COVID Vaccine Conundrum

So many people calling daily to ask my opinion on the Covid vaccine I figured easier to do a post and refer everyone to the site. My answer is that every circumstance is different, and this truly will need to be a personal decision. Yes I am fully vaccinated, but I am a medical professional who deals with Covid patients on a daily basis. I should be vaccinated. My husband who is retired is also fully vaccinated because of my job. My friends and family did not want to be near me because of my profession. So for me to live a normal life my only choice was to be vaccinated.

Now for the decision for my two grown children. My boys are 20 and 23 years old, and the choice was fully theirs to make. They chose the vaccine! Plain and simple, they wanted it. My son wanted to return to college and have a semi normal college experience. That being said, his college is also requiring that anyone who returns to campus in the fall must be vaccinated! He is also planning to study abroad next year, and again he must be vaccinated to do this. So mission accomplished for him. My eldest son is a college graduate who works in Mergers & Acquisitions in emerging markets. His job was to travel the world to places like India and Bangladesh! No brainer, he needed to be vaccinated.

So what is my take. I think the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine have proven to be effective. Yes there are side effects, but getting ill with covid can also have side effects. Which is worse? FOR SOME IT WILL BE THE VACCINE AND FOR SOME IT WILL BE COVID! No way to know. So for college students living on campus I think being vaccinated is the way to go. For high school students who are in person and involved in sports and other activities I think the vaccine is a good idea. Should middle school or grade school children be vaccinated? I can tell you that all of the children I saw in this age group were very mildly ill. Most did not even have a fever. Runny nose, little scratchy throats, some with cough, some with diarrhea lasting a couple of days to 1-2 weeks. So really it depends on family circumstance and parent preference. For any female under the age of 55 years I would not recommend the Johnson and Johnson vaccine secondary to the cerebral venous sinus thrombosis issue, when Moderna and Pfizer vaccine do not hold this risk.

So that is my take. I am looking forward to the mask mandate being revoked at some point, but we are not there yet. Masks are not necessary outdoors, but if it makes you more comfortable then wear it. I will still require sick children to wear masks in my office until I am not seeing daily cases. So for now we just keep on keeping on! However I am thankful we are headed in the right direction!