Is anyone else still completely unvaccinated?

[Honeyhorse]

I know this will probably cause arguments, but I’m just wondering who else is still completely unvaccinated like myself.
Mine is due to extreme anxiety and a needle phobia.
I’m not anti vaccination and I don’t think it’s a conspiracy theory or microchip etc.
I want to talk to my GP about how I’m feeling but I can’t get an appointment
Now everyone is getting boosters and I haven’t even had one, I feel embarrassed and ashamed, but I can’t do it, it’s like I need to be knocked unconscious before I’ll have it. I’ve even walked into the vaccination centre but ended up leaving after a few minutes as I had a panic attack.

I don’t know what to do.

@YogaLite

I am also unvaccinated, does anyone even trust the government now?

Of course I don't trust the government, but I do trust the MHRA and the JCVI.

Honestly, if anyone thinks refusing to be vaccinated is sticking it to Johnson... well I have no words.

Do you have a vaccination centre near you? Could you visit there every day and chat to the volunteers without putting pressure on yourself, to get used to the setting (a kind of exposure therapy).

Unvaccinated here, also know of 6 others that are not vaccinated either.

Difference is you want to be vaccinated where as none of us do. Keep trying to get a doctors appointment to see if they can help you. Good luck.

@BlueEyesWhiteDragon

I'm currently unvaccinated although I have an appointment booked for Friday if I can bring myself to go through with it and keep my anxiety about it under control.

I had covid last year which laid me low for a couple of days - this was before I was eligible for a vaccine - but otherwise all OK.

I'm currently battling anxiety and depression which is not a good combination as I'm anxious about side effects from the vaccination (I know low chance but my anxiety is turning the chance into a catastrophic event) and my depression is saying its not the end of the world if I die from catching covid anyway as life is pretty rubbish atm for many reasons so is tag teaming me with the anxiety to say don't do it!

It's the first time I've actually managed to book a slot though (previously would go on the page see available appointments and not book) so guess I'm making progress!

Well done for booking

@Spaganetti

My DH, my DC, my DB and DSIS are jab free. I'm the odd one out having had the initial 2 jabs. I'm not having anymore and I don't think my DM will be either.

Oh God, why the fuck not? We’re all going to the inconvenience of having boosters. What makes you so special?

Is hazard a guess that Boris Johnson has long covid , he sounded very breathless to me last night .
I don't believe we should demonize the unvaccinated, but some peoples reasons for not having it are vague. It is a slippery slope if they make it compulsory and I really hope they don't try it!
I fear it's going to cause more divisions though :(

Hi OP
You are in a really hard situation and you have my sympathy. You have no reason to be embarrassed.

I'm injection anxious (not as far as a phobia but I avoid them at MOST costs).

I know it's hard to take this on board but truly truly both original injections were the most painless I've ever had ( I genuinely barely felt them). I came out both times feeling high on relief and like a baby for being so dramatic.

I appreciate you are looking for higher level, and possibly chemical solutions, but from a practical point of view I've found booking the earliest am appointment, knowing what to expect and where to go and telling the doctor I'm anxious all make it doable for me. They get it done, no faffing and it's over before you realise it.

Don't beat yourself up about this, phobias are awful things and you are trying your best
X

@BubblingRiver and you have a medical degree or a degree in epidemology? The doctors themselves said that if he was vaccinated, he wouldn't have died.

This thread is not a discussion about the merits of vaccines, the OP is asking for help with a needle phobia. People are within their rights to take readily available information and make a personal decision about whether they want the vaccine but this is not the thread for you to discuss your reasons. You do not have the right to try to scaremonger, make your own choices but leave others alone.

OP I agree with others about contacting your GP to ask about a sedative. If I lived anywhere near you I'd happily come along and hand hold. I have used distraction techniques sometimes when I'm in a particularly anxiety inducing situation. In my case I have a visual image of the USA and I distract myself by trying to list all 50 states in alphabetical order, a bit weird maybe but it keeps my brain busy with something other than fear. Do not feel ashamed or embarrassed. I hope you find a way to get your vaccinations without too much stress.

Is reducing the spread of covid not worth working towards, or is it only stop or doesn't stop? Either the vaccine works a 100% or it does not?

@ToJabOrNotToJab

I'm unvaccinated. First of all didn't really see why I needed it (youngish, no health issues). Caught covid this autumn and though unwell not terribly so. I don't have a brilliant life tbh, and whilst I don't think I'm particularly at risk, if I do catch it and die then that's fine by me

That's really thoughtful of you to be thinking of all the other people you could spread it to, who are old, or have health issues.

