# Vaccine Booster



## Eric

Wanted to have a separate thread for this to get feedback on the booster for those who have received it, were the side effects the same, anything else to report? Looks like we're a couple of weeks out but I won't be eligible until December.


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## Alli

My arm was sore after the booster, and unlike with the first two jabs I could feel the injection site. Beyond that, nada. #TeamPfizer


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## Clix Pix

I'm not due for a booster until November, and presumably by then Moderna will have been officially approved and boosters made available for those of us who had the original injections of Moderna vaccine.  I'm a little leery of having a different vaccine as a booster,  would rather stick with what I had the first two jabs.


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## Alli

Clix Pix said:


> I'm not due for a booster until November, and presumably by then Moderna will have been officially approved and boosters made available for those of us who had the original injections of Moderna vaccine.  I'm a little leery of having a different vaccine as a booster,  would rather stick with what I had the first two jabs.



So far all the recommendations are to get the booster of the same brand as your original two.


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## Joe

Mine isn't due until the end of October.


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## JamesMike

The Pfizer booster is approved for eligible people now.


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## shadow puppet

I had my 3rd jab 9/20.  Same as my previous ones:  Moderna.  Side effects included wanting some extra naps and the usual sore arm.  No biggy.


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## shadow puppet

Alli said:


> ... and unlike with the first two jabs I could feel the injection site. Beyond that, nada. #TeamPfizer



I could also feel the injection site.  Plus the medicine as it went in which I don't recall happening the first 2 jabs.  Forgot to mention in my previous reply, the injection site was a bit itchy a couple days after but no rash or anything.


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## Roller

I got my third Pfizer shot a few weeks ago. Had fever and weakness for a couple days, but less than for my second dose.


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## Alli

Roller said:


> I got my third Pfizer shot a few weeks ago. Had fever and weakness for a couple days, but less than for my second dose.



It’s amazing how people react differently to the same thing. In that respect the Covid vaccine is no different than the flu vaccine. I know people who have been laid out for days after a flu vaccine. Neither bothered me in the slightest.


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## Roller

Alli said:


> It’s amazing how people react differently to the same thing. In that respect the Covid vaccine is no different than the flu vaccine. I know people who have been laid out for days after a flu vaccine. Neither bothered me in the slightest.



Yes, this reflects individual differences in immune systems. However, the severity of reaction symptoms doesn't correlate with the degree of protection conferred, which is clearly comforting.


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## Runs For Fun

Wish they would just make it available to all. I don’t fall into the eligible group but I’ll sure as hell take a booster.


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## Eric

Runs For Fun said:


> Wish they would just make it available to all. I don’t fall into the eligible group but I’ll sure as hell take a booster.



I have some health issues and was contacted by Kaiser to come in early for the first shot, wondering if that will happen this time as well. I'm still not quite 6 months out though.


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## shadow puppet

Eric said:


> I'm still not quite 6 months out though.



I was contacted by UCLA Health.  My 3rd jab was roughly 4.5 months following my 2nd.  So if you meet the current list of who should get a 3rd vaccine (in my case immunosuppressed), you don't have to wait 6 months.


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## Eric

shadow puppet said:


> I was contacted by UCLA Health.  My 3rd jab was roughly 4.5 months following my 2nd.  So if you meet the current list of who should get a 3rd vaccine (in my case immunosuppressed), you don't have to wait 6 months.



Good to know.


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## Roller

Runs For Fun said:


> Wish they would just make it available to all. I don’t fall into the eligible group but I’ll sure as hell take a booster.



Practically, the third Pfizer/BioNtech shot is available to all adults, since the most one may need is self attestation of eligibility. One of the criteria is working in a setting that puts you at increased risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, which is not a high bar, especially in areas with high prevalence. Besides, nobody is going to check these forms, and some providers may not even request them.

However, it doesn't make much sense to get a third dose before approximately six months, since the level of immunity from the initial two doses is probably still high. In that circumstance, the shot may largely be wasted, and there are still many people who haven't been vaccinated at all.

Vaccination alone won't get us out of this pandemic, though. In addition to high uptake (unlikely in the US because of the anti-vax community), we'll need common sense measures like masking and especially testing. The latter is in a sorry state, especially compared to Europe, where tests are plentiful and cheap or cost-free. Part of the problem is the way the FDA regulates COVID-19 tests as medical devices.


