ronandannette
I gave myself this tag and I "Like" myself too!
- Joined
- May 4, 2006
- Messages
- 26,027
@ronandannette, this was the question I grappled with yesterday. My thought is that I'm not sure the 55-59 age group is going to be offered the mRNA vaccines in the near future. In Ontario, we weren't scheduled to get vaccines until Phase 3. I was originally figuring on June/July sometime.
I think the next rollout will be the front line workers (teachers, grocery store workers, factory workers and hot spots). After that they will need the mRNA for those under 55 as AZ isn't recommended for them (at the moment). That will leave AZ or J&J (if it ever arrives) as options for those 55-59 and older if they haven't yet received their vaccine.
Those variants are causing a lot of conern. I'm not comfortable waiting until I can "maybe" get and mRNA when there are other options available today. Like Jacqueline said, Get out and get that jab, doesn't matter which one, just get it!
Just my thoughts.
I worried about getting the AstraZeneca as well but in my earlier post, I discussed what my doctors said. No, they don’t know any more than the info out there. However, they all mentioned that statistically, they are extremely safe. Obviously not helpful for the people who did get a clot. However, we all have so many other things that can cause us harm as they mentioned....eating too much junk, being overweight and we don’t worry so much about those things.
All of the vaccines we have now are reported to offer some protection from the variants. For me, I would like to be protected now, while cases of those aren’t too high. Once you get Covid, you have it. Then it’s too late to worry about it.
I totally understand your concern. You have to do what is right for you. Just remember that more and more people are reaching out to the pharmacies for appointments so you may not get any vaccine for a while. Good luck with your decision.
Thank you all for your thoughts. I have literally zero concern about blood clots or other sever side effects; the chances of problems are very, very slim. My entire issue is the reduced efficacy, especially against variants. The AZ provides reduced protection against the UK and Brazil variant and very little proven protection against the South African variant, according to everything I have read. The mRNA vaccines are unequivocally superior in that regard. Taking the AZ now means not getting the "better" vaccine later (projected to be available in late-May here) and that is the crux of the decision.First I would think about what your main concern is. If it’s level of protection, well that all offer a good level of protection. If it’s the blood clots, I suggest you look up the risk of blood clots when taking birth control pills. Then compare that to the risk of blood clots with the vaccine. You will see the vaccine has a much lower risk then birth control. I’m not saying you should take that vaccine. But look up that actual number for yourself and then decide. The media is really overhyping the risk.