How about you discuss this with your doctor, who, hopefully is working with their peers to have an informed opinion about what you should do, then take it from there?

The point you're making about informed decision making goes both ways. If I see data that shows that some non-zero percent of covid cases are resulting in some form of extended issue (on the large scale, anecdotes be damned), and that there is a way to drastically reduce my chances of getting covid with minimal and short-lived side effect, then I'm going to choose the option that gives me the best short to mid-term outlook and take a vaccine.

There is certainly an argument that we don't know enough about the vaccines at this point to fully understand potential long-term issues, but we're over a year into this thing and we still don't understand the virus either.

And to keep on topic, I wouldn't give these vaccines to kids yet without more information and time passing.

Didn't take it that way. Only brought up my kids to get back on topic, nothing more.

Out pedestrian said get it when it becomes available. Works for me.

Any of our verified docs have kids under 16 and will be making this decision for their own later this year?

mccjames said:

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Ok we can play this game all day, why did my employee young and healthy go on a vent and take 3 weeks to recover? Why did my friends 76 year old mom die but his 80 year dad not die?

Look do what you want but it is very simple this is a unique virus that has a huge range from nothing to death. The vaccine does not have the same range not even close.

If you don't want to take it don't. But a little fever over 24 hours is a pretty small price to pay imho

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I would bet most of those that had severe reaction/death were not treated properly or early enough...

Unless it becomes required for school or travel, which is possible, I doubt they'll get vaccinated.

FratboyLegend said:

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Best I can tell, out of 17 posts above, nobody is even considering giving their kids the vaccine.

So, 0% take-up rate so far, which is exactly what I would expect.

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Since it's not available for children, why the rush to judgement. Lots of things can and will change and add to the equation parents should consider when the time comes to evaluate what they will do. It's pointless to pin ourselves into our respective corners now.

cone said:

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FratboyLegend said:

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Gordo14 said:

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I don't understand the resistance to giving the vaccine to your kids once it's covered under the EUA? Have you not given them other vaccines, or is it just this one for whatever reason that some of y'all are being dramatic about? Like do y'all make a big scene about the hepatitis vaccine, the flu vaccine, the tetanus vaccine, the menengitis vaccine, or the MMR vaccine too? If not, why is the line on this vaccine?

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EUA is an authorization for emergency use. Meaning a clear and present danger. As it relates to my child, no emergency exists. The situation in no way warrants inoculating my child.

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exactly

someone explain the ethics to me

especially after the J&J pause

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I think the J&J pause is an example of ethics. 7 blood clots/1 death out of many millions of vaccines yet paused to study when there is huge pressure to get as many people as possible vaccinated and knowing this is a set back the naysayers will hang their hat on. I guess it sadly depends on the lense you are looking through.

ORAggieFan said:

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ttha_aggie_09 said:

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I'm still trying to figure out why healthy, low-risk people are taking the vaccine when the side effects often seem worse than actual infection?

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Because that's not the case. Argue over kids all you want, but catching it is much worse than the vaccination.

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Catching the flu is worse than the flu vaccine, yet we do not get one and have had no issues. Elderly, obese, high risk - yes, get it - outside of they the science says it's not needed.

It's needed for herd immunity

bay fan said:

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FratboyLegend said:

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Best I can tell, out of 17 posts above, nobody is even considering giving their kids the vaccine.

So, 0% take-up rate so far, which is exactly what I would expect.

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Since it's not available for children, why the rush to judgement. Lots of things can and will change and add to the equation parents should consider when the time comes to evaluate what they will do. It's pointless to pin ourselves into our respective corners now.

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This is silly. Nobody is pinning themselves into anything. Anybody, at any time, can choose to change their state from "Not Vaccinated" to "Vaccinated".

It is impossible to go the other way, however.

Salute The Marines said:

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It's needed for herd immunity

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Herd immunity is not needed.

Premium said:

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Salute The Marines said:

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It's needed for herd immunity

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If everyone concerned with getting COVID already had the protection from the vaccine, why do they care?

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Fear is a hell of a drug

Salute The Marines said:

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It's needed for herd immunity

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Where are your studys that show this? What's the basis for your conclusion for this. When it's been proven children are not very good vectors of spreading the virus in the first place and the vaccine roll out plus the amount of those immune who have had the virus will include well over 80% on the population probably very soon, one would argue we'd reach "heard immunity" without ever having to vaccinate children.

It's a cost benefit analysis and there isn't, at this point, a reason to consider vaccinating children. With studies showing that the virus is not a threat to kids nor the kids are not a threat to those most at risk who should have vaccinated already, there's no benefit shown as of yet. At least that is my belief from what I've seen. Again, do you take a medication you do not need for protection from something that won't hurt you? Probably not. It's pointless. I'm in the camp that feels that it's pointless and will be found by science as pointless to vaccinate children. Just like I believe it's pointless to mask children. I can see potential benefits for adults from masking, but kids do not need it. Nor do the vaccinated.

The_Fox said:

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Salute The Marines said:

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It's needed for herd immunity

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The F'ing virus gives you immunity. We can reach it by allowing the low risk to catch it while the high risk are protected through vaccination.

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The longer it propagates around, the increased probability of variants developing. Essentially the more replication cycles the virus goes through, the more chance mutations occur in its genetic coding. Most of those mutations don't mean anything, some will occasionally result in it being more virulent.

So, there is some benefit to preventing unchecked transmission in a low risk population. I don't think this virus will be eradicated unless we can legitimately vaccinate almost the entire world, but significant herd immunity will help minimize the odds of something escaping vaccine protection.

bigtruckguy3500 said:

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The_Fox said:

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Salute The Marines said:

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It's needed for herd immunity

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The F'ing virus gives you immunity. We can reach it by allowing the low risk to catch it while the high risk are protected through vaccination.

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The longer it propagates around, the increased probability of variants developing. Essentially the more replication cycles the virus goes through, the more chance mutations occur in its genetic coding. Most of those mutations don't mean anything, some will occasionally result in it being more virulent.

So, there is some benefit to preventing unchecked transmission in a low risk population. I don't think this virus will be eradicated unless we can legitimately vaccinate almost the entire world, but significant herd immunity will help minimize the odds of something escaping vaccine protection.

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In my opinion there will be enough immunity in those that had Covid and those vaccinated to still protect them from any variants down the road in the future. Also, we shouldn't be in the business of trying to get Covid numbers to 0 nor risk to 0. That probably will never happen. And from a policy standpoint the current efforts to take a strategy to have 0 risk regarding the virus is not doing us any good at this point. There will always be the occasional person contracting Covid and even dying from the virus. And that, while tragic, should be something we as a society cannot use to keep current policy around. It's a price, like from other viruses, we as a society need to be willing pay once we know hospitals are safe.