Vaccine or no vaccine? Opinions please

[gonewiththegin]

I am mid thirties, female with no existing health conditions. By no means an anti vaxer but I feel very uneasy about getting the jab.

I am aware it’s for the benefit of others more than myself, after all I’ve spent the best part of a year wfh and in complete isolation from anyone not in my household. I feel I’ve done my bit, I protected the vulnerable when there was as no vaccine. Now there is one and they’ve all had their first jag.

I think they government is aware the younger generations with no health conditions will likely have the same opinion as myself hence the talk of vaccine passports for gigs etc. IMO this is blackmail and a lot to people who were not planning on having the jag now will do so purely so they can go on holiday.

Is there something I am missing? Should I just get the jag and be done with it, it should I reject on the basis that I am fit and healthy.

@Roonerspismed - when will the stage 4 trial data come out?

I think 2023 but even in the next six months we will get more of an idea about the various risks eg the demographics around the platelets issue

To be honest I’m watching the longer term data over the mRNA vaccines but if they vaccinate the control group then it will be pointless as there won’t be such data.

I’m extremely cautious about these things though and I think they are probably okay

You have the wrong comparators.

You should be considering the risks in having 'Covid after vaccine' versus having 'Clovid with no vaccine'. Everyone will get Covid at some point. It isn't going away.

I am glad that (in theory, as I am immune suppressed and the vaccine might not work on me) I have a lowered chance of long Covid, hospitalization and death, because I was vaccinated.

I wish you well whatever decision you make, but take note of the correct comparators above!

The government aren't blackmailing you, just offering to save your life / protect you from possible serious illness. There's no cure for stupid though.

@museumsandgalleries666

The government aren't blackmailing you, just offering to save your life / protect you from possible serious illness. There's no cure for stupid though.

There's no cure for stupid though

Yep, because insulting people will make them roll their sleeves up.

I'm in my 20s and plan on getting it when offered. Obviously I'm very low risk, but I would rather minimise the chances of me passing it to someone more vulnerable than myself.

I cannot wait to get the vaccine and am so thankful to all those people who agreed to the trials for a new vaccine so we could even have a vaccine to debate about whether to have or not. What a service to humanity! Given the chance, I would have volunteered for those trails too. There are risks to everything - paracetamol, the pill, insert any other medication here, alcohol, smoking, crossing the road, etc - but the risks are outweighed by the benefits. The fact is, COVID had changed the world in a way none of us wants and life as we know it cannot sustain. What alternative do we have beyond this vaccine which experts (with phds and whatnots) have assessed and said is safe? The plan cannot be to ride it out - the world has gone into lockdown exactly because that is not an option.

@museumsandgalleries666 or no cure for rudeness clearly 🙄

I'm older than you and have had both jabs. To do this I have had to come off medication to give the vaccine its best chance of working. Once I restart medication the vaccine might not be very effective (but still better than no vaccine). The more people who are vaccinated, the less risk that someone will transmit it to me.
There are lots of children and adults who won't be able to have the vaccine. All of them depend on other people having it.

[quote gonewiththegin]@museumsandgalleries666 or no cure for rudeness clearly 🙄[/quote]
Correct, no cure for rude or stupid, but a free vaccine which may save lives / prevent serious illness.

Difficult choice.....

I'm mid 30s and healthy, wouldn't expect to suffer too much if I did get the virus. But I'll be having the jag (Scottish person here) when my turn comes, because I want my normal life back. For me it's nothing to do with my health or anyone else's, I just want to be able to go out and enjoy my life, maybe even go on holiday if the notion takes me.

So say the government is bringing in "vaccine passports" purely to persuade people like you who are on the fence to get the jab

Don't you think there may be a reason for that? Perhaps because until enough of us are vaccinated the country and economy cannot get back to normal.

There is no giant conspiracy happening

@Dustyboots my point was just because someone perceives themselves as being healthy with no current underlying illnesses doesn't mean they necessarily are! Covid isn't just a respiratory illness, it can have significant effects on other body systems and you don't really know how your body will cope until it has to.

Actually, thinking about it a bit more, yes, it is partially on health grounds I'll be getting the jag. Even though I wouldn't expect to suffer too much, I might as well do what I can to avoid getting sick and especially avoid long covid. I don't like needles, but I can put on my big girl pants for the short time it'll take. It's important to me that things go back to normal and if taking a vaccine that is very, very, VERY unlikely to do me any harm is the way to go about it, that's fine by me.

Mmr

• is 80-90% effective. But you wouldnt have caught it if all kids had been vaccinated as it would stop spread to those who it didnt work for

If your mmr didnt work then maybe your immune system isnt/wasnt that great?

How will you feel if you pass covid to your kids. Or they have to have 10d off school when you are isolating because you have it.
Or you close the school bubble?
(And mean the parents cant work maybe miss out on their holiday or other event?)

Once we lift restrictions we will be back to an r of say 3.5 which will only then be reduced via the vaccinated.

