I think it’s time we have a conversation about whether or not to continue calling these shots “vaccines”. Vaccine has a very specific meaning to the majority of people. It means, if I take this shot I won’t get sick and won’t make others sick. This change in language alone could change the narrative.
My severe aorta stenosis and congestive heart failure
I know a few things about heart conditions. Everyone in my father’s family had one including my dad who had heart attacks that finally ended his life. Well, actually a greedy HMO doctor actually did… and it was my dad’s time to go.
Then there was my grandmother on my mother’s side of the family. She was convinced that she had cancer and that no one was telling her about it. Instead, she was sent from New York to Houston, where a now famous heart specialist, Dr. Christiaan Barnard and the First Heart Transplant.
On December 3, 1967 at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town South Africa, Christiaan Barnard performed the world‘s first adult heart transplant on Louis Washkansky. Although Norman Shumway is widely regarded as the father of heart transplantation, it was the young South African Christiaan Barnard utilizing the techniques developed and perfected by Norman Shumwayand Richard Lower, who performed the world’s first adult human heart transplant.
Christiaan Barnard Background
Christiaan Barnard grew up in South Africa and sadly, one of his four brothers suffered from a heart disease and passed away at the age of five. Two of the remaining children, Marius and Christiaan Barnard took this incisive event to influence their career development and they both studied medicine years later.
Back to my Grandma Rae. She went to Houston and Dr. Barnard did heart surgery on her. But when he opened her up, he found that she had a aneurism in her heart. He closed her back up. She died a few weeks later. I was devastated.
Anyway, it never occurred to me, duh, that one day I too, would have a heart condition. In 2017, I was sent to Stanford Medical Hospital to get a diagnosis on my ovaries. I have a growth on each of them. Instead what happened is they decided that they could not do the biopsy because I needed open heart surgery.
I left the hospital without a diagnosis about my ovaries and with one about my heart. In 2019, I found out more about the heart condition aorta stenosis after having bacterial pneumonia. I was in the hospital for most of November and December that year, from the pneumonia and blood clots on my lungs (which I had had several times before).
My local cardiologist referred me to a cardio surgeon in his office who told me that I needed a Stent put into my aorta to widen the passage so that my blood could circulate better throughout my body. However, I just found out more about my conditions. I have not had the surgery due to a few reasons such as I was sleeping in my car until two years ago.
Anyway, I watched a video and found out that the congestive heart failure is as a result of the aorta stenosis and the worst symptom of it. Nice, huh. Ok, I’ve been on hospice for the last few months but did not know this. All I’ve known is that my legs are terribly swollen despite being able to take the diuretic medicine. And for the past couple of months, my feet started burning, too.
Anyway, the problem with my aorta led to CHF and my symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain. dizziness, fatigue, swollen ankles and feet, difficulty walking short distances and rapid or irregular heartbeat. Ok, my palliative nurse was better informed about my heart than my hospice nurse.
But this is what I just found out since I am not big on having surgery and the doctors are not even sure I can have the surgery. I’ve been working internally on my “broken heart” as I know that the body mind spirit connection is applicable. I also recently found out about Broken Heart Syndrome (see below).
I love this poem:
my brain and heart divorced
a decade ago
over who was to blame about
how big of a mess
I have become eventually,
they couldn't be in the same room
with each other
now my head and heart
share custody of me
I stay with my brain
during the week
and my heart
gets me on weekends
they never speak to one another
- instead, they give me
the same note to pass
to each other every week
and their notes they
send to one another always
says the same thing:
"This is all your fault"
on Sundays
my heart complains
about how my
head has let me down
in the past
and on Wednesday
my head lists all
of the times my
heart has screwed
things up for me
in the future
they blame each
other for the
state of my life
there's been a lot
of yelling - and crying
so,
lately, I've been
spending a lot of
time with my gut
who serves as my
unofficial therapist
most nights, I sneak out of the
window in my ribcage
and slide down my spine
and collapse on my
gut's plush leather chair
that's always open for me
~ and I just sit sit sit sit
until the sun comes up
last evening,
my gut asked me
if I was having a hard
time being caught
between my heart
and my head
I nodded
I said I didn't know
if I could live with
either of them anymore
"my heart is always sad about
something that happened yesterday
while my head is always worried
about something that may happen tomorrow,"
I lamented
my gut squeezed my hand
"I just can't live with
my mistakes of the past
or my anxiety about the future,"
I sighed
my gut smiled and said:
"in that case,
you should
go stay with your
lungs for a while,"
I was confused
- the look on my face gave it away
"if you are exhausted about
your heart's obsession with
the fixed past and your mind's focus
on the uncertain future
your lungs are the perfect place for you
there is no yesterday in your lungs
there is no tomorrow there either
there is only now
there is only inhale
there is only exhale
there is only this moment
there is only breath
and in that breath
you can rest while your
heart and head work
their relationship out."
