New Variant Vaccine

[Pellice]

Getting Pfizer bivalent on October 4. Had a strong reaction for about 8 hours with my second booster (headache, body aches, exhaustion - flat on couch that day), so I'm a bit apprehensive, and decided to get the flu shot towards the beginning of November rather than at the same time.

I have a short van birding trip scheduled in mid-November, so would like to have good protection by then.

So far, no covid for me, but compared to most, I'm half a recluse! My local government has just ended its daily updates on covid, so don't know what the status is. Seemed to be steady in the teens or low 20s daily, in a pool of about 68,000 people. About 25% have been reported to have covid, so numbers would be higher. This is in a highly vaccinated area.

 

[Calico]

Getting Pfizer bivalent on October 4. Had a strong reaction for about 8 hours with my second booster (headache, body aches, exhaustion - flat on couch that day), so I'm a bit apprehensive, and decided to get the flu shot towards the beginning of November rather than at the same time.

I have a short van birding trip scheduled in mid-November, so would like to have good protection by then.

So far, no covid for me, but compared to most, I'm half a recluse! My local government has just ended its daily updates on covid, so don't know what the status is. Seemed to be steady in the teens or low 20s daily, in a pool of about 68,000 people. About 25% have been reported to have covid, so numbers would be higher. This is in a highly vaccinated area.

We're twinning!

I'm getting my Pfizer bivalent at 12:00 on October 4th.

I'm also waiting to schedule the flu shot, because I can only have shots in one arm, and I don't want to have two shots at the same time, in case of side effects from either one.

 

[Dreamer]

DH and I got our Pfizer Bivalent on Friday. We had a small amount of arm pain, where we received the shot. Neither of us have any today. I don't remember if I had any yesterday. My DH said that he felt a little tired, but did not know if it was due to the shot or several new medications that he was put on after his heart attack

They asked us about getting our flu shot, but I told them that we would get that around the middle of October. She said that they are expecting a bad flu season this year. She said that part of the reason is due to people no longer masking. DH and I are still masking.

 

[MichaelB]

I got the Moderna updated booster shot on Thursday. No side effects from any of the previous shots or booster. This time I had a sore arm for for 2 days.

Where we live the wait for the booster is about 2 weeks and it’s mostly Pfizer. Where my daughter lives appointments are open for same day and all day tomorrow, with both vaccines available.

I’ll probably get a flu shot around the middle of the month.

 

[JoeWras]

We got the Bivalent Pfizer on Thursday, sore arm for 2 days for me, 1 day for DW.

Flu shot scheduled on the 10th.

Every time I read a quote from Alan regarding pain and health and see that avatar, I can't help but wonder if his sister (??) ever recovered from the choking.

 

[Alan]

Every time I read a quote from Alan regarding pain and health and see that avatar, I can't help but wonder if his sister (??) ever recovered from the choking.

She most certainly did

 

[Alan]

Every time I read a quote from Alan regarding pain and health and see that avatar, I can't help but wonder if his sister (??) ever recovered from the choking.

It was a family wedding photograph that I was larking about in. I whispered to her, “pretend I’m choking you”. She was a good sport then and is still a good sport today some 60 years later.

 

[MarieIG]

It was a family wedding photograph that I was larking about in. I whispered to her, “pretend I’m choking you”. She was a good sport then and is still a good sport today some 60 years later.

I love it!

 

[Ian S]

DH and I got both flu and Pfizer covid booster shots today. I'm ten days post cataract surgery and feeling some significant dry eye in the operated eye - treating with OTC artificial tears. Halfway through the post surgery prescription drops. Second eye is scheduled for later this month. This evening, I'm feeling tired but no arm discomfort yet. We'll see what tomorrow brings. DH reports no side effects so far.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I got a double whammy. Got my flu shot and bivalent Covid booster (Moderna by choice). 4 hours later I find out I have Covid. I tested negative 4 hours before the vaccine, but felt crummy this evening. DH has Covid (tested this AM) but multiple sources and common sense said it’s ok to get the vaccine if exposed. It’s not going to be a fun week.

