Thoughts about concern about the long-term effects of the vaccine

We had dinner with (vaccinated) friends recently. We moved on to the topic of #vaccination (as one does),

and they commented that while the value of the #COVID19vaccines is pretty clear at this point, they can understand that many people are hesitant to be vaccinated because they are concerned about the long-term effects of the vaccines.

While I can see that people are concerned about this, there is a fundamental flaw in this rationale for not being vaccinated. Unvaccinated people are much more likely to be infected by COVID-19, and die.

People who are infected, and who don't die from the virus seem to be likely to experience long-term effects from their infection.

If you choose not to be vaccinated, you may not have a "long-term" time-frame in which to be concerned about the safety of the vaccinations that have, at this stage, been tested for some time, and assessed to be a much safer alternative to not being vaccinated.

I accept that my vaccinations could potentially have an impact on me in the long-term. At the same time, having been vaccinated, I have the prospect of a "long-term" time horizon to look forward to.

So, if you choose not to be vaccinated because you are concerned about the long-term effects of the vaccines, you may not need to worry all that much. Your likely time horizon may be shorter than you think. #GetVaccinatedNow

Originally tweeted by Paul Jacobson (@pauljacobson) on 2021-09-27.