this morning,
while my brain
was busy reading
tea leaves
and while my
heart was staring
at old photographs
I packed a little
bag and walked
to the door of
my lungs
before I could even knock
she opened the door
with a smile and as
a gust of air embraced me
she said
"what took you so long?"
~ john roedel (johnroedel.com)
Best herbs for congestive heart failure and aorta stenosis
Goldenseal is an herb that is beneficial in the treatment of congestive heart failure. It contains a natural alkaloid called berberine which can help in the dilation of blood vessels, thus improving blood circulation. It can be taken by people suffering from congestive heart failure to improve heart function and relieve the symptoms like breathlessness, fatigue, and irregular heart rhythm. It is also a natural antibiotic and cancer killer. via Dr. Axe.
Hawthorne is a cardiotonic herb which helps to improve the heart’s pumping ability and helps to treat irregular heart rhythm. It also helps to lower blood pressure, reduce chest pain and arteriosclerosis, thus acting as a very effective natural cure for the treatment of congestive heart failure.
Psyllium is also good for heart and digestion
Vitamin D
Research studies have confirmed that a deficiency in Vitamin D increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and can cause heart failure in people. So, it is best to get it naturally from food sources such as dairy, eggs and cod liver oil. Of course, the most inexpensive and cheap source is sunlight. Get at least half an hour’s sunlight daily in order to prevent the onset of this condition.
Green Tea
The antioxidants in green tea help increase good cholesterol levels and improve arterial function, which is very beneficial for people suffering from congestive heart failure condition. So, have at least five to six cups of green tea daily in order to keep your heart muscles and arteries healthy. It also aids metabolism and keeps your organs functioning well.
Coenzyme Q10 Rich Foods
Clinical studies have confirmed that there is a considerable amount of improvement in the patients of congestive heart failure when they take CoQ10 regularly for six months. It helps the heart to pump blood effectively, and hence is a very useful natural cure for the treatment of congestive heart failure.
Foods that are rich in CoQ10 such as, red meat, especially the organs, fatty fish, apple seeds, spinach, broccoli, etc. should be consumed regularly. CoQ10 supplements can also be taken for this purpose.
Valve disease is from inflammation. Follow these steps to avoid inflammation.
Eat organic and responsible Paleo. Grain (especially gluten), sugar, soy, and corn cause inflammation. Avoid them.
Get sunshine to your body and certainly your chest. Let the energy from the sun get into your chest and help the valve.
Get sleep. Sleep is a time of repair. The body will preserve the health of the valve better if it is rested and allowed recovery time.
Get adjusted. The brain and nervous system innervate every organ in the body including the valve and the organs (like the liver) that could lead to valve inflammation.
Walk barefoot. Let the energy from the Earth keep blood flowing.
Avoid chemicals. Valve disease is from inflammation and chemicals lead to inflammation.
Stay well hydrated with quality water.
Aortic valve stenosis Symptoms and Signs
When aortic valve stenosis is symptomatic, patients may experience angina, dizziness, syncope (fainting spells) and congestive heart failure. If aortic valve is not replaced, congestive heart failure accounts to a two-year mortality rate of 50%, syncope accounts for a three-year mortality rate of 50% and angina has a five-year mortality rate of 50%. Aortic valve stenosis is associated with colon angiodysplasia. This condition also causes Von Willebrand disease.
(My cardio surgeon told me last year that he does not know why I am still alive. My friend told me I have no expiration date. And I know that my date of death is not up to a doctor surgeon).
What Causes Aortic Stenosis?
The three main causes of this condition are either calcification (presumed due to small amounts of damage over time like a scarring), a congenital issue (something that people are born with) or rheumatic heart disease (scarring following an infection).
Can One’s Lifestyle Reverse Aortic Stenosis?
Reducing the factors that can cause aortic stenosis with lifestyle changes may help to slow aortic stenosis, but it has not been proven to reverse it. The factors that can be changed with lifestyle include high blood pressure, insulin resistance/diabetes and smoking.
