I'm curious, because all these discussions were some time ago now, did you get vaccinated?

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

Yours is a well written and sensible post.

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

Like most people I have decided to avoid any further “vaccines” and consequently get texts from the NHS most days asking me to book an appointment for the injection and now they have written to me as well.

As of October this year according to the BBC only 22% of people over 50 had opted to get the Autumn Booster.

I wonder at what point do the NHS accept that those who want the injection have already done so and that the rest do not want to?

It was ironic it hit in 2020 - as hindsight always is.

On a personal level I lost my dad to it who isolated for the entire first year - then used a cashpoint and caught it. GP refused to see him and diagnosed a water infection. Even the paramedics didn't wear masks when they eventually took him in.

My mum was ill for a day or so at the same time, my sister who works in a supermarket completely missed it and I was f***ed up for about 9 months with fatigue

I'm also an accountant by trade so saw my job change on a daily basis with the announcements. People can't have it both ways. First you had the complaints it (Support) wasn't being given out quick enough, then the complaints after that it wasn't checked enough.

This was unchartered waters, people could travel more freely, things spread far faster. The trade off being that the technology and advancement that gave the freedom of movement allowing a spread, also gave us the tools to fight it.

200,000 deaths is still a lot and I personally have no anger towards the decisions taken by anybody (other than those who abused the help on offer - and I fired a number of my clients over this).

A year ago we were discussing another circuit breaker. Everyone views things through their own lens - I knew in reality if my dad caught Covid he would die - due to other health conditions. What brought it into stark reality for me was seeing the inside of a Covid ward, not being able to be there. It's an eerie place, and the last time my dad saw me and I saw him I was dressed up like something out of Breaking Bad! His final words to me were to cancel a kidney appointment in the New Year - so I like to think that his final piece of advice was "don't let them take the piss"

That said though what rammed it home for me was seeing the girl in the room next to him. 25 with two young children, no underlying health issues and being taken to be put on a ventilator. It's one thing a 72 year old not wanting to be incubated or resuscitated and succumbing to a virus, but it's another when it hits a perfectly healthy young woman. That's what was being protected against. You shouldn't weigh one life against another. but the lockdown was there to protect the vulnerable and susceptible - and they were not always immediately apparent.

Were lockdowns the right decision - no one will ever really know, but Covid (like Brexit) is polarising. There are no absolute rights or wrongs, as much as everyone thinks their own point of view is the right one. Every booster screws me for a few weeks - but I do consider that a price worth paying for those around me. That said I also understand completely why someone wouldn't want to have one and I won't be going near the flu vaccine.

It seems to me that you have been extremely unlucky. I don't know anyone who has suffered comparable reactions. The worst I have heard about was a swollen upper arm. I have all 5 covid and the flue vaccines, and with most I didn't even feel the needle, let alone have a reaction. I put down my current tiredness either to the after effects of the virus itself, or simply to getting older.

Did you suffer a reaction to the second jab? I think you need more time with your doctor to get to the cause of this.

For sure these aren't the original type of vaccines, but they are still vaccines in that they stimulate the immune system to fight an infection. People think because they were developed quickly they were new and untested, but that's not true. The principle had been developed and tested for several years. The very specific was new, but there was great confidence that the safety was already proven. That though didn't stop the testing regime being rigorously applied, albeit at pace.

I am sad to hear that others in your circle have lost confidence in the vaccines. That's not at all my own experience.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

That's a shame as, at her age especially, there is much more risk to her from catching the virus than being vaccinated against it.

If she has had all the previous jabs she ought to be reasonably OK, but the last booster was tweaked to deal specifically with the Omicron variant which is now the dominant strain.

I suppose at 91 you are probably prone to feeling adverse reactions more intensely.

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For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.