Dear Dr. [name],

I hope this finds you well.

I am writing to you today to request a medical exemption from the Covid-19 vaccination, an intervention that my employer is mandating for all staff. It is my contention, based on reviewing the scientific literature available, that this vaccination represents more of a medical risk to me than a medical benefit, and therefore I would like to receive a medical exemption to present to my employer.

At present, I am in good health and so that must be the baseline we seek to preserve. It is extremely unusual for healthy adults to be offered medical products as preventatives or therapeutics for conditions they do not have, because medical ethics rightly determine that medical products should only be prescribed when there is a clear benefit to the patient. As I am not ill, this is not the case with the Covid vaccine. Please note that I have safely survived two years of the Covid pandemic and at no point have I been seriously unwell. This would clearly suggest to me that I have either had Covid (a mild or asymptomatic case) and recovered, therefore have protective antibodies, or that I am naturally immune. 

Therefore, at this late stage, taking a very new medical product as a preventative or therapeutic, and gambling with the possible risks thereof, does not seem to me a sensible decision, and one which would appear to carry significantly more medical risk than medical benefit.

Please note that the official response to Covid is developing rapidly, with the latest expert advice being that it is time to "learn to live" with Covid (1) and that we cannot expect to eradicate it with vaccines, as they are only efficacious for a very short time. It seems what immunity Covid vaccines do offer wanes within a matter of months or even weeks, and, of course, it is neither practical nor affordable to vaccinate the entire population multiple times per year for what is, for most, a mild, 'flu-like illness.

Professor Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and head of the UK's Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, has stated that vaccination drives should now focus on the vulnerable only, rather than all people over 12 (2). I do not consider that I belong to a vulnerable group, given that I have no serious comorbidities and am not very elderly. The vast majority of serious illness and deaths involving Covid, occur in patients with other serious underlying conditions, and in the very old. The average age of death from Covid is 82 (3)

In addition, it is important to note that there are an unusually high number of reports to the Yellow Card Scheme regarding the Covid vaccinations (4). I am aware of how this scheme functions and that some reports of adverse events following vaccination will be coincidental, and not related to the vaccine. However, this will not be the case for all reports, and many will indeed be directly linked to the vaccine. It is therefore clear that, for a significant minority of patients, this vaccine is causing severe adverse events. This being the case, I feel strongly this is not a risk it is wise for me to take, given what dramatically low risk Covid presents to me.

I hope as my healthcare provider, you will agree with this conclusion, and will provide me with a medical exemption from vaccination so that I may continue with the work that I love, which enables me to contribute meaningfully to society and to provide for my family.

I have taken legal advice on this situation and am advised that I have a strong case for a medical exemption, so I would be greatly obliged if such could be provided at your earliest possible convenience.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

[Name]

References:

1. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/well-avoid-covid-crisis-say-upbeat-nhs-chiefs-dg7blb36c
2. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/04/health/andrew-pollard-booster-vaccines-feasibility-intl/index.html
3. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/average-age-of-coronavirus-fatalities-is-82-pcwqrzdzz
4. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-vaccines-summary-of-yellow-card-reporting