So sort of a sidebar, if there's no plan of rolling back mask wearing and all the other restrictions, what's the benefit of risking these wonky side effects I keep hearing about? And we still have no idea what the long term effects of the vaccine are. I hate sounding like an anti-vaxxer, which I'm not, but it just seems like the risks aren't worth it. Maybe I should get the vaccine while I'm still in the Army so I can claim 100% disability when it gives me some sort of wonky health defect.
I think that is a question you see asked a lot. Also I would implore folks to carefully consider where they are getting their medical information. Don't accept what you see on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube as credible news without doing your homework and checking in with other sites like FDA, John Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, CDC, Stanford Medical, and yes even the sites such as the manufacturers of the vaccine to see how it all matches up. Social Media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and the like, in general are at best a huge rumor mill and at worst a terrible propaganda machine that is being used to divide folks and fill them with doubt. My job for a number of years was in IT security and a number of us watched as Facebook adoption took off as the Internet speeds were increasing. We all knew the dangers of universal adoption of a communication product that allowed anything to be said by anybody in the world anonymously.
The risk for Covid vaccinations is currently almost none except for folks that are hyperallergic and carry epipens. You are likely to get fever after vaccine as your body develops antibodies but that is about it, maybe soreness at sight of injection.
So
getting the virus ranges from mild illness to death with no idea yet if there may be long term issues even if you have mild symptoms and recover easily. On the other side if
you get vaccinated, maybe you have a bit of discomfort but it will protect you from getting the virus at a level of about 95% for vaccines currently being distributed.
So the benefit for you is that you likely won't get the virus if you are vaccinated and as an added bonus you won't get sick and spread the virus to others who will suffer anything from mild illness to death.
The overall benefit to everyone, if we get vaccinated is that we can eventually stomp out the virus and eventually get back to normal. However, we ALL have to be behind the effort for it to work otherwise it just will never be over if we can't get most of the population vaccinated.
This is of course just my opinion, go out and do your own information gathering from reliable sources.
Note - I received my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Feb 11 and have not had any side effects. Second dose on or around Mar 3.
How did I get vaccinated so early - because I am that old. Also 5 other close relatives have received their first doses, some Moderna, some Pfizer and no side effects. They folks at the vaccination site indicated I might have some mild side effects with second dose.