Covid Vaccine

Would you take the Vaccine?

  • No

    Votes: 1 4.3%

  • Yes

    Votes: 22 95.7%
  • Total voters
    23
I'm trying to think of a reason not to.

Surely it's a no-brainer?

The WHO and all the scientists have been saying for long enough that an effective virus is the best route out of the global situation.

As a 65yo registered asthmatic and carer, I'd like to think I wasn't too far down the priority list but imagine there must be many million in front of me.

Edit - there are 11.8m people in the UK aged 65 or older. I'd like to think I was among the first 12m to be offered the vaccine.
 
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Talking about logic, I thought the WHO guy summed it up brilliantly:

"It's not safe for anybody until it's safe for everybody."
 
I've just had the annual flu jab and earlier this year had a shingles jab: effective, safe vaccinations released to the public after many years research and development. So, of course I'd take a Covid jab, provided it is, or they are, thoroughly tested as being a) effective and b) safe

This recent announcement is of course very welcome but I do worry that the response to it by our beloved media is verging on the hyperbolic and in danger of raising hopes too high and too fast. Hancock, to his credit, and even Johnson have been sensibly circumspect in their responses to this 'great leap forward'; and I too think it's too soon to unequivocally believe this is the panacea that these early test results indicate

I'm concerned too that the drug companies, usually so very careful to test, test and test again new drugs before releasing them are being pressurised or are pressurising themselves to market these vaccines too early. Just imagine the stink if it was discovered after a mass vaccination programme that there were so-far undiscovered side effects and/or the claimed efficacy gleaned from these actually quite small trials is not borne out in the public at large. Of course a balance between risk and reward always has to be weighed but the potential downsides are significant

My own view is that it should be given intially to health workers who are by definition below retirement age and therefore already in the cohort that tends not to be badly stricken by Covid infection; who are then closely monitored for immunization rates and side effects. If all is well then roll it out to the elderly and infirm, then the rest of the population

All a bit negative perhaps, so a bit of positivity to close with: it is quite remarkable that a potential vaccine has been developed so quickly, given the tortuous development of prior vaccines and we should all be eternally grateful that there are scientists around the world capable of undertaking such extraordinary work
 
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Drone said:
All a bit negative perhaps, so a bit of positivity to close with: it is quite remarkable that a potential vaccine has been developed so quickly, given the tortuous development of prior vaccines and we should all be eternally grateful that there are scientists around the world capable of undertaking such extraordinary work
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Necessity is the mother of invention.

It normally takes ages because progress is limited by the resources available. Companies have thrown a lot more resources at finding a Covid vaccine so it shows what can be done when the situation is pressing.

Imagine what we could do for cancer sufferers if the same resources were dedicated to research.
 
Given how fastidiously these trials are usually conducted, I wouldn't worry too much the drugs unsafe. I'll take the experts word for it, and the 90% chance it's effective on me.
 
I shouldn't laugh, since this is a site of gamblers after all, but everyone seems to have assessed the risk/ odds (self included) and decided that the Pfizer jab is odds on.

Basically your odds of getting an adverse reaction (which is probably treatable anyway) is much smaller than getting a bad Covid infection, let alone the long term effects. Sure I'd rather not be forced into the situation, (like all of us) but if I had to roll the dice then I'd back the vaccine

My fear however is that Matt Hancock indicated he was being put in charge of organising the roll out of the Pfizer jab, which means that I can look forward to be offered a pizza job, and probably in 2025.
 
Yes I'm not pharma's greatest fan, but I don't think there is some huge conspiracy to this, although I also cannot believe this all started from a wild animal.

I think the laboratary/wuhan theory is very probable but how will they ever prove it? I've already lost my nan to Corona. Poor pegge was stuck in her care home, knowing the government were okay with allowing patients in from hospitals who may have covid. I am supportive of a public inquiry into what happend.

My mum is 65 and suffering from COPD lung disease. I have spent the last 7 months knowing if my mum gets it, with the health she's in, that there's probably a 90 percent chance she would succumb to it.

Thankfully she hasn't contracted the virus (yet). Having spoken to her she is ready and willing to take any vaccine going.
 
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I fear that with light visable at the end of the tunnel that the citizens might forget they are still travelling on a dangerous train. "Ah shure it'll all be grand now, Gobnet."
 
Obeying all the rules I attended a Christening a couple of months back. Three of the other attendees have since contracted COVID. All three are in the vulnerable category (as am I ) and have come through apparently without too much of a nasty experience. One was in her 80's, another had recently finished a round of chemo treatment for cancer and tother has several health issues. All three are sensible people and have followed guidance.
My reaction has been to be more cautious but since my issues are less serious than theirs I am now probably more optimistic than I had been.
 
A girl at work had her 13 year old son sent home from school as he had been in direct contact with someone who tested positive, and told to self isolate for 14 days. During this 14 days, his mother went into the office as according to the rules, she was allowed. I don't understand this. He wasn't ill but doesn't mean he doesn't have it, wasn't tested, neither was she but she could have been carrying it without knowing, and yet went into work. The offices are laid out so more chance of winning the lottery, but how is that allowed? Surely she should be in self isolation as well? No wonder rates are not coming down.
 
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I don't trust the pharmaceutical companies in the slightest.

