How were the lockdowns for you?

[tink2424]

That's terrible.
I'm an employer, and we were in a position to offer all of our employees the opportunity to vaccinate before it was opened up for the general public and I was surprised how few of them took us up on it, and I watched as ardent anti-vax folks who worked for me got it, one's husband was hospitalized for 2 weeks but I'd NEVER terminate someone for making the choice for themselves. Now we do have different protocols for those who have exposures/covid that is dependent on if they are vaccinated or not. But fire someone? No.

They were. And they are completely entitled to that opinion just like anyone else with an opinion.

As a business owner & employer I constantly had to thread the needle in order to KEEP people employed, keep them health and try to avoid Covid outbreaks on jobsites and in the office, all while keeping in mind that people have freedoms to make their own medical choices. I had to keep my opinion to myself (which - if it matters, was that vaccines shouldn't be mandated, folks should have freedom of choice) and do what was best for our Company while also attempting to follow CDC recommendations due to Insurance requirements and to avoid large amount of folks who were on work comp because they got it at work and /or being sued because we didn't do enough to protect employees. You wouldn't believe the hoops we had to jump thru in order to keep our employees on the job - vaccinated or not. We busted our *** in order not to have to shut down jobsites and lay folks off regardless of their vaccination status. So when someone who was a self described "ardent anti-vaxer" in my office and preached her stance to anyone who would listened came down with it, then her husband got it and was hospitalized with it for 3 weeks came back into the office and had a new tune to whistle I didn't want to hear about it - and yeah - I paid her & every other employee who had to quarantine before the vaccines became available.

I love this response and thank you for being the type of employer that America needs.

Lots of lessons were learned. The good news, there will never be another lock down.

I only wish. Unfortunately I don't think lessons were learned at all by most politicians or government employees.

I lost my job as a result of Covid and it took 8 months to resolve unemployment because of something ridiculous that was neither my fault nor the fault of my former employer so that was extremely stressful.

Also differing feelings about how to handle Covid caused a serious rift with my brother and his family I don't think things will ever go back to the way they were unfortunately. Thankfully I did not personally know anyone who was hospitalized or passed from Covid and I'm very grateful for that. We missed out on the early months of our new niece and nephew's lives (different sides of the family) which was heartbreaking for everyone.

Thankfully DH and I came through it all okay, but it was a tough time for sure and one I would not care to repeat.

I wish there was an like option that stood for "HUGGS". I would have put it on your post.

The whole point of the vaccine was to prevent people from dying. Yes, you can still get covid. There are over one million people whose families probably wish there was a vaccine available when they got sick.

But that isn't what the clinical trials actually studied so no that wasn't the point of the vaccines. All that was studied in the clinical trials was if the vaccines created an antibody response. They never studied whether that antibody response stopped infection or even prevented death. You would think they would study that but they didn't.

I don't even blame the pharma companies. Our FDA should have set a better standard for what they would approve and should have made them study both efficacy and safety. This will go down in history as a very dark time for the FDA.

 

[tvguy]

But that isn't what the clinical trials actually studied so no that wasn't the point of the vaccines. All that was studied in the clinical trials was if the vaccines created an antibody response. They never studied whether that antibody response stopped infection or even prevented death. You would think they would study that but they didn't.

I don't even blame the pharma companies. Our FDA should have set a better standard for what they would approve and should have made them study both efficacy and safety. This will go down in history as a very dark time for the FDA.

Well, time was of the essence because lives were at stake. My Rheumatologist kind of put it well. It will probably be a minimum of 10 years before we start to get a clear picture of how well we responded. And we may not know in our lifetimes conclusively.

 

[tink2424]

Well, time was of the essence because lives were at stake. My Rheumatologist kind of put it well. It will probably be a minimum of 10 years before we start to get a clear picture of how well we responded. And we may not know in our lifetimes conclusively.

I agree, time was of the essence however what you stated was factually inaccurate.

I work in clinical trials and regardless of time they could have gotten some data prior to filing and then if they would have kept the study on-going they could have gotten longer term data. They did neither which is against good practices for how you study drugs/vaccines.

