The COVID Vaccination Thread (2 Viewers)

[DaveF]

I don't have kids so my opinions are purely academic. But FWIW...

I’m a Pediatrician. Get Your Child Vaccinated.

Kids 12 and up no longer need to get sick with the coronavirus.

www.theatlantic.com

 

[Malcolm R]

Do your kids have any opinions or wishes? They may not be adults, but it seems like they're old enough to have some say in the decision about their health. I would think your wife would want to respect their wishes. At this point, they likely know as much about the situation as she does, so have the same amount of knowledge upon which to base their choice.

There are a lot of things I'd like to say, but I have zero patience for these anti-vaxxer people so none of it would likely be constructive.

 

[Martino]

Do your kids have any opinions or wishes? They may not be adults, but it seems like they're old enough to have some say in the decision about their health. I would think your wife would want to respect their wishes. At this point, they likely know as much about the situation as she does, so have the same amount of knowledge upon which to base their choice.

There are a lot of things I'd like to say, but I have zero patience for these anti-vaxxer people so none of it would likely be constructive.

I have 3 teenagers who are very book smart and have no common since at all. They are not pushing to get vaccinated and are more worried about loosing video game time to go somewhere to get this done, so we are not going against their wishes, as I am the only one trying to get this done. Thanks for all of the responses, I will pass on the article from the Dr. to see if I can get this to happen.....

 

[BobO'Link]

My daughter (41) refuses to be vaccinated (allergies - afraid of possible side effects but says she's "been in the face of someone infected and didn't get sick so why bother?") but that's impacted her kids (17, 14, and 10) who all say they're not going to get vaccinated either (none have medical issues). They've all been in school most of the year and been OK while classmates were sent home (most for "close contact" reasons). And the 10yo is going to church camp in a couple of weeks...

So far, my wife (hers is mostly due to allergies and respiratory issues but also partially due to the ultra conservative relatives she listens to and believes) and the more conservative members of her side of the family (which constitutes roughly 90%) are the ones refusing to be vaccinated. The only ones who *have* been vaccinated are those who got sick with Covid (and I wasn't at all surprised at that due to their beliefs). *Everyone* on my side has been vaccinated and were happy to get it.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

@Martino - this may be too late to be of any use to you but throwing it out just in case. My kids are 20 months so I don’t yet have the skills to deal with teenagers, but if I did, I’d probably turn their self-interest on them as the motivation tool for getting vaccinated.

Businesses around here are dropping mask and distancing mandates for fully vaccinated people, so that would be the carrot I’d use. I’d also probably point out that it takes five weeks from the first Pfizer shot to be fully vaccinated. In other words, the value of preparing now to be able to do things they’ll want to do later.

In the middle of the summer, they might want to go to a movie or concert with friends, have a sleepover, go out to eat or to the arcade or whatever kids like do, and not being vaccinated may prevent them from being able to fully enjoy those activities. There could very well be instances where even if you and your kids feel okay with the potential risks of doing those activities, where it may not be up to you, it may be up to the business or host that insists on vaccination as the cost of entry. If they get an invitation to do something where they need to be vaccinated to participate, by the time that happens there may not be enough time to go out and get the vaccine to be ready for the event. And I’d imagine that would be a bummer.

As a side comment, Pfizer is filing for regular (not emergency) approval of their vaccine, and Moderna and J&J will soon be doing the same. It is extremely likely that the FDA will approve the vaccines. Once that happens, schools, colleges and employers will be able to legally mandate that people be vaccinated to attend - in much the same way schools require kids to have other vaccinations to attend. At their ages, I strongly suspect it’ll be a matter of “when” and not “if” that something in their life will require they be vaccinated to participate. Might as well get ahead of that. I’m already seeing the groundwork for that being laid out where I am. There are seating sections at the sports arena for the vaccinated and sections for the unvaccinated. The vaccinated get better seating options and no restrictions at the event; the unvaccinated have fewer seats to choose from, have to be distanced and masked, and those seats are priced higher to make up for the venue having to sell fewer tickets taking up more capacity

As a second side comment, although the risk to kids for severe disease is believed to be low, we routinely vaccinate kids for things that are less severe without controversy. (Your kids will be required to get measles boosters and TDAP shots before attending college, for instance.) And at some point or another, all of us are going be exposed to covid. The newer variants seem as if they have the potential to be tougher on kids than the original strain, which kinda makes sense - it’ll ultimately flock to whatever hosts will have it, and if kids are the last group unprotected, that’s where it’ll learn to thrive. And kids can still be silent carriers that give it to immunocompromised adults who aren’t protected by the vaccine. I totally get that having conversations about community responsibility are difficult to have at any age, much less with teenagers. But it remains possible that unvaccinated children with asymptomatic cases will give it to adults who develop fatal cases, and I don’t know best to approach that conversation but that’s kind of the whole point of vaccination - it’s not just about the individual, it’s about everyone who lives in the community.

