anonymous999770 Asked December 2020

COVID Vaccine. Would it do more harm than good to my mom?

My Mom just turned 91 and is a resident in a nursing home. Her laundry list of medical issues are being maintained by medication. She is bed ridden because she has severe arthritis in her back causing her constant pain. She’s being given medication to help keep the pain under control without having her completely out of it. Yesterday her social worker called me to tell me that in 2 weeks the staff and patients were going to begin getting the COVID vaccine. She wanted to know if I wanted my Mom to get the vaccine. Given my Mom’s age and she’s not in the best of health and she is now recently having anxiety attacks and had to be put on Xanax I’m honestly not sure what to do. Would it do more harm them good? Can someone please help me with this decision or give me advice? I’d appreciate any advice or knowledge. Thank you.

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Please. Stop with the not tested or mainstream media conspiracy crap. Sorry to be so blunt. If my loved one was in a nursing home, I wouldn't hesitate to have them get the vaccine. You give them the shingles vaccine, the pneumonia vaccine, the flu vaccine, more than likely they've had a polio vaccine, your kids have gotten the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine. So according to the poster below, 15 out of 43,000 people came down with bells palsy. That's .0003488372 or 35 one thousandths of a percent. The odds of your loved one getting bells palsy is practically nil. Do you want your elderly loved one to die ALONE of a deadly virus? It's NOT the flu.

Trust me. My husband is an epidemiologist who has worked in public health his whole career. My son is a physician in a large metropolitan hospital. You do not want to see what he has seen. He would get that vaccine in his eye if he could. The heartache of these dedicated and exhausted healthcare workers is overwhelming. Just vaccinating the nursing home workers is NOT enough. Every resident and visitor needs to be vaccinated. As a 2-time cancer survivor, I would get vaccinated tomorrow if it was available to me. Science is science. Trust it. All of you who are clapping and praising the front line Healthcare workers, then refusing to get your elderly loved one or yourself vaccinated, are just basically saying to them "FU". Again, sorry to be blunt, but this is a PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS. My physician son goes home at night and cries when he has to tell family members there just isn't anymore that could have been done. The anguish is daunting. Nurses holding up phones or tablets to their unconscious patients on ventilators so their family can say goodbye is agonizing. For all that is holy, get your loved one the vaccine.

Stop with the "mainstream media" crap. Stop getting your "news" from social media. If your not watching "main" stream media, what media are you watching? "Extreme" stream media? 300,000 Americans will have died this year of COVID-related symptoms alone. How many could have been saved by just wearing a simple mask? This isn't politics; it's science, plain and simple.

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THANK YOU!!! BEST ANSWER ON THE WHOLE PAGE!

Yes, it is a health situation! It’s called a PANDEMIC!

It has NEVER been about RELIGION or POLITICS!

(3)

Does your mom get the 'flu vaccine? Has she had the pneumonia and shingles vaccines?

I really can't see the downside of her having the COVID vaccine. There don't seem to be many side effects reported thus far.

Helpful Answer (15)

I can't tell you what to do, I can only say what I would do for my Mom and right now I wouldn't let her get the vaccine. I am waiting until more research comes out as far as side effects, etc. It's just too new.

I have done research on this vaccine and so far I don't like what I'm reading. The last place I believe is the media because they are only going to say positive things about it.

Just my thoughts at this time,
Jenna

Helpful Answer (15)

"JennaRose,"

I feel exactly like you do. I'm very concerned if the facility she resides in, will "force" her to get it in order to remain living there and I wonder if they will even ask for my consent before giving it.

My dilemma is my mom has already had COVID in April and survived. I'm still unclear as to whether she can actually get it again. I would be really upset if the vaccine ended up causing her any harmful side effects after we've fought so hard to get her this far - she is being released from hospice services Friday because she is doing better and Medicare will no longer cover it.

And I don't trust the mainstream media either. Nowadays, because they are in such fierce competition with one another, they say whatever they hear and put it out there so they can be the "first" to report it whether it's accurate or not. It's embarrassing whenever they have to correct something they said was factual and then it turns out not to be.

(8)

My 98 year old mom in assisted living WILL definitely get the vaccine. First step in possibly getting back to “normal “ as far as visiting goes. The isolation caused by the shutdowns has been horrible.

