People living with aspergillosis, CPA, ABPA, bronchiectasis, asthma or sarcoidosis often feel understandably anxious about vaccination.
Concerns about myocarditis, side effects, and frightening stories online are completely normal.
But when you compare the risks of the vaccine with the risks of COVID infection, a clear picture emerges:
⚠️ The vaccine carries some risk
🚨 COVID infection carries far, far more risk — and affects almost everyone
This article explains that difference clearly and honestly.
1. COVID vaccines can cause harm — but this is rare
No medical treatment is risk-free.
A very small number of people experience:
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Fever
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Fatigue
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Headache
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Swollen glands
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Sore arm
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Mild myocarditis (usually short-lived, rare, and mostly in young men)
Serious reactions such as hospitalisation or anaphylaxis are extremely rare — roughly 1–2 cases per million doses.
We should acknowledge this openly.
2. Almost everyone has had COVID in the last five years
Across the UK and most of the world, over 90% of adults now show antibodies from a past COVID infection, even if they didn’t realise they had it.
Many infections felt like a cold or passed unnoticed, but the body still experienced real risks:
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heart inflammation
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blood clots
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lung inflammation
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long-term fatigue
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worsening of existing lung disease
Many people have had COVID more than once, and the risks increase with repeated infections.
So when we compare vaccine risk with infection risk, we’re not discussing a rare scenario — we are talking about something nearly everyone has already experienced, often multiple times.
3. COVID vaccines have prevented millions of hospitalisations and deaths
Global studies estimate that:
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In the first year alone, COVID vaccines prevented around 19 million deaths worldwide.
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WHO Europe reports more than 1.4 million lives saved in Europe alone.
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A wider analysis suggests vaccines prevented over half of all potential hospitalisations and severe outcomes across many countries.
A simple way to think about it:
For every serious vaccine reaction, the vaccine prevents tens of thousands of hospitalisations and deaths.
This benefit is especially important for people with:
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chronic lung disease
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aspergillosis
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bronchiectasis
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asthma
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immune suppression
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long-term steroid use
For these groups, the protective effect of vaccination is greater than average, because COVID complications are more dangerous.
4. COVID infection causes far more harm than the vaccine
This is the crucial point.
COVID infection is 30–100 times more likely to cause myocarditis than the vaccine.
And infection-related myocarditis is:
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more severe
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more likely to require hospital care
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more likely to leave long-term effects
COVID infection also increases the risk of:
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blood clots
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heart attacks
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strokes
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lung scarring
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long COVID
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ICU admission
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worsening of asthma, ABPA, CPA and bronchiectasis
And the risk of death from infection is hundreds of times higher than the risk from vaccination.
5. Why scare stories feel louder than scientific facts
Scary individual stories spread quickly online.
But they are rare.
What we don’t see in the same dramatic way:
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“Thousands of vulnerable patients avoided severe illness because they were vaccinated.”
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“Vaccination prevented hospital admissions this week.”
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“Most myocarditis cases after vaccination recover fully within days.”
Positive outcomes never go viral — but they happen constantly.
6. What this means for people with aspergillosis
COVID infection can:
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trigger ABPA flares
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worsen CPA cavities
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increase mucus blockage
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increase breathlessness
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raise the risk of secondary fungal infections
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accelerate lung damage
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lead to hospitalisation
Vaccination significantly reduces all of these risks.
For most people with aspergillosis, vaccination is far safer than repeated COVID infections.
7. A supportive message for anyone still unsure
“It’s true the vaccine carries some risk — all medicines do.
But COVID infection carries far, far more risk, and nearly everyone has had it at least once already.
Vaccination is the option that best protects your heart, your lungs, and your long-term health.”
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