Will you get vaccinated for COVID?

[vnatale]

I have yet to get a regular flu shot in my life.

Last year my doctor convinced me to get one but they failed to flag me on my way out to get it then. I was never sufficiently motivated to make the five minute walk back there from my office to get one.

Same for this year so far. I can get one in the supermarket but not been sufficiently motivated to take the time to do so.

Probably will not get that one since I live such an isolated life these days.

As far as the virus shot goes? It depends where things stand both in my area and my life. If I'm going back to playing basketball and and softball and being in crowds for live music, definitely yes. If I'm still only off my property briefly once every three weeks...then probably no.

Vinny

[Mountaineer]

I have yet to get a regular flu shot in my life.

Last year my doctor convinced me to get one but they failed to flag me on my way out to get it then. I was never sufficiently motivated to make the five minute walk back there from my office to get one.

Same for this year so far. I can get one in the supermarket but not been sufficiently motivated to take the time to do so.

Probably will not get that one since I live such an isolated life these days.

As far as the virus shot goes? It depends where things stand both in my area and my life. If I'm going back to playing basketball and and softball and being in crowds for live music, definitely yes. If I'm still only off my property briefly once every three weeks...then probably no.

Vinny

Just remember in the days of the US testing nukes underground in Nevada, the radiation could be detected a day or two later on the east coast. I remember our High School science class standing outside the class room with a geiger counter to do experiements. Virus particles are a whole lot smaller than the alpha/beta particles (and perhaps a touch of gamma radiation) that drifted in on the wind from a couple thousand miles away. Your isolated life style might not be quite as isolated from a virus as you think.

[glennds]

I listened to Dr. Fauci on Face the Nation this morning. Looking ahead, he talked about the two vaccines that have made it through trials with 90%+ efficacy rates, with others hopefully on the way. The ultimate public health strategy of a vaccine is for wide enough adoption to allow for herd immunity. Thus far only 5% or so of the US population has contracted Covid, so we would have a really long way to go if getting herd immunity naturally was the goal without a vaccine.

So two issues arise, one being the logistics of vaccine distribution and administration. The other being acceptance.

I think the logistics would eventually be worked out one way or another. They're talking about cost to the recipient being minimal or zero.
But given the politicization and controversy over masks, I have no idea what the acceptance level might be for receiving the vaccine at all.

What is your position?

[Mountaineer]

I haven’t decided yet. Nurses in my family and friends say they won’t unless mandated, in which case they could quit rather than be vaccinated; can take 10-12 years to understand long term consequences, e.g. Guillin-Barre paralysis, for new antivirals.

[Tortoise]

A thread with almost exactly the same title already exists:

https://www.gyroscopicinvesting.com/for ... hp?t=11504

[glennds]

A thread with almost exactly the same title already exists:

https://www.gyroscopicinvesting.com/for ... hp?t=11504

Sorry, didn't realize that. I'll see if the moderator can delete this thread.

[l82start]

A thread with almost exactly the same title already exists:

https://www.gyroscopicinvesting.com/for ... hp?t=11504

Sorry, didn't realize that. I'll see if the moderator can delete this thread.

merged...

[Mark Leavy]

I have a cautious distrust of generic solutions. Especially medical ones.

In general, I think the medical industry is well meaning and net positive - much like the religion industry. They both do a lot of good. Just not my cup of tea. Some stitches and staples now and then or maybe something to kill giardia.

But I don’t plan on being front of the line for the vaccine. I’d volunteer to be infected though. Better and more proven immunity. I’ve been trying my best and if I haven’t been exposed to it yet, then it’s damn near impossible to catch.

[WiseOne]

Thus far only 5% or so of the US population has contracted Covid

Dr. Fauci really ought to read medical journals more often. Studies in Santa Clara, CA and New York State in April and May both showed that positive tests underestimated the number of people who have somehow gained antibody-mediated immunity by a factor of between 20 and 50. A similar observation was made based on the proportion of COVID cases on cruise or military ships. Allowing for easier availability of testing in recent months, you still should count on at least a factor of 10. That would put the proportion of people who are already immune at about half the US population.

Based on this I'd predicted that New York City already has some level of herd immunity. It's looking like that's the case. The rate of positive tests is around 3%, but they are mainly concentrated in clusters of close-knit groups (in Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Inwood). The positivity rate in the city schools and universities (including faculty/staff) is less than 0.5%. None of the micro-clusters or isolated cases have instigated anything like the widespread infections we saw in March and April.

So I would be very much against a universal, mandatory vaccination program using a vaccine that's not been completely tested. Can you imagine if some unforeseen side effect emerges, like what happened with thalidomide? Also, from an ethics perspective, forcing people to take what amounts to an experimental treatment violates every legal principle that exists. I have no problem as long as it's voluntary (and not mandatory), but Fauci's statement is pretty worrying.

Just spotted the bit about this being a duplicate thread - oh well! Too late!

[Smith1776]

I will get vaccinated first chance I get. No question about it for me. I don’t really get why someone wouldn’t want to be.

[Mark Leavy]

I will get vaccinated first chance I get. No question about it for me. I don’t really get why someone wouldn’t want to be.

Why would someone your age and health pick vaccination over exposure to the actual virus?

[Mark Leavy]

Do we even know if you are not infectious during the days following the vaccination?

