[This text is machine generated and may contain errors.]
Blake Sholar
Interviewer
Varney Glenn Sholar III
Interviewee
April 17, 2022
BS: (00:00)
Hello, I am interviewing Varney Glenn Sholar the third. Mr. Sholar, do I have consent to give you an interview and conjunction with on the pandemic experience?
VGS: (00:13)
Yes.
BS: (00:15)
Okay, so tell us some of the things you experience and what your opinions and thoughts are about the pandemic, the virus in general. Well,
VGS: (00:29)
I'll just start with the symptoms and stuff I had to begin with. my main symptoms were fatigue and tiredness. I just thought it was probably because I was working and tired and needed to rest. But that wasn't what it was. It was COVID, actually. And about a day after the tiredness, I noticed that my nose was running some and I had a little bit of itchy throat. So I went to the and I started not feeling well. So I went to the doctor. And they originally thought that it was just sinuses or allergies because it was in the spring, [unintelligible] was starting to bud out and pollen was in the air. And he wasn't gonna test me for covid. But then at the last minute, he decided, well, he'll just test just to make sure and did the test. And about an hour or two later, I got a call.
BS: (00:29)
So what type of tests? Did they do a saliva test? Or did they do a nose swab test?
VGS: (01:49)
They did a nose swab
BS: (01:51)
How was the experience of the nose swab?
VGS: (01:53)
Very uncomfortable. If the nose swab was done correctly, you should have watery eyes after it's done.
BS: (02:01)
So basically, you would say that there needs to be more understanding of how the test with at least on the nose or nose or swab needs to be done.
VGS: (02:15)
Yeah, because a lot of people probably don't even know there's going to be that uncomfortable because it's very uncomfortable. I mean, like I said, if it's done right, your eyes will be water on whenever they get it.
BS: (02:29)
So I guess it's safe to say it almost feels like you're touching your brains.
VGS: (02:33)
Kinda Yeah, if you want to look at it that way. Yeah.
BS: (02:36)
Okay.
VGS: (02:38)
But um, I got a call back about an hour or two later notify me that I had tested positive and that I needed to quarantine for that point in time it was 15 days, I think it was 10 or 15 days might have been 10 days. And so whenever I got home, I cowered by place of employment and let them know. And where I work at, at that particular time, you could get paid leave, if you tested positive for COVID. So I was still be getting paid on the days I was scheduled to work. So I wouldn't be missing any pay or, you know, within a bind financially. So I did that. And the next couple of days I felt worse than what I did on the first day, but it never really. I never developed any congestion in my chest. I never coughed up anything. It was mainly kind of like a cold, but without the mucus, if that makes sense. Just itchy throat, runny nose and just felt bad in general. And it wasn't like I was definitely sick or anything. It was basically like a bad cold. I actually about halfway through quarantine actually go outside and did some stuff in the yard. But yeah, after the quarantine period, symptoms went away. I went back to work. The one thing that I did have that did last for over a month is loss or reduced taste and smell. It took me probably about a month and a half for my taste and smell to get back to normal. Whenever I had the virus, I had no taste or smell at all. I couldn't taste or smell. And actually one of my co workers who had it his taste and smell are still isn't that normal yet, and he's been over it for a few months now. But yeah, that's pretty much my experience whenever I had COVID. My grandmother also got it. And it affected her a lot more than what it did me, it made her feel worse, because she's much older than me. And I think that's one thing that people don't really understand about. Or maybe there's some confusion about what I could gather and my experience with it is if you're relatively healthy and young, and when I say young guy, I don't mean like a child, you know, 18 to, you know, 40 or 50, and relatively healthy, we're no, we're no compromised immune system or anything, you're stand a pretty good chance of surviving. what it might do, would people, I think the death rates gonna be higher with people who already have compromised immune systems. And that's going to be true with any type of infection really, no matter if it's COVID, or if it's a common cold or the flu. But my grandmother, she doesn't have a compromised immune system per se. She just has she's just much older than me. She's still pretty healthy. But it did take a a larger toll on her than what it did me. But yeah, I my experience with it was what I want to do it again, no, obviously, no. But as I got to think it was anything that was I didn't feel like my life was in jeopardy at any point. I never had any difficulty breathing or anything. I did quarantine and I didn't, I stayed away from people. No, just just so when you know, because you never know
VGS: (07:41)
what family members people have at home who might have a compromised immune system, if you make them sick, and they make those people sick. I mean, it could potentially be life threatening for some people.
BS: (07:54)
So far has gotten regarding memes about COVID-19. What would be your response to like a meme that has for instance, if you go to like some of these trampoline jams or these balls where kids play in and you have a meme that says don't worry about what's in the vaccine? What be your response to that? What do you think you think the vaccine is safe? Do you think it's was developed too fast? Or do you think they're the conspiracy behind the vaccine is the is actually true regarding that it was made in a lab, and not actually are come from Nature, was genetically engineered?
VGS: (08:39)
Well, let's look at this that sort of a scientific approach. It usually takes vaccines a pretty long time to be developed and tested and properly administered. So that all of the evidence is gathered on long term side effects and short term side effects. So the vaccine was developed within one year of the virus. And that is a a very, very fast development when it comes to a vaccine. So we really don't know the long term effects of it, because we haven't had that long.
BS: (09:28)
So there's no there's no conclusive test has been done to tell what kind of side effects has yet to arise from the use of the vaccine and the different variations of the vaccine.
VGS: (09:43)
Yeah, because as of right now, this record, and we've only had the vaccine for a little over a year now and that's nowhere near long enough to tell what the long term side effects is going to be. Four years, five years, 610 15 years down the road.
