LDSGator

So, you're saying my mouth will water again, doc?

Probably...  However Polio was also different...  Polio was a plague for years, generations even.  After that amount of time, most people witness the deadliness of Polio first hand.
COVID has been around for just over a year.  Most people don't have first hand experiences with COVID, and those that do its normally like a bad flu.  Not really that scary.  While people like to throw around big numbers about COVID's danger, but Humans in general are bad at math, and it is hard to contextualize it.
To put in another way...  Parents wanting to vaccinate against polio was because most of them knew kids that died or other wise be harmed from it.  But for most people COVID is more like the boogie man that everyone tells you is scary and that you should be afraid of.
 
That does seem to be the trend... But that could just be part of the politicization we are seeing.  The if you do not agree with me then you are worst the Hitler mindset.

I think this speaks to @estradling75's point that this is a matter of having only one year of experience with this virus.  You've had this experience as you outlined.  I've personally known 100s (literally about 300 people or more) of people who have had it now.  Not a single death that I've personally known.  But as I mentioned, I've known three people who have had strokes.
I realize both of our experiences are anecdotal.  But the collective experience of the society is what makes up the overall attitude towards the seriousness of the virus.
SIDENOTE: I found out why kim chee tastes bad to me.  I've isolated the "sour/tart" flavor as the culprit.  Anything with a sour/tart flavor has some strange flavor to me now.  I still recognize it as tart.  But instead of being the accent flavor among others that gives it the characteristic mouth-watering scent/flavor, it is like nothing I've ever sensed before.  It's like a 6th flavor that just makes everything taste awful.
I can't eat any fruit because it makes me want to vomit.  No pickles (including kim chee).  It is amazing just how many foods depend on "just a little bit" of sour to provide the proper flavor.  I'm having trouble finding foods I can eat.  Some kinds of nuts are ok (thank heaven for peanuts).  Bread and crackers are ok.  Most vegetables.
It is amazing how fast milk sours in the mouth.  I never noticed it before.  But with this weirdness... I can taste it going sour within 30 minutes.  So, I rinse my mouth frequently.
I've finally lost that last 5 lbs that I've been trying to lose.

Oh, there's no "gotten so bad" here.  This is humans falling into the same bell curves they've always fallen into. Any reasonably smart epidemiologist that has read up on things will tell you any effort, on any scale, to introduce a vaccine to the general public, will result in a success rate that will fall far short of 100%.  This isn't politicization, or dumbing down, or online misinformation - this is normal human behavior.  We can argue over causes and moral implications and right and wrong all day - but humans are as humans do.
Of course there have been people unwilling to be vaccinated, since the technology was invented.   Every year there's a flu season, with a global effort to educate and vaccinate people.  Every year another idealistic young graduate enters the scene sure that if we just x enough, or y enough, everyone will see the point and get vaccinated.  And every year someone has seen enough of reality to ditch that freckle-faced cluelessness and become cranky and practical about it.
Harsh realities you can either fight against or accept:
- Not everyone is going to care. 
- When they do care, not everyone is going to reach the same conclusions about what is right.
 
I remember a year ago January, having lunch with a bunch of elderly cardiac patients.  They were discussing the scary new plague that was coming our way.  They were all weighing a swift death from sickness, against all the other dozens of health things they were expecting.  And half or more were figuring dying from COVID was a better option than a lot of the other possibilities they were facing.  I mean, nobody was planning on contracting it on purpose, they were just taking a practical approach to the inevitable (and increasingly swift) approach of the end of their lives.  I lost touch with them after that lunch, I'm guessing some of them have declined to get the vaccination.
Is that sad?  I guess.  It's part of the human condition to have a little sad in it.

So people who choose not to get the Covid vaccine are anti vaxxers?

It would help if they didn't give mixed signals.  Why get the vaccine if we are still so contagious that we still have to wear masks?
One way for virtually everyone to get the vaccine would be for a clear message from all authoritative parties:  Get the vaccine and you're good to go.  End of story.  90% of the population would rush to get the vaccine with that condition alone

Yes

Is that the one you sent me? 

Yep.  New York is giving free burgers and fries with a vaccination, and Colorado Safeways are apparently giving 10% off a grocery order if you get a shot in one of their pharmacies.

Not really accurate.
 
If you want greater detail buy a copy of this book and you can read a whole lot about the topic of The Last Days.
 
The Coming of the Lord: Gerald N. Lund: 9781590382080: Amazon.com: Books

Oh, I understand fully my friend. I have been done with several relatives as well, and when they die, well, let’s just say I won’t be out there lighting candles and singing hymns with everyone else. But everyone, and every family is different. 
 
Regardless, I’m praying for you and your family. Sending love your way. 

It’s complicated. I’ve skipped the funeral of an uncle I barely knew and no one cared, but every family is different. 
 
No regrets on my part, but I’ve heard stories, heartbreaking ones, of people who skipped funerals and weddings and who regret it the rest of their lives. Same with those who barred relatives from attending funerals and weddings. 
 
