mykc14 wrote:I don't think I would jump in line to get a vaccine for myself or my kids. I've got to look at the risk vs reward. What are the side effects vs. me and my families overall risk of having a negative outcome if we were to catch the virus. If I were older (55+) or had other health conditions that dramatically raised my risk I would get it. I understand how vaccines work and the idea of creating a herd immunity is important, but this isn't Polio or Ebola in terms of individual risk. At this point I would imagine a largely untested vaccine poses more of a risk to most of the population than the virus itself. This might make it seem like I am taking the virus lightly (I am not) but I would argue that maybe some people are taking the possible side effects of a vaccine- both long term and short term- lightly. I am not an anti-vaxer, my kids are vaccinated for the most part but if you look at the amount of vaccination kids are getting today compared to 25 years ago it is pretty eye opening.
I'm not going to be the first in line, either. But as soon as I'm convinced it's safe and effective, I'm getting mine. The problem isn't individual risk so much as the risk posed to others. My wife has two autoimmune diseases and we're both over 65. We're counting on others to help protect us from the virus.
Ironically, I reached out to my former boss a couple of days ago regarding vaccinations. There's been some discussion about employers requiring that all employees receive a vaccination when one becomes available or continue to use masks until the local health department lifts their recommendations. It will be interesting to see how that develops.
We really need a national discussion about the vaccination issue in general. Where do you draw the line between the individual risk a person takes when they receive a vaccination vs. the risk they pose to others should they choose not to get one?