the reluctant there are a few things to consider.

Costs & Odds

Your chances of getting infected with covid if you are vaccinated is 1 in 892

Your chances of getting infected with covid if you are not vaccinated is 1 in 14

Your chances of being hospitalized for covid is you are not vaccinated is 1 in 237

State of Indiana

Before vaccine availability, most insurance companies fully covered covid related medical expenses. With FDA approvals for Pfizer, most insurance companies will now require co-pays.  Now, the average amount an insured hospitalized covid patient will pay is $21,000. If hospitalization requires ICU, it jumps up to $80,000 for out of pocket costs for insured patients. Mild cases of covid require 1 -2 weeks of recovery, more severe cases take six weeks plus. Finally, if you are out with covid, short term disability pays 1/2 to 2/3 of your salary and typically starts on the 8th day of your illness.

Bad Guidance & Ingredients

Social media encouraged the non vaccinated not to quit, but to get fired to qualify for unemployment. WRONG. As of 23 August 2021, in most cases there is no unemployment if you are terminated for refusal to get the vaccine because there is now  an FDA approval.

The “flu” covers a wide variety of respiratory disorders and pre covid, people died from the flu.  Shrugging it off as the flu, is like saying a hurricane is just a breeze. There have been 41 million reported cases of covid in the US and 660 thousand deaths. Unlike hurricanes relief, FEMA is not going to offer financial support for covid related medical costs.

I don’t usually say anything to the vaccine skeptics, but we have a few party animal friends that wouldn’t take it. I was like “Please – you will pop any pill somebody hands you and snort anything white – and you are worried about a government approved jab that millions of people have already taken?” 

My friend from college, Zoe, who lives in Australia

We’re 8 weeks out from Veteran’s Day with all the “thank you for your sacrifice.” I can’t help but think, come on everyone, sacrifice a couple jabs. If you  admire and respect people who have risked their lives and made a sacrifice for others, here is your opportunity to do the same. Don’t let those words be meaningless platitudes. My friend Herman is in his 90’s, he survived WW II; to thank him for his service, I took a covid test.³  This week, consider, what is your service? After all, covid is a worldwide health crisis.

---

---

¹ I’d been on a trip; I was around more people than usual.

² I Got A Mild Breakthrough Case. Here’sWhat I Wish I’d Known.

³ I am fully vaccinated, was symptom free and took a covid test out of an abundance of caution.