There’s probably nothing here that you don’t already know but good luck and best wishes for the good health of your family.

 

[Clinton McClure]

The phrase I use (heard it a long time ago) is you can't teach an old dog new tricks...but you can beat it on the head repeatedly with a rolled up newspaper

And for the record, I am a dog lover and owner who does not raise their hand towards their beloved pet. But I did find that phrase funny because there have been no shortage of people I've seen that deserve that treatment lol

Fairly certain she would kick my ass if I smacked her on the head with a rolled up newspaper.

 

[Mark Booth]

Now that so many adults and, particularly, seniors are vaccinated, the average age of those in the hospital with serious COVID symptoms is trending downward. Yes, there are fewer of them, but younger people have no guarantees they won't get serious symptoms (or possibly even die). I saw an article somewhere in the last few days (might have been NY Times or CNN) that hospitals are seeing more children with COVID.

Bob, regarding your wife's attitude... My friend Jeff told me back in September that he was around someone with COVID (found out a few days later) and he didn't catch it. So, he felt that COVID must not be as contagious as certain people were trying to say. And now Jeff is dead because he continued with that denier attitude until he finally caught COVID.

Mark

 

[Mark Booth]

San Diego County's goal is to fully vaccinate everyone 12 and older. That's 2.1 million people.

As of today, 77.7% of that goal are fully vaccinated and 97.3% have received at least one shot. Within the next month, San Diego County will be over 97% fully vaccinated (age 12 and older). Phenomenal numbers!

Mark

 

[Carlo_M]

Hey Mark, I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but I was so astounded by your stats (and disappointed in LA County's piddly 64% by comparison) that I did some googling of our counties...this is what I found for SDC:

https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/hhsa/programs/phs/Epidemiology/COVID-19%20Vaccinations%20Demographics.pdf

Those numbers seem to be significantly lower than the ones you mentioned?

 

[BobO'Link]

Now that so many adults and, particularly, seniors are vaccinated, the average age of those in the hospital with serious COVID symptoms is trending downward. Yes, there are fewer of them, but younger people have no guarantees they won't get serious symptoms (or possibly even die). I saw an article somewhere in the last few days (might have been NY Times or CNN) that hospitals are seeing more children with COVID.

Bob, regarding your wife's attitude... My friend Jeff told me back in September that he was around someone with COVID (found out a few days later) and he didn't catch it. So, he felt that COVID must not be as contagious as certain people were trying to say. And now Jeff is dead because he continued with that denier attitude until he finally caught COVID.

Mark

That's my daughter with that attitude (my wife's is a bit different but no more logic behind it) - and I do worry about her having that attitude for the reason you've mentioned. Her business is requiring all workers to return to the office in a couple of weeks. I just can't wrap my head around the idea of someone thinking refusing to be vaccinated is a good thing. That infections are dropping here, in spite of lower than average vaccination rates, doesn't help people's attitude.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I stopped by Walmart today on the way home and I think I was the ONLY person in the store wearing a mask.

 

[Chip_HT]

We are planning a cross country trip this summer to check out colleges for the oldest son, and I would like to have all that can be vaccinated be done by then so I don't have to worry about catching covid during the trip, but she refuseses....

I haven't been paying that close attention, but aren't there quite a number of colleges requiring the vaccine to attend?

 

[B-ROLL]

Having issues with the wife....

We have both been fully vaccinated, and have 3 kids in the 13 to 17 age range.

The problem I am having is that my wife doesn't know about how the vaccine will effect growing kids, and says that we have been told that they are at a minimal risk for the longest time so now she doesn't want to get them vaccinated.

They have all been going to school in person and didn't have any issues.

My oldest is about to start a job where he will be dealing with the public (working at an amusement park), so I think at least he should get the vaccine as he will be exposed more for his job, but she doesn't want him to and risk if there is any side effects for growing children.

We are planning a cross country trip this summer to check out colleges for the oldest son, and I would like to have all that can be vaccinated be done by then so I don't have to worry about catching covid during the trip, but she refuseses....

What can I do????

While I'm sure your oldest boy has never had an impure thought ... perhaps you can guide him towards this article

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/202...is-and-could-cause-impotence?src=rss_public#1 and see if his attitude changes !

 

[B-ROLL]

I stopped by Walmart today on the way home and I think I was the ONLY person in the store wearing a mask.

The City still has a mask mandate in effect - but the sign posted by the doors by nearly all retailers says that vaccinated people don't have to wear a mask.

