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Original poster

To expect to be able to choose not to have the vaccine without being made to feel uncomfortable? *edited by MNHQ at OP's request*

571 replies

Drogonssmile · 05/01/2021 11:32

Risking a flaming here:

I work in the NHS not patient facing. Our Trust has said all non frontline staff are likely to be offered the vaccine next week. (1000 staff have already been done which is brilliant!)

I'm a fit and healthy 39 year old with no underlying health conditions. I am not an anti vaxxer however I am concerned about the lack of long term research that has understandably not been able to be done on the vaccine and have made an informed decision that I probably won't have it. I'd prefer my dose to go to someone more vulnerable. I believe this should be my choice.
My colleague is 62 and is all for having the vaccine which is great. I said I probably wouldn't as it doesn't affect transmission only the severity of the illness. Now she isn't speaking to me.
AIBU?

(Also given the amount of setbacks and govt lies/omissions in the last 10 months I wouldn't be at all surprised if the vaccine isn't the silver bullet we've been told to expect. The way things are going I can see is in the same situation in 12 months time).

OP posts:
Whydoievencare · 05/01/2021 12:30

The only reason why the vaccine has been quick to make is because of funding. Usually a vaccine takes years, but that’s due to a lack of funding and time being wasted to getting thinks approved. They’ve been able to pour so much money, time and effort into making this vaccine

Apollo3 · 05/01/2021 12:30

Nobody should be forced, even by moral pressure as on this thread, to have a medical treatment they do not want

Oh blah blah blah, individual rights bollocks. You want to live in a civilised society there are things you need to do for collective good. Wear a seatbelt, don't drink and drive, get vaccinated when there's a global pandemic...this is nothing new.

Bluntness100 · 05/01/2021 12:31

How? They will be offered it before me

How can you make decisions, work for the nhs, and be so uneducated on this? It’s all over the media. The vaccine is not 100 percent. There is still a chance, potentially in the region of 30 percent of becoming significantly ill. If you’re running around unvaccinated it means you increase her risk of catching it and becoming significantly ill. Potentially even dying. In addition they just don’t have the data yet to prove the impact on transmission but think it will reduce at least.

It’s one thing to say you won’t have it after research, it’s totally another to not bother even watching anything on it and then decide

dontdisturbmenow · 05/01/2021 12:31

Are you happy, that is without lying, to continue to wear a mask, not go into people's houses, nor restaurant, pubs, outdoor venues with crowds, to not use any public transport, go on holiday etc...until it is confirmed that herd immunity has been achieved.

I would still talk to you if you were my colleague, from afar but if I found out you did any of the above, I'd lose all respect for you.

ChasingRainbows19 · 05/01/2021 12:31

I’m 4q patient facing. I’m Fit and healthy.I’m
Not having it for me I’m having it to try protect others and achieve some kind of herd immunity. I want to protect vulnerable people like my dad.

I understand it’s a personal choice but the less people that have this, the harder it will be to achieve the goal. We want some normality back it’s got to be worth a try.

Bluntness100 · 05/01/2021 12:32

@Shaniac

Yanbu at all. Body autonomy. Its your choice what goes into your own body.

I would also tell your manager about your colleagues unprofessional behaviour. Someone at my work was recently sacked because she took to being moody and ignoring any staff she didn't agree with even despite warnings to leave her opinions private and she was old enough to know better. (not saying your colleague should be sacked but she needs to be spoken to about professional conduct and not being allowed to give silent treatment because she thinks she has a say in your body).

You can do this, but obviously you need to explain to your manager that you wish to remain unvaccinated and put your colleagues at risk. Then explain that people are upset about it understandably.
Belladonna12 · 05/01/2021 12:33

@Shaniac

Yanbu at all. Body autonomy. Its your choice what goes into your own body.

I would also tell your manager about your colleagues unprofessional behaviour. Someone at my work was recently sacked because she took to being moody and ignoring any staff she didn't agree with even despite warnings to leave her opinions private and she was old enough to know better. (not saying your colleague should be sacked but she needs to be spoken to about professional conduct and not being allowed to give silent treatment because she thinks she has a say in your body).

I somehow doubt the NHS is going to start sacking people disapproving of those who don't have the vaccine. Complaining about it to managers could backfire.
CuriousaboutSamphire · 05/01/2021 12:33

Nobody should be forced, even by moral pressure as on this thread, to have a medical treatment they do not want Absolutely! It is, as always here in the UK, a matter of individual choice.

However, having made that choice there will usually be some caveats, some restrictions that become necessary for those that make such choices.

You only have to look at the last measles outbreak to see why!

Kumquatsquash · 05/01/2021 12:33

@Spidey66

I wouldnt be happy in her position.

The reason why its gone through quickly is because it was already researched for SARS and has just been 'tweaked' for COVID.

If we want any kind of normality. the only hope is for as many people as possible to be vaccinated. Refusing it when offered just slows this down.

I think those who refuse, are looking for all the benefits of herd immunity while not taking the chances of any risks. I think it's selfish, tbh.

Ive got a colleague refusing it while spending all year panicking about covid as her family have asthma. I'm really angry with her.

The SARS vaccine was linked to increased risk of narcolepsy, guillain barre syndrome and liver damage in ferrets so hardly reassuring.
FindHungrySamurai · 05/01/2021 12:33

It’s not about the choice, it’s about the talking shite. Some of my best friends are smokers - but if they started banging on about health Nazis and correlation is not causation and their mate’s neighbour’s uncle Jim who smoked sixty a day and was run over by a bus aged ninety they would no longer be my friends.

