Some people see the low chance of serious issues from the virus along with the small chance of catching it as good reasons not to wear a mask. Some have medical issues. I had stage 3a lung cancer and have COPD. I do not wear a mask and that decision is backed up by my doctor in writing. I plan to never get the vaccine just like I never get the flu shot. Most of the people I work with also don’t wear masks. I know several people that tested positive and had no symptoms at all. If you feel better wearing a mask and getting the vaccine, by all means do so.
That's definitely the best choice for you.
Let's talk science. Per the Danish study, two weeks of mask wearing reduces transmission by 22% - helpful, but not a panacea.
Now let's do the math. At 80% population compliance, there's a 96% chance of at least one mask between any two people. 90% compliance gets it up to 99%, for a whole 3% increase.
The math here is pretty clear: at a population level, permitting people who have COPD, asthma, claustrophobia, etc to go without masks poses almost no threat. Even giving a little leeway to people who occasionally leave their masks at home will pose no threat.
I wear a mask. Getting healthy people like me to wear a mask most of the time is good science (Danish study, referenced above)
Getting outraged over occasional non-compliance isn't science, it's just virtue signalling.
You don't really understand the process or the science that gave us the vaccine. Do a little research on how and why we getting a vaccine this soon. In the meantime, quit trying to scare people away from a lifesaving vaccine
Actually, we do understand the science. The Pfizer vaccine is an mRNA vaccine, and the AstraZeneca one is adenovirus-vectored. These are extremely novel technologies, never before deployed in the human population at scale.
Every vaccine from Edward Jenner onwards has used the exact same mechanism: introducing foreign proteins to trigger an immune cascade. These vaccines are totally different. Both of them inject genetic material into the patient, and the patients own cells then synthesize the proteins themselves.
This is an incredible medical breakthrough, and at the population level the risks of these vaccines are likely far lower than the risks of getting COVID-19.
The population is not the individual though, and anyone smart enough to build a rocket ought to take a good long look at their own medical history to see if they have any condition (lupus, allergies, late stage cancer like the Ron Humphrey, etc.) that warrants further research.
I'll probably take it when it comes around to me. As I said before, I'm reasonably healthy.
I'll also respect the decision of any rational person who decides that the risk/reward tradeoff doesn't fit their own personal medical situation.