Why is not having the vaccine selfish

[chorizoTapas]

If not getting the vaccine only means you're putting yourself at risk why is it considered selfish and why are some people choosing to not be around their own family members who are unvaccinated? As most people have now had the vaccine hopefully the hospitals won't become overwhelmed... even with the few people that won't have the jab.

I am double jabbed but my brother is refusing to have his. Is he selfish? And if so why?

I think it depends on why you're not having it. I know someone who isn't having it because she's worried she'll get symptoms but is quite happy to go out and socialize and travel because "now most people have had it, it's safe ". As with any vaccine, there is a small risk but overall if everyone who can, has it we are all safer. There will always be a small number of people who can't be vaccinated but it is selfish of those who can but don't. Put another way, if everyone behaved like that, what would happen?

Because it’s not just affecting yourself. Being double vaccinated has been proven to reduce transmission, add to that the fact that some people cannot have the vaccine for medical reasons OR the vaccine doesn’t work so well in some groups e.g. immunocompromised and a certain percentage of the population need to have antibodies to achieve herd immunity to protect those people then, actually it does seem more than a bit selfish to just be looking out for number one.

Not having the vaccine is not selfish in the slightest. It's a personal, medical decision.

I refuse to tell anyone if I have or haven't had it.

You have an increased risk of passing on the virus to others if you're not vaccinated.

Whilst most of the vulnerable are vaccinated, some can't be due to medical conditions, and even those who've been double jabbed can still catch it, although the risk is a lot lower and risk of serious symptoms are likewise lower.

There are no cast irons guarantees. It's all a matter of risk. You're causing an increased risk in those around you. They have a reduced risk of being badly affected if they're double jabbed. If you're double jabbed as well, you reduce your risk of passing it to them, so their risk of being badly affected is reduced further.

I had the vaccine for entirely selfish reasons. I don't want covid and I want to be able to travel. I don't think that's any less selfish than someone who has decided that they don't want it because they are more concerned about potential bad health consequences if they have the vaccine.

@urghicba

Not having the vaccine is not selfish in the slightest. It's a personal, medical decision.

I refuse to tell anyone if I have or haven't had it.

You're comment makes it obvious you've not had it

And anyone educated enough knows it's a selfish decision - in fact you yourself use the word "personal" which means you're thinking if yourself

It isn't selfish in the slightest. Selfish is the most overused word of this entire pandemic. The amount of coercion and manipulation is disgusting.

It's selfish because being unvaccinated means you can easily transmit the virus.

Of course it isn't selfish. Why should people judge someone who doesn't want a new and largely untested vaccine injected into their body? I'm double jabbed by the way but still have concerns about the long term effects.

And? Vaccinated people can still transmit the virus.

@QueenofKattegat

It isn't selfish in the slightest. Selfish is the most overused word of this entire pandemic. The amount of coercion and manipulation is disgusting.

I agree.

They way people have turned on each other as well is just terrible.

If not getting the vaccine only means you're putting yourself at risk

False premise

It does not only mean that

Some very touchy people on here! It is selfish in the true sense of the word. If you don't want to have it fine, but don't try and make out you're not thinking of yourself - who else would it be for?

People make "selfish" decisions all the time. It's normal to put your own well-being, and that of immediate family, first.

Are you selfish if you don't donate blood? Spend money on takeaway coffees and disposible fashion instead of donating it to a charity that provides clean drinking water to children who would otherwise die of diarrhea? Drive a car (40K pollution deaths annually in the UK)?
Are you selfish because you're not donating part of your liver, or one of your kidneys?

The vaccine uptake has been interesting as the percentages who have had it are extremely high in the higher age groups and then drop off the younger people are. And that seems simply like people have made a reasonable assessment of the risks vs benefits of the vaccine to them vs catching covid.
I don't think that's selfish, I think it's a perfectly valid and reasonable approach to any medical intervention.

"Selfish" has unfortunately become synonymous, after the past 500 or so days, with "people not doing what I want them to do for my own benefit".

