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Comment by DanHulton | Hacker News Reader

That sucks if that's your experience, but it's not the universal, or even the common, experience.

For reference, I get a sore-ish shoulder the next day, and that's it. Also for reference, when I got Actual Covid, I was knocked on my ass for almost two weeks. So for me, at least, the choice is easy.

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That was my experience. A bit of tenderness at the injection site, the same thing I get from a flu shot.

It's my unfortunate experience, when I've had covid its a 6-12 hour affair that happens once every 12-24 months. My 3rd vaccine shot had me in bed for 3 days. Leading to continued vaccination being unsustainable. My wife has a similar experience to yours, and gets moderate to severe covid. She gets the vaccine every year to help avoid it - but still gets moderate COVID roughly once per 6 months.

It's unfortunate that the vaccine has such radically different outcomes within a single household, if it was a flu shot like experience I'd happily get it once per year.

> it was a flu shot like experience

Flu shot experience varies too. The last several have been very low response, but the first few were a miserable couple days and I stopped getting them because certain misery was worse than a chance of misery that I'd never know if it was flu or not, because testing was inaccessible.

Last year I skipped the flu vac (I had a zillion for tropical diseases so I though come one not another one) and lo, I got a flu about every 4 weeks, so like over 6 the whole season. I'm on a way to get it this year.

at least the vaccine greatly reduce the severe conditions such as death.

COVID is a nasty virus. I need my brain way to much to FAFO.

COVID-19 may Enduringly Impact Cognitive Performance and Brain Haemodynamics in Undergraduate Students - ScienceDirect https://share.google/49ER4VjJUwipGotZO

Wait, you're saying that when you got COVID, it lasted six hours?

At least testably/symptomatically, I'm asthmatic as well - so it's surprising that the impact is so small. My wife gets it for 1-2 weeks whenever she comes down with it.

He is, but it's certainly not plausible.

As a data point, my experience with the shot was a sore arm and chills for a couple days.

When I got Covid later, it was slightly worse chills for 3 days. By the 4th time I got Covid, it was just chills for a day.

If I knew that would be the experience, I'd probably have skipped it. That said, it's completely possible it was having the vaccine that made getting real Covid not so bad.

you're also ignoring the long term damage that COVID appears to do

In what way? I made no claims about that, curious what you're alluding to.

You said: "When I got Covid later, it was slightly worse chills for 3 days. By the 4th time I got Covid, it was just chills for a day. If I knew that would be the experience, I'd probably have skipped it."

I'm saying that's not an apples to apples comparison due to the growing evidence of how much long term damage a COVID infection can cause.

Ah I see, thanks. Yep, it's definitely not apples to apples in either event. As in, not having the vaccine could have made getting it, at least the first time, way way worse to deal with.

Wait, you got the Covid vaccine, it reduced your symptoms, and your conclusion was "I should have skipped it?"

That's not how I intended to frame it. I don't regret the vaccine or anything. And my last sentence admitted that was probably the case.

By the time it was my turn to get Covid I’d been twice vaccinated. It’s the most exhausted I can remember ever feeling. Let me tell you, the whole time I kept thinking: How much more miserable would this have been without the vaccine to blunt the impact? Felt grateful and humbled

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