Had my 2nd shot of the Pfizer vaccine two weeks ago. Unlike the first shot which stung quite a bit, I barely felt the second shot at all. Waited to see if I was going to have any side effects as a few people I knew said that the 2nd shot was worse than the 1st. But as was the case with the 1st shot, I fortunately didn't really notice anything other than a bit of stiffness around the injection site that went away in less than 24 hours. If there were any actual side effects, I honestly couldn't tell. I continued wearing a mask for two weeks after the 2nd shot, but today was the first time in over a year that I went to work without a mask. I'll still continue to wear a mask when entering businesses that still require them, but even when I don't have one, I'll still practice some social distancing for the time being.
Why is the USA and Australia pushing for an investigation into where the virus came from? Why does that even matter it's here now wouldn't it be better to find a solution and mitigate the spread of the virus rather then go chasing at shadows trying to find where it came from? Why this sudden push tor an official investigation or is that just more political theatre to feed the stupid masses?
There is some value in determining how it spread in the beginning as well as its origins, to try and avoid the mistakes that let it get out of hand. To be of most value, it does not to be neutral in its tone.
^True, but at this point, my feeling is efforts to figure that out now would be put to better use, given the many variants. There's no sense in pointing fingers at this point as everyone worldwide has been affected. It would just cause some noise and distraction. It'd be possibly impossible to truly find out its origins at this point. It's not like 1918 where it was easier to pin down what happened.
Personally, I still feel a bit odd going out without a mask. I'll generally go with the 'mood' of a particular business I enter. I mean, even if they have the sign saying vaccinated people are not required to wear masks, if it looks like most people inside are still masking up, then I'll do so as well, out of solidarity. Or something. Kor
Yeah, while I'm fully vaccinated now, my Province hasn't lifted the mask requirement for businesses yet, but I definitely agree that I would wear one in crowded places, such as Costco. I mean, I'm sure that historically and medically speaking, it would be nice to know where it came from, but given the controversy, it's kind of a touchy subject. We have to be careful about assigning blame. And technically, there's an awful lot of mistakes that we've repeated that were done in 1918, almost as if nothing was learned even while we have more advanced medical sciences to help overcome it. One major advantage that we've had is access to electron microscopes and DNA sequencing that weren't available back then. They didn't even really know what they were looking for back then, partly because medical advances just weren't there yet.
Yep, see that's what I'm talking about. There are so many parallels, including how many have reacted to the pandemic and disregarded the rules put in place, to the wild conspiracy theories. I've been deeply interested in the 1918 pandemic, so much so that I bought a book about it by John M. Barry. Haven't read it yet. But I think that theoretically, we should have done much better with the response given what we knew happened in 1918. I guess that's one of humanity's blindspots.
Well, my wife and I are waiting to see what transpires with Novavax. The current 4 vaccines just have too many risk factors for us. I continue to go out only once every 2 weeks late at night for our groceries, always with mask and goggles, and that is the full extent of our going out. We are hopeful that when Novavax is in wide distribution that it will be safer in the short-term, more effective against the variants, and with far fewer suggested auto-immune associated disorders in the long-term.
Ontario moved into step 3 of its reopening on Friday. This means things like indoor dining, indoor gyms, movie theatres, casinos, etc are now all open, albeit with capacity limits in place to maintain 2 metres of physical distancing. Not that I’m going to be going to any of those places, of course. But then, I didn’t really go to them pre-pandemic either, so not much difference. Although I did go get some groceries on Friday, and the store was a LOT busier than it has been lately. Freaked me out a little. There does not appear to be any evidence at this time that the vaccines cause auto-immune disorders. (However, there does seem to be some evidence that SARS-CoV-2 itself can.) But regardless, Novavax does appear to be a great vaccine, with a high efficacy, and milder side effects than the mRNA vaccines, according to the results of their Phase 3 trials. If having another option helps people who were hesitant about mRNA to get vaccinated, that can only be a good thing. Good luck and stay healthy.
Yes. And furthermore, any yo-yo can suggest something online, regardless of their qualifications and regardless of what it is that they actually know. What's "suggested" about how the vaccines work and what the risk factors are is irrelevant in comparison to what can be said regarding those things that is actually supported by evidence.
There are many reports on that page. Would you care to be more specific about which report pertains to the point you are trying to make and more specific about what your point actually is? Thanks.
Thanks for the link. I’ve done some further reading on this subject, and it looks like the odds of being diagnosed with GBS after receiving the J&J vaccine are currently estimated around 0.0008%. It also sounds like the data are still being analyzed, and although there does in fact appear to be an association, they have not yet been able to prove a causal relationship. (The mRNA vaccines do not appear to have any association to increased risk of GBS.) And of course, your odds of developing GBS seem to be higher after developing COVID than they are after receiving the J&J vaccine. I had heard of GBS before, because I get a similar warning of a slightly increased risk every year when I get my flu shot.
The point is, there are problems with these vaccines right now that too many people seem to want to sweep under the rug. The people who have died after receiving the vaccines....we hear about underlying conditions. An analogy could be drawn to an electrical overload. Some systems, or in this case lives, will be immediately shorted-out, while others will be weakened and will fail prematurely as time progresses. Some of these underlying conditions may not have resulted in death at all if not for that extreme shock to the body. In that way, a vaccine can not be held blameless. Through it all, I say give people as many facts as possible and keep them updated. Don't over-emphasize small percentages of problems, but don't gloss over them or make it seem like they don't exist, either. If there is some risk, even if it is small, just let people know. Don't hammer away so hard on "the benefits outweigh the risks". Let the individual decide that. Moderna is stronger than Pfizer, yet the interval between first and second doses for both is the same: two weeks. That seems like all the more likelihood of system overload with Moderna. The whole thing has become way out of hand. First it was if you don't get a vaccine you are selfish and socially irresponsible. Then unpatriotic. Now it's talk of contributing to genocide! It's far beyond ridiculous. One big problem has been when people quit wearing masks. There is still not enough known yet about the virus and it's mutations. People should have stuck with masks, vaccinated or not. It's no great hardship to wear one. People wear them regularly where there are air-quality problems. Lest there be any misunderstandings here, I will say this: I don't disapprove of the door-to-door thing....if it is a 'make-it-more-available' intention. Just don't be pushy about it or accuse someone of being an asshole or worse if they decline. And bring unbiased information along with the vaccines so that people can make an informed choice, without being pressured. For the record, do I agree with those who refuse vaccines because of conspiracy theories or just to be anarchists? Hell, no! Actually, if I were in a position in which I was required to be out-and-about in some capacity for hours every day, I would likely take Moderna initially and then Pfizer two weeks later and hope that method worked out for the best.
They are risks in virtually everything we do, the question is do the risks outweigh the benefits? Sure some people have died after receiving a vaccine, but what percentage is that of those who have recieved a vaccine? What percentage of people have died after testing positive for Covid-19 who hadn't recieved a vaccine? So the question is are you more likely to die receiving a vaccine or from Covid? But aside from the individual what about soceity as a whole? Some people won't be able to have the vaccine because they are allergic to one of the ingrediants so they rely on hurd immunity.