Before heading overseas for some defense work, the DoD shot me up with everything in their toolkit. The one caveat was the Smallpox vaccine. They wouldn’t give it to anyone with young children at home because of the risk of transmission.

[dualstow]

For those of you who say you will take the vaccine: How many of you actually have any idea what this "vaccine" consists of? How many have any idea how it will work?
...

I don’t even know where the universe came from or who I am. I am going to take the vaccine like a good sheep and I’ll report back how it goes.

[Mark Leavy]

If the vaccine is just a shot of Covid, then it would be 95% effective.

[I Shrugged]

Is it live vaccine or dead vaccine?

[vnatale]

Do we even know if you are not infectious during the days following the vaccination?

Before heading overseas for some defense work, the DoD shot me up with everything in their toolkit. The one caveat was the Smallpox vaccine. They wouldn’t give it to anyone with young children at home because of the risk of transmission.

Did you suffer any side effects from anything the DoD gave to you?

I've yet to have a flu shot in my life. Are there any other shots we adults routinely get? I'm not remembering any, which must mean why I also cannot remember any adverse reactions to a shot.

However, when I was a kid for my first four years of elementary school (starting in kindergarten) I seemed to have every allergy under the sun and was quite regularly going for anti-histamine shots. Does that still happen with kids these days?

Vinny

[Mark Leavy]

Did you suffer any side effects from anything the DoD gave to you?

It make me strong. Like bull.

Ivan_Drago.jpg (13.67 KiB) Viewed 3277 times

[WiseOne]

It's a vaccine to viral antigens developed using a new mRNA technique.

It'll be most interesting to see who steps forward. There are many on both sides of the political spectrum who will hang back. For me, this is the first time I plan to refuse a vaccine if I have that choice (I may not). The word "new" in the first sentence of this post is the reason. It's an unknown risk as no vaccine made with this method has ever been fully tested. It might make sense for people at high risk for COVID complications, but really not for anyone else.

Of course you should be able to get it if you want it, as long as you're properly informed of the risks of taking an experimental & unproven treatment. I wonder if we are about to see longstanding medical ethical principles tossed aside, along with constitutional protections.

[Tortoise]

Of course you should be able to get it if you want it, as long as you're properly informed of the risks of taking an experimental & unproven treatment. I wonder if we are about to see longstanding medical ethical principles tossed aside, along with constitutional protections.

The government didn’t allow individuals to asses their own risk and choose whether to wear a mask and socially distance, so why would it be any different for the choice of whether to take the vaccine?

[Mark Leavy]

It's a vaccine to viral antigens developed using a new mRNA technique.

Fascinating. I'd love to read up on it if you have any references. But, yeah... I'll be at the back of the line.

[Xan]

I read something that said that the Oxford vaccine is the one everyone will likely end up getting. It's a traditional vaccine, not an mRNA one. It isn't quite as far along, but it doesn't require freezing so the logistics are MUCH simpler, both for manufacture and distribution. And it should be much cheaper too.

[Mark Leavy]

For me, the calculation is simple. Risk management 101.

Inoculation via actual coronavirus is by definition more effective than inoculation by dead or weakened virus. Or (I imagine) some mitochondrial RNA fragments. It is unlikely that a vaccine would be more effective than the actual virus at producing antibodies or T cell immunity.

The downside of coronavirus, for me personally, is virtually nil. I have no co-morbidities and my immune system is Strong. Like bull.

The downside of a vaccine, is unknown. It could be nothing, it could be a very tiny likelihood of something horrific. The key is that it is unknown, versus coronavirus, which is pretty well understood at this point and completely benign for someone like me.

[SomeDude]

No chance. Neither will my wife or newborn baby girl. Even if you believe the government stats, covid possess virtually zero risk to healthy people under the age of 65. Looks like it's basically a very weak form of the flu. I know a dozen people who tested positive and none of them felt sick for more than a day if that.

Some mystery vaccine that I've heard targets your RNA or something to start producing proteins (I'm probably screwing this up) sounds a lot riskier.

I think the solution to covid is the same as the flu. Stop testing people. Treat sick people if they need it.

[dualstow]

Are there any other shots we adults routinely get?

You should ask your doctor, but:

The flu is the only seasonal one I get.
About every ten years, I get a booster for four: tetanus, diptheria?, i forget the others.

Will probably get a shingles vax. If you get it in your eyes, you can go blind. Also, it’s not fun.

The cat gets vaccines all the time. Every year and half year. She loves it.

[Xan]

I read something that said that the Oxford vaccine is the one everyone will likely end up getting. It's a traditional vaccine, not an mRNA one. It isn't quite as far along, but it doesn't require freezing so the logistics are MUCH simpler, both for manufacture and distribution. And it should be much cheaper too.

I read this morning that the Oxford vaccine is only 70% effective unless a second dose is administered. While similar in protocol to Hepatitis B and Shingles vaccines, it would seem that the undertaking of double dosing that many people would make the logistics problematic.

Are the mRNA ones not also doubles?

Certainly the great majority of people who get this end up being fine. But I personally know at least three people who are young (well, -ish), healthy, and have dealt with some really awful things. One told me that she's given up on ever feeling like herself again, in terms of energy level. Another was an avid cyclist who could ride all day and is still huffing and puffing going up a flight of stairs, months later. And another went through several weeks of his brain basically not working: unable to speak, read, write, hold a ping-pong paddle, regulate his own temperature.