I can’t see there’s any reason not to take it, unless you’re frightened of needles.
Annie 
that is my understanding too.
Now the virus is with us, like many others it will be almost impossible to eradicate and as the scientists say ‘if it is anywhere it is everywhere’
It will take years to vaccinate the world population and this will be hampered by reservoirs of virus in some areas where a suspicions population refuses vaccination, we saw this with the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa.
While the vaccine should prevent severe illness and death in many it is not a ‘cure all’ .
We don’t yet know if the vaccine can prevent transmission, if it doesn’t those who are relying on herd immunity will remain susceptible.
I am thinking of other people as well myself OGF. I will be 83 tomorrow so my chances of survival would not be very high. I bet there are many people in hospital and bereaved families who wish there had been a vaccine earlier.
I’m not trying to talk you out of having the vaccine Scot, but everyone’s circumstances are different, and being an athlete for the best part of my adult life I would not risk putting an unknown substance into my body.
I took Mrs Fox for the flu jab last week, I would never have the flu jab myself, but I’m not responsible for Mrs Fox’s health, and if she feels less anxious having had the jab, I’m happy that she feels it has done her good.
You say that you are thinking of other people, well I would suggest that you consider your own health first and don’t worry about me…
No I wasn’t worrying about you OGF. I was thinking more about medical staff having to tend me in hospital if I had refused the jab.
That’s assuming that you caught the virus Scot, and assuming you would need medical care following the infection, and after all, it’s their job, and you have been paying their wages for the last eighty years…
As a past member of a moorland search and rescue team, I did the job because I love the mountains, and if I could save a life or help someone in distress it gave me a good reason to venture out doing what I loved. It mattered not to me how they had arrived at the dreadful situation that they had found themselves in, but I considered that it was my job to put my life on the line to go and try to help them.
Before I joined the team, and after I left the team, I would still go out and put my life on the line in the interests of enjoyment and not to save a poor soul, but in the future that same team might be coming for me, and I will always applaud the work that they do. And it’s the same with our fantastic medical personnel.
I have no wish to burden either, and I will do the best I can to avoid catching the virus or getting into difficulty on that wild windswept moor, but 2008 was the last time I had the flu, so I have managed to avoid catching that particular virus for 12 years without the need to resort to a vaccine. Even though flu has done the rounds every year since 2008. Mrs Fox has also avoided catching the flu since 2008 despite not having had the vaccine. But with help from the BBC and the rest of the media she has had the fear of God put on her this year, and so decided to have the flu vaccine…So far neither of us have any side effects…Her from the vaccine, and me from the flu…
I think that we’re going to see a “No Jab” =“No Entry” mandate.
I read, somewhere that Care Homes have already made such a promise (not bad after the publicity about them signing off DNR boxes, illegally).
The showing of some sort of “I’ve had the Jab” document is on the cards, for other facilities.
In any case, after about 90% of the pop has been injected, maybe there’ll be no way the other 10% could catch it?
:shock:
As an 84 year old, I think I’m likely to be “on the urgent list” but, having seen the way our Civil Servants roll things out, I’m not expecting this to happen any time soon.
:shock:
This thread started off saying ‘wonderful news’…it wasn’t long before it all went downhill. :-(…I prefer to put My trust in the Scientists/Experts…I’ll let all You young uns know how I am after I get vaccinated…after all…The whole World is watching 
I read of the 5000 covid-19 deaths in Scotland 75% were over 75.
You’re right there Ted. On the lunchtime news today they were talking about having a smartphone app so you can show that you’ve had your jabs. “Great”, I said to V, “What about those of us that don’t have smartphones? What will we have to do to prove we’ve had the jabs?”
My grandmother took an aspirin very morning, “Just in case she got a headache”. Many years after her death at 90 something they discovered how beneficial this was.
So there is one reason.
This may be true but it is the first approval of several vaccines that are nearing the end of the trial stage. Thee are many technologies being used so the next approval may be of a more effective and easier to store vaccine which kills the virus.
Who knows? this is just the beginning, might not even be the end of the beginning.
