(The same reason I usually get a flu shot: it's not that I can't withstand the flu, it's that there are those around me who might not withstand it. I don't want to be responsible for having passed that on to someone.)
Many things we selfishly do endanger others. Ever driven a car?
But honestly, in my gut, I don't feel like I'm endangering people. I'm doing the thing that I think will most likely make me healthy, and that will most likely result in best outcomes for others, too.
I may have some bias here because the only 2 times I've gotten the flu as an adult are the two times I got the the flu shot, like you're supposed to do. So maybe that's just coincidence, but my operating theory now is, no more flu shots until I get the flu again. If I do, then I'll reconsider.
Yes, and I take various precautions when doing so to reduce the risk to those around me. But, driving a car gets me from point A to B. There's a trade-off. Near as I can tell from the available data from studies on the new vaccines, the risk and consequences of getting COVID outweigh the risks and consequences of getting the vaccine, perhaps by several orders of magnitude.
The number of both cases & deaths have reached nation-wide highs, and basically all states are seeing upticks in prevalence, likely to be made worse by Christmas. The tests on the vaccines have shown it to be effective, and have had minimal side-effects (I've heard some reports of non-life-threatening allergic reaction, and 1 more serious case that is being investigated. There were 43,000 people in the Pfizer study alone, I think. That is significantly better than the confirmed COVID-19 case rate. https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/09/covid-19-vaccine-from-pf...)
> I may have some bias here because the only 2 times I've gotten the flu as an adult are the two times I got the the flu shot, like you're supposed to do. So maybe that's just coincidence, but my operating theory now is, no more flu shots until I get the flu again. If I do, then I'll reconsider.
It's just coincidence:
> studies show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu illness by between 40% and 60% among the overall population during seasons when most circulating flu viruses are well-matched to the flu vaccine.
i agree the flu shot is probably coincidence, but at least until/if i get the flu w/o it, i'm going to be guided by my first-hand experience for now. if i get the flu again, i will do more research and reconsider.
It's quite dangerous if a lot people don't get that the covid vaccines also aren't proved (and are unlikely) to contain transmission. Risk is folks think that we will not longer need to care about hygiene, masks, isolation, quarantine and tracing once most people have been vaccinated.
This directly contradicts the CDC:
> Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, including those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness, like babies and young children, older people, and people with certain chronic health conditions.
I don't know the actual science here - but they could very well have zero evidence that it protects others and still correctly say that getting the flu vaccine may protect others.
I would take a vaccine (only Pfizer or Moderna) and the associated risks over the experience I'm having now 10/10.
The vaccine, while probably fine, seems like more of a wildcard to me. It seems like a low-probability lottery ticket to bad news, whereas COVID seems like a lower-probability lottery ticket to bad news.
(Of course, the government may force the issue. I hope not, though. My body, my choice and all that.)