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Thank you for your input. Unfortunately I live in Florida and my Mom lives in NY. My visits are FaceTime every week.

(1)

My 93 year old mother died Monday of Covid-19 and I would have definitely agreed to her getting the vaccine if it could have prevented her dying gasping for breath, alone in a hospital. Pneumonia is NOT a peaceful death. The faster the residents and staff of care facilities get immunity the faster they can open back up to visits with family and friends.

As to the safety of the vaccine I was talking to a woman who worked for Pfizer for many years. She said the drug companies have been working on developing vaccines for Covid viruses for decades. Although this strain is new, the science is not.

Helpful Answer (10)

So sorry for your loss.

(1)

My daughter attends Brown University so I get their newsletter. They are involved in a lot of different studies. I was shocked when I read that they were granted money to "closely" research the effects of the vaccine on the elderly population. It stated in the article that the vaccine was not tested on the elderly in any of the trials. This alone I find alarming. It seems to me that the elderly continue to be an afterthought in this pandemic in so many areas. They are the most vulnerable to the virus but they would also be the most vulnerable to vaccine side effects given their health. I don't have advice as to whether I would give or not. For now, my mom is recovering from Covid so I don't have to make that decision for her yet.

Helpful Answer (10)

I work in med-tech and am familiar with the FDA approval process and clinical trials. The elderly may not have been included because participating requires consent and the ability to accurately answer the health-related questions that the clinicians ask during the trials. Also, Medical PoAs may have been reluctant to have their LOs be guinea pigs. Or, the trial required it be tested on people without other underlying health issues -- something more difficult to find in the elderly community.

(6)

Do you want to be able to visit your mother again? Do you want to not expose her unwittingly to Covid should you be asymptomatic? The side effects of this vaccine are like a regular flu shot. No it was not rushed...it was done quickly but properly according to all the research protocols used for all vaccines.. the SCIENTISTS have explained why they were able to do it more quickly and thank God! I don’t know about you but I don’t even want a mild case because it can have lasting effects on the heart and brain. Also you can get blood clots from it. And with your mother immobile this is a possibility.
I want my life back, I want to hug people again and see faces, I want the economy to get going, I want people to have jobs and stop from being hungry or evicted. We need to be on board like people were during WW2 doing their part for the country.
i say let her have the vaccine so that others in the facility are protected too. Think of the NH workers...what if they decided they weren’t going to get it? Would that be fair to the residents?

Helpful Answer (8)

Where did you get this information? TV or Social media?

(3)

Let me just say I'm not having my 96 yr old Dad get the vaccine.

I think Seniors, especially being on all kinds of meds should not take the vaccine.

I think their chances of a reaction will be higher.

Plus if all the staff are taking it then that should deffiently cut down on them transmitting covid to the patients

Helpful Answer (8)

You say that you think their chances of a reaction will be higher. What is that thinking based on?

(1)

I share your concerns. My mom is also 91, pretty frail, and has been fighting a leg infection since September. I don't know how well she'd tolerate a high fever if she developed that side effect. However, I don't believe the vaccine will be an option, as she's in a memory care facility and I don't see them allowing any of the residents to pass on getting it if they want to stay there.

There were no participants over the age of 75 in any of Pfizer's trials, so there's absolutely no data on how well the extremely elderly can tolerate the vaccine. I guess we just have to hope for the best.

Helpful Answer (7)

Thank you for your input. I guess that’s why I’m not certain if it’s a benefit or harm if my Mom gets the vaccine. She’s had several UTI infections. She’s had C-Dif several times and she’s just in a fragile state. I can’t imagine what constantly being on antibiotics for these medical issues have done to her system. Throw in the medications she is being given on a daily basis for her other medical issues.

(2)

I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want her to have the vaccine. Please consider getting the vaccine for your mom and yourself.

Side effects from the vaccine are far less disturbing than being the patient who suffers terribly with COVID.

Sure, it’s true that some people don’t suffer much. Many do suffer horribly. Do you really want to take that chance? I wouldn’t.

Speak to the doctor or nurse and they will explain just exactly how the vaccine works. They will answer any of your questions.

Helpful Answer (7)