Avery K. Tingle, The Gamer Author

It’s hard to describe the sense of relief and euphoria that accompanied the second shot hitting my arm. Just like that, I was two weeks away from being heavily resistant against the current strain of COVID-19. Living in a Republican-dominated area, I’d pretty much self-isolated until there was no other choice. It allowed for a lot of writing and self-improvement, but also served as a reminder how devastating the last four years have been.

COVID is dismissed here. It has cost some their livelihoods and killed others, yet people remain defiant. At one point Grant County, Washington, had one of the highest infection rates in the country. Stats didn’t stand a chance against a heavy dose of FOX News and a determined President downplaying the virus even as he caught it. That was how I, and many others, could get vaccinated. The supply vastly outweighed the demand. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve had to persuade to get the vaccine because they were convinced it was the literal Mark of the Beast. 

April was a good month. It was also a month of reflection. I underestimated how much I allowed the last President to take up space in my head. The climax of DC’s “Final Crisis” painted a picture of Darkseid dragging reality down with him as “he fell to his doom”. That’s the closest analogy I can think of for the last four years. The last guy (I will not say his name) completely domineered our media. Every single day was something new and terrifying. There were moments I wondered if we’d be at war with Canada. My biracial son (who had no problems getting into trouble on his own) would come home beaten up. Men with guns would stalk my family at the local Winco. I almost got jumped outside of the Burger King. This wasn’t just something happening on the news. It hit home. 

I am still not used to him being gone. Leaving an abusive relationship is one of the most difficult things one can ever do. Memories turn into triggers. You’re always looking over your shoulder. Letting your guard down isn’t an option because you just know, the moment you do, something’s going to jump off. But he is gone. Not just gone, but banished from virtually every social media platform in existence. So much so that he had to start his own. I will not link that here. You don’t want that in your head. If you do, Google is your friend.

April was where I began coming to terms with everything. The last guy was so virulent that I became politically active in my community. I registered people to vote. It was strange and good to fight back without words instead of violence. Even stranger was that it worked. I even started a process to get people who might not have the means to vote. I didn’t know I had that in me.

I dropped Duolingo from my daily routines. I picked up Spanish at the beginning of lockdown, but I’d been going through the motions for quite some time. One of my favorite things used to be pulling into the night job about half an hour early, relaxing in the car after a workout, and working on my Spanish. It became something I felt like I had to do, rather than something I wanted to do. Once a hobby becomes a burden, it’s time to cut it loose. I also lost my streak as I closed in on the annual mark. I still have a horrible fear of finishing (and failure) that I’m going to have to deal with soon.

I’ll talk about my writing in another post. Right now, I’d like at least try to persuade you that COVID is not something that’s going to go away on its own. Quite the opposite, in parts of the world it’s getting worse. These strains will almost inevitably make their way here. 

Change is the most difficult part of life and ironically the most unavoidable. This new reality can be anything but convenient. No one likes being controlled, no one likes being told what to do. I get it. No one likes their ‘freedoms’ infringed upon. Do you know what else no one likes? Dying.

I don’t care where you live or what you do; no one gets to do what they want, when they want, with no consequence.  The vaccine will not make you immune to Covid, it will give you a heavy resistance to it. You will more than likely need a booster every year after your first dosage. You will still have to take precautions. 

The vaccine will not give you the mark of the beast. There won’t be any doubt about that when the time comes. Something will forcibly enforce the mark of the beast under a one-world order when the entire planet is under the rule of a single being. They will legally detain those without it, tortured, and executed. Right now, those who don’t have the vaccine are being denied service at certain establishments, which is the right of that establishment. When the time comes, those who don’t have the mark will face a very public sham trial. 

COVID isn’t about you, it’s about the people you love. Your parents, grandparents, friends, nieces, nephews. You getting the vaccine is not an infringement on your freedoms, it’s a statement saying that you care what happens to the people you love. It’s saying that you care enough about the people in your life to take their well-being into account. 

Please, get the vaccine.

I’ll talk about my writing in another update. This felt more important. Thanks for reading.

Avery K. Tingle, The Gamer Author is a SciFi/Fantasy author currently residing in the Pacific Northwest. He has lost three people to COVID and is acquainted with dozens of medical care professionals who are overworked and exhausted from dealing with the pandemic. A staunch equal rights advocate, he is ruled by two cats. Connect to social media here, where he has nearly thirty thousand followers on Tiktok. Check out his award-winning writing here.