To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? That is the question.

Hi. I have a vaccine-hesitant friend who asked this question I'd love help answering: Is there any difference between the antibody response built from the virus verses the vaccine?

You are very welcome! Glad it made some sense and blessing to you, elizabeth

Hello @katonline and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You will notice that I have moved your post into an existing discussion with members who are connecting on the very topic of vaccine hesitancy and why to or not to vaccinate. I thought this would be a good match given your introduction so that you could more easily connect with members such as @sueinmn @estrada53 and @loribmt who have all been active contributors.

The following resources do a good job of explaining how antibodies and the different vaccines work.
-Antibody Testing:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/covid-19-antibody-testing/about/pac-20489696
-Comparing Vaccines:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/coronavirus-covid-19/vaccine/comparing-vaccines\
The biggest difference between the antibodies versus the vaccine is that in order to have the antibodies, a person must be infected with COVID-19. With that, come the varying degrees of how sick they may get and the complications that may arise down the road from potential "long-haul" symptoms as a result.

Has your friend tested positive for COVID? What is his/her greatest concern/hesitancy with the vaccine?

Her is the answer, direct from CDC. The shortmanswer is that the vaccine teaches your body how to react to the virus, in a more general way than the after-virus antibodies, which confer immunity to the specific strain you had for an unknown period of time. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/vaccine-benefits.html
Sue

Thank you SO much for taking the time to share this information with me.

I agree about letting time pass. I have been hearing a lot about severe adverse side effects from the vaccine, even in young people. I’m 75, am a cancer survivor (2001), liver transplant recipient (2018), have Stage 3 CKD, and am now dealing with severe aortic stenosis. Do I take the risk of taking this experimental vaccine? Right now I’m in wait and see mode, and taking reasonable precautions to avoid exposure as I do every flu season. I believe everyone has to make their own decision based on the best information available. For me, that’s taking a cautious approach.

Well I received my first shot yesterday. I weighed the pros and cons and the pros made more sense for me. Like I was previously advised by a lung cancer survivor....if I do not get the vaccine and get Covid I probably would not survive with two lobes missing. If I do get it the vaccine I will have a fighting chance. And it is better for everyone else as well.

All the best to you!

Congratulations johnymac. I have two lobes missing too plus 2 SBRT and knew that I probably wouldn't survive COVID either. Plus this will reassure my family and my community that I don't want to spread it! I hope that your side effects if any are minimal.

Merry

Thanks very much