4 ms·

My intuition, given the absolute (small) magnitude of blood clots, is that it’s not a huge issue. Except that it is, because it has people spooked. Humans, mys

My intuition, given the absolute (small) magnitude of blood clots, is that it’s not a huge issue. Except that it is, because it has people spooked. Humans, myself included, are just terrible at gauging relative risk, and it doesn’t really matter that you are way more likely to die in your car driving to get the vaccine than from any vaccine complication. You are putting this in your arm, and people find it scary when even the tiniest issues crop up. (I’ll snark a bit here: wonder how many people who are scared of vaccines smoke cigarettes…because, in terms of risk…hoo boy.)

Exmoor 5y ago
It's not considering the disease it's protecting against and the currently likelihood of getting it, but if we were talking a flu shot or a vaccine for some much less common disease that math would change.
nottorp 5y ago
> My intuition, given the absolute (small) magnitude of blood clots, is that it’s not a huge issue. Except there are two other vaccines with no risk of bloot clots. So if you can choose, why not choose the ones that aren't linked to that? Ofc, that mostly goes for the US and EU who have secured supply.
- meepmorp 5y ago
  The J&J vaccine, at least, is approved for single dose administration. That’s much easier for many people to handle then a 4 week return to someplace for a second round. If you risk getting fired for taking time to get vaccinated, only having to do so once is obviously better.
  - nottorp 5y ago
    What ?!? Where I am employers are legally obligated to give a day off for vaccination...
    - meepmorp 5y ago
      That's not true around the world, and even then, you'd need to lodge a complaint and get it resolved for it to do you any good. A lot of people don't have the financial security necessary to handle that kind of event. Beyond that, there are people who are unlikely to come back for a second dose - homeless people, those with drug problems, etc. From a public health perspective, getting those people an effective vaccine is very important because they're generally at higher risk of getting infected and transmitting it to others, in addition to generally poorer health.

Exmoor 5y ago

It's not considering the disease it's protecting against and the currently likelihood of getting it, but if we were talking a flu shot or a vaccine for some much less common disease that math would change.

nottorp 5y ago

> My intuition, given the absolute (small) magnitude of blood clots, is that it’s not a huge issue. Except there are two other vaccines with no risk of bloot clots. So if you can choose, why not choose the ones that aren't linked to that? Ofc, that mostly goes for the US and EU who have secured supply.

meepmorp 5y ago
The J&J vaccine, at least, is approved for single dose administration. That’s much easier for many people to handle then a 4 week return to someplace for a second round. If you risk getting fired for taking time to get vaccinated, only having to do so once is obviously better.
- nottorp 5y ago
  What ?!? Where I am employers are legally obligated to give a day off for vaccination...
  - meepmorp 5y ago
    That's not true around the world, and even then, you'd need to lodge a complaint and get it resolved for it to do you any good. A lot of people don't have the financial security necessary to handle that kind of event. Beyond that, there are people who are unlikely to come back for a second dose - homeless people, those with drug problems, etc. From a public health perspective, getting those people an effective vaccine is very important because they're generally at higher risk of getting infected and transmitting it to others, in addition to generally poorer health.