the main concern is that if you have food allergies: in particular peanut allergy and maybe sea-food/shell allergies - allergies that causes immediate skin rash, swollen lips and difficulty in breathing soon after a meal.. other forms of allergies, like cats and pollen allergies are less risky.. if you do not have allergies (food allergies in particular), the risk is greatly reduced..
severe allergic reactions (aka. anaphylaxis) is observed within few minutes after injection of a vaccine.. and in many parts of the world, the administrator would ask you for any history of allergies, and may ask you to wait for few minutes (upto 30 minutes) next to an ambulance on stand-by.. anaphylaxis develops within minutes and sometimes downto within seconds; and if you do develop anaphylaxis soon after the injection, you would be asked NOT to take the second dose (the reaction against the second dose is actually more severe than the first dose, jfyi)..`
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YES.. you definitely need to receive a COVID-19 vaccine because COVID-19 targets people who are sick, old or with comorbidity *such as Asthma.. if you imagine a lion chasing after a herd of zebras, the lion would always chase and kill animals that are old and/or with illness.. having Bronchial Asthma puts you at a much greater chance of death from COVID-19 far more than anaphylaxis from a vaccine.. it is hilariously significant different chances of death: it would be like comparing your chance of being killed by a speeding car and your chance of being killed and eaten by a polar bear.. FOR GOD SAKE, TAKE THE BLOODY VACCINE!! and make sure you tell the vaccine administrator that you have Bronchial Asthma.. `
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and yes.. Bronchial Asthma, Hyperactive Airway (childhood asthma), Allergic reactions to food, cats, dust and others, Atopic dermatitis (Eczema), allergic rhinitis and others, are all related, and they are generally grouped under 'atopy'.. so if you have a family member who has eczema, food allergies, childhood asthma and/or other forms of atopy, you should always mention to doctors and health officials that you have a strong family of atopy..
but having Atopy does not stop you from taking the vaccine (even with food allergies).. however, having an atopy puts them on a standby in the case that you are one of the very few people who would develop reactions against vaccines.. any vaccine - not just COVID-19 vaccines..`
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`which is why, most health services would simply ask you (and people like you) to wait next to an ambulance for few minutes (upto 30 to 60 minutes) just in case of an anaphylactic reaction that should appear in that time window if there is one.. but then again, it does not always happen to people with asthma.. `
in fact, some who do not have a history of atopy, had developed those anaphylactic reactions; but the trend is seen in people who had peanut allergies more than other forms of atopy..`
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and finally.. you seem to have a wrong concept about vaccines.. and unfortunately this faulty concept is the result of scientists, doctors, politicians, activists and internet trolls who have distorted the image of vaccines everywhere.. in my country (in south east Asia), the government had fined and jailed people who misspoke and had distributed the wrong information about vaccines during this pandemic and during the SARS coronavirus epidemic in 2003 - and our country was proudly in the top 3 best countries who handled the COVID-19 pandemic according to the Global COVID-19 Index, and according to Bloomberg..
vaccines are here to improve your chances of not getting the illness; and they significantly reduce the chance of developing severe COVID-19 illness, hospitalization and death.. vaccines do not completely stop anyone from getting COVID-19.. YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT, because our government had already told its people since last year that COVID-19 vaccines is no more important than wearing a mask in public or observing the pandemic rules like social distancing, not touching your face and frequent hand washing.. `
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the way that our government explains this.. is to imagine that you are going to war.. and going to war requires you to equip yourself with tools that improves your chances of survival: getting a rifle or main weapon, getting a small side-arm or a gun, wearing bullet-proof vest, wearing a helmet, wearing proper shoes etc etc etc..
wearing a mask in public, is like wearing a bullet proof vest, washing your hands frequently is like wearing a helmet.. and taking COVID-19 vaccines is like having weapons with you that would greatly increase your chance of survival in a war.. `
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similarly, COVID-19 vaccines alone cannot guarantee full immunity against COVID-19.. however, studies by tens of thousands of people have shown that COVID-19 vaccines, had greatly reduced the number of people getting COVID-19.. but more importantly, they had shown that none of the vaccinated people developed severe case of COVID-19, admitted to the hospital nor died from COVID-19 (except one case in the Pfizer trial among thousands of people who were vaccinated; and that one was only treated at a district hospital and not in the ICU)..
so do yourself a favour and get your vaccine.. and remember that there are millions of people who still do not have access to a COVID-19 vaccine like you do.. `
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only when the war is over.. only when there is no more pandemic in your community/country.. we can start putting down our defences, taking off the helmet, the mask, the bullet-proof vest.. only then, life can return to normal.. by refusing to take the vaccine, you may cause the pandemic to last a lil bit longer than it should..
