I really appreciate your take. I’m happily vaccinated, but absolutely understand people who are afraid of ‘new’.
The conscious effort to downplay any potential negatives seems to be backfiring. Acknowledging unknowns and giving genuine cost/benefit would be a much more effective means of changing opinions. Instead I’m seeing more publicized efforts to “stop misinformation”, which simply gives more fuel to the fire for people who already distrust govt messaging.
Love the idea of touting “Trumps vaccine.” If public health really did matter more than partisanship, current leadership would heed the suggestion.
Great take on this issue. I have people in my family who are not typical "anti-vax" (they get flu shots and etc) but they do have a lot of hesitancy around the covid vaccines and distrust of the way the communication has been handled.
After getting the moderna vaccine myself, I had some rare (but apparently not atypical for my gender and age bracket) side effects that I was not forewarned about my doctor (they also didn't appear in any medical literature about the vaccine). When I shared the side effects with my doctor, they were quick to dismiss my insistence that it was related to the vaccine. I did my own research and learned that other reputable news sources (such as The Guardian), as well as international doctors, were starting to post online about seeing this particular side effect popping up in a small, but not insignificant, number of cases. I walked away feeling really frustrated and even angered by the whole experience.
I feel like I was fed a line about the vaccine having no major side effects that led to me making a decision that wasn't well informed. I am the one that has to live with my health decisions, and I deserve the truth -- all of it. All of the potential risks. My trust has been lessened by this experience because I feel like it was less than transparent. I feel like in the rush to get the numbers up, certain potentialities have been glossed over in favor of a more "positive" vaccine message. I haven't shared this experience with other family members who are vaccine hesitant because I feel like that will be adding fuel to the fire and make them even more hesitant than they already are. But I'm still royally pissed.
Bottom line - I'm glad that we have a vaccine. I'm glad I got the vaccine. I'm not an anti-vaxxer. HOWEVER. I'm also really upset that I wasn't told up front that this was a possibility, and that I was also told that I don't know what I'm talking about because my experience doesn't align with the current literature from the CDC. Medical establishment - do better. Government officials and decision makers - do better.
Let me just say that I currently work in a highly regulated industry within the sciences so my perspective may be different but I wanted to ensure you knew where I was coming from. I cannot share my employer or any further details, but thought you knowing my professional background would be helpful.
Now with that out of the way, I'd like to commend you for getting the vaccine because I do believe it's the best way we can get out of this pandemic. Yes, of course I'm disheartened to read about your experience because I know I would be just as furious, but this is all the more reason why I feel so torn about the government's role in public health crises. Transparency these days in all forms of media and even in healthcare and government feels like an all-time low. Unfortunately, it's been made worse by the way the pandemic is being handled and the communication of the vaccines safety and efficacy.
Even for someone like me that works in a science industry, I was hesitant to get the vaccine until around May when I was finally eligible and also realised that the benefits outweighed the risks. However, I still believe that many people did not follow through on the communication piece of the vaccine. It's easy to say people are simply anti-vaxxers, but it's much more difficult to truly be empathetic and understand why people feel that way.
I side with many people who are cautious because I was the same way too and I work in a science industry, but it's also all the more reason why we need to be our own advocates, which is what I wanted to discuss next.
It is disheartening to read your experience, but I hope this will help you become much more self-reliant. I know that doesn't sound good and I hate saying it, but you simply cannot trust everyone, not even your physician. You have to press for questions and if they say it's no big deal, then I would consult another physician and do independent research.
I commend you for doing that on your own because it truly is important. We have to take care of our health. Sometimes the people we think who would care for us, are not always there for us in the end. If I die because my physician said I didn't have cancer, but later on I find out I did, but the physician didn't say anything because the tumour was so small, then the physician may get sacked or lose his/her license to practice, but would still live on, but for me, I would be dead and my family would be grieving. Nothing can bring back someone who is dead. We have to be in control of our health decisions and we can't let other people doubt us. In the end we're the ones affected, not the person giving the information.
I hate to point such a horrible picture, but this whole pandemic has reminded me that we need to be our own advocates, do our own research, ask lots of questions to different physicians and trust the science when the data backs it up. I've learned this personally. Never feel bad if you're asking for too much, in the end it's your health and you deserve some peace of mind of what to do and what is happening.
Again, I feel so sorry for you and I hope things are better! My second dose of Pfizer/BioNTech was awful too so I can sort of empathise with your situation.
If someone is not vaccinated, and they come down with covid, there is a chance that they might infect others. Not, however, if those others got the shots. So what you have, at worst, is the unvaccinated infecting the unvaccinated.
If you got the shots, it doesn't matter who else didn't. You're safe regardless. And if you did not get the shots, it still doesn't matter who else didn't because you are going to catch covid eventually, regardless. Unless, of course, you have already had covid and don't need any shots.
I really appreciate your take. I’m happily vaccinated, but absolutely understand people who are afraid of ‘new’.
