# Convincing acquaintances, friends, and family to get vaccinated **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [August 7, 2021, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172 "2021-08-07T00:41:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2021, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/221 "2021-10-05T11:17:54Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > there’s a good argument to make that death from covid is so unpleasant that it should be avoided even though she has health issues. Yes, we’ve had that conversation several times. And her children also pointed out that it’s contagious, and WE aren’t ready to die. She grudgingly got vaccinated, and wears a mask when requested. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2021, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/222 "2021-10-05T11:35:05Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > Just to get some actual data on the risk of blood clots here; I believe the problem is that even after this comparison, many people who refuse vaccines for this reason are doing this comparison: “If I get the vaccine, I’m 100% assured I will run this additional risk of getting a blood clot, etc. etc.etc.” If I don’t get Covid-19 or the vaccination, I’m not running any risk. Hey - I haven’t gotten Covid-19 yet. So…" The Delta variant’s greater risk of infection and new surges pushed a few people over to the “get vaccinated” side. Now the message needs to be that Covid-19 is too widespread to avoid. Everyone will be exposed - it’s only a matter of time. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/223 "2021-10-06T18:05:03Z")
I wonder how many of the unvaccinated could be convinced that they will eventually get COVID, and how many of those would then make the rational choice to get vaccinated. I’m sure it’s greater than zero, but less than 100%. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/224 "2021-10-07T02:29:47Z")
there are a lot of people whose sphere of friends only include people who got the virus with no side affects. It’s not so much that it’s a tough sell, it’s not even on their radar. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/225 "2021-10-07T04:21:52Z")
Update to post ~117. Guess who has Covid? I can’t win. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/226 "2021-10-07T04:51:52Z")
Yeah, honestly, I don’t know anyone personally who had a really bad case. I’m just capable of understanding that things exist beyond the sphere of my personal experience. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/227 "2021-10-07T11:29:17Z")
My uncle and aunt died of covid early in the pandemic. And on the other side, my cousin and her husband were extremely ill. Maybe that’s why my whole family got vaccinated as soon as we became eligible. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/228 "2021-10-07T11:51:58Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > there are a lot of people whose sphere of friends only include people who got the virus with no side affects. It’s not so much that it’s a tough sell, it’s not even on their radar. Good point. Now to GET it on their radar. Early on in this pandemic, I was in for a routine dental cleaning and was shocked when the dental hygienist mentioned that the practice had several patients who had succumbed. So it might help if those urging the vaccination could make the numbers local. “Just in this town we have lost xxx people. Just in this practice we have lost xxx patients.” ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/229 "2021-10-07T12:15:57Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > So it might help if those urging the vaccination could make the numbers local. “Just in this town we have lost xxx people. Just in this practice we have lost xxx patients.” I give you this quote from a DOCTOR in our town: “Most of these people would have died anyway. An 80 year old has a 30% chance of dying before their 81st birthday. Attributing their deaths to COVID is just a giant fraud” She also posted the bogus “car accident victims” are classified as COVID deaths canard on Facebook again and again. It’s complete bullshit. I’m sure she knows it. I’m almost certain she’s vaccinated (though since she heads up her own medical “informatics” company, who knows). Or my brother who still insists the only people who need to worry are the old and the sick, and we aren’t going to stop the world for them. You know like his parents, his brother and his sister. Screw them, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/230 "2021-10-07T12:48:04Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > “Most of these people would have died anyway. An 80 year old has a 30% chance of dying before their 81st birthday. Attributing their deaths to COVID is just a giant fraud” This is just entirely false. > **[Survival after the age of 80 in the United States, Sweden, France, England,...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7565998/)** > > For people 80 years old or older, life expectancy is greater in the United States than it is in Sweden, France, England, and Japan. This finding suggests that elderly Americans are receiving better health care than the elderly citizens of other... 30% of 80 year olds are _not_ dying before their 81st birthday. It’s one thing to for media and politicians to lie. Are doctors not held to any sort of standard? ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/231 "2021-10-07T13:03:53Z")
In looking at my previous post, it may seem as though I attribute these stupid lies to the poster who quoted them, not to the “doctor” who spewed them. That was not my intent if it came across that way. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/232 "2021-10-07T13:19:22Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > So it might help if those urging the vaccination could make the numbers local. “Just in this town we have lost xxx people. Just in this practice we have lost xxx patients.” I did that recently, in a Facebook thread on “intrusive covid precautions”, not explicitly about vaccinations. The page-owner had started by posting a meme asking why we had to show ID to eat in a restaurant, but not to vote. (In my state, you don’t need to show ID for either.) His brother came by to say that more people die from auto accidents than from covid. I looked up the number of people who had died due to auto accidents in the state, and from covid, in 2020. (I forget the exact ratio, but it was something like 26 times as many from covid.) I pointed out that we need to show our papers to drive, and are subject to lots of other intrusive government measures, like having to get autos inspected and being required to wear seatbelts. And even with that mitigation, we still lose hundreds to auto accidents each year. No mitigation efforts will be perfect, but perhaps we should be doing more to mitigate covid deaths. I also acknowledged that auto deaths tend to be concentrated among young men, and covid deaths among the old, but that even so, the state had lost more years of expected future life to covid. This kind of argument can be effective. The brother responded to me saying he disagreed with my perspective, but appreciated that he’d learned something from the conversation. So I took that as a win. Who knows, maybe after he considers it some more, he will even move towards my perspective. (Both the OP and his brother are vaccinated. They are objecting to “government intrusion”, and aren’t actually anti-vaxxers.) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/233 "2021-10-07T17:20:55Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > It’s one thing to for media and politicians to lie. Are doctors not held to any sort of standard? The state medical board might be interested in finding out. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/234 "2021-10-07T18:27:16Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > It’s one thing to for media and politicians to lie. Are doctors not held to any sort of standard? In Alberta, 7 doctors have been warned by their regulatory body for spreading Covid lies. > **[Regulatory group warns several Alberta doctors about sharing COVID-19...](https://globalnews.ca/news/8212616/alberta-doctors-warns-covid-19-misinformation-college-masks-vaccine/)** > > The college says it's spoken to doctors who gave into pressure from patients wanting an exemption letter-- not grounded in clinical evidence -- to avoid having to wear masks. ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/235 "2021-10-07T19:35:48Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > Update to post ~117. Guess who has Covid? I can’t win. You’re a medical doctor, right? Probably got it at work? ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/236 "2021-10-07T19:50:31Z")
I assumed she was referring to her rabidly anti-vax _patient._ Forensic dentists will be examining the bite marks on the patient’s hind quarters, but _karma **is** _ the prime suspect. ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/237 "2021-10-07T19:52:31Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > I assumed she was referring to her rabidly anti-vax _patient._ Oooh. That makes more sense. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2021, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/238 "2021-10-07T21:50:48Z")
Sorry, should have been more clear. I’ve been triple-vacc’d and always mask and glove. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/239 "2021-10-08T01:24:22Z")
Ucch. Sorry! ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172/240 "2021-10-08T04:03:35Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > Sorry, should have been more clear. I’ve been triple-vacc’d and always mask and glove. Oh good. I thought one of your unvaxxed patients gave you the covid. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convincing-acquaintances-friends-and-family-to-get-vaccinated/948172.md?page=13)