Covid 19 Vaccine

[Biddy51]

Will the Covid 19 vaccine be safe for people with Hashimoto’s auto immune disease. My concern is that our immune systems react differently to normal immune systems. I am very worried about having a vaccine.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Biddy51

Nobody knows anything about the vaccine yet so it's not possible for anyone to answer your question. However, it will not be compulsory so if you're not comfortable about it then don't have it.

[helvella Administrator in reply to SeasideSusie]

What is more, it appears likely there will be three different vaccines used in the UK. Seems possible some will be particularly directed at certain groups - e.g. the older folk, or those with other health issues.

[Biddy51 in reply to helvella]

Thanks

[Biddy51 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you!

[FancyPants54 in reply to Biddy51]

Do you have a flu vaccine? If so, perhaps you are already half-way there to being OK with it.

[Angel_of_the_North]

It's impossible to say as it has not finished phase 3 trials and will not do so until 2022 apparently, so anyone taking advantage of it earlier will actually be part of the trial. It would be a good thing if it was tested on people with other illnesses, not just healthy people

[lola1956 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

That’s not strictly true that people taking advantage will be part of a trial, that’s scaremongering I think ! All vaccine will be fully licensed if and when it’s given to the general population

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to lola1956]

Pfizer say their trials are complete and Moderna's were supposed to end at end of November, but those are the ones we are getting fewer doses of (as they have be kept so cold and is expensive) But the more affordable Astra Zeneca one has not yet completed phase III trials, so if you get that one before the trial ends, you'll be a test subject - that is very socially responsible thing to do. And the govt is setting up very careful and intensive tracking for people who have the jab so they can see exactly who it is effective for and who gets side effects. Don't see why that should scare anyone as they are getting a chance to get ahead of the crowd. The govt asked for 100,00 volunteers back in August but didn't get them AFAIK. But n the maths, it's worth reading this BMJ rapid response bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m43... It's interesting to note that all the trials seem to have had fewer cases (in their Placebo arms) per 1000 population than we have in the UK. Don't know why that would be. Perhaps they use different criteria to define a case.

[buddy99]

At this point we don't really know whether the vaccine(s) will be safe for ANYBODY imo. It is being brought to market within an unusually short time and with very insufficient knowledge about the virus. Time will tell how efficient and "harmless" it really is. I go with what my pharmacist says, "If you don't feel comfortable getting vaccinated, after weighing benefits and risks, don't get vaccinated." As long as it is not mandatory it is a personal decision.

[lola1956 in reply to buddy99]

Yes it’s a personal decision

[MichelleHarris in reply to lola1956]

Lets hope it stays that way. Loss of civil liberties scares me more than Covid x

[lola1956 in reply to MichelleHarris]

Agreed !

[Cooper27 in reply to buddy99]

I've spoken to a couple of folk who have previously dealt with vaccine studies, and honestly this is one of those situations where pressure drives innovation - things haven't been rushed in an unsafe way, it's just highlighting how many process delays exist in product development (funding approvals, test subject recruitment, reports sitting on desks for long periods). Consider how much engineering innovation progressed during the war, because every engineer was focussed on the task, working overtime, funding was available and unnecessary parts of the process were minimised. It's similar here.

[buddy99 in reply to Cooper27]

Yes, wars were always great times to drive innovation not just in engineering but also in medicine. That's why emergency medicine is as good as it is. Some of the great human innovations have also majorly back fired. Future will tell which are great and which are not so much. Let's hope for the best.

[lola1956 in reply to Cooper27]

Exactly the scientists of the world have concentrated on nothing else but finding a vaccine for COVID 19 , they also had the funding that many diseases have never had !But all this is as you would expect with a world wide pandemic and as such I feel we have nothing to fear from the vaccine... just the opposite we should rejoice!

[Cooper27 in reply to lola1956]

Not just that - it's the number of volunteers who came forward too. An ordinary vaccine study will spend years just trying to recruit enough people to create a clinically significant trial, but with Covid, people were falling over themselves to volunteer.

[TSH110]

A high up pharmacy pal of mine is going to read the safety data (they are involved in the NHS staff vaccination roll out in a senior capacity) and let me know what they think. They have the one that can only be moved 4 times. Will report back in due course.

[jjf255]

No one knows how an individual's immune systems will react to these vaccines. These vaccines are COMPLETEY different then any other vaccine that has ever been created. Do your research about how they are different. They have only been underway for months not years. We will know the success or failure, including any long term devastation, only after it has been used for some time on millions of people. I hope no one is so quick to believe it won't be mandatory. I am in the U S and on a news report today about so many people not wanting to get this vaccine, a doctor said it may come down to those who don't get it will not be allowed to go back to work, school, travel abroad etc! This scares me a lot more then the virus does and it should scare everyone. If this mandate happens, it will not just be in the U S...it will be every where.

[lola1956 in reply to jjf255]

Not necessarily everywhere, I can’t see it happening in democratic countries

[jjf255 in reply to lola1956]

Oh my...really? The U S is based upon democracy. It IS being talked about here! It may not happen immediately, but this is exactly what they were talking about on this news show.

