Current Covid Booster - September 2023

[RetMD21]

Influenza vaccine effectiveness falls with time and thee isn't much circulating right on the CDC map now https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm

 

[euro]

Influenza vaccine effectiveness falls with time and thee isn't much circulating right on the CDC map now https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm

Well, depends on how fast the vaccine's effectiveness starts to wane and by how much. On the flip side, it also takes 2-3 weeks for antibodies to establish, so if you wait until there is widespread disease, then you may be too late.

 

[harllee]

Did your doctor elaborate as to why he wants to wait for the flu shot? The sequence is already locked in, so it is not like you stand to get a more up to date vaccine. Is the doc worried that potency might fall off after a month or two? I don't think that is realistically the case, but maybe? It is already end of September so we are only talking about a month. Perhaps not worth the argument, but I am curious about the rationale.

Doctor said flu usually peaks January-March and that the flu vaccine's effectiveness begins to wane in a few months. If you get the vaccine now the effectiveness might be waning in February when flu season hits its peak. The one time I got the flu vaccine early I got the flu in February and was very sick for a couple of months. Doctor said I had made a mistake getting the flu vaccine the first of October. My doctor says really the best time to get the flu shot is around Thanksgiving but I never wait that late.

 

[ncbill]

Doctor said flu usually peaks January-March and that the flu vaccine's effectiveness begins to wane in a few months. If you get the vaccine now the effectiveness might be waning in February when flu season hits its peak. The one time I got the flu vaccine early I got the flu in February and was very sick for a couple of months. Doctor said I had made a mistake getting the flu vaccine the first of October. My doctor says really the best time to get the flu shot is around Thanksgiving but I never wait that late.

Yep, spouse & I have switched to getting the flu shot end of October.

 

[badatmath]

I have always heard get it by the end of October and not too early for fear it will wear off mid season. So I set my physicals for then and get it at the doctor and no messing around with a pharmacy. I have zero interest in making a pharmacy any more money.

 

[TrvlBug]

Does anyone know the recommended wait time between Covid boosters? DH and I got one at the end of June as he was going to an int'l conference mid-July. We'd like to get another Covid booster prior to our week long Vegas trip the last week in October. I've always heard 4 months between boosters and this would only give us barely 3.5 months between jabs. We would do the Covid and flu at the same time and the RSV when we get back.

 

[Sojourner]

Does anyone know the recommended wait time between Covid boosters? DH and I got one at the end of June as he was going to an int'l conference mid-July. We'd like to get another Covid booster prior to our week long Vegas trip the last week in October. I've always heard 4 months between boosters and this would only give us barely 3.5 months between jabs. We would do the Covid and flu at the same time and the RSV when we get back.

From what I've heard on various podcasts and other sources, 4 months is the recommendation, but it's my impression that this is primarily for reasons of effectiveness, not danger. IOW, there is no danger or harm in getting another booster sooner than 4 months from the last. It's just that the "too early" booster wouldn't be quite as effective as if you'd waited the full 4 months. My two cents, maybe someone else knows more about this...?

One other note: The booster you got in June was based on both the original Wuhan strain and the BA.4/BA.5 subvariants, none of which are still circulating and causing infections. This new booster is a monovalent dose targeting only the XBB strain, which is closely related to all currently circulating subvariants and quite different from the BA lineage, AFAIK. Personally, I would look at it almost like getting vaccinated against two different viruses altogether, kind of like getting two "flu shots", one for H1N1 and one for H3N2.

 

[RetMD21]

Well, depends on how fast the vaccine's effectiveness starts to wane and by how much. On the flip side, it also takes 2-3 weeks for antibodies to establish, so if you wait until there is widespread disease, then you may be too late.

Sure the important interval is time from vaccination to illness. Your previous post suggested that you thought that the concern was with less effectiveness over a month or two

Did your doctor elaborate as to why he wants to wait for the flu shot? The sequence is already locked in, so it is not like you stand to get a more up to date vaccine. Is the doc worried that potency might fall off after a month or two? I don't think that is realistically the case, but maybe? It is already end of September so we are only talking about a month. Perhaps not worth the argument, but I am curious about the rationale.

You want to be covered in March and October looks like a good time to be vaccinated. CDC now discourages vaccination in August for this reason.

 

[explanade]

Covid has infected and killed far more people than the flu has over a comparable period — 3-4 years — since the Spanish Flu pandemic.

Way more infectious and higher fatality rate. Currently 600 people a week die from Covid, which is way better than the 14,000 a week in 2021.

However, 600 a week would be 33k per year, assuming it doesn’t decline or spike from that rate.

That would be worse than a lot of flu seasons in the US.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1124915/flu-deaths-number-us/

Covid seems at least as great of a risk as the flu so it would be a curious decision to get the flu vaccine but not the Covid vaccine every year, which is what they’re aiming to do with this new one, make it annualized.

 

[wolf]

No more boosters for me. Have natural immunity.

 

[skyking1]

thanks all who have gathered up the latest info.

 

[Gumby]

I checked yesterday with both the pharmacies I frequent and both said they would have the new booster this coming week. It is the Moderna version.

 

[mystang52]

Just made an appointment for the new Covid Booster on 9/25 at CVS. I had the RSV vaccine last Saturday and pharmacist said to wait 2 weeks before I get the Covid booster. I will wait and get the flu vaccine toward the end of October. My doctor recommends that his patients wait to get flu shot until the end of October.

Did your doctor elaborate as to why he wants to wait for the flu shot? The sequence is already locked in, so it is not like you stand to get a more up to date vaccine. Is the doc worried that potency might fall off after a month or two? I don't think that is realistically the case, but maybe? It is already end of September so we are only talking about a month. Perhaps not worth the argument, but I am curious about the rationale.

