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If you already had the virus, then your body already has antibodies in your blood which will help you fight off the virus in the future. This is not to say you will not get sick again, however, you will likely not get as sick as if you didn't already have those antibodies in your blood. That's what the vaccine does: it gives you a more mild case of the virus which forces your body to produce the antibodies. So, if you already had the virus, it may not be necessary to get a vaccine (but I'm not an immunologist). Is the vaccine safe? You have to judge that for yourself and understand your own health. I know people who have received the vaccine with no ill effects. However, my sister had a mild heart attack which was related to blood clotting one week after receiving the vaccine. She's 39 years old. Truth.
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Everyone has different opinions and have read different articles, but here's where I'm at. Get the vaccine if: 65+ years old and have not had the virus, 75+ years old regardless of having virus, or underlying health condition that makes getting the virus more dangerous. For all other cases, risks associated with the vaccine out weigh the risks of the virus.
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Had the virus, Got both shots, both made me feel like I had the virus again for 1-2 days.
I would say its much better to get the vaccine than the actual virus as I was out for 2 weeks with it.
I did talk with my doc and public health officials they said their was very little risk with getting the shot even after being exposed to the virus.
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If you have already been exposed to the virus and survived, then you have already developed natural immunity to the strain of the Covid-19 virus that infected you. It has been found that new variants do not very enough to re-infect most people with resistance (so far).
Now from a technical standpoint, what I would recommend at this point is to go to a hospital or clinic and get tested to see if you have sufficient immunity not to require a vaccine shot. In this case your medical record would show you have immunity and then you could not be pestered by people over not being vaccinated. However, it is possible that health professionals could still suggest vaccination. If vaccination is recommended by health professionals then it would be a very good idea to go through with it.
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My understanding is that if you've had Covid and get the vaccine then it is no more harmful than if you never had Covid and take the vaccines.
Here's the CDC's take on it. Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination | CDC[^]
I'm currently job hunting (in the US).
My big fear was that I was going to have to prove I'd gotten my vaccination before I would be allowed to work for my next job.
I have run the numbers given out by the CDC in the US against 2018 deaths as a control and came up with the opinion that the disease is quite deadly, counting as third leading cause of death in the US. Right behind Cancer and Heart disease but so much higher than the next category down that the deaths had to be from a new source.
US Numbers only
All numbers taken from 2018 as the control year except covid
_____________________________________________________________
Heart Disease = 655,381
Cancer = 599,274
Covid = 336,802 <== where covid fits from 2020 as of Dec 31, 2020.
Accidents = 167,127
Chronic lower respiratory diseases = 159,486
Stroke = 147,810
Alzheimer's = 122,019
Diabetes = 84,946
Influenze, Pneumonia (the "flu") = 59,120
Nephritis (nephrotic syndrome, nephrosis) = 51,386
Intentional self-harm (suicide) = 48,344
_____________________________________________________________
Source: CDC and https://covidtracking.com/data/national
You mention that you don't know if you've had the disease, but you know you were exposed. My opinion is that you treat that as if you didn't get the disease since not every exposure results in an infection.
Then make your decision accordingly. My opinion is that the vaccine is the better choice but that's just an opinion. Both sides of this equation are filled with FUD.
I didn't go through everyone's answer but the worry you didn't mention was the effectiveness against new strains of Covid.
Here's a quick article on that.
A Real-World Look at COVID-19 Vaccines Versus New Variants – NIH Director's Blog[^]
It doesn't hurt to take a step back and consider if you had a brother (that you liked) who came to you with the same story you are telling, what would you advise them to do?
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In all of that, I forgot the other compelling reason to consider getting the vaccine.
One of the risks of Covid is that you won't die but you will get long-term effects. A friend of mine who got Covid and survived gets problems just walking to the end of her driveway and back. She now has breathing issues.
My worry is the stories of brain fog and fatigue. For someone in the business of using their brain at a high rate over long periods of time (probably everyone on this site) this would seem to be a factor they should add to their decision-making.
COVID ‘Long Haulers’: Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 | Johns Hopkins Medicine[^]
Good luck with your decision.
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First of all, this isn't really an answer to the question you asked, but is related to it. It is something that I view as important, despite the apparent lack of concern by media and government.
Although I am generally in favor of the vaccine (I drove two of my children in to get their shots), if you are CMV negative, I encourage holding off.
