RZ, PB, Ian, thanks for your replies. I was reading the responses differently, but maybe I had the wrong angle.
I don’t regard myself as an anti-vaxxer, but I will admit to having doubts and un-answered questions for a number of reasons.
That the vaccines were presented as perfectly safe, while at the same the Government indemnified the Manufacturers from legal action seemed, to me at least, contradictory.
For my wife and myself the vaccine was not optional. Well it was, but if you chose not to have it you were out of a job, a role we both trained hard for and have worked in for our entire adult lives. I understood the rational for Vaccination being made mandatory for HCP’s but it was something that didn’t sit comfortably with me. I also felt the possible risks associated with the vaccine were being downplayed, or kept low key, which I can understand if you want to maximize uptake, but that conflicts with my understanding of informed consent.
Shortly after my 2nd shot I had a mild flare up of my arthritis, did the Vaccine trigger that? I don’t know & anyway it settled down quickly.
My wife wasn’t so lucky, her Meniere’s, which had been in remission for several years, came back with a vengeance. She was on and off severely ill and debilitated for about four months before it settled down again. A close work colleague also developed tinnitus, also an audio-vestibular disorder and with links to Meniere’s, which caused enough distress and sleeplessness to make her feel close to suicidal at one point. Again were these linked to the Vaccine, or purely co-incidental? We’ll probably never know, but others have reported similar experiences. My wife chose not to have the 3rd booster and her employer accepted that decision.
My understanding of the fast role out process was that reporting the occurrence of possible reactions and side effects would be used to help gain understanding of any risks and problems. All 3 of used the BNF Yellow Card system, but that’s not something many people know about. A question I would ask is how many people experienced these sorts of possible reactions following vaccination and either regarded them as unrelated or if they did think they were triggered by the vaccine had no means of reporting the fact?
The big question; if the three of us could turn back the clock, knowing what we know now, would we still have the vaccine?
Me – I still have unanswered questions and reservations, but on balance I would consider the wider benefits to society and I would be vaccinated.
My colleague with Tinnitus. It’s a condition she’s likely to have for life, although I believe you get used to coping with it. She strongly suspects the vaccine played a part in the onset of her Tinnitus, but with elderly at risk parents she says she would make the same decision again and have the vaccine.
My wife – Acute attacks of Meniere’s over several months, with no idea if it would settle down, was horrendous for her. She’s very clear that she would rather have taken her chances with Covid. We know others may not agree with that stance, but we would both argue she has the right to make that choice.
Of course I have many other family members, friends and colleagues who as far as we are aware have suffered no adverse effects from being vaccinated, and for whom currently being alive, healthy and able to go about their normal lives may be partly or wholly atribuable to the vaccines fast development and rapid mass roll out programme.
Sorry, that’s a long post & maybe I am an anti-vaxxer, but ones who’s been vaccinated?
