Take a Jab

1. FADE IN.

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. DINING ROOM - NIGHT

7. PETER and FAMILY are having dinner, watching TV news at the same time.

8. 
   

9. PETER (V.O.): Oh, there's the 7th death, just 4-5 days after getting a COVID-19 jab. The threat is imminent and real.

10. 
    

11. Pausing.

12. 
    

13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He was just 63. I'm 3-4 years older than him. I enjoy life a lot and don't want to end it hastily.

14. 
    

15. Recalling.

16. 
    

17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd) My elder son reminds me not to take any jab, even if I might not travel again.

18. 
    

19. Pausing.

20. 
    

21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): About 200,000 people in Hong Kong has already taken the jabs.

22. 
    

23. Pausing.

24. 
    

25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So the percentage of vaccination-related deaths in Hong Kong is 0.0035%.

26. 
    

27. Act 2

28. 
    

29. INT. SLEEPING ROOM - MORNING

30. 
    

31. Smart phone in hand, Peter is watching video clips. We see something is being calculated.

32. 
    

33. PETER (V.O.): Having passed my Maths exam in 1978, it's only now that I'm being motivated to learn some aspects of it again.

34. 
    

35. Peter continues to watch the clips.

36. 
    

37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The mental calculation approach has been my style. But it isn't as smart and quick as the strategic one taught by an South Asian woman.

38. 
    

39. Peter skims through other Chrome search results.

40. 
    

41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There're now percentage calculators. Apart from providing the answer, it also explains the mathematical steps.

42. 
    

43. Pausing.

44. 
    

45. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Do people care about the analysis?

46. 
    

47. INT. STUDY - AFTERNOON

48. 
    

49. PETER is watching TV. We hear:...Ischgl...in the Tyrol region... March 2020...wealth over health...

50. 
    

51. PETER (V.O.): Tyrol? I was once there. My Austrian lawyer-friend lived there.

52. 
    

53. From the TV, we hear: From Ischgl, COVID-19 spread throughout Europe...Of the 6000 infections, 16 died...

54. 
    

55. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What's the percentage?

56. 
    

57. Opening a percentage calculator on his phone, Peter types 16 in a box and 6000 in another box; he then taps Calculate. We see the answer: 0.27%

58. 
    

59. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In 1000 infected persons, 2-3 infected will die.

60. 
    

61. The TV continues to tell the story, initially showing the fixed images of a man and a woman and then the moving images of just a crying woman.

63. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Her late male partner looked young. And they were sporty.

64. 
    

65. Peter takes a deep breath.

66. 
    

67. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Statistical instances don't mean anything, if they don't impact on the persons concerned.

68. 
    

69. Recalling.

70. 
    

71. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Yesterday night, I watched a COVID-19 TV program. There's nothing new in what the experts said.

72. 
    

73. Thinking.

74. 
    

75. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The common goal was to achieve herd immunity and so they encouraged mass vaccination, despite some incidental deaths.

76. 
    

77. Recalling.

78. 
    

79. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And, as there's no international standard regarding jabs for international travel purposes, a traveller would have to be vaccinated with the right jab.

80. 
    

81. Thinking.

82. 
    

83. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As a senior citizen, I just don't want to take unnecessary risk, subtracting years of life expectancy to just days.

84. 
    

85. Pausing.

86. 
    

87. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): While the Sakura has begun blossoming in Japan, I'm not welcome yet.

88. 
    

89. INT. SITTING ROOM - AFTERNOON

90. 
    

91. Peter is using his phone's percentage calculator.

92. 
    

93. PETER (V.O.): So far, Hong Kong has over 11,300 COVID-19 infections. The infection percentage is 11,300/7,500,000 x 100%= 0.15%.

94. 
    

95. Peter continues to do other calculations.

96. 
    

97. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There've been 203 COVID-19 deaths in Hong Kong. So 203/11,300 x 100% = 1.8%

98. 
    

99. Pausing.

100. 
     

101. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): The1.8% COVID-19 death in Hong Kong is higher than the 0.27% at Ischgl. So far, Hong Kong's COVID-19 vaccination-related death is at 0.0035%.

102. 
     

103. Pondering.

104. 
     

105. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Taking the jab is 100% engagement. But the jab doesn't mean that person will be 100% immune from COVID-19 infection.

106. 
     

107. Pausing.

108. 
     

109. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So why take the vaccination death risk and the incalculable fear of death after injection?

110. 
     

111. Act 3

112. 
     

113. INT. DINING ROOM - NIGHT

114. 
     

115. PETER and FAMILY are having dinner, watching TV news at the same time.

116. 
     

117. PETER (V.O.): In Hong Kong, I've 99.85% chance of not getting infected. And if I'm infected, I've 98.2% chance of recovering.

118. 
     

119. Pausing.

120. 
     

121. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Being cautious, keeping fit and prudently not getting any jab meanwhile are what I can control. After all, my life is mine.

122. 
     

123. From TV, we hear:...those who have taken the Sinovac jab may enter into mainland China...

124. 
     

125. PETER (V.O.): Hmm, which COVID-19 jab to take would depend on where one wants to go. I'd only take a jab when I've the urge to go somewhere.

126. 
     

127. FADE OUT.

128. 
     

129. THE END