I don’t think you should aim a passport scheme at controlling people’s decisions and call me stupid but that’s exactly what it is. Under 30 category take up is likely to be the lowest out of all other groups. Under 30s are more likely to suck it up and get the jag if it means they can meet their mates in the pub. That is the turning point for many people I know, having their arm twisted because their freedom wouldn’t continue to be restricted if they didn’t comply.

@HSHorror no issues with immune system, caught it abroad. Possibly uptake of the vaccination was lower in that part of the world at that time.

No school closure for any age group in my area so far, even with the new variant. I could catch and spread Covid even with the jag but as I WFH and shop online and have done for the last year it’s very unlikely that I would catch it anywhere other than my child’s school.

You may be overthinking this. The only way we'll ever get back to normal is if a high proportion of people are vaccinated. There are some people who can't have it for medical reasons, so it is helpful if the rest of us get vaccinated.

I know loads of people who've had the vaccine. All have had no or only very mild effects. I also know several people who've had Covid. Some mildly, some have been quite poorly for a week or two, thankfully none have died or have continuing illness.

Your choice of course, but it seems a no-brainer to me.

@gonewiththegin

I don’t think you should aim a passport scheme at controlling people’s decisions and call me stupid but that’s exactly what it is. Under 30 category take up is likely to be the lowest out of all other groups. Under 30s are more likely to suck it up and get the jag if it means they can meet their mates in the pub. That is the turning point for many people I know, having their arm twisted because their freedom wouldn’t continue to be restricted if they didn’t comply.

For me it’s one of the main reasons I’ve had it. There are plenty and If this gives me the key to have part of my life back I’ll have it. If other people rather continue having lockdowns and their freedom cut every now and again with quarantines , furlough etc then that’s their choice.

@EasterIssland I wouldn’t rather live life in lockdown but I would be happy to socially distance and continue to wear a mask while in restaurants etc. It just doesn’t sit right with me, a reward of the freedom we used to have to get vaccinated. My opinion of course and I totally respect yours to go ahead and get the jag.

I am now in my 60s, overweight and with a risk condition but still working and have had both jabs now.

Some things that helped make my mind up were:
The evidence as explained by proper scientists (as opposed to Facebook ones!)
Seeing several people who were younger, thinner and, presumably, fitter than me absolutely floored by Covid even if they didn't need hospital treatment. Hearing someone in their 30s crying because she cannot get up one flight of stairs weeks after, apparently, recovering does not leave you quickly
Within our local healthcare trust it was noticeable that the consultants, GPs and other doctors were keen to be in line for this and any hesitation was from those less likely to have understood the medical evidence.
It just seems like the fastest way to get back to living life.

[quote gonewiththegin]@EasterIssland I wouldn’t rather live life in lockdown but I would be happy to socially distance and continue to wear a mask while in restaurants etc. It just doesn’t sit right with me, a reward of the freedom we used to have to get vaccinated. My opinion of course and I totally respect yours to go ahead and get the jag.[/quote]
But those restaurants won’t be able to fully open so they might be needing to make people redundant, some sectors wouldn’t be able to open neither. I wfh , weekly online shopping. I’ve not seen any friends since summer last year and my family live abroad so I’ve not seen them. So whilst we’ll be ok and we can hide from the virus .. the reality is that there will be people out there losing their jobs etc and one day it might be us. My biggest threat is that my son is going to nursery , the fear of getting a call that he needs to self isolate. The fact that he can’t see his family because the pandemic. Those are important things for me and the reason why I had it. And being able to fly without the need of pcrs. Long COVID sounds scary but so far I’ve managed to escape from it , but the long term impact of everything that is going on in my mental health is bigger and I feel I need this to end soon so I’ll do what needs to be done on my side

OP make the decision based on health grounds not what people think about "restaurants opening up". A vaccine or indeed any injected substance is a health decision not an economical one and the decision should be based on health not anything else.

Posters saying they will be taking medication to conform to government policy are in my view ridiculous- if we all did things that benefited others we would never drive, never use anything to harm the environment, have compulsory blood donation, bone marrow donation, nor drink/eat junk food incase we "over stretched the NHS", never have sex again incase of an std. I won't be having the vaccine, if that "doesnt open a restaurant" tough shit, each person makes decisions for their own health and immediate family. You only get one life and that doesn't include putting your health on the line.. and it is no matter how small the risks for something which may open a fucking restaurant up. The vulnerable have been vaccinated and the people preaching about saving others are normally the ones smoking and drinking their way to NHS intervention taking up beds en route to an early grave anyway

But not having the vaccine puts your health on the line way more than having it?!!!! Covid is worse than the vaccine. The after effects are worse from covid. The risk of clots is worse from covid.

I am 30, fit and healthy and will be getting the vaccine because I recognise that it's not just about me, it's about protecting others and helping to achieve herd immunity so life can get back to normal.