Think very carefully @Backroads. You are still a young women, and you don't want to deal with regret your entire life

Oh, I understand fully my friend. I have been done with several relatives as well, and when they die, well, let’s just say I won’t be out there lighting candles and singing hymns with everyone else. But everyone, and every family is different. 
 
Regardless, I’m praying for you and your family. Sending love your way. 

It’s complicated. I’ve skipped the funeral of an uncle I barely knew and no one cared, but every family is different. 
 
No regrets on my part, but I’ve heard stories, heartbreaking ones, of people who skipped funerals and weddings and who regret it the rest of their lives. Same with those who barred relatives from attending funerals and weddings. 
 
Think very carefully @Backroads. You are still a young women, and you don't want to deal with regret your entire life

I cringe to think of divine justice, because in that case we are all doomed. Yes, I include myself, the kid, the old man, @NeuroTypical and you reading this. I pray for divine mercy. 

Exactly. 
 
We should be pleased that our church is full of happy people who want to socialize. That’s a good thing. 

I cringe to think of divine justice, because in that case we are all doomed. Yes, I include myself, the kid, the old man, @NeuroTypical and you reading this. I pray for divine mercy. 

I cringe to think of divine justice, because in that case we are all doomed. Yes, I include myself, the kid, the old man, @NeuroTypical and you reading this. I pray for divine mercy. 

Actually I was deadly serious in your case. Not joking. That’s between friends. Try to intimidate someone else. I’m not afraid of you. You can bully others, but not me. And you hate that. 
 
You are showing your arrogance and stupidity by claiming you know my personality and intentions. 

I’m sure there would be too, and we all, of course, like to think of ourselves as the heroic martyrs who would die for our beliefs. It makes us feel noble. 
 
But I am right.

In reality, if someone forced you* to get a shot or watch your family starve to death, you say you wouldn't, and indeed there would be some who die on the hill. However the overwhelming majority of people would swallow their pride and take the shot. 
 
* Again, to be clear, I don’t mean “you” as in @NeedleinA, and I’m not in favor or what I am describing. 

Actually, barring those who refuse to get vaccinated from flying or traveling would probably work wonders.When we have to decide between paying the mortgage or refusing the vaccine, the mortgage would win out in the end. 
 
If your job demanded that you get the shot before returning to work, you (generic!) would have to choose between getting vaccinated or getting fired. 
We (again, generic, not referring to @NeedleinA) like to stomp our feet and refuse to play in the sandbox, but when you have to choose between feeding your families or getting a shot, you’d probably get the shot, regardless of what you say. 
 
And I’m not in favor of forcing anyone to get the shot, for the record. 

My mom is a big fan so I know a lot of his songs (Joel). 

I actually liked his music as a kid. Unfortunately, I was just interested in the hook and recognizable tunes and danceable beat rather than real musical genius.
But with the benefit of more age and musical training, yeah, he was talented.  I still like Billy Joel better.

Thank you my friend. 

I did not intend to single anyone out but rather join in the discussion the two of you were having and to include anyone else interested. 
From my own experience with COVID-19 there were 3 days between when I was infected before I knew I had been infected - during which time I spent with others and could have passed on the virus though I had no symptoms.  But I did not.  My immune system works quite well.  In the last few years the sickest I have been was when I received the second singles shot and was quite sick for 24 hours.  I am of the mind that my skiing (in winter) and cycling (the rest of the year) has something to do with not getting sick.  I believe that healthy individuals that are active and eat intelligently seldom get sick and when they do - it is seldom severer.   I believe such healthy individuals are less likely to spread something even during a pandemic.  At least that would explain why I did not spread COVID-19.
From the data - the shot is 95% effective - which means that those most at risk can still get sick even if they have the shot and since a large % of those that contract the virus will never show symptoms and are less likely to spread the virus than those that develop symptoms.  It is my understanding that the worse the symptoms the more likely that the virus will be spread.  This would mean that the greatest efforts should be made in contract tracing those with symptoms.
It was my intent not to get the shot; mainly because I was infected, showed no symptoms and recovered.  However, my wife was in tears when I had a chance and did not get the shot and did not.  Her sister convinced her that I was putting myself, my beloved wife and everybody else in critical danger for not getting the shot.  There are things more important to me than my opinion and in some cases - even my desires.  I did it for my wife.  The truth is that I so not mind sacrificing for others.  For me it is kind of like Joseph Smith Jr. giving himself up before he was murdered.
I believe that everyone has a right to choice - even when their choices are sick and wrong - but in the case of you @LDSGator- I do not believe such your choices in this manner are something for which I ought to have personal concerns.  As far as I can determine - you both made the correct choice.
There are some things that the medical profession is very good at doing - but more and more I am coming to understand that freedom only comes with responsibility.  Thus if someone relinquishes their responsibility for their own health (and I could make a long list of things people deliberately do compromise their health) to someone or something else - That is their real choice with whatever consequences that will be.  But it is no longer their choice.
 
The Traveler