Magnesium supplementation can change the shape and condition of heart valves.
B vitamins can help rebuild the heart.
CoQ10 can reenergize every single cell in the heart and can literally remold the size and shape of the heart after the onset of congestive heart failure.
The use of Omega-3 fatty acids can help in reversing heart damage.
Proteolytic enzymes can provide nutritional support for your body as it works to clean out the coronary arteries and repair damage to epicardial tissue surrounding the heart.
The use of heavy metal chelators such as cilantro and chlorella can reduce the risk of an acute coronary event.
Regular supplementation of a tonic made with cayenne and Hawthorne berry can rebuild the strength of the heart.
Proper dental care and the use of avocado and proteolytic enzymes can reduce the incidence of periodontal disease, which reduces the chances of an acute coronary event.
Regular use of immune enhancers and pathogen destroyers decreases the risk of most inflammatory heart disease and the incidence of viral and bacterial infections that can adversely affect the heart.
And regular exercise can strengthen the heart and improve its efficiency even in your eighth and ninth decade of life.
What Is Broken heart syndrome
People who are experiencing broken heart syndrome describe sudden heart attack-like symptoms that include chest pain and difficulty breathing. However, while a myocardial infarction happens because blocked arteries close off oxygen supply to the heart muscle, TTS is something entirely different.
In some cases, it can be misdiagnosed as heart attack since test results will show changes in rhythm and rising troponin levels consistent with a heart attack. But, unlike a myocardial infarction, other tests will not show blocked arteries. During TTS, the left ventricle will temporarily enlarge and does not pump enough blood. The remainder of the heart will function normally and may even contract more forcefully trying to make up for poor function in the left ventricle.
According to the American Heart Association, the syndrome can lead to severe, short-term heart failure. Most will make a full recovery within several weeks. However, there is no standard treatment. Instead, clinicians must depend on other symptoms, such as low blood pressure or pulmonary edema to determine treatment options. Although death is rare, continued heart failure may happen in about 20% of people.
Brain-Heart Connection May Drive Broken Heart Syndrome
Scientists have long suspected that TTS is associated with a brain-heart connection. One hypothesis suggests the connection between the sympathetic nervous system and how heart cells respond to stress hormones affect the ballooning of the left ventricle. Cheng explains the way the brain and nervous system responds to changes as women age. This may explain in part why TTS is more common in middle-aged and older women.
The emotional and physical triggers may be associated with psychiatric or neurological disorders. Typical neurological changes that are associated with a high risk for TTS include subarachnoid hemorrhages and seizure disorders. Brain alterations in the limbic system and reduced connectivity with the autonomic nervous system may also increase the risk.
Data also suggest that regions of the brain linked with emotional processing and control of heartbeat, breathing and digestion may not communicate in the same way in people without broken heart syndrome. Study author Christian Templin, professor of cardiology at University Hospital Zurich, said in a news release:
"For the first time, we have identified a correlation between alterations to the functional activity of specific brain regions and TTS [takotsubo cardiomyopathy], which strongly supports the idea that the brain is involved in the underlying mechanism of TTS.
Emotional and physical stress are strongly associated with TTS, and it has been hypothesized that the overstimulation of the autonomic nervous system may lead to TTS events."
Events that have been known to trigger broken heart syndrome are:
Car or other accident
Asthma attack
Serious illness, surgery or medical procedure
Death or serious illness or injury to a loved one, including a pet
Domestic violence
Financial loss
Intense fear
Public speaking
Sudden surprise
Job loss
Consider These Stress Management Strategies
Scientists believe the link between broken heart syndrome and middle-aged and older women is the release of stress hormones that affect the heart cells during challenging events. Sometimes extreme stress is unavoidable, but managing daily stress is one way to protect your overall health from its ill effects.
In any case, if you experience chest pain after a stressful event it's a good idea to get medical help right away to rule out a heart attack or broken heart syndrome.
One way to reduce your risk for TTS and other stress related conditions is to help manage your stress levels and therefore your stress hormones. Here are several strategies that can help you take control of your health and reduce stress.
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) — The process is also called tapping and it's a tool that can help free your mind to fully address challenges without fear. This technique helps reduce stress and increase creative problem-solving.
Stop excessively watching bad news — COVID-19 is not the only bad news carried on mainstream media each day. While this strategy addresses your chronic stress levels, it can also have an impact on your resilience to an acute stress event. Your ability to adapt to situations, including adversity, trauma and tragedy, his part of resilience.
