Friendship vs vaccination

Anne2108. Typical example of disinformation spread by anti Vaxers. All UK vaccines have gone through safety trials - speeded up because of the urgency of the situation. I do wish people wouldn’t try to skew the facts to suit their own conspiracy theories.

One final thought - read it on another thread, but I think it’s very relevant. If the symptoms of Covid were the same as Smallpox, would there be as many people flouting the lockdown rules and would we still be having these conversations about vaccination ? I think not - we’d be locked, bolted and barred in our homes. The nature of Covid - mild in some people, severe in others - divides opinion on how to tackle the pandemic. What some people on this thread seem to be saying is that we should be very suspicious of any vaccine and be willing to take our chances without it. Why ? Without vaccines we’d still be in the grip of so many awful diseases, so why should this one be any different ?

@FunOma. Sorry, but I had to respond. Your attitude is very selfish and is obviously coming from the point of view of someone who hasn’t had Covid and has very little idea of the devastating effects. You don’t expect others to keep you safe, and you know what to do to ‘minimise’ the severity of Covid should you get it. What utter nonsense statements. The vaccine is designed to keep us all safe and to stop the health service being overwhelmed. If you know of some way to minimise the effects of Covid, please do share with the rest of us because my partner and I had a severe bout with Covid a few weeks ago after he was admitted to hospital and contracted it there. There was NOTHING we could do except let the infection run its’ course, trying to keep temperatures under control with paracetamol and keeping in touch with NHS111 and test and trace to monitor the severity of symptoms. It was a horrible, frightening experience and even now, some weeks later we are still suffering the after effects - a cough that takes your breath away, airway deficiency and extreme fatigue. You are trying to minimise this awful disease to support your stance on the vaccine. You know what they say, if you’re not part of the solution then you’re part of the problem.

we shouldn’t lose friends because of these weird times we are living in.

Absolutely agree. This has been a very stressful time and all our friends, no matter what their opinions re vaccines etc, need our support. It is the only way we will come out of this awful situation unscathed.

FarNorth, your friend is talking rubbish. I heard all that from my friend too.

Unless her GP has advised against vaccination, it's all just excuses.

I have severe allergies, yet still, I didn't need the hospital tests before vaccination - as they're unrelated to the vaccine ingredients.

I have several friends and family members with vastly different views on Brexit, politics, masks, vaccines etc but they are still my friends and family. Many people are terrified of this virus and conspiracy theories that it doesn't exist can reassure them (wrongly unfortunately) that they will be ok. My best friend won't have the vaccine. She has a friend who has a severe allergy and carries an epipen who was wrongly given the vaccine and had anaphylaxis. Although this person is fine now it's put my friend off. My friend has no allergy to anything but still won't have it. But she's still my friend and always will be hopefully. Friends are for keeps and we are all different.

I find there are so many people who have a total disregard for others, be it people who ignore the rules to people who refuse to have the vaccine. We’ve decided we’ll just keep ourselves to ourselves and carry on doing what we’ve done for the past year and adhere to the rules and hope we’ll come through this pandemic safely. It’s no use relying on other people , there are too many who think only of themselves and have no regard for others. They don’t have a brain cell between them.
I could weep for mankind ☹️

Totally agree

Such a good friend that she's willing to put your health/life at risk. I'd say 'lovely knowing you, bye-bye'.

Patsie I know someone who has also refused to have the vaccine. As with Skye17 it's affected my feelings towards her; in fact it's compounded my view that she's utterly selfish. I expect if her decision results in any restriction of her freedom, eg travel, then she will change her mind.
I feel she doesn't value me as she won't engage in dialogue about her reasons. In my view a true friend would explore the issue.
She said: "Have decided not to have the vaccine and accept the full consequences of my decision".
I asked why she'd come to this decision and her reply was: "have looked at all the research and for now, my decision is no as far as the vaccine is concerned". I questioned her use of "all the research" - probably impossible (especially for a non-scientist!) and she didn't reply.
Patsie you pose the question Why do I feel so bad about the way I feel and how it's affected our friendship? I hope that reading through the posts may've helped you answer it. Perhaps your situation is similar to mine eg someone's behaviour confirms something that's been in the back of your mind for sometime. It sounds as though the dynamics of your friendship have changed. Most of us find change, or the thought of change, unsettling. I'm sure you'll find your way through, a day at a time.

I would refuse to treat her to protect all your other customers Pamela.

Patsie I have a friend who has refused the vaccine too. It has affected my feelings about her as I feel she’s being irrational and selfish - she is more likely to infect other people than if she had the jab. I have known her think irrationally before, but not this badly. I suspect irrational fear is at the bottom of it.

I still want to be friends with her, but I will be doubtful about hugging her now. I don’t want to catch any variants I’m not well protected against.

