# Now that I'm vaxxed, is Covid just another cold/flu/no big deal **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [July 19, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835 "2021-07-19T16:15:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835/41 "2021-07-20T03:50:28Z")
> [@MissTake](#): > > My hope was that a booster would make me like the rest of you fully vaccinated folk, but it doesn’t seem it’ll happen. I guess it’s a good thing a have a nice mask wardrobe, as I’ll be wearing them for the foreseeable future. Well, that just sucks. I had a friend a while back who’s husband had a kidney transplant. He died of cancer about ten years later and she always blamed the immuno-suppresent drugs for that. I had hoped that things would be better for you transplantees in the last 10 years, but it doesn’t appear that way. So, while I’m not masking for you folks, I am masking so that should count for something, right? > [@Bootb](#): > > So far, I have never bothered to get the flu shot either. Like your husband, I typically get the flu roughly every 10 years or so. > > But you know what? That’s not a big deal. Rounding off for convenience, there are 520 weeks in 10 years. One week out of that time is 0.2%. That’s not a very high burden. I just can’t wrap my mind around this mindset. I don’t understand why anyone would take the easily avoided risk of losing a week while suffering from a hard illness while spreading it around in the general population at any random time (possibly once every 10 years, possibly not) rather than take the easy way out. Its a little more bother now that I’m retired because we used to have a nurse or someone come to the office to jab us and now I have to go to my doctor or almost any large pharmacy. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2021, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835/42 "2021-07-20T04:13:07Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > This is actually kind of a blessing in disguise, such as it is, as it will keep the threat of pathogenic outbreak more on the forefront, because as bad as this pandemic has been, a more virulent viral pathogen or highly antibiotic resistant strain of transmissible bacteria could be worse, and we should be spending far more money and effort on preparing for those. Yeah, miserable as i am in this pandemic, I’ve had the same thought. This one might be our “vaccination” for the real thing. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835/43 "2021-07-20T13:39:16Z")
> [@Mr\_Hoogly](#): > > Risk of vaccine is tiny but still side effects more risky for young people than covid. Please provide a cite for this claim. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835/44 "2021-07-20T15:23:00Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > But you know what? That’s not a big deal. Rounding off for convenience, there are 520 weeks in 10 years. One week out of that time is 0.2%. That’s not a very high burden. > > On the flip side, I will take certain precautions to try to avoid Covid, because–even though I’m vaccinated for that–it still has a significant likelihood of being worse for me than the flu is. I only remember my mom getting the flu twice. The second time she died because it led to drug resistant pneumonia. She was 59, not elderly btw. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835/45 "2021-07-20T16:30:27Z")
There are side effects (blood clots, heart issues) that are certainly more risky than covid if you have a robust immune system and no comorbitities, as is typical for teens / 20s. It’s the “risk…is… more” I take issue with, because it ignores the math: the likelihood of getting side effects such as a fever is very great, but the likelihood of getting a serious side effect is vanishingly small, and I suspect (but don’t know) less than the likelihood of having a very serious bout of covid. People seem to have abandonned AstraZeneca in droves because the potential side effect was scary, even though the incidence was very reassuring. I got a booster shot for polio as an adult for travel purposes. One of the side effects was death. They made you sit there for 15 minutes after you got the shot, just in case, but I didn’t for an instant consider avoiding the shot. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835/46 "2021-07-20T16:55:22Z")
Yes, I agree that there are side effects, some very serious, but I too take issue with “more”. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835/47 "2021-07-20T18:03:47Z")
Indeed so. The only disease I’ve even remotely heard about recently where side effect were a potential concern was smallpox. As in, the DoD was considering a vaccination plan for deployed personnel but largely holding off because vaccination side effects really would be worse if smallpox was not deployed as a biological weapon. But you can bet they’d order them for everybody if any ever did actually get out. Not seeing how that applies to COVID. It’s actively out there rather than something we’ve eradicated. So far, the numbers appear to be that the disease (plus the currently very real risk of spreading it to others) is currently worse than any vaccination side effects. Once we get it under control that debate can be had again but we’re not there yet. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835/48 "2021-07-21T06:13:46Z")
