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Comment by davehcker | Hacker News Reader

I have heard this before but I never understood why- 'not getting vaccinated affects everyone else'. My thinking is that if you already got vaccinated then you should be good to go. How does my not getting vaccinated then harm others. What am I getting wrong? Update: I asked the question in all sincerity and thanks for all the answers; but I don't get why my comment/question should be downvoted.

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There are basically 2 reasons:

1 )Not everyone can get vaccinated due to existing pathologies or simply being allergic to some components of the vaccine. For these people it's important to reach herd immunity as it's probably their only defense. Consequently, if people decide not to get vaccinated, reaching that threshold is harder and harder and it will force those who can't get the vaccine to live in segregation/fear.

2) The cost of a vaccine shot (both in terms of money and equipment/personnel needed) is orders of magnitude less than curing the disease. If you don't get vaccinated and you get said disease more healthcare resources need to be allocated to you. This will probably lead to increase taxes or budget cuts in other areas or, more worryingly, you could indirectly kill someone else with a curable disease because there were no resources to cure him/her.

Thanks for clarifying; now I get it.

By not getting vaccinated when you are able to, you remain able to catch the virus and spread it to others.

Since vaccination is never 100% effective, your choice increases the risk to people who are vaccinated, as well as those who have not yet been able to receive that vaccine, and those who cannot receive it for medical reasons.

Because there is no such thing as 100% immunity; you could get sick even if you have been vaccinated. Because there are people who absolutely cannot be vaccinated for a variety of reasons, and as a society, we want to try to protect those people by ensuring as many others as possible are vaccinated. Honestly, I am on the side of choice, but we have to be honest and understand that our choices can affect others.

Some people will not be able to be vaccinated, for various reasons. You endanger them by potentially spreading the disease.

And they endanger others and should go into the database of shame! /s

They should go in a database of dangerous people who can kill tens of others merely by being in a public place.

No, those people endanger themselves by going out in public. Instead they could stay inside as much as possible to reduce risks - even indefinitely self quarantining if needed. Or maybe they should only go outside if they’re wearing a full body PPE that is sealed off and has its own air supply.

My point is, those who can’t get vaccinated have choices to keep themselves safe, and their decision not to take on those inconveniences shouldn’t result in OTHERS being coerced to undergo a medical procedure. I think it is disingenuous to place agency on those taking no action by skipping the vaccine.

vaccines don't always work on people with immune system deficiency/ on immuno-suppressants, like people after surgeries, transplants, or who have hiv, lupus etc as well as babies who haven't developed immune systems yet or those with weakened immune systems due to age/alcohol abuse/disease etc

most vaccines are 60-99% effective even if you're healthy and have been vaccinated you can still get sick if the disease is heavily present.

Some people cannot get vaccinated so they rely on heard immunity. Also the vaccine is 95% efficient, still the 5% also prefer that the virus cannot propagate.

So the mRNA vaccine is not safe for those people? Genuinely curious. Plus, in any case, they should probably take cautions themselves if they know they have not been vaccinated for those reasons.

Currently people with strong allergies are not recommended to take it, since it can lead to allergic shock. Then my prediction is soon that people with autoimmune diseases might be recommended not to take it, and later people who have an infection leading to have reverse transcriptase in their body (the last two is just my glass ball telling me)

Then the vaccine is not approve for youth below 16 (if I remember correctly)

And what about the 5% not respondinding to vaccination, they don't know that, so everybody should continue to take precautions?

I have an autoimmune disorder, so I am reluctant to take it, considering how early it is, and that I have been exposed to COVID-19 and I most likely have/had it.

No, I am just saying that you cannot realistically expect everyone to care about your health, so you should take precautions as much as you can, because presumably you care about your health (much more than randoms). That is all.

It is possible to get a blood check to see if you have antibodies from a previous infection.

Yeah, I am planning to do that.

When you get infected then go visit your elderly parents/grandparents while you are contagious but asymptomatic.

What is the transmission rate for asymptomatic people? I am asking because my grandma has been visited by a family member who tested positive that day, but nothing has happened.

If enough people choose not to get vaccinated the health system will continue to struggle. In the UK there is now a mammoth backlog of procedures to clear that will take years. This effects everyone, not just the individual.

A single person not getting vaccinated isn't much of a problem, perhaps they will infect a few people but then the infections (and maybe the infected...) will die out.

This only happens is most people are vaccinated, if a sizable portion of the population is not then the outbreak will just keep expanding and will not stop, with the consequences we are all aware of.

You participate in spreading the virus. You cost extra to the community when you get sick, since a vaccine is cheaper.

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