These are some of my concerns based on my research to date:
There are unique and unknown risks to messenger RNA vaccines, including local and systemic inflammatory responses that could lead to autoimmune conditions.
An article published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a division of the National Institutes of Health, said other risks include the bio-distribution and persistence of the induced immunogen expression; possible development of auto-reactive antibodies; and toxic effects of any non-native nucleotides and delivery system components.
https://www.jpost.com/health-science/could-an-mrna-vaccine-be-dangerous-in-the-long-term-649253
The current evidence base on messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines is made up entirely of small early-stage trials, nearly all of which examined only short-term outcomes. They lack sufficient power for testing the statistical significance of most results, and for assessing the risk of serious but uncommon adverse events.
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/cep/COVID/mRNA%20vaccine%20review%20final.pdf
A component of the vaccines, polyethylene glycol (PEG), may also cause reactions up to and including anaphylactic shock. PEGs were long thought to be biologically inert, but a growing body of evidence suggests they are not. As much as 72% of people have at least some antibodies against PEGs. The mechanism behind PEG-conjugated anaphylaxis is relatively unknown.
Pathogenic priming may be occurring involving autoimmunity against multiple proteins following Covid vaccination. This is consistent with other observations observed during autoimmunity, including the release of proinflammatory cytokines and cytokine storm.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7142689/
One point of evidence indicating that the risks are not insignificant: Pharmaceutical companies have total immunity from liability if something goes wrong with their vaccines. Furthermore, government programs to provide funds for ‘covered countermeasures’ – such as vaccines – may not include the COVID vaccines or frequently do not cover these situations because they require stringent documentation that the death or disability resulted from precisely that countermeasure.
Also, having undertaken the risks to take the vaccine, there is no assurance that the protection will be long term. People who have had COVID and have the antibodies in their systems are vulnerable to re-infection in a very short period of time. There is, however, ample warning that having the vaccine doesn’t eliminate the need for wearing a mask or observing the other precautions except in situations where everyone has been vaccinated or the unvaccinated people are not at risk of serious COVID effects.
To take these risks for a vaccine against a disease from which I am unlikely to contract and, if I did, would probably to be cured with an inexpensive, safe medication (Ivermectin) fails the benefit-risk analysis in my opinion. I take the COVID pandemic very seriously, but feel that zealously observing the precautions without the vaccine is the more realistic course of action at this time.