Well the 'experts' said it was safe

I am so frustrated by the all out push from so many media outlets, celebraties, friends, and acquaintances, are shouting get the shot, get the shot, there is no problem with the shot, there is no worries.  Why are you so anti-science, why do you hate people and not want to get the shot, you are horrible.

Let us take a brief moment to remember that this vaccine is not fully approved, it is approved under Emergency Use Authorization, which is not the same thing as fully approved.  By definition we are missing long term studies, and yes that is a valid reason for some people to hit the pause button.

Let us also reflect that there is no such thing as "settled science".

Most middle schoolers or high schoolers in America are taught a mode of empirical inquiry and knowledge attainment usually referred to as the "scientific method." Although the discipline has origins dating back to classical antiquity, the term emerged in the 19th century and took on sustained life in the 20th century. The multistep "scientific method," as it is generally formulated, amounts to something along the lines of: (1) problem; (2) research; (3) hypothesis; (4) experiment; (5) data collection; (6) analysis; and (7) conclusion.

Rational empiricism and a skepticism of the status quo inhere in the very process; they are baked into the entire enterprise. The purpose of the scientific method is to constantly contest and, when necessary, disprove flawed hypotheses and mistaken conclusions previously deduced about the workings of the natural world. A basic thought experiment is instructive: Imagine what sort of world we might have today had Copernicus, Galileo and all subsequent astronomers blindly accepted the erroneous, then-dominant belief in a geocentric universe. Source

Science needs skeptics to challenge it, it needs to prove itself time and time again. With just this pandemic we have had many experts say, no mask it is not needed, yes mask the science has changed, double mask, then no mask.  The point is that the science doesn't necessarily change but our understanding of it does, the more it is studied the more we understand and sometimes we find that our assumptions were wrong, and sometimes it is more proof our assumptions are correct.

What does the FDA say about drugs?

Drugs

According to the FDA, a “drug is removed from the market when its risks outweigh its benefits. A drug is usually taken off the market because of safety issues with the drug that cannot be corrected, such as when it is discovered that the drug can cause serious side effects that were not known at the time of approval.” The FDA also takes into account the number of people taking a drug being considered for removal so as to not harm those patients.  Source

Here is a list of 35 medications that were approved by the FDA some have been in use since the 70s that have now been pulled from the market. This does not mean that the FDA did anything wrong, it simply illustrates the point that we don't know everything and things we though were 'safe' really are not, and it is a valid reason to be graceful with people that do not want a vaccine that is being used under 'Emergency Authorization'. 

"All too often, patients and clinicians mistakenly view FDA approval as [an] indication that a product is fully safe and effective," he says. "Nothing could be further from the truth. We learn tremendous amounts about a product only once it's on the market and only after use among a broad population." Source: Dr. Caleb Alexander, co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness via NPR

While drugs and vaccines are different, it is not a crazy leap to find parallels  between the two.  It is not unreasonable to think that it is possible to discover serious side affects further down the line as the vaccine matures.

What does the CDC say about Vaccines?

There is solid medical and scientific evidence that the benefits of vaccines far outweigh the risks. Despite this, there have been concerns about the safety of vaccines for as long as they have been available in the U.S. This page will explain past vaccine safety concerns, how they have been resolved, and what we have learned. Source

While I agree that vaccines are generally great medical marvels I will also agree that there is nothing anti-science about being hesitant about anything new.  That list at the CDC site is not long, but it is still worthy of consideration.

What was said...

In September 2020 CNN headline was:

Past vaccine disasters show why rushing a coronavirus vaccine now would be 'colossally stupid'

And now there is a media push to take the vaccine it is safe from those same outlets, and people wonder why there is a trust issue and why people are inclined to dig in their heels and give the metaphorical middle finger.  Apparently a whole swath of people really should go back and read Dale Carnegie's classic "How to win friends and influence people"

Don't criticize, condemn, or complain. Human nature does not like to admit fault. When people are criticized or humiliated, they rarely respond well and will often become defensive and resent their critic. To handle people well, we must never criticize, condemn or complain because it will never result in the behavior we desire.  Source

I ask people to please remember to be gracious with people.  We all have our own sets of fears and beliefs.  It is entirely possible to simply not want to do something even if you have reason to believe it is good for you.  Remember that some people thrive on being early adopters of just about anything and others that don't want to jump on any new bandwagon and that is ok.  