I believe they are close to a safe solution but we all know that they are not in the business of making us better. They are in the business of making money.

First we had the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine claiming 90% effectiveness.

Within days of that, the Americans are claiming a 95% effective vaccine. Coincidence?

Within days of that, Pfizer-BioNtech are revising their effectiveness figure to 94%.

What are the odds the Americans will come back within a few days and claim theirs is actually 97% effective.

Then there will be the race to sell it to as many countries as possible, a race that will be determined by how easily each country can afford it. Third world countries are going to be sacrificed.

I'm pretty sure life will get back to somewhere near normal for most of us within the next 12 months but fear for people in many other countries.
 
Indeed DO; hence my concern about rigorous elf-n-safety testing being compromised and efficacy not being quite that being claimed. For instance, has any peer-reviewing of the research and results been carried out

I'm no lover of 'big pharma' - essentially 'big capitalism' - but they do at least have the hefty resources and expertise required to develop drugs

Regarding the 'third world' being sacrificed. It's a generalization but, thus far, this pandemic has largely hit wealthier countries hardest. Africa, for instance, has had relatively few cases and deaths, both in terms of totals and per capita. One might have thought that a country such as Nigeria with a population over 200,000,000 many of whom live in squalid, crowded conditions would have seen the virus run riot, but it hasn't. Poor reporting in such countries probably means there's been under-recording but nevertheless the difference still seems striking

This is a good resource
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
 
Drone said:
Indeed DO; hence my concern about rigorous elf-n-safety testing being compromised and efficacy not being quite that being claimed. For instance, has any peer-reviewing of the research and results been carried out

I'm no lover of 'big pharma' - essentially 'big capitalism' - but they do at least have the hefty resources and expertise required to develop drugs

Regarding the 'third world' being sacrificed. It's a generalization but, thus far, this pandemic has largely hit wealthier countries hardest. Africa, for instance, has had relatively few cases and deaths, both in terms of totals and per capita. One might have thought that a country such as Nigeria with a population over 200,000,000 many of whom live in squalid, crowded conditions would have seen the virus run riot, but it hasn't. Poor reporting in such countries probably means there's been under-recording but nevertheless the difference still seems striking

This is a good resource
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
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Thanks for the link, Drone.

I've no claims to any specific knowledge, and could be barking up entirely the wrong tree, but could the low figures for the less wealthy countries owe something to the natural immunity that poor circumstance, and lack of pharma engender - the building of antibiotic resistance being the other side of the exact same coin?
 
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Don't think your barking up the wrong tree at all

My over-simplistic opinion:

Poverty in the third world largely means surviving on a subsistence diet of bland but basically wholesome, healthy food: cereals, complex carbohydrates, limited protein, and - perhaps for the more fortunate - fresh green vegetables: low slow calories and adequate micronutrients. They also tend to be physically active, through need rather than choice, and have robust immune systems due to having spent their lives in 'unsanitary' conditions exposed to all sorts of pathogens immediately after exiting the womb

Many in wealthier countries subsist on processed food which tends to be high-fat and high in refined carbs (sugar): high, fast calories and inadequate micronutrients. They (we) also tend to be physically inactive and have less-than-robust immune systems due to a lifetime of healthcare which includes the dubious importance of always maintaining 'cleanliness'

So, when a novel pathogen appears, such as Covid-19, the skinny, tough, fit bodies of the third world poor are more adept at fighting it than the obese, weak, unfit bodies in the wealthy 'west'

It is also noteworthy that BAME in the northern first world seem particularly prone to Covid complications: quite the apparent opposite in their compatriots back in the third world. This I would suggest is in part due to the weaker sun in the north: darker skins need much more sunlight to produce adequate levels of vitamin D, which it is generally agreed plays an important role in maintaining a healthy immune system

In essence: hardship breeds resilient bodies; prosperity breeds weak bodies
 
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Dr John has spoken about the possibility that people in third world countries have greater immunity as they’ve been exposed to various parasites etc hasn’t he. He’s also queried whether those of us that have pets may be more immune as domestic pets have various COVID viruses and our exposure to them could boost our immune system. But no one seems to be exploring that possibility. At least I don’t feel so guilty that my current dog (unlike all the previous ones) is happily sharing the sofa and the bed with us. 9 months of the three of us shielding from the rest of the world seems to have resulted in all previous rules falling by the wayside.
 
'The Great Plague' on Channel 5 is worth watching. Only seen the first episode as yet which includes much interesting stuff such as London's attempt in 1665 to isolate itself by preventing international shipping from entering the Thames and the 'contact tracing' carried out during the 1900 outbreak in Glasgow

https://www.channel5.com/show/the-great-plague/
 
It’s excellent. I watched it as my nephew was production secretary on it (and also starred in it - he’s the close up, spooky looking male face on to camera). The programme is a bit repetitive at times but the information was fascinating and completely relevant to today’s situation. It also explains how the Plague spread contrary to original thoughts.
 
I will definitely get the jab when available with my age and underlying problems.
I dont go out much only when necessary.

I read a piece just about track and trace.the nurse who wrote it said she rang one woman who had tested positive to ask her some questions and she said,I cant now as I'm in Starbucks..this is what were up against.
 
Just watched The Night Manager on BBC4. Missed it first time round. Will probably rewatch it as was scared to watch the last episode properly.
 
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