Some research-based exercises that help to foster resilience are to change the narrative going on in your head, practice compassion for yourself, meditate and cultivate forgiveness for your own mental and physical health.
Meditation — There is growing evidence that meditation can reduce age-related brain atrophy and improve productivity. There are two common styles of meditation. Mindfulness is a practice of keeping your attention in the present moment in all activities.
Self-induced transcendence is a non-directed style of meditation in which you access a fourth state of consciousness that is different from waking, sleeping and dreaming.
Spending more time in nature — One study published in Scientific Reports found that spending 120 minutes a week in nature was associated with better health and well-being. It didn't appear to matter how those 120 minutes were broken up during the week.
The researchers in this study also didn't find that more was necessarily better. In other words, the positive association of spending time outdoors peaked between 200 and 300 minutes each week. After that, there was no further gain.
Gardening — A meta-analysis of the literature, which included 22 case studies published after 2001, compared data from the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The researchers found there was a wide range of health benefits to gardening which included a reduction in body mass index, depression and anxiety. The participants also reported better life satisfaction, quality of life and sense of community.
Combination of magnesium and vitamin B6 — One study published in PLOS One discovered that when magnesium and vitamin B6 were taken together, there was a complementary effect that reduced stress. Past studies had shown the effect in animals. In this human study the researchers found the treated group reported a 44.9% reduction in perceived stress.
Living near the ocean — Many people dream of living near the ocean and according to one study from the University of Exeter, England, it may be good for mental health. Using data from the Health Survey for England of 25,963 adults from 2008 to 2012, the researchers compared health to the respondent's proximity to the sea.
They found even in those that lived from 1 kilometer to 5 km (0.6 to 3.1 miles) from the coast, there was a 25% lower risk of poor mental health compared to those that lived further away.
Breathing through your nose — Breathing through your nose slows breathing and makes it more regular. This improves oxygenation. It also activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which is a calming effect and lowers your blood pressure. Mouth breathing tends to lead to over-breathing and failing to exhale fully.
Although most people breathe between 12 and 14 breaths per minute, research published in the medical journal Breathe has suggested that an optimal respiratory infection rate is in the range of six to 10 breaths per minute. This has been shown to be beneficial to your respiratory, cardiovascular, cardiorespiratory and autonomic nervous systems
Sleep — Matthew Walker, Ph.D., is a professor at UC Berkeley and the author of "Why We Sleep." He says insomnia may be the result of an amplified fight-fright, freeze or-flight nervous system. Cortisol can play a role, so people who have trouble falling asleep typically have a spike in the stress hormone cortisol at bedtime and an overactive sympathetic nervous system.
Wakefulness is also associated with mitochondrial stress. Without sufficient sleep, neuron degeneration sets in, which can lead to dementia
Double jabbed folks, watch out
mRNA Vaccines Put You at Risk for Acute Coronary Syndrome
In a November 21, 2021, tweet, cardiologist Dr. Aseem Malhotra writes:
“Extraordinary, disturbing, upsetting. We now have evidence of a plausible biological mechanism of how mRNA vaccine may be contributing to increased cardiac events. The abstract is published in the highest impact cardiology journal so we must take these findings very seriously.”
The abstract he’s talking about is “mRNA COVID Vaccines Dramatically Increase Endothelial Inflammatory Markers and ACS Risk as Measured by the PULS Cardiac Test: A Warning,” published in the November 16, 2021, issue of the journal Circulation.2 (ACS is Acute Coronary Syndrome).
We conclude that the mRNA vacs dramatically increase inflammation on the endothelium and T cell infiltration of cardiac muscle and may account for the observations of increased thrombosis, cardiomyopathy, and other vascular events following vaccination. ~ Circulation November 16, 2021
Video
As noted by Malhotra, this is indeed extraordinarily disturbing. Patients who received a two-dose regimen of mRNA more than doubled their five-year ACS risk, driving it from an average of 11% to 25%. Just imagine the shape our medical system and society at large will be in if 1 of every 4 people who got the two-dose regimen ends up with acute heart failure.