Consider the fact that there are no long term studies of how the mRNA vaccine may or may not affect people in any age bracket, not because of nefarious intentions but because there has not been enough time with these vaccines to understand what if any long term affect there is.  I cannot stress this enough when it comes to young people, because I think it is entirely reasonable to understand that something that is benign for adults isn't necessarily benign for kids.  

Do what you want, get vaccinated or not and then do what you feel is best for your children.  It is ok to say to yourself that you want the vaccine because your long term isn't that long but it is not time for your child to get the vaccine because their long term is so much longer than yours and their risk isn't as great.

Updated June 4, 2021

And here it is, an example of why some people may be cautious about giving this vaccine to their children.

An article on seven U.S. teen boys in several states, published online Friday in Pediatrics, is among the latest reports of heart inflammation discovered after COVID-19 vaccination, though a link to the vaccine has not been proven. Source

This is not a smoking gun, what this is has yet to be determined, however, it is a very compelling reason for some parents to wait.  

“I think we’re in the waiting period where we need to see whether this is cause-and-effect or not,” said John Grabenstein of the Immunization Action Coalition, a former director of the Defense Department’s immunization program. (I added the emphasis) Source

 

In the American Academy of Pediatrics article on on their site dated May 24th and May 27th clearly indicate that any action should be reported to VAERS, which is exactly as I would expect them to do and what needs to be done so we can identify if this is a link to the vaccine or not.  Remember the point is WE DO NOT KNOW if it is related or not.  This is just a reminder that given that we do not have long term studies, and that we don't know if this is a valid link it is perfectly reasonable for parents to be cautious about this vaccine for their child.

We do not know what the medical situation is for anyone but ourselves, it is quite possible that there are reasons that parents want to keep to themselves that they do not want their child vaccinated.  Be kind, don't be pushy, accept that you can make decisions for you and not for others.  

Quite frankly, I don't expect this to be a huge issue once we have a chance to really look at the links and study it more.  This will not be a quick answer which I am sure some will find vexing, but for those parents that feel the it is right for their children, that that is awesome and you and your families are part of the reason these questions will be answered eventually.  I thank you for that.  For those parents that don't feel this is the right time for your child to participate in this vaccine, I respect your decision, you know your children's health history and your own risk factors and tolerance, I trust you to make the right decision.

Updated June 11, 2021

CDC to hold 'emergency meeting' on heart inflammation after COVID-19 vaccines.  This is still not a smoking gun but proves that this is worthy of investigation.  This is what we need, serious investigation to prove or disprove a correlation, we need to let this process play out to see what is real and what is hype.  This type of information would probably happen during clinical trials, but with these being used under Emergency Authorization rather than full approval, we are seeing these cases make headlines.  It does not mean this is a bad thing nor does it mean it is good, it means we need to learn more.

Update June 22, 2021

Pfizer

Investigating a link to rare blood disease  nothing has been proven this is merely an investigation we need to learn more

AstraZeneca (note this vaccine is not in use in the US, nor likely to be)

1. AstraZeneca's vaccine has been in the news for a while, it was at one point pulled from use in Europe, and now it is being looked at to determine if there is a link between it and Guillain-Barre syndrome in the UK, India, and Austrialia.
2. The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) issued a recommendation that people who have previously suffered from capillary leak syndrome should not be inoculated with AstraZeneca’s AZN COVID-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria
3. Scientists in Germany say they've worked out the two-step mechanism by which the AstraZeneca vaccine causes rare but devastating blood clots
   

You may wonder why I care about chronicling info about AstraZeneca if it is not used in the US, simply to show that there is still a lot of stuff that is unknown about these vaccines, and to remind people to be nice to each other.  If you want it get it, if you don't then don't,  there are reasons for people to be early adopters and there are reasons for hesitation.

Remember we don't know what everyone's individual health situation is and perhaps they have an underlying condition that would put them at high risk of one of these things that is being investigated.  Play Nice.