The conscious effort to downplay any potential negatives seems to be backfiring. Acknowledging unknowns and giving genuine cost/benefit would be a much more effective means of changing opinions. Instead I’m seeing more publicized efforts to “stop misinformation”, which simply gives more fuel to the fire for people who already distrust govt messaging.
Love the idea of touting “Trumps vaccine.” If public health really did matter more than partisanship, current leadership would heed the suggestion.
Great take on this issue. I have people in my family who are not typical "anti-vax" (they get flu shots and etc) but they do have a lot of hesitancy around the covid vaccines and distrust of the way the communication has been handled.
After getting the moderna vaccine myself, I had some rare (but apparently not atypical for my gender and age bracket) side effects that I was not forewarned about my doctor (they also didn't appear in any medical literature about the vaccine). When I shared the side effects with my doctor, they were quick to dismiss my insistence that it was related to the vaccine. I did my own research and learned that other reputable news sources (such as The Guardian), as well as international doctors, were starting to post online about seeing this particular side effect popping up in a small, but not insignificant, number of cases. I walked away feeling really frustrated and even angered by the whole experience.
I feel like I was fed a line about the vaccine having no major side effects that led to me making a decision that wasn't well informed. I am the one that has to live with my health decisions, and I deserve the truth -- all of it. All of the potential risks. My trust has been lessened by this experience because I feel like it was less than transparent. I feel like in the rush to get the numbers up, certain potentialities have been glossed over in favor of a more "positive" vaccine message. I haven't shared this experience with other family members who are vaccine hesitant because I feel like that will be adding fuel to the fire and make them even more hesitant than they already are. But I'm still royally pissed.
Bottom line - I'm glad that we have a vaccine. I'm glad I got the vaccine. I'm not an anti-vaxxer. HOWEVER. I'm also really upset that I wasn't told up front that this was a possibility, and that I was also told that I don't know what I'm talking about because my experience doesn't align with the current literature from the CDC. Medical establishment - do better. Government officials and decision makers - do better.
Hi HCD,
Let me just say that I currently work in a highly regulated industry within the sciences so my perspective may be different but I wanted to ensure you knew where I was coming from. I cannot share my employer or any further details, but thought you knowing my professional background would be helpful.
Now with that out of the way, I'd like to commend you for getting the vaccine because I do believe it's the best way we can get out of this pandemic. Yes, of course I'm disheartened to read about your experience because I know I would be just as furious, but this is all the more reason why I feel so torn about the government's role in public health crises. Transparency these days in all forms of media and even in healthcare and government feels like an all-time low. Unfortunately, it's been made worse by the way the pandemic is being handled and the communication of the vaccines safety and efficacy.
Even for someone like me that works in a science industry, I was hesitant to get the vaccine until around May when I was finally eligible and also realised that the benefits outweighed the risks. However, I still believe that many people did not follow through on the communication piece of the vaccine. It's easy to say people are simply anti-vaxxers, but it's much more difficult to truly be empathetic and understand why people feel that way.
I side with many people who are cautious because I was the same way too and I work in a science industry, but it's also all the more reason why we need to be our own advocates, which is what I wanted to discuss next.
It is disheartening to read your experience, but I hope this will help you become much more self-reliant. I know that doesn't sound good and I hate saying it, but you simply cannot trust everyone, not even your physician. You have to press for questions and if they say it's no big deal, then I would consult another physician and do independent research.
I commend you for doing that on your own because it truly is important. We have to take care of our health. Sometimes the people we think who would care for us, are not always there for us in the end. If I die because my physician said I didn't have cancer, but later on I find out I did, but the physician didn't say anything because the tumour was so small, then the physician may get sacked or lose his/her license to practice, but would still live on, but for me, I would be dead and my family would be grieving. Nothing can bring back someone who is dead. We have to be in control of our health decisions and we can't let other people doubt us. In the end we're the ones affected, not the person giving the information.
I hate to point such a horrible picture, but this whole pandemic has reminded me that we need to be our own advocates, do our own research, ask lots of questions to different physicians and trust the science when the data backs it up. I've learned this personally. Never feel bad if you're asking for too much, in the end it's your health and you deserve some peace of mind of what to do and what is happening.
Again, I feel so sorry for you and I hope things are better! My second dose of Pfizer/BioNTech was awful too so I can sort of empathise with your situation.
Thanks for the perspective. I have family members in the medical industry as well, so I understand the importance of being your own advocate!
Great take on the vaccine hesitancy, Isaac. This level-headed POV is EXACTLY why I subscribed.
Loved the "1 in 10" troll number too. I think you're probably right.
If someone is not vaccinated, and they come down with covid, there is a chance that they might infect others. Not, however, if those others got the shots. So what you have, at worst, is the unvaccinated infecting the unvaccinated.
If you got the shots, it doesn't matter who else didn't. You're safe regardless. And if you did not get the shots, it still doesn't matter who else didn't because you are going to catch covid eventually, regardless. Unless, of course, you have already had covid and don't need any shots.