Choosing not to get vaccine

[InnerDiscomfort]

Not looking to start a fight, but interested if you have made the decision not to get the vaccine and have no condition that you know of that would stop you, why not?

Family members abroad have decided not to get the vaccine (Pfizer I think). Vague concerns about it not being safe and/ or tested enough. They both work outside the home and have families. Fairly fit and healthy so unlikely to be seriously affected by COVID, under 50 years of age.

It's not something I agree with but up to them I guess. I'm also unlikely to get ill but had my first vaccine mainly to help stop the spread (and I'd like to go abroad!)

So if you haven't had it, I'm interested in your reasoning if you would care to share.

I watched the first series. But they have now shortened it to half an hour , changed the time and i forgot it was on.

@MercyBooth my friend had a knock on the door by a ‘community leader’ (in quotes as she had never heard of them or seen them before that day), and was patronised because she had the audacity to be black and not want the vaccine. One of his reasons was “but it might be the case you can only travel abroad to see your relatives if you have it!”

She said she laughed in his face at that point but later got angry that the fact she was black must mean she’s has relatives abroad. She doesn’t. And like me, she’s not been able to afford a holiday of any sort in years.

Alexa that is awful. Coercion at its finest

@MissConductUS

Yep. I'm not an anti-vaxxer by any means but while they continue to only offer me AZ, I shall continue to refuse.

The good news is that supply has more or less caught up with demand in the US, which means that more Pfizer and Moderna vaccines should be available for export later this year to countries that can handle the logistics they require.

That sounds promising. I'm happy to wait for a vaccine I have a modicum of confidence in.

@Alexapissoff they just dont get it. Ive never seen such concern for poorer communities before.

[quote Alexapissoff]@MercyBooth my friend had a knock on the door by a ‘community leader’ (in quotes as she had never heard of them or seen them before that day), and was patronised because she had the audacity to be black and not want the vaccine. One of his reasons was “but it might be the case you can only travel abroad to see your relatives if you have it!”

She said she laughed in his face at that point but later got angry that the fact she was black must mean she’s has relatives abroad. She doesn’t. And like me, she’s not been able to afford a holiday of any sort in years.[/quote]
This is terrible.

But, depressingly, not surprising.

Threads like this show with great clarity why we end up with rifts and fights. The arrogance of those implying that their position is the only right one (that people who don't agree are stupid and selfish, etc etc) is deeply depressing. That people can't see that there are other perspectives is sad (and it certainly isn't the people who have thought carefully and decided not to have the jab who are being shown up as unthinking or blinkered).

And it only puts people off the jab, so... ¯\(ツ)/¯

@MercyBooth

The hard parts are being experienced by those who have lost jobs and homes

Definitely! I haven't even had a passport since I was 11 years old as my family couldn't really afford holidays, and nor can I. Can't see that changing anytime soon either!

@MercyBooth that’s why the whole sudden concern for the greater good makes me laugh. If community is so important - do you know how many families in your area are currently in inadequate homeless accommodation, many of them with one or both parents working? Do you know how many people rely on food banks? Do you know how many women’s refuges have had to shut? How many children have caring responsibilities that stop them being able to access education? If so, what are you doing to help for the greater good?

But everyone must have the vaccine, greater good. Community.

The world is very small for a huge number of people for whom holidays and haircuts are way down the list.

I have Indian parents. I’ve been fucking patronised by people over the vaccine because of my heritage just like my friend who has African parents has.

I don’t even know where I’m going with this, sorry (it’s been a horrible day and I might have had a large glass of wine or two already).

Interesting. I am Indian and have absolutely no problem with community leaders knocking on my door to offer me the vaccine, since DH and I are at more risk of dying of Covid. I do not find it patronising or coercive, any more than I might find a message advising me about my higher risk of diabetes patronising or coercive.

@Alexapissoff Im half Italian and have relatives in Italy and New York. Ive been to Italy twice in my life, In 1977 when i was four and in 1983 when i was ten. Last time i went abroad was the school trip to Switzerland in 1986.

I go to the hairdressers visit my parents and go shopping. All in the same town. Thats it. My world is quite small. Not complaining. Its just the way it is. But many dont realize its the same for lots of us.

@Alexapissoff

[quote Alexapissoff]@MercyBooth that’s why the whole sudden concern for the greater good makes me laugh. If community is so important - do you know how many families in your area are currently in inadequate homeless accommodation, many of them with one or both parents working? Do you know how many people rely on food banks? Do you know how many women’s refuges have had to shut? How many children have caring responsibilities that stop them being able to access education? If so, what are you doing to help for the greater good?

But everyone must have the vaccine, greater good. Community.

The world is very small for a huge number of people for whom holidays and haircuts are way down the list.

I have Indian parents. I’ve been fucking patronised by people over the vaccine because of my heritage just like my friend who has African parents has.

I don’t even know where I’m going with this, sorry (it’s been a horrible day and I might have had a large glass of wine or two already).[/quote]
Very true. It seems the ‘greater good’ argument only applies to a very narrow set of circumstances.

@Frequentflier

Interesting. I am Indian and have absolutely no problem with community leaders knocking on my door to offer me the vaccine, since DH and I are at more risk of dying of Covid. I do not find it patronising or coercive, any more than I might find a message advising me about my higher risk of diabetes patronising or coercive.

I’ve not had any community leaders knock on my door as I’m not part of any community, Indian, religious or otherwise but I would feel hugely patronised, just like my friend who is black and the same as me, not part of any community defined by her race or religion was.

[quote Alexapissoff]@MercyBooth that’s why the whole sudden concern for the greater good makes me laugh. If community is so important - do you know how many families in your area are currently in inadequate homeless accommodation, many of them with one or both parents working? Do you know how many people rely on food banks? Do you know how many women’s refuges have had to shut? How many children have caring responsibilities that stop them being able to access education? If so, what are you doing to help for the greater good?

