Do you have friends who have declined to be vaccinated.........h ow do you deal with this (stay polite!)

I have decided, after reading this thread, that the best approach to this topic is don't ask/don't tell. Their status is none of my business, mine is none of theirs.

That is often the best way, particularly when we are not in a position to do anything about it (whatever ‘it’ happens to be).

Doodledog

welbeck

i would not associate with anyone who rejected having the jab.

But how would you know?

i don't mix much anyway.
most people talk about having it/wanting it/praising it.
those who don't want it tend to be quite outspoken, ranting about the govt taking us over etc.
there is a cabal of them near here, probably so in many areas, they are out and out anti-vaxxers.
i try to avoid them, but they tend to berate people who are wearing masks etc.
the few people i do associate with have all had both doses.

I’ve been double jabbed as have most of my colleagues (HCPs) as far as I know although some were not allowed it. I don’t ask if they have been but most have had the first one at work so easy to tell. I won’t be asking anyone if they have, if they want to share that’s up to them.
My patients do not have to tell me if they are vaccinated just as they don’t have to tell me if they have, for example, HIV. It’s up to me to keep myself safe and I have every confidence in the vaccine to do just that. It is extremely unlikely I will get COVID again.

I wonder if any of those refusing the vaccine expect the medical staff who may end up treating them to have had the covid vaccine? Would my friend be angry if she caught covid in hospital while having treatment for something else?

I totally agree with the OP. It would be difficult to have a meaningful relationship with a friend who’s views were so different than mine. I think I’d simply let the friendship fizzle out. If I’m vaccinated (I am) and my friend is vaccinated then the risk to us both is so low as to be nonexistent.

whose not who’s
I’m being a pendant, but don’t like the mistake. Apologies.

If they’re ranting, I wouldn’t be around to listen. People who think they’re right and shout about it, don’t want a discussion, just chance to reiterate how right they are and how everyone else is wrong.
If they asked me what I thought, I’d tell them. If the subject didn’t come up, I wouldn’t ask.
All my family bar one have been double vaccinated, the teens because of health issues. The unvaccinated GC isn’t a teenager yet.

I’m so pleased this has been brought up...
My childhood friend age 72 refuses to be vaccinated..
She Managed to get a flight out to Africa 4 days ago..for a holiday..I’m so concerned for her..I tried to advise her to be vaccinated..but in the end it was causing us to squabble so I’m just left hoping she stays well...

My husband and I have not gone for the vaccine and neither have several of our friends. A true vaccine protects you for like and doesn't need regular boosters - not the case with Covid 19 sacs

My brother in law died from clots after the Astra Zenica one.

My brother in Australia has a multitude of health issues including heart and lung problems. He won’t have the vaccine atm because he is concerned it was developed too quickly and hasn’t been tested enough.

I have had high temperatures and headaches and been very weak for some time after both injections. I have ME and within the ME community many people are having very bad relapses, some lasting several months now. Still they are having the vax and second vax. My daughter who has ME has been in bed for a week now post vax and is very scared of a downturn as she was bedridden for a decade and is afraid she cannot sustain her relationship if she becomes as ill as that again. I think they should be commended for their courage. I can understand people who may feel they cannot have the vax and would not judge anyone without knowing their medical history.

My daughter and her b/friend are both Anti-Vaxxers - well HE is and she just goes along with whatever he says.

They've been on demonstrations all over South Lancashire and Manchester - which is where the new variant is spreading the fastest - without wearing masks.

Hundreds of their 'friends' all protesting for their 'Right NOT to be vaccinated' ......................... they just 'don't get it!' As far as they're concerned 'It's just the Flu!' and we're all being manipulated by the Government.

I'm absolutely at my wits end with her! She insists that she 'had something that was the flu' in December/January 2019/2020 and that it was what, has since, became known as 'Covid-19'.

I've barely seen her since all this began - due to her working as a Carer ........................... which I find ludicrous. I can't understand how her employers aren't insisting that she should go for vaccination.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Of course it is anyone’s decision whether to be vaccinated, but an intelligent and socially aware individual would ensure their decision was informed. The side effects are undoubtedly real- my 3 daughters and I felt rough for a couple of days. When one weighs this against the possibility of a miserable, drawn out death in an over-worked NHS hospital, not to mention remaining unvaccinated means you are an automatic vector helpfully spreading the virus- one wonders what kind of decision - making process your friends have undertaken . I would not spend any time with anyone who had chosen not to be vaccinated simply because I would be placed in danger. The vaccination does not prevent contraction , it means you are likely to suffer far milder symptoms .

