9 June 2021
Flu Context
My husband still had a headache from yesterday’s AstraZeneca flu shot, but the lady at work who also had the flu jab at the same time, was older didn’t have any side effects whatsoever. While feeling a little headachy, my husband was okay to go to work – or so he thought.
Once at work, he started to fatigue, and his boss and team sent him home. The paracetamol kept the headache at bay, but nothing helped his energy levels. When I came home, he was watching YouTube and not playing his latest PlayStation game! I knew things had to be serious!
A lady, I mentioned at work, who also had the AstraZeneca flu jab (injection) on the same day at about the same time (different locations); she is about 12-15 years older than my husband. Then my husband mentioned the older adults have a better reaction to the AstraZeneca jab. Hmmm, is a “better” the right word for having “no reaction”? That’s what I mean by a better reaction. In any case, AstraZeneca and The Lancet support my husband’s comments.
Why was the Flu Slower in Older Adults?
Then I wondered why that might be; could it be like with Swine Flu that was simply living through some of the previous outbreaks or pandemics their immunity is more robust (2009). If previous exposure were the reason for the COVID-19 flu, we would’ve heard by now. From what I read of Influenza Pandemics on the History of Vaccines site, the flu pandemics occur when there is an antigenic shift and goes global (antigenic = provokes the immune response by foreign substance or toxins – Apple).
Alternatively, it could be because the older immune system processes the vaccine slower, which gives the body time to adapt. Either way, there’s an advantage to getting older you didn’t expect!
It reminds me of when I was trekking the Annapurna foothills in Nepal, and the guide told the group to take the climb slowly. Raj said the fitter people were more likely to get altitude sickness than those less fit. The reason for this was if you progressed up the mountain slowly, your body got time to adjust to the levels of oxygen at that height.
Raj also cheekily put in older people coped with the climb better because they’re constantly stopping to look at the view. There was a little bit of a wink in his smile because older people wouldn’t typically bound up the mountainside.
So, it appears my husband just wasn’t old enough to be symptom-free. He has also taken a leaf out of my book and decided he will be better tomorrow. Yeah. That’s it. Full stop, better tomorrow. Most of what he’s heard is it’s a 24-hour thing; most of what I’ve heard is that it could be up to two weeks. He did look better by the end of the day.
Today's Cards
The Cards - Analysis
Carryover Cards
No cards carried over cards from yesterday.
Cross
The Dream is in the Now and represents delusion which Rebirth influences. The Miser sits in the Goal position and probably relates to how much of myself I feel like I’m giving at present. Aware in the Distant Past, there was Exhaustion.
More in the Recent Past has been Silence, and it has made me reassess or question what I want to do. This assessment leads to the Future Energy card of Sharing, indicating that I’m not comfortable with The Miser as a general principle.
Base
Flowering in the Feelings or Immediate Future spot supports where Sharing springs.
Others’ Views has Conditioning, and I’m really at a loss as to what this might mean in the context of today’s thoughts.
From the Hopes & Fears aspect, the card is Totality. I’m afraid (fear) that I cannot commit to the website in the way that I would like. While not receiving my undivided attention, I hope my contribution is with Totality, or it is evident it is at least with heart and soul.
I’m sitting on the fence regarding the flu vaccinations; The Outsider card reflects this in the Outcome position. The Outsider image clearly shows that if I choose inclusion, I simply need to get the jab. But first, let’s only have one person in the household sick by choice. 😀
References
- Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
Alexis Madrigal, 2009, Old People May Be Immune to Swine Flu, Wired, Published Online
Kara Rogers, 2006, 1968 flu pandemic
2011, Influenza Pandemics, The History of Vaccines, Published Online
AstraZeneca, 2020, COVID-19 vaccine AZD1222 is better tolerated in older adults than younger adults with similar immune responses across all age groups, AstraZeneca Media Centre. Published Online
Maheshi N Ramasamy, DPhil et al., 2020, Safety and immunogenicity of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine administered in a prime-boost regimen in young and old adults (COV002): a single-blind, randomised, controlled, phase 2/3 trial, The Lancet, Published Online
