Colleague who does not want to get vaccinated

[JennieLee]

I've recently returned to work in a venue that has been closed because of Covid.

Was chatting with various colleagues about whether they'd had first and/or second jabs and one person who is of mature years - and rather anxious - said they weren't having vaccinations, though they 'weren't an anti-vaxxer.'

One of my other colleagues says this is because they have a condition which affects their immune system. I was already aware of this condition but on looking it up, the official medical body says there is no reason why people with this condition should be adversely affected by the vaccine. The official advice is to have it.

It seems to me that by working in proximity with her over prolonged periods I am at increased risk of carrying the vaccine and infecting others. (I've had both jabs.)

Is there anything I can do, I wonder...?

@lolasmiles

Not everyone who won't vaccinate is doing so because of a Facebook post, and I think if you gave people more credit than that you might actually be able to have a serious conversation.

I instantly roll my eyes when someone calls me a conspiracy theorist for not wanting a vaccine that no Dr has been able to tell me the ingredients of. I know a lot of people who are drinking a bottle of wine every night, eating crap whenever I see them and will pop any pill the Dr gives them instead of getting to the root cause of their issues. That's not how everyone deals with illness, sorry. I still don't go around getting annoyed at people because they don't take charge of their health in the way I do.

@Gwenhwyfar

"No one owes it to you to take a vaccine, No one."

Except that they do.
If nobody gets the vaccine we won't get out of this shit so the majority of us need to get the vaccine.

No. You get the vaccine to protect yourself nobody else! yes the unvaccinated will benefit slightly from a collective herd immunity but personally they will still be more vulnerable to covid than the vaccinated.

"No. You get the vaccine to protect yourself nobody else!"

No! I didn't get the vaccine to protect myself!

She does right... me and my family are not having it either
not a chance they pumping shite in me

My gran had her first jab 8 weeks later she has 2 small heartattacks
Human rights and all that !!

@Gwenhwyfar

"No. You get the vaccine to protect yourself nobody else!"

No! I didn't get the vaccine to protect myself!

Well I certainly did! I had the vaccine purely for my own benefit, no one else's

"Well I certainly did! I had the vaccine purely for my own benefit, no one else's"

Makes sense if you are old or vulnerable. For the rest of us that's not the case.

Well if it doesn’t make sense stop insisting that other people should have it.

@bumbleymummy

Well if it doesn’t make sense stop insisting that other people should have it.

I think you've misunderstood the whole point of the vaccine. It's not to protect YOU, it's to get herd immunity so of course we need as many people as possible to have it.

No, the point of the vaccine is reduce the risk of serious illness and death and prevent the hospitals being overwhelmed with covid patients. It’s why older and more vulnerable groups were prioritised.

“The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises that the first priorities for the current COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of COVID-19 mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems. Secondary priorities could include vaccination of those at increased risk of hospitalisation and at increased risk of exposure, and to maintain resilience in essential public services.”

Source

@bumbleymummy

No, the point of the vaccine is reduce the risk of serious illness and death and prevent the hospitals being overwhelmed with covid patients. It’s why older and more vulnerable groups were prioritised.

If that was the only point, nobody under 60 and not vulnerable would be vaccinated. There were clearly hopes at the beginning, whether they've been proved true or not, that the vaccine would also reduce transmission.

A 2 second Google and:

"A growing body of evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to be infected without showing symptoms (called an asymptomatic infection) and potentially less likely to spread the virus that causes COVID-19 to others. However, further investigation is ongoing.
Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools we have available. As experts learn more about how COVID-19 vaccination may help reduce spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, CDC will continue to update its recommendations to protect communities using the latest science."

www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/vaccine-benefits.html#:~:text=The%20risk%20of%20severe%20illness,without%20having%20to%20experience%20sickness.

@Gwenhwyfar

residents in a care home for older adults and their carers
all those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers
all those 75 years of age and over
all those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals[footnote 1]
all those 65 years of age and over
all individuals aged 16 years[footnote 2] to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality[footnote 3]
all those 60 years of age and over
all those 55 years of age and over
all those 50 years of age and over
It is estimated that taken together, these groups represent around 99% of preventable mortality from COVID-19.

From the same link above. These are the top 9 groups that account for ~99% of the deaths. It includes healthcare workers (of all ages) and over 50s.

@strangeshapedpotato

TBH I'd press management about it. And while nobody can FORCE them to have the vaccine, you can make their lives a lot less pleasant.

Their choice puts the rest of you at increased risk, not to mention your customers.

All this personal choice argument is just bullshit. It's ONLY a personal choice if it doesn't affect anyone else.

😳😧 make their lives less pleasant?

Last time I checked we were allowed to make informed choice. Glad I don't work with some of the posters on here! 🙈

@Woollff

I have an auto immune disease and have had both COVID jabs. However I would not force my views on anyone. In fact I think my disease was triggered by a vaccine to begin with, so I can understand people being wary.

You are just as likely or unlikely to catch it from a random person. It is rather stalkerish to Google someone’s medical condition.

Me too @Woollff

In fact I had a strong immune reaction to the vaccine, which I was expecting as my immune system overreacts to everything.

I would always have it though but OP, you can’t force people and I’d hate to live in a world where we weren’t given a choice. It’s a slippery slope.

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/causesofdeath/articles/deathsduetocovid19interactivemap/2021-02-25

This may help in getting some perspective . Then perhaps you may feel you are overreacting at your colleague

Think rationally for a moment

Your own vaccination will protect you from suffering serious illness, although not prevent you becoming infected or passing it on. The same applies to your colleague.

Maybe you should do a bit of research into vaccine efficacy and medical ethics before putting pressure on someone to have an experimental vaccine, which is only licensed for emergency use?

Someone said the uptate is 90% in vulnerable groups but not quite correct. The uptake is much, much lower in certain groups. Read only 50-70% in the Black and Pakistani communities. Sadly, these are also those groups who seem particularly vulnerable and more likely to end up in hospital, putting pressure on the NHS.

Good summary of the currently available evidence on the cut in transmission in those who are vaccinated: www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/yes-vaccines-block-most-transmission-of-covid-19

[quote bumbleymummy]@Gwenhwyfar

residents in a care home for older adults and their carers
all those 80 years of age and over and frontline health and social care workers
all those 75 years of age and over
all those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals[footnote 1]
all those 65 years of age and over
all individuals aged 16 years[footnote 2] to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality[footnote 3]
all those 60 years of age and over
all those 55 years of age and over
all those 50 years of age and over
It is estimated that taken together, these groups represent around 99% of preventable mortality from COVID-19.

From the same link above. These are the top 9 groups that account for ~99% of the deaths. It includes healthcare workers (of all ages) and over 50s.[/quote]
What point are you making?

It’s in response to this ‘ If that was the only point, nobody under 60 and not vulnerable would be vaccinated.’

It includes over 50s and health workers ( so people who are under 60)

No one has right over bodily health, it's a slippery sloPe to losing other bodily automany