 

[leahgoogle]

The whole point of the vaccine was to prevent people from dying. Yes, you can still get covid. There are over one million people whose families probably wish there was a vaccine available when they got sick.

And, there are many that wished they wouldn't have gotten it. That wasn't how the vaccine was marketed. At the beginning, it was said that you wouldn't get covid if you get the vaccine. Then, it was if you get covid, you won't spread it. Then, it was if you get covid you can still spread it, but it won't be severe. Then, it was you can get it and spread it and it "may" help your case not be severe. Now other countries don't even recommend getting the booster unless old or very immunocompromised. The goal posts were always moved. Hence, the reason for medical freedom. They really had no idea how that vaccine was going to work when they rolled it out and people should have not been forced to get it in any situation. We were lucky DH's job only gave a cash incentive and never mandated it especially since we had covid before the vaccine even came out.

 

[tvguy]

I agree, time was of the essence however what you stated was factually inaccurate.

I work in clinical trials and regardless of time they could have gotten some data prior to filing and then if they would have kept the study on-going they could have gotten longer term data. They did neither which is against good practices for how you study drugs/vaccines.

And people would have died during the delay. Not acceptable in my book. And if you work in clinical trials you know they are ongoing. The Polio vaccine is still under study nearly 70 years after it became available. And in 2016, nearly 60 years after it was introduced, health officials switched from trivalent polio vaccine to the bivalent because of what the ongoing trials showed.

 

[tvguy]

And, there are many that wished they wouldn't have gotten it. That wasn't how the vaccine was marketed. At the beginning, it was said that you wouldn't get covid if you get the vaccine. Then, it was if you get covid, you won't spread it. Then, it was if you get covid you can still spread it, but it won't be severe. Then, it was you can get it and spread it and it "may" help your case not be severe. Now other countries don't even recommend getting the booster unless old or very immunocompromised. The goal posts were always moved. Hence, the reason for medical freedom. They really had no idea how that vaccine was going to work when they rolled it out and people should have not been forced to get it in any situation. We were lucky DH's job only gave a cash incentive and never mandated it especially since we had covid before the vaccine even came out.

Sort of like the flu vaccine. You may still get sick, just not so sick that you die.

 

[leahgoogle]

Please don't misunderstand, while I totally support medical freedom, I have lost all sense of grace for those who spouted unscientific rhetoric regarding the vaccines to all who would listen only to have gotten it, had a bad experience and come back to say "well, once I talked to the Dr.'s or read up on it I figured I should probably get it.". See, it goes both ways. I heartily respect body autonomy as well science and make my own choices. I would hope, but no longer expect, folks to understand a handful of anecdotes be they for or against the vaccines does not make fact. I didn't much enjoy being told I was a "sheep" or "not thinking for myself" when I choose to get vaccinated...so the respect for medical freedom should go both ways. It doesn't, but it should.

So anyway, back to lockdowns. I took a few minutes to take stock of our local area. Regretfully a few small eateries didn't make it, and there remains Now Hiring signs posted everywhere. A few places still have shortened hours due to lack of staff but slowly those that were able to hang on are scratching their way back. I think the economic results are still to be felt in some places.

Medical freedom definitely should go both ways. Trust me, the unvaccinated were treated overwhelmingly worse than the vaccinated at the beginning from my point of view. Thankfully, the majority of our friends and family also are unvaccinated so we didn't have any problems with family or friends refusing to visit. I know some people did and it's sad.

 

[leahgoogle]

Oh, should add, just to keep it Disney, we went to WDW in August '20 and August '21. The trip in 2020 was the absolute best ever. We picked a direction and just rode rides - there wasn't a single line that was more than about 20 minutes so no need to criss-cross across the park. No doubt the masks and the closed restaurants and pre/post ride experiences were a complete bummer, but given what we have now with G+, paid LL, and mega-long standby lines, in retrospect, the 2020 trip was better by a mile.

I agree! We went in Oct 2020. There were low crowds and no fastpasses or genie. It was amazing!

 

[Kimkimba]

Our lives weren’t affected like a lot of people. My husband and I never missed a day of work - we still went in everyday. I cyber school my kids so that was the same. The only thing was no graduation walk for my 2020 graduate. Yes, we still have a ceremony that is statewide for our school.