Following my heart attack Bruce I have taken an aspirin every morning since 2004…Let’s hope it works for me…
I’m full of optimism we will overcome this and perhaps some of the new technology will help us prevent other deadly diseases.
There is an interesting article about the Pfizer vaccine which discusses many of the issues raised in this thread
Some of the facts discussed:
"…But experts have warned a vaccine cleared for emergency use is still experimental and the final testing must be completed.
That’s where phase 4 of Pfizer’s clinical trial comes in. This is when — after a vaccine has been rolled out — ongoing surveillance is carried out to make sure the vaccine is safe, said Kirsty Short, a virologist at the University of Queensland."
later:
"Then there is the issue of storage and distribution: Once manufactured, the vaccine needs to be frozen at about minus 70 degrees.
Even at this temperature, it only remains viable for about two weeks. At fridge temperature, it expires within 48 hours.
Professor Cunningham said the distribution was “doable” in a developed nation like Australia, but he had concerns for countries where there might be delays in transportation or gaps in the cold-chain infrastructure."
It’s a very good read
So can a vaccine actually bring back normal?
Despite the scientific and practical challenges of delivering an effective vaccine accross the UK and also the world, the good news is that it looks likely the first-generation vaccines will have a significant impact on the global battle against Covid-19.
In the short term they will help prevent the most vulnerable in our communities from developing severe disease and dying, especially older people with pre-existing conditions and front-line health workers.
Pfizer/BioNTech’s announcement that their vaccine appears to protect 94% of adults over 65 years old is an important boost to this work.
The bad news is that it could well take months or possibly years to vaccinate enough of the global population to make the whole interconnected world safe and reach a point where we can all return to full normal.
Era of ‘vaccine plus’
Suggestions that vaccines will be able to take us back to where we were pre-Covid by Easter next year have given people an unrealistic expectation, says Prof Salisbury, and such an outcome, in the absence of the interruption of transmission, is “unlikely”.
Even countries with strong health infrastructure and experience of mass vaccination programmes - like the UK - will find reaching enough people to break the chain of transmission a challenge, he says.
While the outlook for at-risk groups will be “undoubtedly brighter” next year, Prof Salisbury says, the rest of us look likely to be taking extra measures for some time to come, something he refers to as “vaccine plus”.
Prof Ghani agrees and estimates it will take two more years to “to get the whole world back to normal”, but with the process likely to be quicker for high-income countries like the UK.
But she warns that while vaccines will ultimately end the pandemic, they will not “get rid of the virus” and the world will need to “keep vaccinating” just as it does with other diseases.
So with a new era of “vaccine plus” possibly now dawning in the battle against Covid-19, 2021 is likely to require us to continue to dig deep for a number of months to come - and possibly beyond.
Plus de la même chose … 
Covid: UK vaccination programme getting under way
The first people in the UK are expected to be vaccinated later as rollout of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccination begins in what is being called “V-day”.
About 70 hospital hubs in the UK are gearing up to vaccinate the over-80s and some health and care staff.
It marks the start of a mass programme aiming to protect the most vulnerable and return life to normal.
Vaccination will not be compulsory.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “As the programme ramps up in the weeks and months ahead, it is as important as ever to keep to the Covid winter plan - following the rules in your area and remember the basics of hands, face and space.”
Ministers have warned it could be Easter by the time restrictions are lifted in a significant way.
Rapid implementation of the immunisation program is essential - any delays will significantly degrade its’ efficacy … 
Santa should have the vaccine first…
He’s got a lot to do,
And we don’t want him going down;
With Covid or the Flu…
Vaccine given to first patients as Hancock hopes restrictions eased by spring
A grandmother has become the first person in the world to receive Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine as the NHS begins its mass vaccination programme.
Margaret Keenan, 90, received the jab at 6.31am in Coventry on Tuesday, marking the start of a phased rollout of the vaccine to older people, NHS staff and care home workers.
It comes as Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he hoped coronavirus restrictions will be lifted by the spring and the country can return to normality.
It was only really a matter of time before all the clever scientists in the world came up with something better but what a relief in sight heh?
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