I'm thankful for all the people who were willing to go first, with receiving the vaccines, including the trial recipients.

For myself, I trust science and all the knowledge that went into the development of these vaccines more than I trust or obey my own ignorance of them. And I think that's what a lot of people who refuse to get the vaccine are basing their fears on -- their ignorance. I'd rather get the vaccine and whatever potential but unlikely side-effects might come with it rather than continue to be vulnerable to a potentially deadly virus and not do my part in trying to help bring an end to this pandemic. I don't think any of us want to still be dealing with this shit a year or two from now.

Some people who refuse to get the vaccine are probably ignorant, but some have worked in the drug development for years and they know that the corners have been cut in vaccine development. It could be still beneficial for everyone to get vaccinated, but ignorance is not the only reason to be concerned about the vaccine.

If it helps, I worked in vaccine research for a large pharmaceutical company back in Belgium and I had the vaccine yesterday.
My initial reaction was there is no way in hell I’m going to get a vaccine developed in such a short time frame but after having looked into it closely and discussed with my former colleagues I changed my mind.
I personally think the benefits far outweigh the potential risks.

Belgianmum, which one did you get?

Yes. But what I meant by "ignorance" is that they don't know how they'll react to it and/or if they will experience any side-effects and distrust it because of that. So yes, the vaccine has been rushed and that's a legitimate cause for concern, but what I'm seeing is a lot of people expressing a refusal to get the vaccine simply because they fear what they do not know or understand and do not trust science and/or because they have fallen prey to conspiracy theories, etc. The anti-vaxx movement is full of misinformation and conspiracy theories... People who 'educate' themselves via youtube videos and posts on social media by anti-vax groups rather than reading scientific literature, etc. The sad reality is that there are a lot of very gullible people out there who feel 'educated' by consuming misinformation and believing in bull*** for which there is absolutely no real evidence. They develop a cognitive bias and then seek out information that only perpetuates and solidifies that bias -- similar to people who believe that vaccines cause autism although there is an overwhelming scientific consensus that they do not and that the mother having low vitamin D while pregnant appears to be one of the main causes of autism.

Anti-Coronavirus Vaccine Movement Grows, Fueled By Online Misinformation, Conspiracies
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020...misinformation

"Some anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists think the government is hiding effective COVID-19 treatments from the public to profit off of the vaccine, she says, and others believe Bill Gates is using it to plant microchips in people. Some believe the vaccine will turn people into antennas for 5G wireless technology."

I know someone who left Pharma industry and is an anti-vaxxer now, but I suspect that she will take the vaccine quietly.

Must have been Pfizer. Only one approved in CH so far.

I can never understand how anyone can work in the industry with such a level of wilful ignorance.

Mine dew, I did once work with someone who claimed to be a statistician (turned out that she was a linguist, and thought that stats was just a matter of counting) and managed to blag herself a job as a stats programmer. I shared a cubicle with her for a while. Lasted just three months, as she was basically completely unqualified, inexperienced and useless.

Anyway, she was a bit anti-everything, including E-numbers, deodorant (pooh!) meat and drugs. I was recovering from some knee injury at the time and she really thought that taking anti-inflammatories (which would help speed up healing) was bad, and that one should simply sit on one's arse with one's feet up until the swelling went down. Mind-boggling.

She seemed to believe that she wasn't being hypocritical working in pharma by insisting that she would just work on "good" drugs.

I would be interested to read some legitimate stories by microbiologists, etc. as to why exactly they would refuse to take the vaccine(s) -- any science-based justification for that -- assuming that it does exist. I just did a Google search for it but wasn't able to find anything.

Will anyone take the vaccine any other way? Except the presidents and such. And EFers.

No. They _fear_ that corners may have been cut. Personally, having been deeply involved in the validation and approval of drug safety trials for many years, I doubt very much any suggestion that these FDA-approved vaccines have in some way been exempted from proper safety testing.

Yes, they've been fast-tracked, but not by skimping on the trials or the analysis, just be throwing all available resources at them. Reducing wasted time between, or within, processes was always a holy grail for us, but nearly always limited by lack of money, people or motivation.

One of the key qualifications should be a rational, logical and pragmatic approach to problem solving, free of biases and emotion. Working in pharma doesn't mean we pop pills with reckless abandon, I prefer to avoid any medication for the reason that everything is a toxin so its benefits have to outweigh its risks.
I remember my first toxicology lecture being told that even water is a toxin, taken in excess you can overwhelm the body's electrolyte balance, with brain swelling and eventual death.

I am interested and grateful to hear of people‘s experiences with the vaccine.

Totally. Let's create a place of trust where people don't fear sharing their negative experiences or doubts prior vaxing. We will all benefit when their concerns get intelligently addressed. I can see that Swiss pushback against hasty procedure has been so far bigger here than any country I lived in before or have family/friends in. I am glad the media here tone down scandalising it, it's mostly pretty dry.

They showed a nursing home nurse last night getting vaxed, she shared her story of being anti-vax until yesterday. Then the boss of the nursing home made a comment of clients being all pro-vax despite the staff hesitating. It was interesting, and the fact it got all aired.

__________________
"L'homme ne peut pas remplacer son coeur avec sa tete, ni sa tete avec ses mains." J.H. Pestalozzi

“The only difference between a rut and a grave is a matter of depth.” S.P. Cadman

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." A. Einstein

Yes, it was the Pfizer vaccine.

So you‘re saying give precedence to those who have doubts and pushback.

What I meant was that she will probably take it and still be against it, so a hypocrite

There is no harm in being cautious but when people recommend homeopathy, God etc as a solution, my *chakras get worked up and completely misaligned.


*No I don't believe in chakras

Of course.

How are your goats' chakras?

Well, if your job depends on it, if visiting your family depends on it, if visiting your elderly mother in Care Home depends on it, if travelling abroad depends on it, if- as in my case, visiting and hugging my daughters and grandchildren again, after more than one year apart - then I will shout it on the rooftops- and it will have nothing to do with being Efer.

As an example too

To be exact, FDA didn’t approve them but granted the emergency use authorization, you know the difference, right?