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## Runs For Fun

Roller said:


> Practically, the third Pfizer/BioNtech shot is available to all adults, since the most one may need is self attestation of eligibility. One of the criteria is working in a setting that puts you at increased risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, which is not a high bar, especially in areas with high prevalence. Besides, nobody is going to check these forms, and some providers may not even request them.



Yeah this is what I've heard. I'll most likely try to get one around my 6 month mark from my second dose.


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## shadow puppet

Roller said:


> However, it doesn't make much sense to get a third dose before approximately six months, since the level of immunity from the initial two doses is probably still high. In that circumstance, the shot may largely be wasted, and there are still many people who haven't been vaccinated at all.



As mentioned above, I had my 3rd jab ahead of the 6 month mark.  Both my Cardiologist & Rheumatologist felt strongly I should do so.  Being immunosuppressed in combination with other health issues, I'm grateful.


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## bunnspecial

My second was March 25th and I do work in education(plus have ashma) so...yesterday as soon as I heard I scheduled with Wal-Greens and I'm going this afternoon. I'll report back...


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## Cmaier

Made an appointment for mine at the end of october, a couple days after I’m eligible. Looking forward to it.  My sister is a long-haul covid sufferer (she got it back in march 2020), so I’m thinking I have weak genes


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## Alli

Cmaier said:


> Made an appointment for mine at the end of october, a couple days after I’m eligible. Looking forward to it.  My sister is a long-haul covid sufferer (she got it back in march 2020), so I’m thinking I have weak genes



What kind of side effects is she still suffering?


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## Cmaier

Alli said:


> What kind of side effects is she still suffering?



Swollen ankles, lethargy (some days she can’t get out of bed), bouts of very high heart rate, stuff like that.  She’s had to go to the hospital a few times due to the heart rate issue, and they’re talking about putting in a pacemaker for irregular heartbeat issues.  She’s 50, but a couple years back she ran a marathon, so she was in good shape before covid hit.  (When she got it, she had only minor symptoms, and she only discovered it was covid months later when they did some testing because of some of these other symptoms).


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## bunnspecial

All in all a pretty straight forward experience at Wal-Greens today. 

They took my information, vaccine card and insurance card and had me fill out the standard vaccine information plus a sheet certifying that I was in an eligible category for a booster. 

This store was fairly busy and they said they had been since the word came down about boosters on Friday. It took them about 30 minutes to get around to me. I was the last shot out of that particular vial, and I heard them discussing that they had enough more appointments scheduled for today to go ahead and open and draw out another vial. It seems that they're definitely being used and not going to waste, which I'm glad of. We have such a vaccine excess around here that to me it's nearly a crime to waste it when people in some parts of the world are scampering for even one dose. 

At least one person ahead of me for a COVID shot I heard say "second shot" and looked to be college aged. From what I'm seeing in my own students and hearing around, a lot of reluctant people are getting vaccinated in light of the governor's "vaccine or test" mandate for education(among other groups) so that they don't have to have a stick shoved up their nose every week.

I also got a flu shot while I was there. It just made sense to get it out of the way. 

Overall a painless-figuratively and for now literally-experience(okay, it stung a bit, but not as much as the flu shot). We'll see what tomorrow brings. Fortunately I'm giving an exam tomorrow and Tuesday, so if I'm feeling draggy it's not a huge deal.


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## Roller

Cmaier said:


> Swollen ankles, lethargy (some days she can’t get out of bed), bouts of very high heart rate, stuff like that.  She’s had to go to the hospital a few times due to the heart rate issue, and they’re talking about putting in a pacemaker for irregular heartbeat issues.  She’s 50, but a couple years back she ran a marathon, so she was in good shape before covid hit.  (When she got it, she had only minor symptoms, and she only discovered it was covid months later when they did some testing because of some of these other symptoms).



I hope your sister's Long-COVID symptoms resolve or at least can be well-controlled. The range of manifestations speaks to the many ways SARS-CoV-2 affects organ systems, but there is much we still don't know about the mechanisms. Sadly, the possibility of significant lingering symptoms is ignored or minimized by the "but it has a 99% survival rate!" crowd. Even if the pandemic eventually wanes considerably, the added burden of caring for patients with Long COVID will be with us for many decades.


