No. We do flu shots but haven't done covid shots (for any of us) since the initial 2 shot series and then one subsequent booster. We have all gotten covid twice since then and it has been extremely mild.

The real reason, for me, that I am not excited about the covid vaccine is that covid isn't seasonal. So, with the flu shot, it only gives about 5 months of protection, but if you take it in October or November it protects you through flu season. Covid is prevalent year round and so it doesn't make sense to me to have guidance to take it with the flu shot. And getting a vaccine every 4 month (that's about the max efficacy of the covid vaccine) seems insane when the actual virus has been very mild for our family multiple times.

If they had clear guidance that made sense, I'd be more willing. But as it stands, I don't think there's a consensus within the medical community for how the vaccine should be administered, who should take it, and how frequently.

FWIW, I am a super liberal who has never voted for anyone but the bluest candidate in all elections and will continue to do so.

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Anonymous wrote:No European country recommends Covid boosters for kids, so no. The US is an outlier with their indiscriminate recommendation, which is clearly driven by Pfizer lobbying.

What are your thoughts on the US auto lobby?

How is this relevant here? I'm sure it's strong, lol.

The same people that are against European innovations such as functioning public transportation and universal healthcare (they’re socialists! It would never work here! Etc.) suddenly citing European policies and recommendations when it comes to their anti vaccination beliefs just strikes me as funny.

Ha! I figured that was what you were trying to imply. Sorry to break it to you, but I am from Europe, a liberal, firmly in favor of public transportation and universal healthcare, currently losing sleep over the prospect of Trump winning the election, and YET I think American liberals have been crazy in their approach to Covid, particularly school closures, masks, and vaccines. No other country has politicized Covid to this degree, and that you still assume that someone who thinks that teens don't need Covid boosters must be a right-wing "anti-vaxxer" only proves my point. Good luck, America. This shit is what might win Trump the election.

Left wing extremist media is still lulling this song to them

No my DS and I are both behind at least two Covid boosters. Got the original first two shots + the next couple of boosters but done now for both of us.

Get the flu, all other shots.

Not a Trumper at all.

I think that covers it.

No, we only get flu shot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I promise I'm not a paranoid still wearing masks, but can the folks saying no say why? At this point, why isn't it any different from getting the flu shot?

I’m glad you have the courage to ask. You have some homework to do.

What are the ingredients of the Covid vaccines? How do they differ from normal vaccines? What are the side effects?

It has less to do with the vaccine itself than with the different ways in which the flu and Covid mutate. Paul Offit, who is a highly credentialed vaccine expert, has explained this well. Here is a short post on the issue:

https://pauloffit.substack.com/p/does-everyone-need-a-yearly-covid

"By likening SARS-CoV-2 to influenza, we have created the false perception that healthy young people who have already been vaccinated or naturally infected or both will be protected against severe disease only if they receive the updated vaccine."

He also notes, as I have noted before in this thread, the US is now an outlier. Teens don't need Covid boosters, and that is not an anti-vax position, unless you want to call Paul Offit an anti-vaxxer. In which case, no one can help you.

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Anonymous wrote:No. We are not getting them anymore.

We only got the flu shot.

Why bother with the flu shot if you don’t think you should get a COVID vax. Seems stupid.

COVID is still more deadly than the flu - https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/generalinfectiousdisease/110126

The linked article is about men over 70. We’re talking about teens here.

This new variant is gonna knock you and your teens on your butts.

Maybe, maybe not. None of the previous variants have so maybe we’re due.

Spouse and I had never had it before, teen had. All three of us got the new variant and we all felt like death for 7-10 days. I have never been so sick in my life. Went through every possible type of symptom, like having a brand new virus every day.

Teen had the same experience as we did, even though he had very few symptoms for only a day last time he had covid.

Just a warning, this new variant is no joke.

What did you take for it?

