I have had covid, am i unreasonble to not get the vaccine

[Stigofthedump40]

Surely i have antibodies now, and i had a very very mild case. I do not want the vaccine. Do you think i am being unreasonable. I am not scared to have another bout as i have had worse colds? I do not know any vulnerable people and would isolate as soon as i had symptoms.. surely this is ok no?

@heldinadream

I do not know any vulnerable people - and presumably you never get on a bus or train or go into a shop or other building with people in it? If you literally stay away from the whole of the rest of the human race, many, many of whom will be vulnerable and also at the same time your supermarket checkout person, fellow bus passenger, doctor, nurse, waiter, child who you say hello to etc - then please knock yourself out and feel free to not get jabbed. However, if you live a normal life and come into contact with the rest of us, please get the jab. For you, for me, for them, for all of us. Thank you.

This 👍🏻

@MaxNormal thank you, that’s actually quite reassuring

I don’t want to derail but I’m absolutely terrified that my mum gets it as it would be goodnight Vienna

@Stigofthedump40

Thanks everyone i will take on board all the points made, just wondering now if everybody is going to be having boosters every few months for life now

If we do I'll be grateful that we live in a time and a country where that is available.

Get the vaccine OP. It does seem a bit counter-intuitive - I had rubella twice as a small child and was still vaccinated against it at 12, but it is belt and braces.

@user1494055864 are you a scientist?

I've just recovered from Covid and I've only had one jab. I'll still go and get the second, my view is why not? The jab won't do any harm and it's just extra protection.

You do what you feel is right for you. There's far too much peer pressure on both sides of this.

@Stigofthedump40

Thanks everyone i will take on board all the points made, just wondering now if everybody is going to be having boosters every few months for life now

How have you gone from "should I have my first vaccine" to suggesting everyone will be need to have a booster every 2 months for their rest of their lives?

There is no indication that anyone but particularly vulnerable groups will need booster vaccines. For most people, the first two, plus repeated exposure to the virus will be enough to generate a robust immune response and stop it spreading like wildfire through the general population. There is a lot of evidence to demonstrate that vaccine coverage, rather than boosters, will be the main factor in getting transmission to manageable levels.

I had very mild covid last September (only lost my sense of smell) and still had antibodies when tested last month.

Obviously, your choice but I'd say get vaccinated.

Severe covid is REALLY not nice, I was in hospital for 10 nights and even tho I will have some sort of natural immunity I would still have my 3rd jab if offered.

As much protection as possible is better IMO because no-one knows how covid will affect them! Having it mild once does not mean it will be mild if you get it again.

Good luck with your decision

Just do what’s right for you.
People have had it twice, some worse second time, some less, people have got it bad despite having vaccinations, people are still transmitting it with vaccinations,
Studies are showing that antibodies are lasting a long time for many people.
I think it’s silly to ignore natural immunity but hey, I’m not a scientist.

You can get covid more than once. My young relative caught it twice within 6 months and the second time was worse for her. This actually prompted my vaccine hesitant family to get vaccinated.

@Waxonwaxoff0

I've just recovered from Covid and I've only had one jab. I'll still go and get the second, my view is why not? The jab won't do any harm and it's just extra protection.

“whereas booster vaccination improved T cell responses in SARS-CoV-2 naïve subjects, the second dose had little effect in SARS-CoV-2 recovered individuals “

www.cell.com/immunity/fulltext/S1074-7613(21)00308-3

@TheDailyCarbunkle

If you don't want to get vaccinated, don't. You still have the right to make your own medical decisions without coercion from the government or anyone else.

This

www.spectator.co.uk/article/natural-immunity-is-stronger-than-vaccination-study-suggests

Natural immunity maybe superior, but it will kill and make some people very ill along the way. Promoting natural immunity over vaccination is seeing those who suffers as collateral damage, and inhumane imo, when vaccine has way less devastating outcomes.

@illuyankas - I see what you mean for people who aren't yet immune so are choosing between the two, but surely not for people like the OP who've already HAD covid?

I don’t think people are promoting natural immunity over vaccination for vulnerable groups. It might actually be a good thing for younger, healthier people to be infected and have more durable immunity though. Immunity from vaccines in the more vulnerable groups might wane but there would still be a level of population immunity that could reduce their risk of contracting the virus.

[quote KeepYourCustardCreams]@illuyankas - I see what you mean for people who aren't yet immune so are choosing between the two, but surely not for people like the OP who've already HAD covid?[/quote]
Previous infection does not automatically make you immune though, that's the problem with coronavirus. And right now we don't have good enough information for what a biomarker of "immunity" (or a good level of it) would actually look like in a individual and protect them from reinfection.

The CDC have demonstrated that in a cohort of people with a previous infection, those who were subsequently unvaccinated were 2.4x more likely to get a reinfection, and therefore risk transmitting to others.

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7032e1.htm

Although laboratory evidence suggests that antibody responses following COVID-19 vaccination provide better neutralization of some circulating variants than does natural infection (1,2), few real-world epidemiologic studies exist to support the benefit of vaccination for previously infected persons. This report details the findings of a case-control evaluation of the association between vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in Kentucky during May–June 2021 among persons previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 in 2020. Kentucky residents who were not vaccinated had 2.34 times the odds of reinfection compared with those who were fully vaccinated (odds ratio [OR] = 2.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.58–3.47). These findings suggest that among persons with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, full vaccination provides additional protection against reinfection. To reduce their risk of infection, all eligible persons should be offered vaccination, even if they have been previously infected with SARS-CoV-2.

@bumbleymummy

I don’t think people are promoting natural immunity over vaccination for vulnerable groups. It might actually be a good thing for younger, healthier people to be infected and have more durable immunity though. Immunity from vaccines in the more vulnerable groups might wane but there would still be a level of population immunity that could reduce their risk of contracting the virus.

Tell that to my son who got Covid when he was 12 and developed pneumonia. He still can’t do all of the things he enjoyed before being infected 18 months ago. He is tired all of the time and struggles to breathe when exercising. He had zero health problems before Covid.

@leafyygreens

Previous infection does not automatically make you immune though

Neither does the vaccine but we seem happy enough to accept a certain level of probability wrt that.

@bumbleymummy but getting the second jab will do me no harm, so why wouldn't I get it if it's available?