 

[TippyThomas]

It sucked.

 

[leahgoogle]

Sort of like the flu vaccine. You may still get sick, just not so sick that you die.

That's not what it was marketed as in the beginning though. And, there have been studies that show that it doesn't even do that against Omicron. The whole thing was rushed and people were fed fear to get them to get a vaccine that didn't work as big pharma intended.

 

[tvguy]

That's not what it was marketed as in the beginning though. And, there have been studies that show that it doesn't even do that against Omicron. The whole thing was rushed and people were fed fear to get them to get a vaccine that didn't work as big pharma intended.

Well, that isn't what I recall. And I think big pharma has benefited greatly because instead of a one and done vaccine, it looks like it will be like the flu, an annual vaccine and that means more money for big pharma.
I lost friends before the vaccines with the same health issues I have who died. I finally caught it last month, and I think the five vaccines I got helped prevent it from becoming more than a minor illness.

 

[tvguy]

One thing I just noticed changed since the pandemic started. I was trying to be careful not to violate the DIS Boards restrictions on Covid. Those restrictions are gone.

 

[leahgoogle]

Well, that isn't what I recall. And I think big pharma has benefited greatly because instead of a one and done vaccine, it looks like it will be like the flu, an annual vaccine and that means more money for big pharma.
I lost friends before the vaccines with the same health issues I have who died. I finally caught it last month, and I think the five vaccines I got helped prevent it from becoming more than a minor illness.

I'm sorry for your losses. Yes, big pharma benefitted handsomely even with some vaccine hesitancy. We all had mild cases without the vaccines. That's why medical freedom is so important. I don't care if someone wants to get the vaccine, but don't force me to get it. We are now at that point (outside of extremists on both sides, which will always be).

 

[leahgoogle]

One thing I just noticed changed since the pandemic started. I was trying to be careful not to violate the DIS Boards restrictions on Covid. Those restrictions are gone.

Yes, I am surprised this thread is still up. As it should be because the conversation has been fine, I think.

 

[ronandannette]

And, there are many that wished they wouldn't have gotten it. That wasn't how the vaccine was marketed. At the beginning, it was said that you wouldn't get covid if you get the vaccine. Then, it was if you get covid, you won't spread it. Then, it was if you get covid you can still spread it, but it won't be severe. Then, it was you can get it and spread it and it "may" help your case not be severe. Now other countries don't even recommend getting the booster unless old or very immunocompromised. The goal posts were always moved. Hence, the reason for medical freedom. They really had no idea how that vaccine was going to work when they rolled it out and people should have not been forced to get it in any situation. We were lucky DH's job only gave a cash incentive and never mandated it especially since we had covid before the vaccine even came out.

After 5 shots I won't be getting a 6th. And while my household freely took them (and under the same circumstances, with the same inadequate information, would probably do so again), I was completely appalled at what, in practical terms, ended up being coerced vaccination for people in jurisdictions all around the world.

 

[tvguy]

After 5 shots I won't be getting a 6th. And while my household freely took them (and under the same circumstances, with the same inadequate information, would probably do so again), I was completely appalled at what, in practical terms, ended up being coerced vaccination for people in jurisdictions all around the world.

It is interesting from a world perspective that nations that generally have such divided opinions seemed to agree on vaccines.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I did not mind the lockdown at all. Life was quiet and we spent a lot of family time together.

 

[ronandannette]

It is interesting from a world perspective that nations that generally have such divided opinions seemed to agree on vaccines.

I don’t speak for all Canadians. I think people everywhere have considered their lived experience, the information as it’s emerged over time and their own anecdotal observations to come to conclusions that may be different than they started out with. It’s hindsight about a situation practically nobody could have ever dreamed would unfold the way it did.

 

[leahgoogle]

It is interesting from a world perspective that nations that generally have such divided opinions seemed to agree on vaccines.

That tide is turning in the US as now there are many people questioning all vaccines. The way the roll-out of the covid vaccine was handled was done without complete information and people are seeing that now. The CDC and FDA are not as trusted by some after the way many aspects of covid were handled (or mishandled).