Using the PULS cardiac test, researchers have found Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID shots dramatically increase biomarkers associated with thrombosis, cardiomyopathy and other vascular events following vaccination
Watch out for these 9 deadly symptoms
ACS is an umbrella term that doesn’t just include heart attacks, but also a range of other conditions involving abruptly reduced blood flow to your heart. Signs and symptoms of ACS typically begin very suddenly, and include:5
Chest pain/discomfort, often described as aching, pressure, tightness or burning sensations
Pain that radiates from your chest to your shoulders, arms, upper abdomen, back, neck and/or jaw
Nausea and/or vomiting
Indigestion
Shortness of breath
Sudden heavy sweating
Lightheadedness, dizziness and/or fainting
Unusual or inexplicable fatigue
Restlessness and/or apprehensiveness
If you suspect ACS, do not drive yourself to the hospital. Call for an ambulance, as it is a true medical emergency that may need prompt medical attention. Risk factors for ACS have historically included older age, high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, lack of exercise, unhealthy diet, excess body weight and diabetes.
SARS-CoV-2 infection was recently added to that list, but it seems we must also add the COVID jab as well. Those who got the injection for fear that COVID-19 might adversely affect their heart now face the grim reality that they’ve exchanged a potential risk for a more certain one.
Vaccine-Induced Thrombocytopenia
In related news, a paper published in the journal Blood Advances reviews “SARS-CoV-2 Spike-Dependent Platelet Activation in COVID-19 Vaccine-Induced Thrombocytopenia.” Thrombocytopenia is the medical term for low platelet count.
The authors point out that following the rollout of the mRNA and DNA-based COVID shots, more than 150 cases of thrombocytopenia have been reported. The reference for that statistic is a March 9, 2021, paper in the American Journal of Hematology, and injuries are stacking up at breakneck speed.
As of November 12, 2021, there were 4,387 cases of thrombocytopenia reported to the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), so it’s far more frequent than what they’re stating. (There are also 9,332 reports of heart attacks, which we just discussed, and 13,237 reports of myopericarditis, i.e., inflammation of the heart and/or heart sack.)
According to the authors, identifying the mechanism by which the shots cause thrombocytopenia would facilitate the development of a diagnostic test. Historically, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia has been diagnosed using a serotonin release assay (SRA).
Using SRA, a subset of critically ill COVID-19 patients have tested positive for platelet-activating immune complexes that can cause thrombosis. Other researchers have also showed IgG antibodies from critically ill COVID-19 patients can activate platelets, resulting in a thrombotic event.
…The mRNA shot may be causing an exceptionally low level of platelets through a mechanism that involves antibodies against the spike protein (anti-spike antibodies) resulting in depletion of platelets by activating them.
Platelets are specialized cells that stop bleeding, and they have ACE2 receptors, which is what the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein binds to. When the spike protein binds to the ACE2 receptor on the platelets, it activates them.
This platelet activation can lead to disseminated intravascular coagulation, i.e., a pathological overstimulation of your coagulation system that can result in abnormal, and life threatening, blood clotting, as well as thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) and hemorrhaging.
Doctors for COVID Ethics described this mechanism in a February 28, 2021, letter11 to the European Medicines Agency (EMA). In that letter, they warned that, based on this mechanism, spike protein-based COVID shots are likely to cause blood clots, cerebral vein thrombosis and sudden death, which is precisely what we’ve been seeing ever since.
In essence, you basically end up with so many blood clots throughout your vascular system that your coagulation system is exhausted, hence the low platelet count. The low platelet count, in turn, is what allows for hemorrhaging (abnormal bleeding).
Questions Remain
A mystery that remains to be solved is why only certain people with antibodies to the spike protein (anti-spike antibodies) go on to develop symptoms of platelet activation and thrombocytopenia. Why not all of them?
…COVID Jab Risks Clearly Outweigh Any Potential Benefit
Since well before the rollout of these COVID shots, scientists and doctors have sounded the alarm, pointing out a host of potential mechanisms by which they may cause harm. Now, nearly a year into it, many of the fears are turning out to have been warranted. They’re causing very serious cardiovascular damage, blood disorders, and reproductive dysfunction.
Worst of all, our health authorities have abandoned the mandate to protect public health and are covering up the wreckage on behalf of the profit makers. On top of that, doctors and nurses who speak out about the collateral damage they’re seeing are being silenced and persecuted by medical boards and government officials alike.
Now, we’re injecting these kill shots into children as young as 5. I see no way for this to end on a pleasant note. As a society, as the deaths and injuries, especially in children, continue to escalate, we’re going to face some excruciatingly difficult times.
…people who have received two mRNA shots have more than doubled their five-year risk of acute coronary events, on average. If you’ve not yet taken the jab, I reckon you probably won’t at this point. But if you’ve already taken one or two, I strongly urge you to review the mechanisms of harm, and evaluate whether it’s worth it to continue with a third.
