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?

I do hope your friends and acquaintances have been in touch with Victoria Male, who is specifically studying this aspect.

www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o142

People need to stop imagining that people with anti covid vaccination opinions are uneducated morons who get all their info from Facebook.

The majority of people I know who are dubious about the vaccine are highly educated, working in education or theoretical science research labs. Ie. Able to understand how to critical read and analyse information and familiar with the concept of peer review. Although that doesn't mean that your average person isn't capable of doing the research and making their minds up. It's honestly embarrassing and juvenile to believe that those who do not agree with you are feckless idiots or a certain type of person.

the mRNA technology is also unknown

This is not true. mRNA technology has been around for decades, scientists have been experimenting with it in a number of different fields – DD2 was specifically looking at mRNA vaccines for use against vector-borne diseases for her Masters last year and indeed the new malaria vaccine RTS,S uses mRNA technology.

Honestly where do people get this rubbish? Do they just make it up?

OP is, of course, entitled to make whatever decision she wants with regard to her own body, but this bit is just not true.

@miltonj “It's honestly embarrassing and juvenile to believe that those who do not agree with you are feckless idiots”

Tbf I’ve only assumed that the OP @WoodlandWalks123 is a feckless idiot because they specifically state that the reason for their stance is that not much is known about the use of mRNA in medicine, and yet despite being shown evidence to the contrary from a wide range of sources is still not sure about the facts. And I’ve assumed @reeeeeeee is a feckless idiot because they actually cited a paper to prove their point which said the exact opposite of what they were hoping to get across.

I’m ok with people not being vaccinated if they don’t want to be. I’m not ok with people choosing not to be vaccinated because they think it’s risky and they want everyone else to take that risk so they can be safe. And by the time we are at ‘I want everyone else to do the thing I think is risky so that I can go on holiday without having to expose myself to the risk’ I am at the point of saying exactly what I think.

I am completely aware that people who might disagree with me are capable of reading research papers and coming to their own conclusions, but on the subjects discussed by the OP of this thread - namely “we don’t know much about mRNA vaccines and their long term side effects” I’m still waiting for someone to post a direct link to an accredited research paper that categorically states “we do not know much about mRNA” and “evidence of side effects that appear more than a couple of months after a vaccine has been given.”

Going on a cruise could harm travellers too! Purely by going!

What is it with this thread. Nearly everyone's posts are in triplicate or more. Or is it just me that it is like that?

Thank you to those that have directly answered my original question.
I did say I don’t want to get into the ins and outs of my choice not to have the vaccine and I am really wanting to hear from those who either have chosen not to be vaccinated (or those who did make this choice but subsequently had it for travel).
Some of the posters here have posted highly unpleasant and unnecessary responses and I don’t really want to be called a “feckless idiot” @backinthebox

@WoodlandWalks123 I didn’t call you anything.@miltonj brought that term up. But I agreed I assumed certain posters were.

Travel is the only reason I got vaccinated.

I only got vaxxed to travel

No chance whatsoever

I'm a research science as is my partner. So our social/work group is predominantly made up of scientists also.

I don't know a single one who holds these kinds of views. Why? Because we have robust, replicated evidence that is is better to be vaccinated than not vaccinated, even if you have previously had COVID.

This doesn't mean I don't respect someone who has decided not to be vaccinated - it's their choice afterall - but this claim that there are all these scientists in agreement is not true.

@TheAbbotOfUnreason The PP has been linked to Viki Male & her evidence synthesis many times before.

Doesn't make a jot of difference, and they come out with lot of nonsense about vaccination.

The main (maybe only true) reason I ever got C19 jab was for travel. I have close family overseas & want to do jollies, too.

Wasn't specifically referring to you, just a general attitude.

I took the booster just to travel and it's the worst decision I ever made. It's left me with a severe auto immune adverse reaction I need daily medication for. I thought I was just unlucky but there's a large group of people globally who all had the same response and it's only now being investigated by Harvard/mass general.

So no I wouldn't get another Covid jab when the validity of mine expires, or at least not an MRNA one. And I think all countries are going to remove the restrictions soon as the adverse effects are being more greatly reported. Even the EU regulator has said a vaccine that needs such frequent boosting is not fit for purpose. It's terrible as my home country requires it to visit but the condition I live with has tanked my immunity to the point I'm more susceptible to Covid anyway and everything else too.

@phizog really sorry to hear that, out of interest which brand did you have?

For those that only got vaxxed to travel - which vaccine did you choose?

But the point is it doesn't, and you still catch covid even after 3/4 vaccines anyway. I've had 2 but not having a booster and dd12 isn't having any. We're just going to choose to travel somewhere that does not require us to have. I'd fry a refund and book somewhere else personally. Maybe wait a few days as lots of countries updating rules at the end of the month and many are predicted to drop the requirement. Maybe your cruise will modify theirs too.

I don't want my child to grow up in a world where the government can dictate what goes into her body. So I won't contribute to that.

@reeeeeeee

They don't though. The jab is optional, has never been and never will be compulsory. So what's your issue?

Moderna for all 3

Ironically thought I was being clever to get moderna as it has the highest level of antibodies/protection.

Turns out you can have too many antibodies. So getting a jab when you already have antibodies from Covid or a previous jab or natural immunity can elevate levels to the point the body attacks it as an invader. Like you have a permanent anti histamine in your body. That's the hypotheses being studied by Harvard and mass general. The hope is once the vaccine efficacy reduces so will the condition. But no one knows for sure and only steroids are taming it. For some even that doesn't work. I've had it for 5 months now.

www.cureus.com/articles/69363-chronic-spontaneous-urticaria-after-covid-19-vaccine

They were aware of it in September last year but needed more cases to actually research it further. They have that now so it will probably be end of the year that they publish a report on it. It's mostly immunologists and allergists who are looking into it as they are getting the referrals now from GPs. It takes 6 weeks of the condition to be considered for a referral then months to actually get the appointment- hence why it isn't being flagged yet.

I've been vaccinated through choice.

If I'd decided, for whatever reason, that I didn't want to have them, then no, I wouldn't change that for a holiday. Personally I feel it would kind of invalidate the reasons stated for not wanting it in the first place (or I'm stubborn 😉)

I have basically done this in the past with a different vaccine (not covid), about 15 years ago I wanted to go on holiday / to attend a wedding of a friend (their home country) and I had to have a particular vaccine for my visa. It wasn't a disease I was really at risk of catching - but was something I needed in order to travel to that country.

That was rather different as it was unlikely the rules would change in a year or so, but its a common thing, to have a vaccine as a requirement for holiday travel. Normally you have to pay for them- at least if you have thr covid vaccine for travel it's free.

If you don't have the vaccine, some things aren't an option for you, there are very few limits placed on you by not having the vaccine so you can work round it. Get a refund and book a different holiday.

I wouldn’t. I don’t like the blackmailing aspect of the jabs. On a personal level I’ve had covid twice and it was no worse than a cold. I see little point in having it now. Guess it depends how strongly you feel about it. I’m all for the vulnerable getting it, but seems pointless for every man and his dog.

Firstly, If there's no confirmed link as you say, on what basis was the compensation paid

Secondly, I never shared a paper. It was a website that mentioned the narcolepsy caused by Pandemrix. You don't know the difference between a website and a research paper.

The link is well known and it's not the only link. I first heard about it when I worked at a children's hospital.

There have been further issues with rushed vaccines and if you truly wanted to know instead of wanting a gotcha, you would simply look, if you had an analytical bone in your body.