I’ll get on Paxlovid tomorrow.

 

[RobbieB]

Got the flu in one arm and the covid in the other. Both arms hurt for a few days, flu worse than covid.

Woo-hoo, get your seasonal flu and covid shots every fall!

 

[Alan]

I got a double whammy. Got my flu shot and bivalent Covid booster (Moderna by choice). 4 hours later I find out I have Covid. I tested negative 4 hours before the vaccine, but felt crummy this evening. DH has Covid (tested this AM) but multiple sources and common sense said it’s ok to get the vaccine if exposed. It’s not going to be a fun week.

I’ll get on Paxlovid tomorrow.

That is such a bummer, hope you feel better soon.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I felt crummy when I went to bed. This early morning-note, I always wake up early-it feel a bit like a mild cold. No fever, no aches. Given that every Covid vaccine dose made me feverish, tired, and achy, this is fine.

My theory is the booster will jump start my immune system and I’ll get over it pretty fast.

I’m sad I’ll be missing a band concert this Saturday, though.

 

[mickj]

“Ah, but a closer look reveals that the FDA announcement was referring to the bivalent booster with mRNA for the original and for Omicron BA.1 spikes proteins, not the BA.4 and BA.5 spike proteins. So the bivalent boosters tested in these human studies were not exactly the same as the bivalent ones being administered now in clinics, pharmacies, and other vaccination sites throughout the country. No, if you want human clinical trial data specifically on the bivalent BA.4/5 booster, you’re gonna have to wait a little while.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucel...9-vaccine-boosters-been-tested-on-humans/amp/

 

[Rianne]

“Ah, but a closer look reveals that the FDA announcement was referring to the bivalent booster with mRNA for the original and for Omicron BA.1 spikes proteins, not the BA.4 and BA.5 spike proteins. So the bivalent boosters tested in these human studies were not exactly the same as the bivalent ones being administered now in clinics, pharmacies, and other vaccination sites throughout the country. No, if you want human clinical trial data specifically on the bivalent BA.4/5 booster, you’re gonna have to wait a little while.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucel...9-vaccine-boosters-been-tested-on-humans/amp/

At least it was free. Nothing like being a human guinea pig, or mouse. After all, there are many times we don't discover the side effects or efficacy of meds for years. That's when they put a screeching halt to prescribing. We don't even know the true long-term effects of the first vaccine.

 

[EastWest Gal]

The different mRNA vaccines vary in the exact base pairs in the mRNA molecule, based on the new variants. Since the vaccine design is the same-local cells making spike protein only which induces an immune response, surprise side effects are highly unlikely.

 

[Turbo29]

Surprises happen in biology/medicine all of the time.

 

[Gumby]

MODERATOR NOTE: If you don't want to get the new vaccine, then don't. If you do want it, then do. But there's no need to sell anyone else on your position, so please stop it.

 

[Sunset]

Got an appointment at Walgreens for this year's flu shot. I think this is 22 years in a row of taking the flu vaccine. They asked about a Covid booster, but I declined. I am really on the fence about skipping this round of bivalent Covid booster, for 2 reasons. I had a mild case of Covid (three positive tests), back in May. I also had pretty bad systemic effects from my second shot and also booster (Moderna), that were subjectively worse than my actual case of Covid. I imagine that the vaccinations played a big part in the mildness of my first actual Covid bout, but I'm wondering if I might be better off going with my natural immunity going forward. I really don't want to spend another whole night in the shower under hot water because I'm shivering uncontrollably, which was my experience with the original Moderna jabs.

We found the phizer vaccine had no adverse effect, the Moderna one made us feel sick for a day or two.
I'm hoping it means it worked harder for us.
We need to go get our 5th shot someday, but the sense of urgency is less, as we had the 4th shot just a three months ago.

 

[ivinsfan]

I felt crummy when I went to bed. This early morning-note, I always wake up early-it feel a bit like a mild cold. No fever, no aches. Given that every Covid vaccine dose made me feverish, tired, and achy, this is fine.