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## Cmaier

Roller said:


> I hope your sister's Long-COVID symptoms resolve or at least can be well-controlled. The range of manifestations speaks to the many ways SARS-CoV-2 affects organ systems, but there is much we still don't know about the mechanisms. Sadly, the possibility of significant lingering symptoms is ignored or minimized by the "but it has a 99% survival rate!" crowd. Even if the pandemic eventually wanes considerably, the added burden of caring for patients with Long COVID will be with us for many decades.



I’m also concerned that it seems to be ignored by public health agencies. When the FDA and CDC panels were deciding on whether to allow boosters, the argument against seemed to be “it will make no difference in deaths” with a smidgen of “it will make little difference in hospitalizations.”  And I’m thinking “yeah, but even if I don’t end up in the hospital, why should I be forced to risk spending a week in bed with symptoms twice as bad as the flu and the possibility that a year later I won’t be able to climb a flight of stairs, when there seems to be plenty of vaccine to go around and there is essentially 0 risk due to taking the vaccine.”


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## bunnspecial

Cmaier said:


> I’m also concerned that it seems to be ignored by public health agencies. When the FDA and CDC panels were deciding on whether to allow boosters, the argument against seemed to be “it will make no difference in deaths” with a smidgen of “it will make little difference in hospitalizations.”  And I’m thinking “yeah, but even if I don’t end up in the hospital, why should I be forced to risk spending a week in bed with symptoms twice as bad as the flu and the possibility that a year later I won’t be able to climb a flight of stairs, when there seems to be plenty of vaccine to go around and there is essentially 0 risk due to taking the vaccine.”




I certainly hope your sister improves in the long run. Long COVID is scary stuff. 

Just last week, I was reading a post on Facebook from a girl I went to high school with. She's a year or two younger than me, and got COVID last summer(as a daycare worker, so an essential worker, and presumably at work). In the interim too she's also lost her dad to COVID, and has been traveling back and forth from Kentucky to Utah(where she now lives) a lot. 

I hadn't realized that she had long COVID, but her post last week was basically how about a year and a half ago, she wouldn't have thought twice about running from terminal to terminal to catch a connection. Now, in her early 30s, she's embarassed to have to use a wheelchair escort at the airport, and has missed flights because they are short staffed(like everyone else). She also posted a picture of herself-the first I'd seen her post since she was sick(not that I follow Facebook to the second and didn't go digging to see if she's posted more) and she easily looks to have aged 20 years in the last year. 

Scary, nasty stuff, and no one should have to go through it now that we have an easy way to avoid it.


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## bunnspecial

One day later and I'm feeling fine other than my arm being a little sore. 

This one didn't seem to affect me as much as the second shot, which I hope isn't a bad sign...


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## Thomas Veil

I could get the booster in October, but I'm going to have to balance it with getting the standard flu shot (which I could postpone) and my second Shingrix shot (which I can't). Gonna have to talk to my doctor about how these need to be spaced out.


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## Eric

bunnspecial said:


> One day later and I'm feeling fine other than my arm being a little sore.
> 
> This one didn't seem to affect me as much as the second shot, which I hope isn't a bad sign...



Glad to hear that, the second one was definitely bad for me even though the effects didn't last too long. Hoping for a better experience with that booster. Anecdotally, I wonder if the fact that you're already pretty well protected made it milder this time.


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## bunnspecial

Eric said:


> Glad to hear that, the second one was definitely bad for me even though the effects didn't last too long. Hoping for a better experience with that booster. Anecdotally, I wonder if the fact that you're already pretty well protected made it milder this time.



Thanks! 

Unfortunately I think I may have spoken a bit too soon. 

I made it through work today fine, but I started feeling super dragging around the time I got home(which would be a little over 24h since getting it) and I have a pretty rough headache now. Also running a mild fever now, but nothing really to worry about. 

I got the 2nd on a Thursday and don't normally "work" on Fridays(complicated explanation, but basically as long as I'm checking my email a few times a day I'm good) and I think I intentionally took it easy then. The scheduling it on a Thursday wasn't an accident either. 

Maybe it's just getting it+going in and putting in a moderately busy day of work that's doing it this time. 

Whatever the case, it beats the heck out of COVID. 