Anonymous wrote:I promise I'm not a paranoid still wearing masks, but can the folks saying no say why? At this point, why isn't it any different from getting the flu shot?

I’m glad you have the courage to ask. You have some homework to do.

What are the ingredients of the Covid vaccines? How do they differ from normal vaccines? What are the side effects?

Anonymous wrote:Is there any current (as in past year) research on the relative risk of vaccination (myocarditis) vs. COVID specific to teen boys? This was the hot topic years ago with some European countries not recommending the vaccine for that age group, but I am curious about current research given COVID fatalities are less than they used to be (albeit yes, still worse than the flu). There was evidence at the time that Pfizer was less risky than Moderna and that spacing out the two shots helped to mitigate the impact.

Looking for an actual recently published study, not opinions, on the current risk comparison with recent COVID data. Last I found on CDC was published in 2022 and based on 2021 data so I think that risk calculation is now out of date.

I think the number of teens and young men getting boosted is so small it would be difficult to do new research.

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Anonymous wrote:No way.

Our family got the first 2 shots. The whole vaccine situation in this country was handled with clear profits in mind for pharma, trust on my end is gone. I’d rather not feed that beast every year. Plus shots made me feel worse than actual covid did (I got omicron in March 2022)

Data shows such a minimal protection and for such a short period of time. Covid was such a nothing burger for my 14 year old and my 16 yo has either never had it (or if she did, she was asymptomatic). My family is vaccinated with the required shots but none of us have ever gotten a flu shot either and my kids have gotten the flu once and I haven’t had the flu since 1999. Blah blah science but I’ve never found any real studies comparing people who never get flu shots and people who get them yearly - I feel there is something there. I still remember 2009 h1n1 and that the people who got the standard flu shot that year were more susceptible to h1n1 and that is curious to me. The covid shot is always behind the variants so think about it …

The bolded shows us who you are. The vaccines were developed quickly to save lives. You don't get to lie and act like this virus was a nothingburger. How many people died of the virus? Wait, you also believe in chem trails and Jewish space lasers controlling the weather.

These vaccines were not developed to make money. People were dying. Lots of us lost people who died due to covid and, no, they weren't all people over the age of 50.

Take your deceitful manipulations over to the politics board drumper.

Your 2020 bully tactics aren’t working anymore. Never voted for trump and won’t, but nice binary thinking.

“The whole vaccine situation” is more than the initial development. Note my family got the first 2 shots, including my 2 low risk kids, as I did believe in the community good in regards to this vaccine (as we believed it would prevent transmission at the time). When it became clear that the capitalist agenda was going to to try to stretch this situation through eternity, I stepped out of it. It’s amusing that some of you are still being manipulated lol. I love that for you.

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Anonymous wrote:My post is above. Think of us people on cancer drugs that lower our immunity! If the fever is over 100.5 we’re supposed to call the doctor and it can mean ending up in the hospital in an isolation room. I had 103 fever with Covid and my lungs hurt so bad with the coughing. I didn’t call because at that point I didn’t think they could do anything. It would be more preventative than anything.

Then you by all means should be getting every booster. My kids not getting one has absolutely no impact on you. Sure it might lessen their symptoms (which were a minor cold btw) if they get it.

How is it 2024 and people still don't know this?

Everyone with a low immunity should get the vaccine and hopefully the vaccination will work. It doesn’t always. The comment is about adults who should be getting vaccinated and don’t. Coughing and sniveling on public transportation, you can’t get up land move on planes. No thought to anyone but themselves.

Are you still under the impression that an annual booster prevents infection in anyone? It's not a matter of the vaccine sometimes working and sometimes not, and that people should just get it on the off-chance that it "works" and they might protect someone. That's not the situation with this vaccine, and it's not how decisions about medical interventions should be made, because you always have to balance risks vs. benefits.

