Texas A&M drops out of Gator bowl due to Covid

I am vaccinated, as is my wife.  We both just got it, along with our boys, but beat it and are over it.  I have one sibling who had a negative reaction to the vaccination, one sibling who is not vaccinated and one sibling who is a doctor and is vaccinated without a negative reaction.  Both of my parents, who are older than 65 both have been vaccinated.

From the unvaccinated family, they are concerned about unknown long-term potential negative side effects.  In particular, they are concerned that our sibling had a negative reaction to the shot; that I got COVID-19, even though I was vaccinated; and they are concerned that there will be negative long-term affects, particularly including the ability to have children, specifically children without birth defects.  According to them, basically, you have a probable downside against a vaccine that they don't think will do anything for them, in particular because they are all under 40 with no known health defects.

The risk of Guillain-Barre is 8.1 per 1 million doses with Johnson & Johnson and about 1/8 of that with the other two vaccines.  For people under 50 without underlying health problems, the chances of hospitalization are something similar to the average person being struck by lightning.  So, why invite something with a known risk, when you may never get it at all and, if you do get it, nothing negative will probably happen?

That's the thought from my unvaccinated sibling's family. Also I have heard from a host of vaccinated cousins and unvaccinated cousins with similar thoughts and concerns.  And the doctor and I have had discussions with those family about why getting vaccinated makes sense to no avail.

As said, I weighed risk and rewards and got vaccinated.  I was thinking about getting boosted before I got COVID-19.  But I understand the argument to not get vaccinated, if you are under 50.  If you are 50 or older, I think that you are very much tempting fate.  But my unvaccinated uncle (Mom's older brother) got it and beat it, even though he had to call the fire department once to move him back to bed, because he was too ill to move back to bed himself.  And my deceased grandmother's Silent Generation ex-boyfriend got it, travelled to Idaho for expensive treatment at the hospitals there and beat it.

As for ending the virus, that sounds unfeasible without a better set of vaccines coming out.  It is probably going to become endemic.  In years to come, you are likely to get your COVID shot and your flu shot every October.  Maybe with better vaccines, it is a one-time thing or once every five years thing.  We'll see.  I personally don't think that we have those one-and-done vaccines.

No argument on my part. That is just what I have heard.