Blessing on the Covid Vaccine?

Question:

What is the appropriate prayer or blessing to recite prior to getting the covid vaccine? 

Answer:

The appropriate prayer is:

"I beseech You, O Lord my G-d and G-d of my fathers. Please save me from this foolhardy and ill-advised course of action that I have been woefully misled to take, this errant decision to subject myself to a morally-dubious injection that is halachically inadvisable, and that carries the unknown risks of irrevocably affecting my genome and that of my offspring... that is, if I will be able to beget any offspring after subjecting myself to this genetic modification.

"Please G-d, save me from the dubious ingredients of this pharmaceutical product fast-tracked at warp speed, and for which its manufacturer takes no responsibility for its safety, and is exempt from all liability if I suffer injury or death.

"O G-d, healer of all flesh, heal my mind from toxic indoctrination at the hands of insidious government propaganda. Restore my sanity right now so that I may muster the moral fortitude to make the right decision and DECLINE this vaccine. And grant me the strength to boldly advise others to decline this vaccine as well.

"Open my mind and grant me understanding to grasp the obvious, that this vaccine is in fact NOT a vaccine, but a means of genetic manipulation whose long-term and short-term risks are NOT known, since animal trials were skipped. And in previous attempts at coronavirus vaccines, dangerous immune enhancement often occurred in animal trials, which is why NO such vaccine was ever approved of for humans.

"Please G-d, protect me from toxins like polyethylene glycol whose risks are well-known. Save me from this awful irreversible decision I am about to make. Heal me of irrational fear and miserable dependency on dubious pharmaceutical products.

"Blessed are You, O G-d, who opens the eyes of the blind."

And let us say Amen.

When you conclude your earnest blessing, run out of the clinic at once and don't look back. Forget about that vaccine.

Good for you. The prayer worked. 😃

Just kidding. Ask better. Is it appropriate to get the covid vaccine altogether?

And the answer is no, in the vast majority of cases, this vaccine is halachically inadvisable.

Why not? Simple. Covid poses negligible risk to the vast majority of people. For people under the age of 70, it is categorically forbidden to expose oneself to the known and unknown risks of an untested expedited vaccine that utilizes novel technology of modified RNA. Even for others who have some sort of risk factor for covid, they would be advised to wait for a substantial amount of time -- months or years -- until the vaccine's long-term safety can be verified.

See the Rebbe's Views on Vaccines.

I will conclude with a prayerful wish for health, sanity, and clarity to make the right decisions, without fear or panic.

Peace.