CaptainSandy · 05/01/2021 12:33

Wear a seatbelt, don't drink and drive, get vaccinated when there's a global pandemic.

These are not comparible things. Only one of them involves having a medication injected into your body.

TheDailyCarbunkle · 05/01/2021 12:34

YABU in the sense that you can't expect any sort of sensible discussion on this from anyone. You're supposed to accept that the vaccine is 100% safe and not question it. People need to believe it's their saviour because there's no possible way they can accept that a virus just goes around no matter what you do. If you question that belief, you're destabilising them and making them think too much and they don't want to do that.

I won't be offered the vaccine anytime soon and I imagine that by the time I'm theoretically eligible enough of the 'we're all going to die!!!' mentality will gone to make it a non-issue. I certainly won't be volunteering to have it. I'm not anti-vaccines, I'm against making panic decisions that may have long-term consequences. On balance, the risk of covid and the risk of the vaccine are about on a par - ie very very tiny. I may or may not get covid (in fact, something my friend said to me last night about her BIL's symptoms makes me suspect I had it before Christmas and didn't realise) but that's a matter of luck. I'm not going to choose the risk of the vaccine for myself, not when I don't think it's worth it.

Oneearringlost · 05/01/2021 12:34

@Avenueofcherryblossom

I am concerned about the lack of long term research that has understandably not been able to be done on the vaccine and have made an informed decision that I probably won't have it. I'd prefer my dose to go to someone more vulnerable.

Really!!! So you are so concerned about the safety of the vaccine you want a vulnerable person to have your dose?

Huh! At last...I was coming on to say exactly this.
RisingSunn · 05/01/2021 12:35

unprofessionally

Original poster
Drogonssmile · 05/01/2021 12:35

@TheDailyCarbunkle

YABU in the sense that you can't expect any sort of sensible discussion on this from anyone. You're supposed to accept that the vaccine is 100% safe and not question it. People need to believe it's their saviour because there's no possible way they can accept that a virus just goes around no matter what you do. If you question that belief, you're destabilising them and making them think too much and they don't want to do that.

I won't be offered the vaccine anytime soon and I imagine that by the time I'm theoretically eligible enough of the 'we're all going to die!!!' mentality will gone to make it a non-issue. I certainly won't be volunteering to have it. I'm not anti-vaccines, I'm against making panic decisions that may have long-term consequences. On balance, the risk of covid and the risk of the vaccine are about on a par - ie very very tiny. I may or may not get covid (in fact, something my friend said to me last night about her BIL's symptoms makes me suspect I had it before Christmas and didn't realise) but that's a matter of luck. I'm not going to choose the risk of the vaccine for myself, not when I don't think it's worth it.

Thank you
OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 05/01/2021 12:36

Nobody should be forced, even by moral pressure as on this thread, to have a medical treatment they do not want

I also agree with this, but the flip side is people should not be forced to work with someone who may have a contagious virus that could be life threatening for them. So if you decide not to be vaccinated then you if you cannot work permanently from home you need to resign.

m0therofdragons · 05/01/2021 12:37

I find it interesting that every single consultant in my hospital has had it - they jumped at the chance.

Gobbycop · 05/01/2021 12:37

How will anyone know unless you tell them.

People can mind their own business regarding who is or isn't vaccinated.

CaptainSandy · 05/01/2021 12:37

@TheDailyCarbunkle that's a good post, thank you. I'm not sure why there's this view that if you don't accept, without question, that the vaccine is 100% safe then you're some sort of idiot.

There are risks to taking anything and the reality is that for younger, healthier people the risks from a vaccine do very likely outweigh risks from covid, on average.

The selfish accusation could equally to turned around, one could argue that it's selfish to expect others to risk a medication for our own safety.

ilovesooty · 05/01/2021 12:38

I'm getting rather tired of hearing people banging on about their individual rights and freedoms. It's about time some of these people realised that there is a distinct case for collective responsibility and acting in the best interests of wider society. This to me means being vaccinated if you can be. I have limited respect for people who can't see that.

user1497207191 · 05/01/2021 12:38

I presume the OP will expect their full pay whilst they're off sick with covid? Perhaps those who refuse the vaccine (for no health reason) should be excluded from the sick pay scheme??

FindHungrySamurai · 05/01/2021 12:38

TBF it’s not unreasonable to say that a treatment might be unacceptably dangerous to a healthy person but have acceptable risk/benefit payoffs for a more vulnerable person. If this vaccine made one in a hundred thousand people instantly drop dead then it would be unreasonable to give it to a healthy eighteen year old, but fine for a ninety five year old living a highly restricted self-isolated life.

DappledThings · 05/01/2021 12:38

YABU, for all the reasons already given.

TheDailyCarbunkle · 05/01/2021 12:39

On the subject of doing it to protect vulnerable people - I've done plenty to protect vulnerable people and so have my children, who are now losing months more of their education, without me actively taking on a health risk for them. They want the country shut down to protect them, fine, I will do that. But I won't take a vaccine because I don't think it's safe. They can't demand that of me too. There is a limit.

I could demand that vulnerable people go out in the world and take a risk, but of course I won't. They equally can't demand I get injected. They are not the only people who matter.

Backbee · 05/01/2021 12:40

How is someone ignoring you being seen as discrimination? Also I like the I won't have it as not safe, but want others to get it.