It took my son -terrified of needles and always has been and my son in law who doesn't even take paracetamol a while to get their jab, but thankfully they have now both had the first dose. I've just had my 2nd jab and apart from a bit of tenderness at the injection site had no side effects. both my husband and daughter are suffering from long covid. When I think about those poor souls who have died gasping for breath it makes me so annoyed that people object o being vaccinated.

They would no longer be my friends. My daughter had cancer and was clinically extremely vulnerable. I had to shield too so that when we were allowed bubbles I could support her. The sheer relief of being vaccinated (both of us) and having some freedom at last! We still take care with people we don't know. But if anyone told me they weren't having the jab, well - I am afraid if I didn't walk away ....

maddyone

whose not who’s
I’m being a pendant, but don’t like the mistake. Apologies.

hahahahahah a pedant who mistypes pedant

I know two women of my own age, late sixties) who refuse the vaccination.

The one on the grounds that she is never ill, and all the tests she has had done for Covid 19 have proved negative.

The other on the grounds that we do not know exactly what the vaccine will do to our bodies.

The first time we discussed the vaccination, I pointed out to the first woman that the fact that she has not yet contracted covid 19 does not mean that she never will.

To the second I said that she has a point, but that we do know what the virus is capable of doing to our bodies, so I personally prefer to be vaccinated.

I have no intention of discussing it further with either person, as I respect their right to make their own choice.

However, I reserve the right not to invite either woman if I have or expect other visitors. I do not feel I have the right to expose visitors to unvaccinated co-guests.

The first small-pox vaccines used live vira - so they were potentially more dangerous than modern vaccines and most of our generation remember that some children were said to have become mentally handicapped after being given the triple vaccine against whooping-cough, diptheria and tetanus in the 1970s. I no longer remember whether there was found to be a connection or not, but these kinds of rumours may well be behind the fear of new vaccines.

However there are millions of people who have NOT had any problems with this vaccine, surely it's better than dying, I cannot understand why people would not take this precaution.
Our daughter was uncomfortable for only 12 hours after her first jab, because she has Asthma, but her second jab was fine. I think it's very inconsiderate of you not to save lives, including your own & your families.

I have had both my vaccines, but now I am very worried. About 1 week after my second I started to get fluid aacross my knuckles, then my ankles became very swollen and my legs feel very tight and heavy. There are purple veins appearing around my lower legs. I had to go for a chest xray and have had blood taken for testing, I have to see a
doctor on Friday. I have also now started to have severe cramp in my legs when I am in bed. This is something I have never had before, and didn't even know what it was until my son told me after I told him about it. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

olliebeak

My daughter and her b/friend are both Anti-Vaxxers - well HE is and she just goes along with whatever he says.

They've been on demonstrations all over South Lancashire and Manchester - which is where the new variant is spreading the fastest - without wearing masks.

Hundreds of their 'friends' all protesting for their 'Right NOT to be vaccinated' ......................... they just 'don't get it!' As far as they're concerned 'It's just the Flu!' and we're all being manipulated by the Government.

I'm absolutely at my wits end with her! She insists that she 'had something that was the flu' in December/January 2019/2020 and that it was what, has since, became known as 'Covid-19'.

I've barely seen her since all this began - due to her working as a Carer ........................... which I find ludicrous. I can't understand how her employers aren't insisting that she should go for vaccination.

under the law...for now....employers can't do this.

I understand that you can still get covid when vaccinated and still spread it. It is not a conventional vaccine. It stops the more serious complications. Do to my mind that is a personal choice. It doesn't eradicate the virus...am I right any medical person on here?

grandtanteJE65

I know two women of my own age, late sixties) who refuse the vaccination.

The one on the grounds that she is never ill, and all the tests she has had done for Covid 19 have proved negative.

The other on the grounds that we do not know exactly what the vaccine will do to our bodies.

The first time we discussed the vaccination, I pointed out to the first woman that the fact that she has not yet contracted covid 19 does not mean that she never will.

To the second I said that she has a point, but that we do know what the virus is capable of doing to our bodies, so I personally prefer to be vaccinated.

I have no intention of discussing it further with either person, as I respect their right to make their own choice.

However, I reserve the right not to invite either woman if I have or expect other visitors. I do not feel I have the right to expose visitors to unvaccinated co-guests.

The first small-pox vaccines used live vira - so they were potentially more dangerous than modern vaccines and most of our generation remember that some children were said to have become mentally handicapped after being given the triple vaccine against whooping-cough, diptheria and tetanus in the 1970s. I no longer remember whether there was found to be a connection or not, but these kinds of rumours may well be behind the fear of new vaccines.

no connection at all grantanje and the bloke who was struck off for alleging that there was is now in the US spearheading the antivaxxers over there.

No vaccine for any disease gives 100% immunity.