A SPRING STYLING FOR SIGHT-SEEING SPLIT CITY

Hi there! Here is an outfit I wore for a walk by the sea in Split, Croatia. All of the items in this outfit are from my closet, nothing is new.I have had this grey dress for years and like Sheila I love dresses with   pockets. There is a DIY element to it as well, because I painted flowers on this dress with textile paints.  The dress is a bit on the short side so I typically pair it with leggings.  That's what I did for this stroll by the seaside. Anyhow, I promised to write more about the vaccination process in Split. I will not offer any advice, as that is something only a medical professionals can do. I'm also not advocating for either option either. Generally speaking, I'm in favour of vaccinations because they save lives, but I understand people's divided opinions as there are many strange things about this pandemic. Besides the fact that everyone's situation is different, there's also the fact of this not being a regular situation at all. I don't believe into pressuring anyone into something, but I would still advise people to listen to medical professionals. Doctors probably know more about this than we do.  Anyhow, I will just write a bit about my experience. I postponed this post a bit because  I needed to look some things online to make sure I got the current key facts right. What I learned is the following. Vaccination is not required in Croatia, but it is now widely available. You can get vaccinated in Croatia if you have a legally registered residency in the country. You don't have to have citizenship or health insurance to get vaccinated, but you need to have a temporary or permanent address in Croatia. 

There are three options to get vaccinated: by a family doctor (i.e. your GP), by registering on an online system or by phone. I recommend the phone option as it is very efficient and anyway the online system hasn't proven reliable. We tried the online system earlier if I recall well and the phone scheduling was definitely a better option.  The phone process was surprisingly easy. My husband called a number my GP gave me and was scheduled for the first dose and vaccinated the next day.  It seems there was some improvement in the vaccination process since the last time I was in Croatia. This was all at the end of last month. My vaccination process was a bit complicated, but not because of my relatively young age, but because of the fact that I have an immune illness and am taking medication that suppresses my immune system (making it hard for the vaccine to work). I basically take the same medication as transplant patients.  Obviously if your immune system doesn't work, the effect of vaccination is questionable. A lower response or even no response is to be expected in some cases. You may read more here, here,   here and here. I think lower protection is still better than no protection and the risks of taking a vaccine are after all quite small.

HOW I WORE THIS DRESS IN 2013 HERE

I got varying opinions on whether I should get a vaccine or not, possibly also because I have had quite a few allergic reactions in the past. Typically in situations like this one, I only pay full attention to what medical experts have to say, so that was what I did this time as well. Eventually, I got vaccinated a few days after my husband. I consulted one of the doctors present when my husband was getting vaccinated. The doctor on call (and my GP) wanted confirmation and opinion from the gastroentrologist in charge of my case, but I haven't been able to contact her since the corona started  (because the hospital work differently now), so I asked other gastroentrologists and doctors I managed to find for opinion. 

 It seems that nobody really wants to take full responsibility for the decision to vaccinate those suffering from immune illnesses because there isn't a lot of data on immune illnesses and vaccination. So, it seems we are left on our own when it comes to the final decision. Most doctors say it is better to have some protection than none, so it makes sense to vaccinate those with immune illnesses even if they do not receive the same protection from the vaccination, they still get some protection in some cases. As I said earlier and as some of you know,  I have an immune illness and I'm still on immune suppressant medication.   

As a person who is on immune suppressant medication, I know there is a chance that the vaccine won't offer me the same protection as others, but I still decided to go ahead with the vaccination despite the mentioned issue and a history of allergies.  I don't have much more to say on the topic of  people on immune suppressant medication and vaccination. You know your situation best. I read as many articles and papers on the subject I could find (I linked some of them in the second paragraph). If you're in the same situation, the only advice I can give you is to ask your doctors and make the decision for yourself. If you already got vaccinated, continue to be careful because the chances are that the vaccine will offer you lower protection (and in some of cases none). 

To be completely honest, one of the reasons why I decided to get vaccinated is financial. The vaccine is free and the tests are costly.  I simply cannot keep paying for all those tests everything time I need to go somewhere or do something. Moreover, I don't want vaccine to hinder my job search. I guess everyone knows their situation best. I did what I thought was best opinion for me. 

Thank you for reading and visiting. Have a nice day!