My theory is the booster will jump start my immune system and I’ll get over it pretty fast.

I’m sad I’ll be missing a band concert this Saturday, though.

Did you decide to get the Plaxlovid or do you think the booster will be enough.

 

[Sunset]

I got a double whammy. Got my flu shot and bivalent Covid booster (Moderna by choice). 4 hours later I find out I have Covid. I tested negative 4 hours before the vaccine, but felt crummy this evening. DH has Covid (tested this AM) but multiple sources and common sense said it’s ok to get the vaccine if exposed. It’s not going to be a fun week.

I’ll get on Paxlovid tomorrow.

I doubt it has been studied, as it's probably rare to get the vaccine and then realize you have covid, but I wonder if the Paxlovid will negate the effects of the vaccine shot to some degree ?

Of course, in your situation, I'd take the Paxlovid, to fight the Covid, as a person can always get another vaccine shot later.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I doubt it has been studied, as it's probably rare to get the vaccine and then realize you have covid, but I wonder if the Paxlovid will negate the effects of the vaccine shot to some degree ?



Of course, in your situation, I'd take the Paxlovid, to fight the Covid, as a person can always get another vaccine shot later.

I don’t think it will affect it at all. Viruses reproduce by hijacking host cells into making more virus.

One ingredient in Paxlovid is a Covid protease inhibitor called nirmatrelvir. This inhibits a viral protein from processing viral protein molecules, thus preventing viral replication. The other ingredient, rotonivir, keeps the levels of nirmatrlvir high so it can do its thing.

The mRNA vaccine causes local cells to produce only spike protein, triggering an immune response to spike protein, which is the protein that attaches to our cells. The spike protein is a tiny portion of the virus, and will be entirely unaffected by the Paxlovid.

Since these two mechanisms are completely unrelated, I’m confident the efficacy of my vaccine will be unchanged.

Thanks for asking the question. I researched the mechanism of action of Paxlovid to answer it, which elevated my confidence in the vaccine.

 

[Pellice]

I got my Pfizer bivalent booster yesterday. So far, less of a reaction than I had to the second booster. Getting flu shot in about 3 weeks.

 

[tuckeverlasting]

Reported on my local news this morning, flu season this year is expected to be worse than the last couple years, based on the Australian season so far which is ahead of ours. They also speculated flu may have been less prevalent recently due to covid precautions.

I had a high dose flu shot and the bivalent Moderna vaccine together last month, one in each arm. I don't ever feel sick from the flu shot but as expected I felt really awful due to the Moderna shot, for less than 24 hrs. Kind of like the flu I guess but it was over quickly--and worth it.

Not entirely thrilled about inexperienced pharmacy techs giving shots incorrectly. Not hard to give a shot but both mine this time were way too high on the arm--too close to the shoulder. This can cause permanent pain and damage. I have a bad shoulder joint on one side and this shot did it no favors. In future I will politely caution "provider" to be sure not to aim too high.

 

[Telly]

......... Not entirely thrilled about inexperienced pharmacy techs giving shots incorrectly. Not hard to give a shot but both mine this time were way too high on the arm--too close to the shoulder. This can cause permanent pain and damage. I have a bad shoulder joint on one side and this shot did it no favors. In future I will politely caution "provider" to be sure not to aim too high.

That doesn't sound good! I prefer pharmacies around here to give any shots needed. The pharmacist is the person who gives the shots, and the different locations I have gone to, some in the same chain, some not, have all been excellent.

At PCP's, not so much, not sure what their qualifications are, some I would question any real medical training. At one I quickly decided NOT to get a shot, as the person was really dithery, seemed just existing was drawing on all her brainpower, and she was the "nurse". And she tried over and over to log into the PC in the room, and this was a real small practice. I wondered by her actions when I was there about dementia. Never know in advance WHO is going to do the jabbing! So it's pharmacies for me, but of course, conditions are local!