It is well established that at best, the vaccine raises your antibody titer for a few weeks or months, which will briefly lower your risk of infection. The real purpose of the vaccine has always been to lessen disease severity, but now that everyone has some form of immunity, we don't have evidence that annual boosters provide *further* benefits in this direction, because cellular immunity doesn't wane like antibodies.

The reality is that booster or not, you are going to catch Covid (again) at some point. There is no evidence boosted people (or for that matter those who mask in "high risk" situations) catch it less often than others. There also is no evidence that boosted people are less likely to transmit the virus to others. I know this goes against the 2021 messaging which I also believed, but it is now widely accepted (certainly outside the US) that the public health benefit from the vaccine is close to zero.

So please stop with the selfishness rants. Others getting boosted has no impact on your individual risk of getting infected. Going out in public when you are actively sick with any virus is a different matter, but sometimes people have no choice. Fortunately, most of the time, most people have immunity against most circulating respiratory viruses, including Covid. That's why you don't see "superspreader" events anymore. Most people don't get sick every time someone coughs next to them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My post is above. Think of us people on cancer drugs that lower our immunity! If the fever is over 100.5 we’re supposed to call the doctor and it can mean ending up in the hospital in an isolation room. I had 103 fever with Covid and my lungs hurt so bad with the coughing. I didn’t call because at that point I didn’t think they could do anything. It would be more preventative than anything.

Then you by all means should be getting every booster. My kids not getting one has absolutely no impact on you. Sure it might lessen their symptoms (which were a minor cold btw) if they get it.

How is it 2024 and people still don't know this?

Everyone with a low immunity should get the vaccine and hopefully the vaccination will work. It doesn’t always. The comment is about adults who should be getting vaccinated and don’t. Coughing and sniveling on public transportation, you can’t get up land move on planes. No thought to anyone but themselves.

Anonymous wrote:Is there any current (as in past year) research on the relative risk of vaccination (myocarditis) vs. COVID specific to teen boys? This was the hot topic years ago with some European countries not recommending the vaccine for that age group, but I am curious about current research given COVID fatalities are less than they used to be (albeit yes, still worse than the flu). There was evidence at the time that Pfizer was less risky than Moderna and that spacing out the two shots helped to mitigate the impact.

Looking for an actual recently published study, not opinions, on the current risk comparison with recent COVID data. Last I found on CDC was published in 2022 and based on 2021 data so I think that risk calculation is now out of date.

I don't believe anyone would run a properly controlled trial on this at this point, because the US has never shown any interest in seriously studying this issue, and the rest of the world has already decided that the vaccine is not necessary for young people, so to them it's a moot point.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No boosters. Original shot, yes.

Pediatrician doesn’t think it’s necessary for teen boys.

What? That is utter nonsense. Why would you even believe this?

Ugh because they trust their doctor? My doc doesn’t recommend it for my kids either, boys and girl. They’ve been vaxxed and have had Covid already.

Is there any current (as in past year) research on the relative risk of vaccination (myocarditis) vs. COVID specific to teen boys? This was the hot topic years ago with some European countries not recommending the vaccine for that age group, but I am curious about current research given COVID fatalities are less than they used to be (albeit yes, still worse than the flu). There was evidence at the time that Pfizer was less risky than Moderna and that spacing out the two shots helped to mitigate the impact.

Looking for an actual recently published study, not opinions, on the current risk comparison with recent COVID data. Last I found on CDC was published in 2022 and based on 2021 data so I think that risk calculation is now out of date.

Anonymous wrote:For those that say kids were equally sick or worse from COVID vaccine than illness, they ignore that the vaccine is scheduled.

My child got Covid vaccine on a Friday. And we planned for a restful weekend. But hardly any side effects. Much better than unexpected and disruptive Covid illness. Of course people get sick, but you are not helpless against illness. Vaccinate. Wash your hands. Sleep. Eat well.

And the immunity lasts longer with a vaccine than illness.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine-what-you-need-to-know

But we haven’t been getting Covid yearly.