Hello lady who is posting with the handle Itsawelshthing, I am in my seventies and totally shielding. I am worried about COVID-19. But for me, in my seventies and retired and having had health problems I am content to be totally isolated and stay like that as long as necessary, only going away from home if I need to go to the dentist or hospital.
At your age though, that is a different situation.
Though I do go in my garden to the bins, a bit at a time.
Yet once I was in my twenties as you are now. Though I am male. I am not a grandparent nor a parent.
You have posted here, and that is good. Please feel free to post whenever you like.
I have found talking out a problem in this forum is good. I have done it at least twice. It helps.
I have not had the vaccine either. The reason was logistical, but as time has passed I have become rather wary of it.
Though I would be offered the one with the blood clot issues. As a younger person my understanding is that you would not be offered that one.
The government is often saying these days that all adults have been offered the vaccine. They are less boasting about how many have taken it up.
I got the offer towards the end of January 2021. I was told that I could not have a home visit, I would need to go to the surgery. The only way would be a ride in a taxi, over 20 minutes each way, much longer if there were traffic delays.
With the information at the time I felt there were two possibilities to consider, both unpleasant. Bearing in mind that COVID-19 could develop within a few days and the vaccine only become effective after about 14 days.
1. Being in hospital soon with COVID-19 caught in a taxi, yet vaccinated.
2. Being in hospital with COVID-19 at some later date, unvaccinated.
I thought about it. There were predictions that the situation would be much improved in a few months.
For scenario 1, I considered that I would think "Why oh why did I not just stay at home rather than get in the confined space of that taxi?".
For scenario 2, I would consider "Oh well, but at least I made it until now, who knows what might have happened had I got in a taxi and caught it back then, though I might have ben alright, but on balance I think I did the right thing at the time."
I thought at the time with the information available at the time that staying at home was the lesser of the two risks.
I decided tp think about it.
The weather the next week was bitterly cold, so it got left.
Time has gone by and well, here we are in late July.
I have not been contacted since about it.
I think that if I had to go in a taxi I still might not go.
If I were offered a home vaccination I am not sure what I would do. I know one friend who had Pfizer vaccine and was ill for a fortnight after the second dose, though she does have diabetes so maybe that was a factor. I would probably ask to discuss it. I think I would be wary of the vaccine with the blood clot issue, but that is not the one that you would be offered.
It is all very difficult.
Our situations are different. But for each of us it is a decision about what goes into our bodies. If offered a home visit in January I would have had the vaccination. It was later that the blood clot issue arose. I remember how it went. First it was said to not be a problem. Then some people said that they could not quite rule out there being a problem. Later a problem was confirmed.
I have been very wary of what most ministers say. I did trust Mr Hancock, he seemed straight with the public about it and cautious. I used to trust the medical people at the podiums, but I have become more wary of what they say recently.