The adverse changes caused by the shots persist for at least 2.5 months. That’s the low end. We still do not know what the upper time limit is. It could be a year or more, and the risks certainly do not diminish with subsequent additional doses.
What Can You Do if You Have Jab Remorse?
If you now believe that getting the COVID jab was a mistake and wish to lessen your doubled risk of cardiac complications, here are a few basic strategies.
1. Make certain you measure your blood vitamin D level and take enough vitamin D orally (typically about 8,000 units/day for most adults) to make sure your level is 60 to 80 ng/ml (100 to 150 nmol/l).
2. Eliminate all vegetable (seed) oils in your diet, which involves eliminating nearly all processed foods and most meals in restaurants unless you convince the chef to only cook with butter. Avoid any sauces or salad dressings in restaurants as they are loaded with seed oils. Also avoid chicken and pork as they are very high in linoleic acid, the omega-6 fat that is far too high in nearly everyone and contributes to oxidative stress that causes heart disease.
3. Consider taking around 500 mg/day of NAC, as it helps prevent blood clots and is a precursor for your body to produce the important antioxidant glutathione.
4. Consider fibrinolytic enzymes that digest the fibrin that leads to blood clots, strokes and pulmonary embolisms. The dose is typically two, twice a day, but must be taken on an empty stomach, either an hour before or two hours after a meal. Otherwise, the enzymes will digest your food and not the fibrin in the blood clot.
'A Year Ago I Was a Hero. Now I'm Treated Like Scum.'
Frontline workers are choosing to lose their jobs rather than get the vaccine. Why?
Suzy Weiss
…While vaccine mandates sweep the country, frontline workers who are refusing the shot are being recast as villains. And there are a lot of villains. According to the Covid States Project, 23% of healthcare workers are unvaccinated. About 40% of Ohio’s nursing home workers remain unvaccinated. In New York City, 9,000 municipal workers have been placed on unpaid leave, plus 12,000 more who have yet to get the vaccine, but are allowed to keep working while the city evaluates their exemption requests.
The same thing that won them praise last year—their willingness to keep working, enveloped by tons of other people—is now a liability for firefighters, healthcare workers and teachers whose unwillingness to play by the rules is seen as selfish and a public-health hazard.
…“I looked down at my old badge,” says Jen Peters, 39, a San Diego-based maternity nurse turned private lactation consultant. “They had given us all a clip during Covid that said my hospital’s name and ‘Stronger Together.’ I thought, ‘My, how times have changed.’”
The California-wide mandate came out in August, and Peters, who had given birth to a baby girl five months prior, applied for an exemption because she was worried about how the vaccine might affect her breast milk. She was denied. On her last day, October 28, her coworkers brought in cupcakes; a fellow nurse gave her a bouquet of white lilies and yellow roses. “People came up to me that day and said, ‘You know what, I’m vaccinated, and we really wish you would do this to stay with us,’”
…“It grinds my gears that health has been politicized,” says Fracisco Gomez, 28, a paraprofessional with the NYC Department of Education. “They say that I’m a Donald Trump fan, a MAGA-supporter, or that I don’t believe science and I listen to QAnon.” Gomez, who lives in the South Bronx, is a registered Democrat and former de Blasio intern in the Office of Immigrant Affairs. “We’re not all psycho Republicans,” he adds.
Gomez has spent the past five years helping kids with autism and other disabilities at a public school in New York City. On the Wednesday before the mandate kicked in he called his union representative, who said that the union couldn’t help him and that he didn’t qualify for a pension. After hanging up, Gomez walked into the assistant principal’s office and said he felt used. “I was working in the building for the entire pandemic,” he said. Gomez walked out, wept, and then went on voluntary leave. (Though he stopped getting paid in mid-October, he says he still gets benefits like healthcare.)
…An exodus of frontline workers who are refusing the vaccine threatens to exacerbate labor shortages nationwide.
…Garen Pido, the nurse in California, says she gets texts every day to come pick up overtime shifts. Her husband, a firefighter, who is hoping that the deadline to get the vaccine will be pushed back (as it has in previous months), says the firehouse is “insanely busy, and so short on staff.” He thinks the vaccine mandate—along with aging firefighters retiring and recruitment having taken a hit during the pandemic—will be a big problem. “Los Angeles doesn’t know what’s about to hit them,” he says.