Why take the vaccine for covid-19? Are you still on the fence?

Posted on by bill

Why vaccinate for covid-19? Are you still on the fence?

While reading the newspaper today, there was an article about certain areas that are under-vaccinated in NJ.

Some people have held off due to busy work schedules as things get busier in NJ.  Others want to watch others in their family go first and see how they did, while others have read something regarding blood clots in women from the Johnson and Johnson vaccine or not feeling well after taking the Pfizer/Moderna shots.

As we now know, NJ is fully opening this Friday and the count of people who contracted covid or dying from it is dropping not only in NJ but nationally.  This is likely due to those who have been vaccinated (close to 40% of the US population has had their two doses) and just under 300 million have had at least one.

Many others have had covid-19 and recovered.    These people are also just as immune as those who were vaccinated according to an Oxford University study.

Reaching herd immunity in Israel was when 58% were fully vaccinated.   The rest were people who already had covid and their vaccine passport policy includes those who had covid naturally.

In NJ and the tri-state area, the masks come off in restaurants and in other venues but many will still believe they need a mask to be safe even after vaccination which does not follow the science of immunity or how vaccines work.

In fact, those in the herd will protect others who were not vaccinated or have had covid-19.

Should you have the vaccine, pros, and cons.

Pro’s

  • Vaccine Immunity will markedly reduce your likelihood of severe illness as we saw recently with the infections that occurred in baseball teams as well as with the high profile Bill Mahr.   Only one person on the team had any symptoms yet they all were diagnosed with covid.
  • Many venues will require you to have been vaccinated.
  • The vaccine offers protection to variants as well.
  • While a live trial was small and performed using a speedy process, we are the live trial and while some have had problems with the vaccine, the number of those with problems has been exceedingly small.   The vaccine has shown safety levels higher than taking aspirin for instance. Authorities have been very transparent about the vaccines and both their positive and negative effects.
  • It is statistically much safer than getting covid-19.
  • United Airlines is giving away free flights to those who upload a copy of their vaccination card to their account.   There are likely to be other similar promotions as well.
  • You help us get to herd immunity faster and a more normal way of living.

Con’s

  • You will likely feel achy and ill for a day or so post-vaccination.
  • If you have a compromised immune system, vaccination effectiveness is limited by immune deficiency, but you are also more susceptible to a covid-19 infection as well.
  • A small percentage of people may experience problems that are significant after the vaccination including an allergic reaction.   Vaccination sites check for this.   Vaccination is not without risk and please do your research prior to going but look at legitimate sites such as the CDC.

Should you wait to get covid-19 instead of getting vaccinated?

  1. While the vaccine is not without side effects, which for most people last a day and are not life-threatening, having covid-19 is statistically more dangerous, especially if you are overweight with metabolic syndrome and diabetes type 2.
  2. If you already had covid-19 and have antibodies, eventually, antibodies go away and we develop long-term immunity which can last for decades or even our entire life.    In the USA, they want everyone vaccinated as well even though you had covid-19.   Since others may be afraid of you even though you are naturally vaccinated, think of getting the vaccine for the benefit of others as I did.

What about those horror stories or scary news articles and videos?

The vaccine is not perfect but as we all see, the pandemic has been shortened by the vaccine and life is returning to normal.   On the other hand, getting covid-19 has its own scary stories and can be much riskier statistically.  There is much misinformation out there and a clue is that they ask you to buy a book or sign up for something at the end of the article.  Also, look for legitimate references.

It is safer to get vaccinated and you can do so now at many locations without the wait.   Most locations don’t require an appointment anymore. It is our suggestion that you give yourself a recovery day following the vaccine appointment.