With COVID's 99% survival rate and the newness of this vaccine, I would treat this vaccine like LASIK - let the first adopters take it and wait 10 years for the effects.
(My own suspicion is that the lockdowns are better for the economy in the long run, but I’m definitely not an expert.)
Not GP, but it seems to me that given the large consumer spending portion of GDP (~70% in the US) in developed countries, anything that will limit folks going out and spending money, like:
1. Retail sales;
2. Air/rail/bus travel;
3. Going to bars/restaurants;
4. Hospitality (hotels/cruises);
5. Theater/concerts;
6. Public transportation.
Is likely to have significant negative effect on the economy as a whole until the majority of the population is convinced that they won't become sick and/or put their vulnerable loved ones at risk.
As such, it seems to me that we won't be able to resuscitate the economy fully until we have some semblance of herd immunity.
Whether that herd immunity comes from a vaccine or millions of deaths and tens of millions of long-term effects, or from a broadly deployed vaccine will also have significant economic impact.
tl;dr: if many/most won't go to the mall, the pub or Mallorca, the economy will continue to flounder. We won't get past that until people feel safe around others.
It would be nice to know what, exactly, I seem to be missing. Both for my own edification as well as enhancing the discussion around this.
Please put it through proper animal and human trials before subjecting the populous to it.
I’d rather wait for a full FDA test and clearance on the vaccine than rush to be a guinea pig.
This isn’t a movie, people aren’t dropping dead from COVID unless they have comorbidity that puts them at risk.
But the ones talked about most are the long lasting Mental Fog, Depression, Muscle Pain, Long lasting Headaches, Heart and Respiratory issues.
And anecdotally, I know of a few folks in my Hockey league community of which I am involved in that have said that after having had COVID, that they have either felt in the ranges of nothing at all (super lucky), or have had extreme issues where they could not get back to any strenuous activity much less any activity involving more than walking. Most of these guys would be considered pretty fit, ranging from the ages of 16 to 50. In one case, they have had a constant headache for over a month which is just resolving now.
That said - I am not advocating for not taking a vaccine - I am merely commenting that the medical industry has some deeply flawed analytics for tracking success.
I currently have coronavirus. I'm a young male in my 20s (don't want to divulge too much info), 6'1", 170 lbs, non-smoker, rarely drink, pretty healthy. Waiting on test results.
Started off about 2 weeks ago, rash on my chest, lots of night sweats and chills. Didn't think it was covid at first. given the weird symptoms. I did not feel too sick, in general. Slight fever, slight cough and sore throat. For most of the time, it felt mild. Still have the rash, night sweats, and sore throat at the moment.
However, 4 days ago I started having issues breathing. I felt out of breath multiple times throughout the day, and at times it was hard to even suck in air (like my diaphragm was calcified or something). I woke up a few times at night, trying to suck in air. Today was better but the difficulty breathing is still there. I realized today, that even though it's not as bad as the worst flu I've had, it involved a symptom (difficulty breathing in air) that I have never experienced. Not with strep, not with the flu. This is something to note for everyone, in my opinion.
I think it's both milder AND worse than people think it is - I'm a healthy young male who exercises and eats well, and yet I'm having trouble breathing. This is a symptom that has continued for multiple days, and while it hasn't gotten worse, it's not getting much better. The rash is still there, my throat's still sore. If you are part of the obese/overweight American population (35% of us, including my family), and are a chronic smoker/drinker, and have chronic conditions (diabetes, hypertension, mental health conditions), I think you should still be careful.
Unless you have a respirator, there isn't anything you can take to resolve "difficulty breathing". It's not like fever/sweats/nausea - where you can just take a Nyquil and it's all gone. Not to mention, we have antibiotics and antivirals to attack the flu/cold/strep infections as well. Covid's a bit different - difficulty breathing can only currently be helped by equipment that's located in hospitals. There isn't some magic pill that will get your diaphragm pumping up and down again. This is something to note, in my opinion.
I'm not sure how much longer my symptoms will continue. The initial symptoms started 2 weeks ago, but the breathing related ones only started recently. I hope it gets resolved soon - I may provide a comment as an update.
Please wash your hands, avoid touching your face/eyes with your hands, socially distance if you can, and wear a mask when in public. Having trouble breathing is no joke.