Do 18yr olds really need to have the jab?

[In2mindsaaarrgghh]

My 18yr old DS hasn’t had his first jab and keeps putting it off. We have discussed this with him, however he says it’s not something he’s worried about. He also tested positive a few months ago, despite being completely asymptomatic, so hasn’t experienced any negative Covid effects, including Long Covid. I guess there is a feeling of invincibility. He does have mild asthma, however no other underlying health conditions. So pretty fit and healthy generally. The thing is I can see things from his point of view. So I’m not pushing him to have the jab, despite being double jabbed myself. My main issue is with the incidences of Pericarditis and Myocarditis in young men who’ve had the Pfizer jab. The MHRA and the JCVI have confirmed that there is a small risk in this group. So, I’m not keen on him having the jab until we have further information, neither is he but for different reasons. I know it may limit him socially but to be honest there are ways round it. Travel abroad may be the main issue, but that doesn’t really matter this year. Is anyone else in the same situation or have concerns about the Pfizer jab in the young?

I don't agree with vaccine passports but I disagree with you OP that a negative test result counts for anything. The LFTs are pretty pointless.

I do think it's a good idea for kids going to university this autumn to be fully vaccinated. Apart from the fact that it will help them to hopefully have a more normal university experience, students are not very good at looking after themselves (generally speaking), are thrown into a pool of new people and new germs, and are therefore more likely to have depressed immune systems and catch things. Freshers' flu has always been a thing, you don't want covid on top.

Bumblemummmy. But you’re against testing as an alternative anyway so what’s your point. You know vaccines reduce infection, transmission and serious illness but aren’t 100%. Testing, esp pcr testing is also not perfect
But you are against both anyway?

@igelkott2021 Good point about freshers flu. I always thought it was exaggerated but DS2 was unwell for weeks in his first term of uni.

There is also Menegitis. Men W is a particularly nasty one which can cause serious illness and even death in healthy 18 year olds.
When DS1 went to uni I paid for him to have it privately but I think they all get offered Men ACWY on the NHS now but I don't know how covid has affected it's uptake.

Menengitis not menegitis!

For those who think 18 year olds have invincible immune systems menengitis can kill in 24 hours.
www.meningitisnow.org/support-us/news-centre/public-affairs/campaigns/uni/supporting-parents/

I've actually copied this from another active thread on mumsnet but thought it might make interesting reading:

Dr. Brytney Cobia said Monday that all but one of her COVID patients in Alabama did not receive the vaccine. The vaccinated patient, she said, just needed a little oxygen and is expected to fully recover. Some of the others are dying.

“I’m admitting young healthy people to the hospital with very serious COVID infections,” wrote Cobia, a hospitalist at Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham, in an emotional Facebook post Sunday. “One of the last things they do before they’re intubated is beg me for the vaccine. I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late.”

I'm increasingly of the opinion that a large section of the population in both the US and the UK has somehow wafted through 10+ years of compulsory education without absorbing basic scientific concepts and without learning how to think critically, or even why that matters. Also, somehow not grasping that until scientists and doctors developed antibiotics and vaccinations, young, healthy people died every day from what are now entirely preventable diseases and infections. It's as if they want to be stupid. Why?

@ZZTopGuitarSolo

More than 50% of 12-18 year olds in my state are now vaccinated. In my county it's over 80%. It's looking really good for a normal year at school come September.

We had a taster of 'normal' school at the end of this academic year, when the vast majority of the high schoolers had had the chance to get fully vaccinated, and they were able to start living their lives normally again.

It was so great to see them able to take the APs (GCSE/A level equivalents) and SATs, go to work as normal, have in-person graduations, go to concerts, take part in events, go to prom, get together to hug and celebrate, all without putting anyone at risk and all knowing that they would not have to quarantine even if exposed to Covid.

The senior high schoolers are now mostly going off to university knowing that classes will be in-person, that social lives will be back to normal, and that they won't face constant shutdowns.

It seems odd to me that people don't seem to want that in other areas.