I'm guessing there was at least 70 % wearing masks at Dollar Tree and Wal*Mart yesterday. My bank is still requiring masks to enter the bank and having people wait outside to get in yesterday.

 

[Mark Booth]

Hey Mark, I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but I was so astounded by your stats (and disappointed in LA County's piddly 64% by comparison) that I did some googling of our counties...this is what I found for SDC:

https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/hhsa/programs/phs/Epidemiology/COVID-19%20Vaccinations%20Demographics.pdf

Those numbers seem to be significantly lower than the ones you mentioned?

The County sends out daily updates. This is the update that was linked today (and from which I took my figures):

San Diego County COVID-19 Update – 6-4-2021

Here is today’s COVID-19 update from the County Health and Human Services Agency with data through June 3.

www.countynewscenter.com

Quote from the report:

• The goal: fully vaccinate 75% of San Diego County residents 12 and older or 2,101,936 people.
• To date, 97.3% of the goal population has received at least one vaccine and 77.7% are fully vaccinated.

I don't have an explanation for why the report you linked has different numbers.

Mark

 

[Carlo_M]

I see some similarities, and a little bit of misunderstanding on my part, that can explain some but not all of the discrepancies.

First, I see that in your latest post, the 97.3% of at least one dose is in reference to the goal of vaccinating 75% of the SDC residents who are 12 years and older. I misunderstood that in your earlier post to read 97.3% of the grand total of all SDC residents 12+, which astounded me because that would be amazing indeed. But 97.3% of 75% is just shy of 73% of SDC residents 12+. Which would still be an astounding, but at least attainable number (I sadly don't think we'll ever reach 97.3).

There is a commonality between the two citations, yours and mine. My citation said the population of 12+ in SDC was ~2.8 million. Your citation said the goal was to vaccinate 75% of those 12+, or 2.1M people. 75% of 2.8M = 2.1M. So that is in agreement between our two citations. Which coincidentally is apparently the official San Diego County Government, so that also is a commonality.

The remaining difference though is that 97.3% of the 75% having received at least one dose. Since both citations agree that 75% number is 2.1M, that means approximately 2.04M residents need to have had at least one dose. My citation puts that number at 1.82M as of June 3, which is 86.7% of the stated goal of 75% of the total 12+ population. An admirable percentage to be sure, but still short of the 97.3 that the newsletter summarized.

So there's two possible explanations. Either the PDF I linked to has outdated and/or inaccurate data that is missing about 280,000 persons with at least one dose, or there was a human error in calculation in the newsletter that miscalculated what should have been in the high 80s into the high 90s in percentages.

Regardless even if it's the smaller number, it is still good progress. If it's the larger number, then 75% is pretty much within the professional "guesstimate" of herd immunity, which I've seen as low as 70% and as high as 85%. For the record, if 1.82M is the correct number of residents to at least receive one dose, 1.82M is 65% of the total population of SDC 12+. LAC isn't that far behind with I believe around 64% last I checked.

 

[Mysto]

That's my daughter with that attitude (my wife's is a bit different but no more logic behind it) - and I do worry about her having that attitude for the reason you've mentioned. Her business is requiring all workers to return to the office in a couple of weeks. I just can't wrap my head around the idea of someone thinking refusing to be vaccinated is a good thing. That infections are dropping here, in spite of lower than average vaccination rates, doesn't help people's attitude.

That's why I put an article on it a few days ago Howie. The numbers are not going down. If you subtract the people that have been vaccinated - the contagion rate has not dropped a bit.

Cheers

 

[Clinton McClure]

The City still has a mask mandate in effect - but the sign posted by the doors by nearly all retailers says that vaccinated people don't have to wear a mask.

I'm guessing there was at least 70 % wearing masks at Dollar Tree and Wal*Mart yesterday. My bank is still requiring masks to enter the bank and having people wait outside to get in yesterday.

I don’t have county info but my state is only about 30% vaccinated so most people are just ignoring all signage and pretending they’ve had their shots.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I don’t have county info but my state is only about 30% vaccinated so most people are just ignoring all signage and pretending they’ve had their shots.

Yeah, you guys in Arkansas are going to be dealing with this virus for a longer period of time than some of us. It's still going to be a problem for all of us, but much more in certain areas of the country.

 

[Malcolm R]

I think America is going to have to go through another surge and lockdown before people will finally wake-up. Many love to bitch about masks and lockdowns, but most of those same people are apparently unwilling to do what it takes to make those things unnecessary.

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide have been vaccinated with an amazingly small instance of complications. What is it that the unvaccinated are so scared of?

My father avoided the flu vaccine every year, even after his doctor begging him to get it due to his advanced age and health issues. But he was ready to be first in line when the COVID vaccine came out, and had no issues whatsoever.