To think you wouldn’t get vaccinated if you knew your risk from covid was low

[Coveed]

Just imagine for a moment there was a calculator that could predict your risk of getting seriously ill or dying from covid. If it turned out you were low risk would you still follow all the advice such as socially distancing and getting vaccinated?

YABU - yes I would still follow the rules and advice even if I were low risk
YANBU - no I wouldn’t endure the hardship of not seeing friends/family and I wouldn’t bother with getting vaccinated as my risk of becoming unwell would be low.

YABVVU. This is about the collective population. By getting the vaccination, however unpleasant the side effects might possibly be, I contribute in a small way to group immunity.

@Dustyboots @Bigtom

You might find this website useful

vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vk/COVID19-FAQs#Q10

Thank you Sunshinegirl82, for the link and also for all other advice.

Well, yes because I'm not a selfish I'm alright jack C*

Yes, because I'm not a twat and can see the bigger picture. Funnily enough it's not all about me

Perhaps I should be, but I have never been that bothered about catching it myself. But I am petrified of passing it on to the vulnerable

Of course people should have it!
Less transmission means a faster exit from lockdown.
Every person who gets the vaccine encourages others (including the people who ARE at high risk) to take it up as well.
Less chance of new strains arising.
I think the long COVID risk is being overblown, but the risk still exists and is far from zero.
Would you refuse the measles jab for your kids too? The great majority of kids who get measles will recover with no obvious sequelae.

Yes, I would still have the vaccine.

I'm amused at the OP's feigned? shock that do many people are thinking of others, not just themselves. The majority will be considering vulnerable people in their own lives, while the rest (Inc me) are uncomfortable with the thought of saying 'Screw you vulnerable sorts, I'm off to do whatever the fuck I want'.

Something about the writing style makes it sound like this wasn't a question asked in good faith though

@Coveed

Most people responding have focussed largely on getting the vaccine - what about other things like maintaining social distance/not seeing friends or family. Would knowing you are low risk affect your motivation to do that?

I do know my risk is low but I still follow the guidelines because I try not to be a self-absorbed arsehole.

@Coveed

Please let’s treat each other’s opinions with respect and avoid name calling.

Also, this is not a thread for discussing the risks/benefits of vaccination - it’s really just asking if your behaviour might change dependent on your level of risk. Overwhelming the majority have said no, their behaviour is driven by altruistic motives to protect the most vulnerable in our society, rather than fear about their own personal risk. I find this interesting as it goes against the scientific evidence that functional fear is the key predictor of compliance with public health interventions in relation to COVID.

Do you have a link to a study discussing that evidence?

@ContessaDiPulpo

I'm amused at the OP's feigned? shock that do many people are thinking of others, not just themselves. The majority will be considering vulnerable people in their own lives, while the rest (Inc me) are uncomfortable with the thought of saying 'Screw you vulnerable sorts, I'm off to do whatever the fuck I want'.

Something about the writing style makes it sound like this wasn't a question asked in good faith though

Agreed. I also love the assumption that we’re all too thick to have an idea of our own risk levels. The risk of my dying from Covid is absolutely tiny. I know that. Doesn’t mean I’m having illicit house parties and licking supermarket trollies. I have some concerns about the way the pandemic has been handled, but I follow the rules as a) most of them are the law, and I don’t want fines, b) I don’t want to be responsible for making someone else ill and c) my children need to be at school, and keeping cases low is the best way for that to be achieved at the moment. On a personal level, I also really don’t want to be stuck in my house for 10 days so staying away from other people lessens my risk of having to self isolate due to being in contact with a positive case.

@SaskiaRembrandt
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7185265/

Well, I would certainly hope that people wouldn’t be that selfish, thinking only about themselves. It’s also about doing your civic duty to stop it killing others. I don’t really think if I got it I would die (but who really knows?) because I don’t have any underlying issues. I don’t fit the usual profile of those who end up in hospital and/or die.

But could you live with yourself if you knew you gave it to someone who then died? I know I’d be wracked with guilt.

I’ve had covid, mildly, and I still felt fucking awful for more than eight weeks. I don’t want it again. DS3 had the chicken pox vaccination for the same reasons. Nobody enjoys being ill.

Why do you think the only thing driving this is fear of death?

Why wouldn't we move forward with science? Vaccinations are the reason we are not all being wiped out by typhoid and polio ! Ffs are we medieval peasants terrified of witchcraft?? Ridiculous.

@Changechangychange The data are contrary to the opinions in this thread. There are quite a few studies noting the association between fear and compliance - I put a link to a study above which found that fear was the main driver of people adhering to the public health messages on COVID.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7185265/

But why wouldn't you have it in first place?

Why all the angst about it? it seems it's really bad in France and some other countries as well.

Coveed, that article was published in April 2020 - do you not think that societal understanding of Covid risk (and attitudes to vaccination) might have evolved since then?

So did you think we all thought if we caught it we’d die from it?
The vast majority of us are aware that our personal risk is low. That information isn’t hidden. As multiple people have pointed out, there are even calculators that tell you your risk. Do you think we’re all just not educated enough to know what our personal risk level is?

My child’s doctor told me that the vaccine doesn’t stop you contracting sars Cov-2 and passing it on but prevents you having very bad symptoms if you do contract it.
Is this not the case?

This was in the last couple of weeks so don’t know if there are new studies since then.

@Timbucktime

My child’s doctor told me that the vaccine doesn’t stop you contracting sars Cov-2 and passing it on but prevents you having very bad symptoms if you do contract it. Is this not the case?

This was in the last couple of weeks so don’t know if there are new studies since then.

There is a lot of evidence emerging to say that it does in fact prevent transmission.

I don't really see the parallel between having the vaccine (a one off thing which is extremely low risk) and continued social distancing. The vaccine is literally the path out of social distancing rules. So whilst I might be reluctant to social distance forever especially amongst family who were also low risk, getting the vaccine comes at very low inconvenience to myself and means that I'm contributing to everyone no longer having to social distance.
I think part of the problem is that, for behavioural psychology reasons that I think were misguided, for many years we've been approaching anti vax opinion with the argument that you benefit as much as society. This encourages people to make their own risk assessments about vaccines - and mostly get the risk hugely wrong. There is a risk calculator for Covid mortality risk but no calculator for vaccine risk - but plenty of social media anti vax opinion to inflate people's perception of it.

Yes I would.

I've had Covid and felt dreadful for three weeks and poorly for eight. And that was a mild case.

The risk of me dying from it is minimal but I don't want the illness again, I'll be having vaccinations as often as recommended.

I was surprised to learn how low the flu shot rates are (this winter being an exception) - i always get one, and I'm unlikely to die of flu but the little old lady in the coop queue behind me might?

Isn't it the same for COVID or have I missed something?

(Yes I've ignored that the majority of people would have to pay for the flu shot - is that why the take-up rare is low? Economics?)