Being double vaccinated reduces but doesn't eliminate your chance of getting delta variant covid. Has it reached your area yet?

www.al.com/news/2021/07/im-sorry-but-its-too-late-alabama-doctor-on-treating-unvaccinated-dying-covid-patients.html

Sorry, posted too early. This is the full link.

Being double vaccinated reduces but doesn't eliminate your chance of getting delta variant covid. Has it reached your area yet?

Yes it has. We’re still seeing much lower Covid rates in areas with higher vaccination rates, and over 99% of deaths are among the unvaccinated.

Turns out the epidemiologists were right.

@ZZTopGuitarSolo

Being double vaccinated reduces but doesn't eliminate your chance of getting delta variant covid. Has it reached your area yet?

Yes it has. We’re still seeing much lower Covid rates in areas with higher vaccination rates, and over 99% of deaths are among the unvaccinated.

Turns out the epidemiologists were right.

The vast majority of our deaths are still in the elderly, not the young. I wonder what the vaccine uptake in the elderly is like in the US.

My 19 year old son who is at uni was advised to be jabbed early as he had asthma as a small child. He had first dose of AZ and felt dreadful and had to spend 24 hours in bed with a huge temperature. He had already had Covid 5 months previously and recovered well with mild symptoms. He said the vaccine made him feel so much worse than actual Covid. He is now refusing to get the second jab and time is getting on as his first was 5 months ago. I worry that if we peak again this winter and his immunity dwindles that he could get Covid again. He’s very worried about blood clots and adverse reactions, more so than getting Covid! It’s so hard for them as if passports come in they may be limited socially if not vaccinated. It seems to me that this is a terrible dilemma for our young people. They feel pressured to have the vaccine as they don’t want to be isolated from being out with their friends whilst being very concerned about whether they will be made ill from the vaccine. I think this dilemma is really dragging my son down. Anyone else??

@mrst2 I had AZ (am 36) and was unwell, temperature/shivering, basically like flu but shorter. Second dose, I felt a bit tired and that was it

When it comes to anyone getting the vaccine, I do believe it should be a choice.

If he doesn’t want the vaccine then he shouldn’t feel pressured.

I am quite amused at the tactics the Government have been going to in order to entice the younger population to get the vaccine. Especially getting the likes of McDonald’s and Uber involved.

I can only assume that they are opening the doors to the 16 - 17 year olds in order to increase heard immunity.

I’m guessing now they will just keep going down the age groups until herd immunity is met.

Everyone I know that has had a bad reaction to their first AZ found their second dose much better. In fact I don’t know anyone who had a bad reaction to their second dose of any vaccine.

[quote In2mindsaaarrgghh]@cls123 It’s completely understandable. The vaccine is to protect older adults not that age group.[/quote]
The head of NHS England is urging that age group to have it done to protect THEMSELVES not the elderly. Over a 1000 people in ICU in that age group

@ZZTopGuitarSolo

Being double vaccinated reduces but doesn't eliminate your chance of getting delta variant covid. Has it reached your area yet?

Yes it has. We’re still seeing much lower Covid rates in areas with higher vaccination rates, and over 99% of deaths are among the unvaccinated.

Turns out the epidemiologists were right.

I mean who would have thought that epidemiologists would be correct over the 'I did my open research on YouTube' brigade 🤔

There is so much anti vax scaremongering on social media. Trouble is that’s where our young people seem to get information and form opinions. As a parent I listen to the scientists, my son listens to his friends many of whom are nervous. The myriad of worries seem to be broad and range from risks of infertility, clots, heart problems, etc etc. The trouble is my son had a mild dose of Covid and recovered quickly. He also saw his 80 year old Grandfather get it and whilst he was very unwell he didn’t need hospitalisation and is fine now. In so far as my son is concerned it’s “no worse than a dose of the flu” or even “a bad cold”. It worries me that he has formed that view. I sincerely hope those words don’t come back to us later this winter. Young people just want to live their lives. Rather than co-ercing young adults by depriving them of socialising at clubs etc unless they are vaccinated (or even getting a proper experience at uni by potentially making them stay on line learning unless they get jabbed), it would have been better to keep some restrictions in place rather than remove them completely. Our young adults at uni feel blackmailed and pressured. How can that be acceptable??