I think you might be a bit behind with the current research findings Anne2018. It’s true that to begin with nobody knew if the vaccines would be effective in reducing transmission.

The research from Israel shows that infection in vaccinated care staff was 80% less than in an unvaccinated group. Figures in care staff in England show a similar, if slightly decreased, pattern.

The evidence currently is that the vaccines prevent infection as well as severe illness.

Advisory Board UK

Anne2108, that is not true. All the vaccines used in the UK have gone through all their safety trials. See this article from the BBC.
www.bbc.com/news/health-55056016

It’s funny you should ask, as I had a phone call yesterday from a friend and she was telling me that her other close friend had really disappointed her by not following rules all through lockdown, generally behaving as though nothing wrong.
This friend has asked her numerous times to call around for coffee, which my friend has refused but she now says that her feelings towards this friend have changed. She can’t help feeling resentful towards her and has seen her in a different light.
Even so, she said that she will still be friends with her when all this is over.
I feel she is right, we shouldn’t lose friends because of these weird times we are living in.

That is alarming to think of, Anne2108.
It's pretty much what I thought the situation was but instead of that we keep hearing stuff about 'getting back to normal'.

Nicegranny you're right, I think, that we should continue to use masks.
That could actually be more useful than getting a jag then rushing back to 'normal' which seems to be the UK government's plan.
I suspect, tho, that widespread mask wearing won't continue unless there is legislation on it.

The government and scientists have made it very clear that if you have the vaccine, you can still get the virus and you can still pass it on to others. The only benefit is that you may not get it so badly that you need hospitalisation. What they have not made so clear is that this is an experimental jab, currently in phase 3 trials of which we are a part. The trials are due to end early in 2023.

PamelaJ1 it’s her choice not to have the vaccination and it’s your choice not to treat anyone who may expose you to covid as that will affect your business a lot more than losing 1 client.

Dolphin74, do you really want to keep company with someone who cuts off her mother for the crime of having the vaccine ?

I have this situation with a friend who is a conspiracy theorist. I was very confused after reading and watching a lot of stuff on the internet that scared so decided not to have the jab. However, after watching the recent Panorama program and attending a virtual meeting with regards to mis information I’m more able to make an informed decision and have booked it. After speaking to my friend she told me her mum had the jab and they have fallen out, she hasn’t spoken to her mum for weeks! I don’t want to tell her about my decision so I’ve decided rightly or wrongly not to tell her unless she asks me directly then I will tell her. I certainly don’t want to fall out with her and believe everyone is entitled to an opinion. Take Care keep safexx

I see my auto correct changed my wording from offered the vaccine to ordered, there has been no ordering!

I was shocked to hear a report today that Hampshire have now ordered the vaccine to all NHS workers, but 1 in 10 of them refused to have it. Only 90% of them got vaccinated, yet the major site of virus spread was within hospital and health care situations. Surely the employers should be able to say they must have the jab. If I have to go to hospital for any reason I shall be looking at the staff and hoping that the ones that refused to help protect themselves and others don't come near me, after all, if they won't take that one small step, did they keep to lockdown? do they follow hygiene recommendations?

mama66 this is seriously awful for you not only loosing friends but being ill leaving you with a heart condition. I’m sorry for your life having been devastated by this terrible virus l hope that your heart failure condition gets managed well and controlled.
Let’s face it the world never expected this and unless it’s a whole team affect we will need years to get rid of it, if ever with mutations.
Personally I haven’t lost anyone or been affected by illness only the isolation so l am grateful. But it’s the ignorance of people that will make it years before it’s less threatening. I reckon that it’s going to take for more people to suffer personally from death of their loved ones to make them take vaccines. By then the virus will have mutated hundreds of times and it will never be completely gone.

So many people in my circle have died of COVID. The most recent a previously very fit and healthy family man of 40 with two children of 10 and 14. I have been left with heart failure after catching a virus last March. I wasn’t tested at the time because I hadn’t been abroad. I now believe that this was COVID and the heart failure team are not arguing with me. I can understand someone being fearful and those who have concerns because of the misinformation centred around cultural or religious beliefs. I think sympathetic reassurance and accurate information is the way forward for them. Those who deliberately tout bonkers conspiracy theories are not only idiots, but in my opinion are wicked. If you chose not to have the vaccine yourself, fine, you’re an idiot, but fine. If you try to encourage others to make the same idiotic and life threatening choice it becomes a far more serious situation.

funoma I love the US but l feel that it’s such a huge place that some of the people that live there don’t look outside of it.
President Trump did some good things with relationships between North and South Korea and even China but he did nothing for the spread of Covid19. I sometimes think due to the size of this amazing USA some of it’s people are blinkered to how things are outside in the rest of the world.
I’m not trying to be inflammatory but look at our statistics here in the UK.