For those that are NOT vaxxed - would you get vaxxed only for travel?

[WoodlandWalks123]

I chose not to get vaccinated (I am in low risk category and already had covid). I don’t want to get into the pros and cons of that choice.

Now, DP booked me and DM on a luxury cruise as a surprise present - which would be so lovely and DM is really looking forward to it - it’s a bit of a once in a lifetime sort of thing to be able to go on this / spend time with her and I’ve got it in my mind that life is short and unsure when we would go again.

When he booked, the rules were that from April all vaccination rules would end. Now they have changed their terms and require double vaxx. They will refund money if we cancel due to this change so there is a get out. My DM is vaxxed but obviously I am not.

I am genuinely nervous about getting vaccinated when it’s just so new (in relative vaccine terms) and we don’t know long term effects, and the mRNA technology is also unknown. I am not a die hard anti-vaxxer or conspiracy theorist.

I feel that I would only be doing it for this cruise - general air travel / country requirements seem to be opening up and not requiring vaccines increasingly so I don’t think I would need it to go abroad in the fullness of time.

If you have chosen not to be vaccinated, would you get vaccinated to go on a once in a lifetime (but only 4 day) cruise? Or would you get a refund? If you would get vaccinated, which of the vaccines do you think is most benign?

Travel is the only reason I got vaccinated. Not the best reason and I'd obviously rather it wasn't necessary but it is at the moment for certain destinations and I don't want to be limited in what I do. However, I wasn't concerned about the safety aspect of the vaccine, I just didn't feel it was necessary for me personally. In your situation I would take comfort in the fact that it's been around a while now.

Getting a vaccine that you don’t need or want isn’t a great trade off for a 4 day cruise. Sorry but I would cancel and wait it out. You won’t regret it. I don’t understand people who get vaccinated just to go on holiday.
I would never take a dangling carrot just for a few days in the sun.

Just get the vaccine. There's literally no excuse for not getting it.

I bet you would be vaccinated if getting Covid meant your face and body came out in boils like Smallpox. No?

Enough already, get the bloody vaccine!

Personally, no I wouldn’t. And I’m missing out on a Disney trip of a lifetime this summer. But still no from me.

i will reassess in a couple of years time if the rules STILL haven’t changed.
i had covid 2021, wasn’t great at the time and I was super fatigued afterwards, plus it took piggin ages for smell to return. However, since then I’ve been exposed numerous times (including post-6 months of my infection) and it hasn’t caused any issues.
i dont want to take a vaccine which MAY cause issues - and anecdotally I know someone who is younger than I, no health problems, had the jab and it has caused a LOT of issues which this poor person has not only had to fight for months to be taken seriously but it’s affected their quality of life so much they’ve needed to have their duties adapted at work.
Most days, I feel ridiculously lucky with ‘my lot in life’ but I’ve lost SO much to be in this position. Why would I risk my health for a holiday abroad?
(though when everyone is discussing it and begging me to join them, it does make me feel like shite and like I’m being some sort of princess.. if you knew the full story you’d understand I’m really not haha)

No. But then my friend almost died from a blood clot after her vaccine. No holiday is worth the risk imo.

I know a number of people who's main reason for getting vaccinated was to open up travel to them more quickly. All have been happily holidaying abroad since, and none had any issues with the vaccines.

But then I, and others I know, have had other vaccines and medication purely for travel reasons proper to the covid ones.

Depends how much you want to go on this particular holiday. At the moment there are still a number of countries that require you to be vaccinated in order to travel but there are plenty that don't, so you have options.

If you don't want to be vaccinated, could the others go without you so they can enjoy the break and you can do a different one at a later date?

Absolutely not OP stick to your guns and fuck anyone who tries to put pressure on you!!

This for me
Had blood issues I shouldnt have had, with Long covid.

Having more potential blood issues, to go on a cruise? No thanks.

But everyone has to make their own minds up and everyone is different and has different situations.

I just had the booster to travel next month. Wouldn't have had the booster otherwise because I have already had covid and was double vaxed, it just ran out for travel.
I can tell you covid was ten times worse than any side effects of the vaccine.
The way I see it is the risk from the vaccine is very very small (but not impossible). But the likelihood of being ill and having long term effects from covid are high.