We know the jabs don't stop the spread of covid, so why get worked up over what should be personal choice on whether to get the jabs unless you don't believe drs when they say everyone will contract covid?

Bubbling I get what you are saying about everyone getting it. I think the point is that vaccination slow the spread which is a better alternative than using harsher restrictions to do the same. It also stops severe disease / death in many cases, which means hospitals are not overwhelmed.

However personal risk is different and if you are young you may feel differently to someone older. Although sometimes someone younger does go to hospital (although not as likely I know). I don’t agree people should be told what to do but only to answer your point above.

Anyway, on op’s situation

Phobias give a fight or flight response and sometimes talking about how to deal with it is hard. So you have my sympathy

I accompanied my 18yo to her Covid imms. There was no issue with me coming in with her, no need to go into any details. They were fully accepting. Every single person staffing the vaccination centres was welcoming and patient.

I know what dd needs to get past a needle: we hold hands, look each other in the eye and recite poetry together. I control the speed of the recitation. It works for her

Truly no judgement from anyone there. You do what you need to. And you don't need to do it alone.

Hi @Honeyhorse

I am also unvaccinated due to needle/medical phobia. It is so hard to talk about how we are feeling... as you can see, it almost always descends into arguments (typical MN!), and a total lack of empathy and understanding from many too. Phobias are not rational, and the guilt trips and horror stories do not help at all.

If you feel that it is something you can't get past, then please try and take some comfort in the fact that a nasal spray version of the vaccine is being developed as we speak. I am pretty sure it is being trialled on humans at the moment.

In the mean time, keep trying to see your GP. Some surgeries offer some sort of email service for booking appointments. It might be worth looking on your surgery website and having a look.

Good luck

Phobias and anxiety can be very debilitating. I feel for you OP.
As others have said, keep trying to get a GP appointment. They can give you a one off dose of something like propranolol which lowers your blood pressure and takes away the panicky feelings.
It's also good that you are talking about it and acknowledging your needle phobia.
I also suggest going again to a walk in centre or to a booked appointment. Tell the staff about us phobia and take it from there. You may get the vaccination done, you may not, but it will be progress.
Above all, don't feel bad or embarrassed. A phobia is where your body/brain's way of trying to protect you from something life threatening has gone a bit wrong so it tries to protect you from something that is actually fairly harmless eg a spider, needle, enclosed space.
The logical part of your brain knows you'll barely feel it and for only 1-2 seconds. The instinctive and protective part of your brain doesn't care about logic, it will produce a stress response anyway.

So, as well as reminding you that you would barely feel it, you also need to dampen down that stress response in your body (increased blood pressure, heart rate, lots of adrenaline etc) That's where drugs or hypnosis come in. You can also calm your body down by using relaxation techniques and deep, slow breathing. You can practice at home and then use the deep breathing when you go to the vaccination centre.

Once your body is calm and relaxed, your brain will feel much calmer.

You can do this.

Best of luck to you OP, wishing you well 💐

@XenoBitch it descends into arguments because people spread their anti-vax BS, some of which have already been deleted by MN. "Ooh I don't think I am at risk; I have no friends at all" is not a valid scientific argument in a public health crisis.

Everybody has been very kind to the original poster. Nobody has guilted her.

I've an idea op.
I volunteer as a marshal at a vaccination site, why don't you see if you can volunteer yourself as a way to try to desensitise yourself?
We've seen it all there so please don't worry about embarrassing yourself, we've seen grown adults crying because of needle phobia.

Or you could just go along to a walk-in centre to have a look without the pressure that you're there for a vaccination.

The thread asks " is anyone else unvaccinated". The only scaremongering going on is from the militant pro vaxxers on numerous threads. I couldn't care less who has the vaccine

It does indeed but the OP then goes on to explain her difficulty which has nothing to do with concerns about the vaccine itself. If you couldn't care less about who has the vaccine then why are you on this thread arguing against them. If you really didn't care you'd leave people to offer advice and support to the OP. There are plenty of other threads for you to argue your point, this is not one of them.

Some of the husband's on here sound horrific. I couldn't imagine sharing my life with someone that pathetic or mad. How sad that people will die through exposure to knobheads

@Kendodd

I've an idea op. I volunteer as a marshal at a vaccination site, why don't you see if you can volunteer yourself as a way to try to desensitise yourself? We've seen it all there so please don't worry about embarrassing yourself, we've seen grown adults crying because of needle phobia. Or you could just go along to a walk-in centre to have a look without the pressure that you're there for a vaccination.

That is a great idea! A friend did suggest the same to me (her mum is a volunteer), but my local place was only after car park stewards. I would probably cause a crash!