I wouldn't exactly call it "unknown". What we do know is that Covid reinfections appear to be extremely rare so far, based on millions of people worldwide who have been infected with Covid and recovered from it. This observation has been made over a period of months, not years, but that's also true for Covid vaccine observations.
That would be a decent analogy if not for the fact that the technology behind air bags, seatbelts, and brakes is very well understood, and the risks associated with those safety features have been quantified very well based on decades of gathered statistics.mathjak107 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 16, 2021 3:40 amIf air bags work , why do we use seat belts , and if seat belts work why do we need air bags , and if they both work why do we need brakes ?
By contrast, the Covid vaccines -- at least the mRNA-based ones -- were developed very quickly and are based on very new biotechnology whose long-term effects on the order of years is not yet known. So they entail a level of uncertainty, and thus risk, that air bags, seatbelts, and brakes do not.
If I were in a high-risk category like the elderly, immunocompromised, or comorbid, and I hadn't gotten sick with Covid yet, I'd definitely get the Covid vaccine as soon as possible. No doubt about it. The unknown chance of negative long-term effects from the vaccine would be outweighed by the large known chance of Covid hospitalization or death if I didn't get the vaccine.
But I'm not in a high-risk category, and I have gotten sick with Covid already and recovered. So for me, the chances of being hospitalized or killed by Covid going forward are miniscule. Not zero, I know, but miniscule.
Given my particularly low risk profile, what is my motivation for taking on the risk of negative long-term effects from the Covid vaccine?