BS: (09:58)
So what are you What is your response? And what do you think about the Johnson Johnson vaccine, for instance, that um was pulled off the market temporarily because of it was showing a raise in blood clots for individuals that was getting into vaccine from Johnson and Johnson.
VGS: (10:15)
Well, that's part of the reason why it needs to be more testing done before went to before was administered to a large population of people and available to a large population of people. Because that was a side effect that somebody and that's the thing. One group of people might have a side effect that have a certain condition, or there's something about the body that other groups don't. And you won't find any of that out, not until the proper testing is done on it. And I'm sure in the future, you know, those going to be some stuff that's probably going to develop from the vaccines people was probably gonna develop, I don't know, I'm just speculating, but it wouldn't surprise me if they don't find more stuff out later, like 10 years from now, on people who's got vaccine.
BS: (11:14)
So as far as the vaccine goes, I mean, there's some people in the institution which I attend that has had the vaccine, and they've got COVID again. what do you think about that? Do you think that there decreases the effectiveness of the effective rate and, you know, the confidence in the government, as far as telling the public that the virus on the vaccine is safe and is effective against the virus?
VGS: (11:46)
Well, what's the vaccine supposed to do?
BS: (11:50)
It is supposed to help people get over, you know, an infection that is highly, highly contagious and has a lower death rate.
VGS: (12:03)
Okay, so the purpose of getting a vaccine is to slow down, or possibly even stop the spread of something of a virus, and to help keep you from getting it. So if you get the vaccine, and from my experience, people who and even some people who received the vaccine have been just as sick as what I was, and in some cases, more sick than what I was. So I don't just from the people that I know, that I work with, and that I know who have received the vaccine, I can't really tell any difference just on that small observation, if the vaccine was really effective at preventing them from getting sick, or keeping them from spreading it. I know people who have had the vaccine and have got cope COVID and other members of the family who's had the vaccine, and they were in close proximity to before they found out they had it who also got COVID. So I don't I can't say with certainty that they transmitted COVID to them being vaccinated, but it's not too far of a reach to come to that to see that that was probably possible.
BS: (13:36)
Okay, do you think that this virus is part of a political agenda? Do you think the government some individuals in the government is using this virus as a leverage mechanism to push their own agendas in place?
VGS: (13:56)
Short answer yes. Anytime that you have a situation that somewhat aligns to a certain political group, or political groups that will kind of fall in line with what they want to accomplish. They will push for that. That's just the nature of politics. That's why in our system of government, Republicans and Democrats like big or at each other and even within their own party, you know, They bicker at each other they're like little kids fighting over a toy you can play session, you know. But yeah, all you have to do is look in the past to see certain situation has happened in history being used for a political progress and do I think that the virus has was used for political I, in a political context, yeah, I do.
BS: (15:03)
So you think that possibly some politicians used fear of the virus to spread [unintelligible] the death rate, which last I checked was about four and a half, five million people that is contracted and died from the virus you think. So you think fear is part out there, even though you have some things like AIDS killed since the 1980s, I think it's killed about 36 to 40 million people. So you think fear has a role in this political agenda.
VGS: (15:42)
Fear is a very powerful emotion that can make people behave and act in certain ways. And, if used correctly, fear can be manipulated to make people believe and do certain things. Interestingly enough, whenever Trump was in office, and pushing for the development of the vaccines, if you go back and look at video recordings of politicians at that particular time, I won't say which party, but some were against the virus against the vaccine. They said that they would never take the vaccine, they would never trust the government with this vaccine. And now, after Trump was out of office, those same people that were saying that they'd never take it, and that they would never trust the government are pushing the hardest for people to get the vaccine. And even get boosters. So you have a complete shift of position on that, solely because one particular party was in power. That's what it was.
BS: (17:20)
So what do you think about the, during the start of the pandemic and the vaccine that was coming out, and they were requiring individuals to get the vaccine or lose their job? Like a lot of nurses, for instance, which started in Texas there was about three, I think about 300 nurses that was laid off because they refuse to get the vaccine?
VGS: (17:46)
Well, my thoughts on that is, once a government starts to mandate and force people to do things, it starts to become a dictatorship. And people have people have rights, and whether they want to take a vaccine, which they know very little about, and science knows very little of the long term effects about that should be completely up to them whether or not they want to take and inject something into their body, not knowing what it may do 10, 15 years down the road to them. It might not do anything, but you don't know. Because no long term effects are long term studies have been done, because it's only been in existence for at this point, just a little over a year.
BS: (18:48)
So what is your response to the rumors of the grace period, 74 years trying to get passed before any kind of results or side effects of the vaccine to be released to the public?
VGS: (19:05)
My thoughts on that the results should be released to the public as soon as they are found. Because people have the right to know what side effects something has and tried to cover it up or try to force it to 70 years down the road is just completely ridiculous.
BS: (19:26)
Well, I guess it's kind of hard to sue or argue with somebody's dead. Most people would, would get the vaccine during that time would either be very elderly or passed, already passed away.
VGS: (19:39)
Well, I kind of think that that's kind of why they wanted to do that. Because it would kind of cover them in a way because like you said, it's 30 years from now and most people who got the vaccine will probably be deceased by that time or very elderly
BS: (20:01)
Okay, well thank you, Mr. Sholar for sharing your experience and your thoughts about the vaccine, the effects of the vaccine and the pandemic and what this pandemic has done to our country in the world.
VGS: (20:16)
Thank you. Like I said, I think that it should be a personal choice whether someone wants to take it or not. And I have no, I have nothing against people who want to take it, you know, but for me, personally, I didn't take it because I am not comfortable with the, I don't know enough about it, basically. And science doesn't know enough about it yet. But yeah, thanks for the interview.
BS: (20:51)
You're welcome. signing off
[End of Recording]