Plenty of moral reasons to be vaccinated – but that doesn’t mean it’s your ethical duty

https://nojabforme.info

If this was such a moral imperative then the FDA should formally approve the vaccines. The vaccines are not formally approved by the FDA and only authorized for emergency use. This is the reason the U.S. military does not force the vaccine on enlisted men and women.

It is becoming more and more evident the short term risk is low and for many age and risk groups the vaccine risk is less than the risk of getting infected by Covid (yes I do risk assessments and quantification for a living).

On the other hand the long term risks of the vaccine are not known therefore quantifying risk is difficult or one must assume that the Severity category of the risk quantification is the worst case scenario.

In the end it is the decision of the individual to determine their own risk level and take or not take the vaccine. As someone who is pro vaccine it would be helpful to have further confidence and guidance from the FDA (aka formal approval) and I believe that would remove a large chunk of resistance to accepting the vaccine. I believe there is one conventional vaccine under development which would be another alternative for those who feel mRNA is a riskier option.

Then does the person who declines to be vaccinated then have a moral obligation to remain isolated from the rest of society for the duration of their life span?

My story and my thoughts:

I have received both Pfizer shots. The second one caused something similar to an asthma attack, the worst and longest I ever had. Using my inhaler alleviated about 90% of the pain in my lungs. That said, the peace of mind I now have is such that I would go through the difficulty associated with the shots again, if need be.

Seems to me that there is a valid complaint about the current Covid-19 vaccinations, and that is that they all went through an emergency authorization process. Normally a CDC authorization would take many years, instead of just a few months, so it is understandable and reasonable that there are many unanswered questions about the vaccines. A few years from now, when we know more about the safety and consequences of the vaccines, the science will be much more compelling on the question of take/don't take the shots.

I do believe that the emergency authorization process used by the CDC was reasonable under the circumstances, and will probably save millions of lives, but there is enough of a doubt that I am willing to say that those who don't want shots have a reason not to. I may not agree with them, and think them foolish, but I still acknowledge that there is a small possibility that they are right.

Bill Lewis

I Don't agree with your first two paragraphs. Then you slam dunked it with the last sentence!

Plenty of moral reasons to be vaccinated – but that doesn’t mean it’s your ethical duty

Yes. It does.

Get the shot. Don't get the shot. I don't care what you do. I will get the shot as soon as it's available to me (which looks like 10 years from now for us here in Japan).

I just wish people had the same attitudes towards those infernal and useless masks. Wear a mask. Don't wear a mask. I don't care what you do. But when I come close to hypoventilating from wearing a mask, I'm not going to do it. There is no way a flimsy piece of paper or cloth will keep me safe. I choose to just stay at home.

Show me the VACCINE!

People should be free to make irrational choices, that is clear, but with that comes assuming the consequences of those actions.

The containment of the pandemic and the protection of the population as a whole from it requires community actions, from the simple to the life changing. If being vaccinated can replace some of those actions without increasing the risk for others then it is perfectly valid to let vaccinated people do it. What is not valid is for people that choose irrationally to remain in higher risk by rejecting vaccines to do the same.

So the current situation is not so much about forcing people to vaccinate because it is a moral duty, but about letting people that choose to vaccinate to enjoy the consequences of that choice, while those that don't can keep avoiding being a risk to others in any of the other ways available.

We'll said.