But everyone must have the vaccine, greater good. Community.

The world is very small for a huge number of people for whom holidays and haircuts are way down the list.

I have Indian parents. I’ve been fucking patronised by people over the vaccine because of my heritage just like my friend who has African parents has.

I don’t even know where I’m going with this, sorry (it’s been a horrible day and I might have had a large glass of wine or two already).[/quote]
This is so true. The ridiculous hypocrisy and illogicality of it all.

Sorry for what you've had to put up with.

Frequent flyer it's coercive to say you might not be able to visit family abroad if you don't have the vaccine.

It's also odd to just assume someone has family abroad

Perhaps they should have explained that black and S Asian people are at higher risk from Covid then. Which we are.

@BonnieDundee

Frequent flyer it's coercive to say you might not be able to visit family abroad if you don't have the vaccine.

It's also odd to just assume someone has family abroad

I don’t mean to bring racism into this. But it’s something I’ve always had to deal with.

I should have said I have an Indian Parent - not parents, sorry. Not that it should matter. And it doesn’t matter to a lot of people as they see my dark skin and some have immediately asked my whole life if “we” are Hindu, Sikh or Muslim (none, actually - shock horror, you can be Indian and not follow a religion).

But it’s always assumed that I have family in India. It used to drive my mother crazy. She and her parents moved here in the 1960s and they had no family in India once their parents died. It didn’t stop the constant “do you get to visit family in india?” Questions.

As an aside, the friend who I spoke of gets asked if she gets to go to the Caribbean to visit family her parents were born in Gambia, but hey, what’s a few thousand miles here or there?

@Frequentflier

Perhaps they should have explained that black and S Asian people are at higher risk from Covid then. Which we are.

Black and Asian people tend to also do jobs that put them in the front line for catching Covid. As do “the poor”.

[quote Alexapissoff]@MercyBooth that’s why the whole sudden concern for the greater good makes me laugh. If community is so important - do you know how many families in your area are currently in inadequate homeless accommodation, many of them with one or both parents working? Do you know how many people rely on food banks? Do you know how many women’s refuges have had to shut? How many children have caring responsibilities that stop them being able to access education? If so, what are you doing to help for the greater good?

But everyone must have the vaccine, greater good. Community.

The world is very small for a huge number of people for whom holidays and haircuts are way down the list.

I have Indian parents. I’ve been fucking patronised by people over the vaccine because of my heritage just like my friend who has African parents has.

I don’t even know where I’m going with this, sorry (it’s been a horrible day and I might have had a large glass of wine or two already).[/quote]
Completely agree. I've always found it incongruous that suddenly everyone is so "community minded" when it comes to Covid. I wonder how many of those people donate to charity/volunteer/vote for parties interested in community matters and improvements/etc...

@BusyEvenForBee wake up, sheeple and critical thinking normally go together I find.

That is my personal experience on social media etc

This is mine. Apologies to those who have already seen it.

Some bloke from a local fb group im on slid into my fb PMs at 11pm on Christmas Day
He pointed out that we havent always seen eye to eye (well i tend not to get on with misogynists) he wished me a Merry Christmas and asked me if id spent it with family (tier 4 so trying to catch me out, i did spend it with family as part of support bubble but didnt tell him that as its none of his business) then he prattled on about how the new strain had been found in our town. WRONG, It turned out to be Kent, We are in Essex. Then he went on about how there was a 70% higher chance of catching this one. And he said how at least we are following the rules unlike some

A gap and then another message from him on the 27th Dec at 10.50pm asking how my Christmas had been so far and was i still staying safe. I ignored it. Then a Happy New Year message on NYE.
I dont know him personally. Ive never physically met him. Felt fucking policed

Here is more evidence of the "community" we keep hearing about.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/may/10/queens-speech-photo-id-future-elections-social-care?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_gu&utm_medium&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1620601590

@MercyBooth

This is mine. Apologies to those who have already seen it.

Some bloke from a local fb group im on slid into my fb PMs at 11pm on Christmas Day
He pointed out that we havent always seen eye to eye (well i tend not to get on with misogynists) he wished me a Merry Christmas and asked me if id spent it with family (tier 4 so trying to catch me out, i did spend it with family as part of support bubble but didnt tell him that as its none of his business) then he prattled on about how the new strain had been found in our town. WRONG, It turned out to be Kent, We are in Essex. Then he went on about how there was a 70% higher chance of catching this one. And he said how at least we are following the rules unlike some

A gap and then another message from him on the 27th Dec at 10.50pm asking how my Christmas had been so far and was i still staying safe. I ignored it. Then a Happy New Year message on NYE.
I dont know him personally. Ive never physically met him. Felt fucking policed

What a weirdo!! I hope you blocked him.

@MercyBooth

This is mine. Apologies to those who have already seen it.

Some bloke from a local fb group im on slid into my fb PMs at 11pm on Christmas Day
He pointed out that we havent always seen eye to eye (well i tend not to get on with misogynists) he wished me a Merry Christmas and asked me if id spent it with family (tier 4 so trying to catch me out, i did spend it with family as part of support bubble but didnt tell him that as its none of his business) then he prattled on about how the new strain had been found in our town. WRONG, It turned out to be Kent, We are in Essex. Then he went on about how there was a 70% higher chance of catching this one. And he said how at least we are following the rules unlike some

A gap and then another message from him on the 27th Dec at 10.50pm asking how my Christmas had been so far and was i still staying safe. I ignored it. Then a Happy New Year message on NYE.
I dont know him personally. Ive never physically met him. Felt fucking policed

Fucking hell.