I think a lot of people will argue semantics on what the word selfish does or doesn’t mean.

But… whatever you want to call it … he isn’t contributing to the group effort to achieve herd immunity and get out of this, but presumably he is happy to benefit from other people’s contributions (getting vaccinated).

It is incredibly selfish not to get vaccinated. It encourages the spread of a disease that will kill people because they are immunocompromised or unlucky enough to get no vaccine protection. Its like drunk driving because you (personally ) are happy to take the risk

@Serenissima21

Some very touchy people on here! It is selfish in the true sense of the word. If you don't want to have it fine, but don't try and make out you're not thinking of yourself - who else would it be for?

of course I’m thinking of myself. I’d be putting something into my body that I’m not happy with and that I’ve seen two people close to me have horrendous problems from.

I’m not going to put others before my own feelings of safety, am I?

@Serenissima21

Some very touchy people on here! It is selfish in the true sense of the word. If you don't want to have it fine, but don't try and make out you're not thinking of yourself - who else would it be for?

Is this supposed to make people feel bad? Most of the decisions we make are selfish. So what?

"Selfish" has unfortunately become synonymous, after the past 500 or so days, with "people not doing what I want them to do for my own benefit"

Exactly this.

@urghicba

Not having the vaccine is not selfish in the slightest. It's a personal, medical decision.

I refuse to tell anyone if I have or haven't had it.

I agree, it’s a subject that I refuse to discuss with others.

I think on an individual level it is not particularly selfish. The additional risk for anyone that is in contact with a non vaccinated person must be tiny. On a population level more so though, as if everyone decided not to be vaccinated the world would be in one hell of a mess.

@MaxNormal

People make "selfish" decisions all the time. It's normal to put your own well-being, and that of immediate family, first.

Are you selfish if you don't donate blood? Spend money on takeaway coffees and disposible fashion instead of donating it to a charity that provides clean drinking water to children who would otherwise die of diarrhea? Drive a car (40K pollution deaths annually in the UK)?
Are you selfish because you're not donating part of your liver, or one of your kidneys?

The vaccine uptake has been interesting as the percentages who have had it are extremely high in the higher age groups and then drop off the younger people are. And that seems simply like people have made a reasonable assessment of the risks vs benefits of the vaccine to them vs catching covid.
I don't think that's selfish, I think it's a perfectly valid and reasonable approach to any medical intervention.

"Selfish" has unfortunately become synonymous, after the past 500 or so days, with "people not doing what I want them to do for my own benefit".

I wonder how many young people recognise that the jab for them is largely about herd immunity and protecting the older population who have voted against the interests of young people at every opportunity in the last decade or so. Maybe the young adults of today are repaying the favour.

@Badbadbunny

You have an increased risk of passing on the virus to others if you're not vaccinated.

Whilst most of the vulnerable are vaccinated, some can't be due to medical conditions, and even those who've been double jabbed can still catch it, although the risk is a lot lower and risk of serious symptoms are likewise lower.

There are no cast irons guarantees. It's all a matter of risk. You're causing an increased risk in those around you. They have a reduced risk of being badly affected if they're double jabbed. If you're double jabbed as well, you reduce your risk of passing it to them, so their risk of being badly affected is reduced further.

This.

Because you aren't only putting yourself at increased risk.

I've had both but hell will freeze over before my kids have it. I had it because I work with pregnant women and a lot of them still have had their vaccination yet

I think people forget though that the vaccine wasn't mandatory and that people have every right to decline it. But language is used by those people who can't cope with other people not doing what they are doing so they call people 'vaccine refusers' 'selfish' when in fact they have just declined to have something that was offered to them.

@magsbagsfags it is a personal choice. Its got nothing to do with you or anyone else.

You can still transmit the virus despite being jabbed. You can still die of the virus despite being doubly jabbed. This is a very personal choice that people still have the right to weigh up.

MN is an odd place. In RL I'd say its a 50/50 split with my friends who have had it and I literately don't know any teenagers that have had it either. I couldn't give a shit what anyone else does because its none of my business.