Are antivaxxers all just contrarians and conspiracy theorists?

[Anonymous]

A good friend of mine is very smart. Her husband is very smart. One of her children had a bad reaction to a vaccine, and the pediatrician was very dismissive of her concerns.

People having bad reactions to vaccine is not a 0% chance proposition, but the stupid anti-vaxxers and overly defensive doctors have made it next to impossible to have a normal conversation with a doctor about vaccine side effects. I had a similar experience when I was trying to ask questions about Gardisil side effects. I’m not against vaccines, but I had seen some data that the side effects could be worse than your average vaccine. I never got a real answer from the very person who should have been able to have a conversation with me about it. My daughter was a patient of that peds practice from birth to age 20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which antivaxxers? There’s a difference between the people causing smallpox to come back, and people who aren’t doing covid boosters anymore.

+1

I am all for vaccines, but have not and will not get another Covid booster until it actually prevents illness and transmission.

So you don't get the flu shot either, I presume?

NP. The flu shot is actually really great at preventing transmission.

Plus, I don't get side effects from it. The covid vax will knock me out for 1-2 days, which is absurd. When I finally got covid 3 months ago, I was knocked out for 3 days (despite not having had a shot for 2 years). It's worth it to me to just get actual covid and skip the shots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which antivaxxers? There’s a difference between the people causing smallpox to come back, and people who aren’t doing covid boosters anymore.

+1

I am all for vaccines, but have not and will not get another Covid booster until it actually prevents illness and transmission.

So you don't get the flu shot either, I presume?

NP. The flu shot is actually really great at preventing transmission.

Plus, I don't get side effects from it. The covid vax will knock me out for 1-2 days, which is absurd. When I finally got covid 3 months ago, I was knocked out for 3 days (despite not having had a shot for 2 years). It's worth it to me to just get actual covid and skip the shots.

The flu shot, like the COVID shot, reduces transmission. It doesn't prevent it. (Reduction is an excellent reason to get either shot, but some people claim it's not worthwhile if transmission isn't prevented.)

[Anonymous]

Antivaxxers are intellectually impoverished and simple-minded people who think in binary, all or nothing terms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Antivaxxers are intellectually impoverished and simple-minded people who think in binary, all or nothing terms.

The same could be said for those who refuse to even discuss potential vaccine side effects and efficacy issues. Talk about thinking in binary, all or nothing terms.

[Anonymous]

Most people do vaccinations. You are being absurd.

[Anonymous]

I have no problem getting vaccines, I get all of them. I don't have any weird side effects and I don't know others who actually do either although I've heard of people who think they do.

My conservative neighbor told me that many people have died from the covid vaccine but she was unable to direct me to any solid data on that. Does anybody here believe that is true and know of some proof?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no problem getting vaccines, I get all of them. I don't have any weird side effects and I don't know others who actually do either although I've heard of people who think they do.

My conservative neighbor told me that many people have died from the covid vaccine but she was unable to direct me to any solid data on that. Does anybody here believe that is true and know of some proof?

It’s not that I think people have died from getting the Covid vaccine. It’s that I think it’s ineffective at preventing it or weakening the symptoms.

There’s no way to research it. You can’t prove that someone would have been sicker if they hadn’t gotten the vaccine. But I do know that half my family got vaccinated and half of my family did not. We all got sick at the same time. Believe it or not, and I know you won’t, but the people who were vaccinated and boosted were sicker than the ones who were not vaccinated. We’re talking about people who are the same ages, with the same general health. I suspect that fear and anxiety (found more in the vaccinated group) caused them to be sicker, not the disease itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A good friend of mine is very smart. Her husband is very smart. One of her children had a bad reaction to a vaccine, and the pediatrician was very dismissive of her concerns.

People having bad reactions to vaccine is not a 0% chance proposition, but the stupid anti-vaxxers and overly defensive doctors have made it next to impossible to have a normal conversation with a doctor about vaccine side effects. I had a similar experience when I was trying to ask questions about Gardisil side effects. I’m not against vaccines, but I had seen some data that the side effects could be worse than your average vaccine. I never got a real answer from the very person who should have been able to have a conversation with me about it. My daughter was a patient of that peds practice from birth to age 20.

Mine had a bad reaction as an infant. We were lucky the doctors took it seriously and let us slow down the shots. Kid was fine with just 1-2 shots and spread them out over 6-8 weeks vs. all at once. Doctor said they do them all at once because most parents will not return. Most doctors are dismissive of many things. The majority of people do just fine with each vaccine but then there are the outliers. I find doctors dismissive of any medication, vaccine or much else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no problem getting vaccines, I get all of them. I don't have any weird side effects and I don't know others who actually do either although I've heard of people who think they do.

My conservative neighbor told me that many people have died from the covid vaccine but she was unable to direct me to any solid data on that. Does anybody here believe that is true and know of some proof?

It’s not that I think people have died from getting the Covid vaccine. It’s that I think it’s ineffective at preventing it or weakening the symptoms.

There’s no way to research it. You can’t prove that someone would have been sicker if they hadn’t gotten the vaccine. But I do know that half my family got vaccinated and half of my family did not. We all got sick at the same time. Believe it or not, and I know you won’t, but the people who were vaccinated and boosted were sicker than the ones who were not vaccinated. We’re talking about people who are the same ages, with the same general health. I suspect that fear and anxiety (found more in the vaccinated group) caused them to be sicker, not the disease itself.

My husband got boosted when we got the kid their shot (they weren't eligible per age before then) and we all got covid about a 6 weeks later when it should have been at its most effective. I did not do a booster as I got sick for months from the second shot and I got over covid in a few days, no big deal and my husband was sick for about 10 days. He usually doesn't get sick, but I catch everything. I think people hide behind the vaccine to justify their choices and one of those choices is not taking basic precautions. After that, I see no need to continue with boosters, especially when there are no long term studies and for me, covid was easier than the shot.

[Anonymous]

My god one lunatic antivaxxer after another on this thread, all passing on their anecdotes as if they were scientific fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My god one lunatic antivaxxer after another on this thread, all passing on their anecdotes as if they were scientific fact.

That's what antivaxxers do. They collect anecdotes. But hoarding anecdotes doesn't make you a researcher or a critical thinker.

[Anonymous]

I only know of one person who had a vax reaction, and she is still pro-vax because she knows how rare and unique her situation is. She still encourages everyone to get their boosters.

Many people talk about vax side effects but they are either exaggerated, conflated with another sickness/issue or just straight up made up. The vares site is awful, basically wikipedia of vax reporting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My god one lunatic antivaxxer after another on this thread, all passing on their anecdotes as if they were scientific fact.

That's what antivaxxers do. They collect anecdotes. But hoarding anecdotes doesn't make you a researcher or a critical thinker.

I didn’t say I was a researcher or a critical thinker. I said that based on my personal experience, I will not get anymore Covid vaccines or flu vaccines. I am not looking at studies about the general population, I am looking at me and my body. Whenever I get the flu vaccine, I am out for about 3-5 days. I have taken the flu vaccine 15 times. It’s always been the same experience. Every year that I got the vaccine, I subsequently came down with the flu. In the years I have not taken the vaccine, I got the flu only once. I don’t need a researchers’ study about what it does for others. I see what it does for me.

When I buy laundry detergent or toothpaste, or a pair of sneakers, I don’t conduct decades of research to decide which one I want to get. I use my personal experience with a product or word of mouth. I fail to see the difference here.

Besides, what’s it to you? I think it’s crazy to be so invested in other people’s medical decisions.

[Anonymous]

All the people I know, or know of, who died were unvaccinated . Enough for me.