I only got vaccinated as I am in an older category (60+) so more at risk, if I was younger I wouldn't have, I probably wouldn't have for a holiday as I believe vaccination should really be for health reasons, is it possible to exchange the holiday for something else you and your DM could enjoy

…….getting vaccinated when it’s just so new (in relative vaccine terms) and we don’t know long term effects, and the mRNA technology is also unknown.

You can have a little read up on the nearly 50 years of scientific research into the potential for therapeutic use of mRNA. There’s a really good potted history in this article in Nature magazine. Or you can keep on baselessly repeating ‘but we just don’t know much’ when the fact is that it’s you that doesn’t know much. Scientists know a lot - no need to include them in your ‘we.’

The fact is that side effects occur with most stuff we put into our bodies. In this thread we are discussing vaccines, but every medication, and heck even stuff we eat, drink or smoke has side effects! If you are one of the people for whom those side effects happen to, then it can be pretty unfortunate. But in the case of the covid vaccines, the side effects do not occur beyond a month or so, so arguing we don’t know anything about the long term side effects is a pointless argument. Putting it simply - if something bad is going to happen to you, it will happen within minutes, hours or at the very most, weeks.

There have been over 5.5 BILLION doses of covid vaccines given to date, so the side effect profile is pretty much understood now. This is not a new science experts are blundering along with in the darkness - it is a well researched, long understood science which was adapted quickly by companies and scientists who had put in many years work to get to that point.

However, if you choose to ignore all of this prior knowledge that’s up to you. The world is currently a less dangerous place wrt covid - and the only reason widespread travel is possible again - precisely because so many people have been vaccinated. I have a very particular opinion of the sort of person who wants to benefit from the actions of so many others but does not want to carry out those actions themselves.

I did, to go to the Caribbean for 10 days. I wouldn’t for a 4 day cruise.

I wouldn't and haven't.

I dont like the blackmail aspect. It makes me think there's an ulterior motive. Plus all the fake news.

The person who mentioned blood clots obviously hasn't seen the statistics for blood clots after Covid.
If you don't want it, don't get it & don't go, simple.
No-one can persuade you if you honestly believe what you have written.
There are some newer vaccines with different technologies (Novavax & Valneva) but I don't know if they are available. However they haven't been used 5.5 billion times or whatever it is now.

I’m vaccinated but only had them because I want to be able to travel. They had no personal benefit to me otherwise. People have been having vaccinations purely to be able to travel for decades.

"I am genuinely nervous about getting vaccinated when it’s just so new (in relative vaccine terms) and we don’t know long term effects, and the mRNA technology is also unknown."

@WoodlandWalks123 I mean you could correct your lack of knowledge/understanding of these issues through reading some peer-reviewed scientific journals? The rest of us are all up to speed with everything you have written there.

@User72757 what I mean is that despite the 5.5bn (or whatever it is now) doses - we do not know the LONG term effects over 10-50 years of this vaccine. Please don’t be so patronising with your response - it’s a genuine concern of mine and there are no scientific studies on effects over that sort of time period - how can there be when the empirical evidence is not yet available??

@FairyCakeWings which vaccine did you choose? Agree with logic that people have been having vaccinations for travel for decades. I’m thinking Moderna seems potentially the best option for side effects.

But if everyone thought like you, covid would still be rife with thousands of people dying every day.

You're basically relying on other people having the vaccine so you can feel safe not having it.

Nope, I wouldn't get the vaccine for any reason especially for a holiday.

The chances of something happening because of the vaccine are very small but for me its not worth the risk when the risk of covid is even smaller.

Are you able to name a single vaccine in world history where it was administered to a person and they were then well for 10 years, then after 10 years they developed a side effect? @WoodlandWalks123

I think you shouldn’t have the vaccine and stay home. Let your DM take a friend instead.

Sorted.

I probably would yep. I've had two but haven't bothered to have a third because I don't see the benefit in it. If I needed to have it for travel then I would suck it up.

I don't think any of them are particularly dangerous so I wouldn't be worrying about which one is "benign". If you're worried about them being dangerous I would probably look at what media you're consuming and fact check it! MRNA is not really new, it's been in development for decades, and these are some of the most studied/trialled vaccines ever because of all the panic over them.

Well said backinthebox. there's still a startling amount of ignorance around people's understanding of these vaccines. It seems that plenty of people really do get all of their information from FB.