What are your reasons for having a vaccine?

[Billie18]

Is it to reduce the chances of serious illness because you are in one of the vulnerable categories?

Is it to prevent you from passing the virus on to others in the vulnerable categories?

Is it to stop you from catching the virus?

Is it so you can get your freedom back?

To save lives

Because there's a fair degree of coercion at my work (NHS).

My objection is the 12 week gap between doses. The efficacy of Pfizer was measured at 3 weeks.

Because I live with someone who is CEV.

There are other reasons but that’s the primary one.

I'll hold my hands up and say my first thought was to get my normal life back. I'm not vulnerable, I don't have any older family nearby and none of the friends I would normally see are vulnerable either. I don't want to get the virus, but if I did it would be very unlikely I'd die from it. Yes, the other reasons are important, but they aren't where my mind immediately went to.

I’m very low risk of any adverse side effects of covid, however, I will get vaccinated because:

• I believe the more people who get vaccinated the more we protect those more vulnerable members of society who cannot get the vaccine
• I trust our science, health and regulators to develop, test and approve a safe and effective vaccine, to be delivered to me in a safe and effective manner
• I believe that there may be some businesses/countries/venues that require vaccination as a standard entry requirement which I believe to be wholly within their rights and I would not want to deny myself the opportunity to attend
• it’s free and will be easily available so no difficulty to me

b, c and d. And I’m over 50.

Because I think it's the right thing to do.

Also of course, because I don't want to get ill, I don't want to pass it on on to anybody, and because I really want life to return to some sort of normal as soon as possible.

All of the above (apart from the being vulnerable one)

I'm unlikely to die or be seriously ill being 32 with no known underlying health conditions, a healthy weight and generally being well.

I'd quite like to get it to avoid being one of the tiny number of people my age who may die from it. Or feel ill for months on end.

I can't say I want to have the vaccine in order to 'save lives' given that the people at most risk of dying of it will have been vaccinated long before me.

Tbh I don't care, I'd happily take the risk myself tomorrow, because the risk to my mental health from living like this is far greater.

Because I want normal life back, and so that I can (eventually) travel to see family abroad in a country where I expect there will be vaccination requirement to enter.

b c and d, mainly d.

Actually @lurker101 has made a good point that I'll be happy to get it not only for myself but for the people who are unable to have the vaccine.

To get normal life back. Not only for me, but for everyone I know.

When I get a chance, it will be because I would hope it will minimise the likelihood of serious symptoms.

Points 2, 3 & 4 for me

I'm not clinically but I work with very vulnerable and frail older people

Two reasons, hopefully having the vaccine will reduce the chance of me passing it on to patients and I would like to avoid needing hospital treatment should I get it.

Actually three reasons, I really want to be able to go to the seaside again, I miss the sea.

To protect myself from getting COVID-19 and particularly from the risk of Long COVID (I’m in my mid 50s)

I'm young and already had covid and only had very mild symptoms.

I work for NHS and was offered the vaccine last week - I had it because I think the more people who get vaccination the more we protect everyone else, and those who are unable to have the vaccine And I also think it it means getting life back to normal then I'm up for it.

The first and the last reasons

I prefer to keep living for a few years yet
I want life to get back to normal so fed up of being stuck at home
I am booked to go to Jersey in July can make a good bet they won’t let you in without a vaccination
But more than me I want my daughter to get it She is in the group before me and is very vulnerable as a type 1 diabetic I have seen her twice in intensive care with pneumonia she is young with a small child Must admit I can be a bit cross when our local 85+ are moaning they haven’t had it yet or they have had to travel a few miles to receive vaccination
If it was possible I would gladly pay anything to get her vaccinated

A whole mix of reasons

• to save lives across the board
• to hopefully reduce the severity of illness if I caught it again (I'm CV)
• to hopefully reduce the chances of spreading it to others
• to help reduce the amount of covid passing around and to lower the viral load of said covid cases, hopefully

And hopefully so we can get on track faster to having our lives back

I think I’d need a good reason not to, rather than to have it surely?
I’m part of society, and want to play my part. I know two people and another three vulnerable children who can’t have it who really need a degree of herd immunity, which with the recent stats coming out of Israel, it looks like could be possible (ie, jab reduced transmission, which would be amazing) if enough of us have it.
I also have a friend who is undergoing diagnosis for an autoimmune condition that will make her really quite vulnerable, and that could be any of us. She just found out by chance due to being pregnant. None of us knows truly how vulnerable we are to this virus. Also, I truly believe in the science behind vaccines, it’s not complicated to grasp and it’s hugely well researched. We put so so many unknown and dangerous substances in our bodies, (micro plastics in breast milk being the most recent shocker) this is not one of them, we know what’s in this.
Also, if I was in any doubt, I’m a few million down the list. And nothing has ever been in the global spotlight like this vaccine. That’s one hell of a safety check. (It’s almost unheard of for problems with a vaccine not to be immediate).

Are you writing an article

I can't see how it matters what the motivation is. Altruism or selfishness, the effect at a population level is the same and that's what will get us out of this

I couldn't can less why anyone goes as long as they go tbh

I’m CEV because I am living with leukaemia, and those with blood cancers have the poorest outcomes of all those with cancer, and we’re over-represented in ICU admissions. Indeed if admitted to hospital (any ward) it’s a pretty poor prognosis.

Jab is booked for this weekend

There is going to be some follow up to see if those with blood cancers actually form the intended response - if I can find out how to be included in that trial I’ll be in like a shot. They are hoping to establish if there are clinical reasons to prefer one jab over the other when there are significant co-morbidities

For all of the above. I want my dad to leave his house, to hug him and friends and family I want to not be anxious to go to work every day, I want some enjoyment back, protect others (hopefully) and myself. Because what else do we have to try right now?

My NHS trust haven’t been coercive at all. Just made us aware when we can book appointments. Huge uptake tho!