I think I've mentioned this elsewhere, but for education and several other fields the governor of Illinois put in vaccine or weekly test mandate. I wish my students would just get the flipping vaccine, especially since most of them are going into healthcare(my classes are about 80% pre-nursing and 15% dental hygiene). Aside from having to deal with them out sick, I've had way too many late and completely miss class because they're getting a test. It's on them as my direct boss, one of the deans, is also overseeing the testing program and she claims that there's a huge amount of testing capacity and few enough being done(on campus) that they can take walk-ins essentially any time, not to mention that they can book an appointment even day of. That's a different issue, though. 

Further to that, though, I had one student who I helped transition from my full in-person class to the web-blended(which meets in person once a month for labs). This student also didn't want weekly tests. When I was figuring out how to navigate it, the dean told me "Tell her to get the G-D vaccine".


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## Eric

bunnspecial said:


> Thanks!
> 
> Unfortunately I think I may have spoken a bit too soon.
> 
> I made it through work today fine, but I started feeling super dragging around the time I got home(which would be a little over 24h since getting it) and I have a pretty rough headache now. Also running a mild fever now, but nothing really to worry about.
> 
> I got the 2nd on a Thursday and don't normally "work" on Fridays(complicated explanation, but basically as long as I'm checking my email a few times a day I'm good) and I think I intentionally took it easy then. The scheduling it on a Thursday wasn't an accident either.
> 
> Maybe it's just getting it+going in and putting in a moderately busy day of work that's doing it this time.
> 
> Whatever the case, it beats the heck out of COVID.
> 
> I think I've mentioned this elsewhere, but for education and several other fields the governor of Illinois put in vaccine or weekly test mandate. I wish my students would just get the flipping vaccine, especially since most of them are going into healthcare(my classes are about 80% pre-nursing and 15% dental hygiene). Aside from having to deal with them out sick, I've had way too many late and completely miss class because they're getting a test. It's on them as my direct boss, one of the deans, is also overseeing the testing program and she claims that there's a huge amount of testing capacity and few enough being done(on campus) that they can take walk-ins essentially any time, not to mention that they can book an appointment even day of. That's a different issue, though.
> 
> Further to that, though, I had one student who I helped transition from my full in-person class to the web-blended(which meets in person once a month for labs). This student also didn't want weekly tests. When I was figuring out how to navigate it, the dean told me "Tell her to get the G-D vaccine".



Sorry to hear that, sounds like it snuck up on you. I have heard others say it's a lot like the second dose, I'll definitely plan the timing accordingly and thanks for sharing your experience.


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## bunnspecial

Eric said:


> Sorry to hear that, sounds like it snuck up on you. I have heard others say it's a lot like the second dose, I'll definitely plan the timing accordingly and thanks for sharing your experience.




So far feeling fine this morning, so hopefully that was the end of it. Honestly too a dose of tylenol helped last night.(not sure if they're still saying avoid Ibuprofen, but I did just in case)  With a good night's sleep I feel ready to go today, so there again nothing to be concerned about. 

And there again, this beats the heck out of COVID.


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## Alli

Thomas Veil said:


> I could get the booster in October, but I'm going to have to balance it with getting the standard flu shot (which I could postpone) and my second Shingrix shot (which I can't). Gonna have to talk to my doctor about how these need to be spaced out.



After getting my booster I asked about waiting for the flu shot and was told I could get it that afternoon if I wanted. Waited a week just in case.


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## Eric

Alli said:


> After getting my booster I asked about waiting for the flu shot and was told I could get it that afternoon if I wanted. Waited a week just in case.



Smart. I tend to get side effects from the flu shot and I definitely got them with the second dose of the COVID vaccine, common sense for me would be to at least wait a week between them.


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## shadow puppet

Alli said:


> After getting my booster I asked about waiting for the flu shot and was told I could get it that afternoon if I wanted. Waited a week just in case.



I got my flu shot on 9/11 after the pharmacist said it wouldn't be any problem to get my Covid booster on 9/20.  The nurse administering my booster said the same.


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## Joe

We have healthcare professionals coming to my job on October 21st to give boosters to those eligible and want them. I signed up.


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## Eric

JagRunner said:


> We have healthcare professionals coming to my job on October 21st to give boosters to those eligible and want them. I signed up.



