Said in other words, just about everyone should get it, and in the US, that now includes everyone over 12 years of age!
If you had Covid, get the vaccine since you’ll have more robust protection. You can really get the vaccine anytime after recovery or 14 days after symptoms start, but my sources recommend about 6 weeks after recovery.
If you are isolated or not, get the vaccine since you can still spread it if exposed. I’ve had plenty of patients who thought they were “safe” but somehow got Covid. Must be a government pot!!!!!
If everyone you know is vaccinated and you are not worried about yourself, get the vaccine. You can still get it and more importantly, give it.
Whether you have some chronic condition or not, get the vaccine. All chronic conditions predispose you to catching the virus or having a more severe course of Covid and that is most certainly worse than any flare up the vaccine might cause your condition (and that is even debatable).
If you are pregnant, get the vaccine. Not only will you protect yourself and those around you, but you will give your newborn a few months of passive immunity as well. What a gift to your baby!!!
There are VERY FEW situations in which you should not get the vaccine.
Even if you had a reaction to a vaccine in the past, depending on the kind of vaccine and the type of reaction, you probably should still get the Covid vaccine. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are completely new types of vaccines which would not cause the kinds of reactions someone may have had to a different vaccine. If you had a reaction to penicillin, would you then not take vitamin D for fear of a reaction? NO, they are completely different medications. The same goes for vaccines.
Even one of the most feared vaccine reactions, Guillain Barre Syndrome, where there is a slow progressive paralysis starting at the feet, and at times progressing to the point of full body paralysis requiring mechanical ventilation until it clears, is not a reason to avoid the Covid vaccine.
If you’re a young woman, and the only option is the J&J vaccine, GET IT. Your chances of getting a clot are so much higher if you get Covid than the chances of getting a clot from the vaccine. In fact, the chances of the exact same kind of clot is higher in the general, non vaccinated population, than in the vaccinated population. It’s insane. While you’re at it, stop your birth control pill if you’re concerned about clots. The chances of a clot from the pill is 500x higher than getting a clot from the vaccine.
What is clear is that vaccines work, and they are the ONLY reason that we, at least in the US, are experiencing some return to normal, pre-Covid life. Whether we should return to living the same selfish pre-Covid life is another issue, but at least things are getting easier.
What else is clear is that you do NOT want to catch this disease if you can avoid it. We continue to learn more and more about the chronic health problems experienced by people who even had a mild case of Covid. These people may suffer lifelong issues.
One last thing we have learned is that all these anti-Covid protection measures, along with continued flu vaccination, have resulted in an almost non-existent flu season. Being cautious works!
SO GET VACCINATED and don’t be selfish. It’s not about you. It’s about everyone else.
I have been a little bit concerned about to what degree even the CDC is saying we can walk around maskless. Covid, especially the variant versions of it, is still out there. It WILL come back, given what is going on in the rest of the world. We still need to be careful. We can relax a little and start enjoying life socializing with others but, when in situations where the health and vaccination status of those around you is not known, continue to practice all the health measures we have repeated numerous times:
WEAR A MASK
DISTANCE
WASH YOUR HANDS
VENTILATE
GET HEALTHY
And
GET VACCINATED
Stay safe and be well.
AC ✌️🌱❤🏃🏻🧘🏻♂️🌎 🐖