Lol. Apparently SARS, MERS, Swine flu weren’t “vaccinations” enough. All this amazing infrastructure is going to get disbanded as soon as this pandemic is really over. And all the lessons forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Ranch\_Dip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranch_dip/32/5238_2.png) [@Ranch\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranch_Dip)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835/49 "2021-07-21T17:18:53Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > We’re never completely safe, I never said I was completely safe. I said fairly safe. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2021, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835/50 "2021-07-22T04:13:12Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I only remember my mom getting the flu twice. The second time she died because it led to drug resistant pneumonia. She was 59, not elderly btw. MIL never got the flu until she did and had fluid develop around her heart and died during surgery. Hubs has manage to erase that part from his mind. I keep saying that ain’t none of us gonna be safe till all of us are safe. I am willing to be a spotter for a J&J dart crew, we would start with hubs, then move next door and across the street. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835/51 "2021-07-22T16:33:33Z")
Yeah, we’ve kind of backed off in the past few weeks as well. We haven’t really started eating out much, but we’ve done it a couple of times so far. We aren’t totally averse to shopping in stores either, but our general attitude is more one of “If we can get it via online order/curbside pickup, we will”, and only go into the stores if we absolutely have to at this point, and masked up if we do, even though both of us are fully vaccinated with both doses of the Pfizer vaccine. A few weeks back, we were less worried about it- more store shopping, and even a couple quick instances of unmasked shopping. No more of that. What’s aggravating me the most is that our idiot governor has decreed that public institutions can NOT mandate mask-wearing for any reason. This would be fine if it was just places like the Capitol or City Hall or wherever. Those are 99.999% frequented by adults, and at that point, it’s more of a question of mask or not. But that idiot’s mandate extends to schools as well, and in particular elementary schools. So he’s basically said that elementary schools can’t force students or teachers to wear masks, despite the vast majority of elementary school students being too young to be vaccinated. And the state didn’t add extra funding for virtual schooling in this upcoming school year, so many districts are unlikely to actually implement it. So basically this plan is to have a bunch of unvaccinated children crowd together in schools and the school districts are prohibited from implementing effective disease mitigation measures. It’s completely insane. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2021, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835/52 "2021-07-22T16:55:24Z")
> [@bump](#): > > So he’s basically said that elementary schools can’t force students or teachers to wear masks, despite the vast majority of elementary school students being too young to be vaccinated. And the state didn’t add extra funding for virtual schooling in this upcoming school year, so many districts are unlikely to actually implement it. So basically this plan is to have a bunch of unvaccinated children crowd together in schools and the school districts are prohibited from implementing effective disease mitigation measures. Wow. I think I would home school my kids until they were vaccinated, if I lived in that state. And I’d have a very hard think about whether to continue living in that state. As it happens, I live in a state with a generally sensible governor, and my kids go to a charter school with an incredible administrative team. But I do feel like kids under 12 have been thrown under the bus with the guidance from the CDC, and reopening all over. I can’t express what a relief it will be for the vaccine to become available to them. I started out loosening up after I was fully vaccinated because they were saying it was safe. Then, it became clear that the initial talk about vaccinated people still being able to be infected and transmit it to others was the case, and I went back into the necessary mindset to protect my kids. Now with added resentment and fear because of others dropping precautions. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835/53 "2021-07-23T12:04:05Z")
I believe it goes further than just “no additional funding”. Virtual education just flat isn’t allowed. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835/54 "2021-07-23T17:12:36Z")
Really? I didn’t realize it was prohibited outright. I thought it was still at the discretion of individual districts but unfunded by the state. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835/55 "2021-07-23T21:05:17Z")
Looking into it, it looks like they flat won’t fund it. Not just no extra funding, but no funding at all for those kids. Funding is per student enrolled, and remote learning students won’t count. So basically prohibited. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-im-vaxxed-is-covid-just-another-cold-flu-no-big-deal/946835.md?page=2)