I have always heard get it by the end of October and not too early for fear it will wear off mid season. So I set my physicals for then and get it at the doctor and no messing around with a pharmacy. I have zero interest in making a pharmacy any mo. re money.

I'm immunocompromised so (per my doctor as well) I will get RSV, flu, and the new COVID booster. 2 separate Aprils, a dozen years ago or so, I was in the ER with the flu despite having gotten the flu shot. After the 2nd time I then got my flu shot mid to late October. FWIW, my GP told me there was a recent study that suggested getting the flu shot and COVID booster at the same time, but I no longer remember his source for that.

 

[harllee]

I am not getting the flu shot and Covid shot at the same time. I am getting the Covid shot ASAP (next few days) and the flu shot at the end of October.

 

[Rianne]

I have checked yesterday with both the pharmacies I frequent and both said they would have the new booster this coming week. It is the Moderna version.

Here as well. CVS lets you make multiple vaccine appointments on different days, and at different times for the same vaccination. I did in case one CVS didn't have the vaccine available at one store. As soon as I find out which store has the vaccine, I'll cancel the other appointments.

We're going overseas in early Oct. I had the flu vaccine and will get the Covid vaccine next week. I want the RSV. Not sure how long I should wait and how long it takes for the RSV to kick in. MY BIL had RSV. It was terrible and he's younger than us. Coughing more than a month after diagnosed.

 

[Gumby]

Here as well. CVS lets you make multiple vaccine appointments on different days, and at different times for the same vaccination. I did in case one CVS didn't have the vaccine available at one store. As soon as I find out which store has the vaccine, I'll cancel the other appointments.

We're going overseas in early Oct. I had the flu vaccine and will get the Covid vaccine next week. I want the RSV. Not sure how long I should wait and how long it takes for the RSV to kick in. MY BIL had RSV. It was terrible and he's younger than us. Coughing more than a month after diagnosed.

We are travelling in late October to Greece, so I want to get vaccinated in time to build immunity for that trip.

 

[RetMD21]

.....Covid seems at least as great of a risk as the flu so it would be a curious decision to get the flu vaccine but not the Covid vaccine every year, which is what they’re aiming to do with this new one, make it annualized.

Its hard to understand. I'd also prefer not to have long Covid. I know some folks who have had major issues with it.

 

[audreyh1]

We are travelling in late October to Greece, so I want to get vaccinated in time to build immunity for that trip.

Same here - second half Oct Europe trip so want new vaccine 2 weeks before leaving.

 

[gromit]

Does anyone know the recommended wait time between Covid boosters? DH and I got one at the end of June as he was going to an int'l conference mid-July. We'd like to get another Covid booster prior to our week long Vegas trip the last week in October. I've always heard 4 months between boosters and this would only give us barely 3.5 months between jabs. We would do the Covid and flu at the same time and the RSV when we get back.

This week's press release from the CDC appears to recommend a Covid booster sooner than before.

"If you have not received a COVID-19 vaccine in the past 2 months, get an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect yourself this fall and winter."
​

I'm surprised that instead of a 5 or 6 month interval, it implies that if its been over 2 months this time you should consider going ahead with the new vaccine. I even wonder if I've read it out of context somehow or if this press release misstates what the CDC's guidance really is for booster timing. Does anyone know anything more about this? Maybe there's recognition that the new booster will combat the new variant better than the earlier bivalent booster? Here's the link to the entire CDC press release:

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/p0912-COVID-19-Vaccine.html

As for me, I'm 3.5 months from my last booster. In the last 2 months Covid hospitalizations have tripled, so I'm trying to be cautious in public settings etc. However, I'd still like to stick to my original plan of waiting until November 1st for the next booster, so that protection would still be pretty high during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 

[GenXguy]

Its hard to understand. I'd also prefer not to have long Covid. I know some folks who have had major issues with it.

Same here. Can't imagine NOT getting the COVID vaccination. Getting a flu shot and no COVID shot is a head scratcher. I went on Walgreens website, but it didn't provide a schedule for when I could get it unless I filled out other info, so I'll get back to it.

 

[bloom2708]

Same here. Can't imagine NOT getting the COVID vaccination. Getting a flu shot and no COVID shot is a head scratcher. I went on Walgreens website, but it didn't provide a schedule for when I could get it unless I filled out other info, so I'll get back to it.

Rational people understand that the Covid vaccine is the biggest medical experiment ever attempted. We are the trial in real time.

It might work out. It might be the opposite.

 

[badatmath]

One reason I might get the flu shot and not covid is laziness. I get a physical end of October and the doctor will have flu shots on site so I get one. They don't carry covid so it is a special trip to get it.

I will probably do it but not high risk or terribly concerned either. Also I am not around that many crowds to be likely to catch it. Virtually never eat out anymore since <non covid reasons>.

If I am invited to any holiday dinners they are generally outside since AZ winter is nice.

 

[Gumby]

Rational people understand that the Covid vaccine is the biggest medical experiment ever attempted. We are the trial in real time.

It might work out. It might be the opposite.

Repeating moderator advice from earlier in this thread. Posts have been deleted.

Mod Note: This thread is here for awareness for those who are interested in the new boosters. It is not here for personal posturing re covid or vaccines in general. If you aren't interested, the back button is your friend.

 

[badatmath]

CVS near me doesn't have vaccines showing yet. I mean I guess it depends how far you are willing to drive which for me is approximately zero since there is a cvs on every corner but still I am surprised. Didn't check walgreens or anything.

 

[harllee]

CVS near me doesn't have vaccines showing yet. I mean I guess it depends how far you are willing to drive which for me is approximately zero since there is a cvs on every corner but still I am surprised. Didn't check walgreens or anything.

Interesting--all the CVS stores near me have appointments for the new Covid booster