CMV negative blood (only about 15% of the U.S. population, not sure of other countries) can also be used for newborn infants and for immune compromised patients (like cancer patients or HIV patients), whereas CMV positive can not. There is no current research out on how the vaccine affects the usability of blood for these types of patients yet.
If you are CMV negative, I encourage donating blood as frequently as you can, and holding off on getting your vaccination until the research results are out. And, of course, do everything you can to prevent exposure to COVID-19 and other viruses. Any time there is a limited source pool of blood donors, that pool should be protected.
I'll admit that this is a somewhat personal issue to me. My sister has been going through treatments for Leukemia. Before receiving a bone marrow transplant to rebuild her immune system, she underwent very strong chemotherapy to literally wipe her own compromised immune system completely out. During that time, she had to have a lot of blood transfusions to keep her platelet counts up where they needed to be. Her marrow transplant went well, and everything is looking good, but it is a 1 year process to slowly allow the transplanted immune system to take over. During that time, if she needs blood, it will still have to be from CMV negative donations.
I live too far away to directly give her my blood, so I am thankful for those donations that others closer to her made. As a CMV negative donor myself, I make donations as often as I am allowed to, to help patients in my area. If you are curious, you can take a look at the CMV negative page on the American Red Cross site.
Money makes the world go round ... but documentation moves the money.
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If you're under 70 and have less than 3 severe illness preconditions, then the side-effects of the vaccination are probably about as dangerous for you as the infection itself. Plus, the vaccination only trains your antibodies, which are only able to fight the current mutation of the virus, so it needs to be refreshed with every new mutation. That is not immunity in terms of viral respiratory diseases.
Immunity can only be achieved by having an infection every now and then, which trains your T cells and keeps them up-to-date with current and also with future mutations of the Corona virus. As the vaccination temporarily prevents you from being infected and your T cells from being trained, it in fact even weakens your immunity in the long run. And then you will need the next vaccination even more, because the longer you haven't been infected, the more disastrous your next infection will be. And Sars-Cov-2 will not go away, so you *will* have the next infection some day.
So if you're young and healthy: Bet your money on the infection, not on the vaccination.
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Consider getting an antibody test that measures quantity and not just presence.
If you still have lots of antibodies that will help you and your doctor make the decision.
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Had my second jab this Monday, without any adverse reactions I'm happy to say.
The first time it was admittedly a bit worse.
The day after my arm felt like someone had taken a swing at me with a plank.
And the day after that I had a full blown sinus infection.
Today I just have a tiny sniffle, that I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't look for it.
I'll keep working from home for a while longer, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel...
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Happy to hear you are all right... 
I done with it like four months ago and all was and is well... Now I have to see how I convince my kids to take the vaccine...
"The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary." Vidal Sassoon, 1928 - 2012
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Removal of moms cooking or the inheritance usually does the trick. 
On a more serious note, I'd try logic.
The only way to get rid of it is having immunity in a large enough part of society.
There are two ways to achieve that.
Using vaccines is putting less stress on the immunodeficient part of the population (their grandparents), and therefore the more human way.
So in short, if they don't they're kinda assholes. 
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Yay! I don't feel jealous at all ... honest. 
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Welcome to the club. Good news.
(alas, the light is on the front of a train)
If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.
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theoldfool wrote: the light is on the front of a train
That's what I'm afraid of. 
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For online quality we retired professor! (8)
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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EMERITUS - retired professor
online = E
quality = MERIT
we = US
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Nice and simple, but I liked it!
You are up tomorrow. 
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I guessed it was emeritus but couldn't justify the E 
"I didn't mention the bats - he'd see them soon enough" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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Some guy named Sean Ewington has taken over Insider News.
Hopefully Kent is just vacationing and not sick or dead.
I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated.
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Sean takes over once or twice a year.
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(When Kent runs away screaming.)
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His turn to feed the hamsters.
The less you need, the more you have.
Why is there a "Highway to Hell" and only a "Stairway to Heaven"? A prediction of the expected traffic load?
JaxCoder.com
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As long as he is not fed to the hamsters... 
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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MarkTJohnson wrote: "Some guy named Sean Ewington"
@sean-ewington, it is time to bring back the mankini pictures, people in the Lounge do not know you anymore.
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