[lola1956 in reply to jjf255]

No disrespect but at the minute your country is in turmoil until Trump leaves

[Cooper27 in reply to jjf255]

They were talking about passports here, and I think it's logical while the vaccine is rolled out.

I really don't think politicians have an appetite to enforce vaccines, they recognise how making them compulsory feeds into the anti-vax narrative.

[Cooper27]

My aunt has an autoimmune disease, she was recommending the Oxford vaccine, as it works differently compared to the other two. I don't know if we'll get a choice really, but I trust her opinion on it.It's very likely some members of the trial had hasimotos without realising though, the antibodies are there long before the thyroid effects are apparent.

[lola1956 in reply to Cooper27]

I think we should all just be grateful that vaccine has been found and that hopefully most people take up the choice of having it ! I certainly will have it and believe it’s the only way out of this horrific situation we are currently in

[Cooper27 in reply to lola1956]

Yes, in my aunt's case, it matters more because her autoimmune disease requires her to be on strong immunosuppressants, and that influences her risk willingness. I think the preference for the Oxford option was that it doesn't contain dead virus, and that's really all it boils down to

[lola1956 in reply to Cooper27]

I wish her well, hopefully we all find the vaccine works well for us

[jjf255 in reply to Cooper27]

None of the vaccines that are progressing to their final stage, have dead viruses. They are all using a never before tested method to create the vaccines using genetic code from the covid 19 virus. It's complicated to describe...so you might want to research it. I hope everyone researches these vaccines before getting one. Not even one of the companies in the final stages can say how long any immunity will last. There are many questions that they cannot answer. They have NO idea about long term side effects. WAY TOO MANY questions not answered as for as I'm concerned.

[Cooper27 in reply to jjf255]

Well I'd gladly look at the research on the vaccines, although I don't think it's been published yet, which is when you'll hopefully get answers to your questions.

It may be that I've mis-quoted my aunt. When I hear how the RNA style of vaccine develops, it sounds like "bits of dead virus" to me, even if that's not how it actually works 😁

Immunity period is probably the main drawback of a short-term study like this I guess. Memory t-cells are usually there for life, as far as I understand, but they'll probably follow up with participants on an ongoing basis, to see how they fare.

[jjf255 in reply to Cooper27]

I should have said the first 2 vaccines that will be released...Pfizer and Moderna, use viral genetic code. There are multi vacs still in trial stages and there may be some using the virus itself. A concern about these vaccines, that only time will tell... besides the length and strength of immunity...is how a person's immune system will react...will it go into overdrive over a period of months to years and cause a new type of autoimmune disease? This has happened in the past with other vaccines when there were rushed trials. My nephew is a physician in the U S, who is very concerned about this aspect of these vaccines.

[jjf255 in reply to lola1956]

There are billions upon billions of dollars at stake for the company and country for that matter, whos vaccine is first on the market. For this reason, they all have been rushed! If you think it's for the good of all...sorry...I think you are wrong. I will watch to see how all of you do, who are rushing to get this vaccine. It will be very interesting.

[lola1956 in reply to jjf255]

You need to research this subject more as this is not the case that they have been rushed for monetary gain , at the end of the day everyone has a theory!My opinion is as valid as yours my life is as relevant as yours !.. goodnight my friend

[jjf255 in reply to lola1956]

I hope you will be lucky enough to be one of the first to get the vaccine.

[lola1956 in reply to jjf255]

🙏

[lola1956 in reply to jjf255]

Good morning I woke to find out that the PFIZER vaccine has now been approved in this country... great news wonderful news ! It’s still a long road but we can now see a way out of all this

[serenfach]

If it means I can hold my children and grandchildren again, I will gladly have the vaccine. They dont live locally, and my pathetic broadband does not allow for video calls etc. I miss them so much!

[Swanagegirl]

From what I understand the vaccine will not stop you getting Covid only that you might be less ill if you do. Also will not stop transmission.

[jjf255 in reply to Swanagegirl]

Yes...there are so many bits and pieces of information that we are starting to hear. Even these companies producing these first vaccines have no idea about their effectiveness. I hope whoever wants these first vaccines can get them. Then the rest of us, who have true concerns about their long term safety, can watch and see what happens.

[Cooper27 in reply to jjf255]

The priority list has been published, care home residents and care staff will be first priority, then over 80s and frontline health workers second priority. It'll probably be next Spring before the under 65s qualify...

[jjf255 in reply to Cooper27]

In the United States, the plan is... health care workers and first responders (who want it ) will be first to get. The nursing home residence will be next. In the U S, 35% of nurses said they want as soon as possible. Another 37% said they are concerned about its safety and will not take at first. The remaining 28 % said they aren't sure either way. Interesting.

[Lora7again]

There was a Professor from a hospital on the news this morning who said he wouldn't be having the vaccine. He also said people with autoimmune diseases shouldn't have it as well because of the immune response. I am going to research it and see how it affects others with autoimmune diseases until I consent to having this vaccine.

[helvella Administrator in reply to Lora7again]

Do you know which professor from which university? Even which news!

[Lora7again in reply to helvella]

It was on the BBC I think I was about to go out before the mass shopping rush so I didn't see all of it.

I just read this article

bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m43...