I was called in early for my first doses way back when because of a pre-existing condition but haven't heard from them about the booster, I'm sure I qualify though so maybe I need to reach out to them this time.


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## Alli

Eric said:


> I was called in early for my first doses way back when because of a pre-existing condition but haven't heard from them about the booster, I'm sure I qualify though so maybe I need to reach out to them this time.



It couldn’t hurt.


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## Hrafn

Go Vaccine!  Go, Go Vaccine!

Is that the wrong kind of booster?

We're not eligible for a while, yet.  Sadly.


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## ronntaylor

We get our boosters this coming Tuesday in Virgina. My NYC doc said that I didn't have to wait till my next quarterly appointment in three weeks, and it's no hassle getting it since so many don't want any vaccine in our county down South.


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## Eric

ronntaylor said:


> We get our boosters this coming Tuesday in Virgina. My NYC doc said that I didn't have to wait till my next quarterly appointment in three weeks, and it's no hassle getting it since so many don't want any vaccine in our county down South.



I am now able to schedule mine as well but the dates are limited, I really want to do it on a Friday so I can have the weekend in case have the same side effects I did after my second does. Don't want to be working when feeling that bad, even though it's short lived.


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## Renzatic

Quick question. I just bit my lip, and my blood tasted exactly like copper. Does this mean I'm suffering from heavy metal poisoning brought about by a totalitarian vaccine regiment I was forced into against my will as a child, or is it something else?


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## Eric

Renzatic said:


> Quick question. I just bit my lip, and my blood tasted exactly like copper. Does this mean I'm suffering from heavy metal poisoning brought about by a totalitarian vaccine regiment I was forced into against my will as a child, or is it something else?



According to Soccermom87234 in the scientifically based FB group FkYouandYourVaccines there is an herbal cocktail you can take, it does consist of some standard household chemicals but it's okay because you can buy it all over the counter.


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## Renzatic

Eric said:


> According to Soccermom87234 in the scientifically based FB group FkYouandYourVaccines there is an herbal cocktail you can take, it does consist of some standard household chemicals but it's okay because you can buy it all over the counter.




I'm perfectly fine with drinking Pine Sol because it has holistic, all natural ingredients.


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## lizkat

Renzatic said:


> I'm perfectly fine with drinking Pine Sol because it has holistic, all natural ingredients.




Imma let the pine trees waft their fragrance from above, thank you very much...

Meanwhile as I have a little while to wait yet for my own booster,  I favor a nice mixture of rice vinegar, soy sauce, a few drops of sesame oil plus a healthy dash of red pepper flake.... over the forbidden white rice, of course.   And some green tea.


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## Weaselbot

Eric said:


> According to Soccermom87234 in the scientifically based FB group FkYouandYourVaccines there is an herbal cocktail you can take, it does consist of some standard household chemicals but it's okay because you can buy it all over the counter.



I would like to know more so I can share this recipe at another site.


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## DT

Weaselbot said:


> I would like to know more so I can share this recipe at another site.




You and Ma will be happy to know it uses rectal administration - sounds like a fun Friday night for the standing Mod Party ...


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## bunnspecial

My wife got hers on Monday(she's a nurse, and had her first shot in January). 

She felt pretty crummy Tuesday, but was fine other than a sore arm Wednesday. Actually two sore arms since she got the flu shot at the same time and the person giving it insisted they had to be in separate arms. 

BTW, my wife mentioned to me too-since there are so many injections being given now-that there is a proper location for IM injections. What she was taught in nursing school was to find the bottom of your shoulder joint, go two fingers down, and give the shot at the bottom of there. My COVID booster and flu, which BTW were right next to each other, were given in that general area. Both of hers were way up in the shoulder, and she thinks that's why both were so sore for a couple of days. Little side note, but it seems sloppy technique is kind of common now(I had a different vaccine back in August that was given way up in my shoulder, and yes it was sore for a couple of days). 

A few others-my parents had boosters at the end of last week. My dad had COVID in December, and just like his first two shots, the 3rd knocked him for a loop and made him genuinely sick(fever and the works) for a few days. He's said he'll keep getting boosters as long as they think we need them, but he's not looking forward to having any more and hopes this is the end for a while. 

Last one-my grandfather-in-law, who is fully vaccinated as of March or so but hasn't had a booster, was feeling bad first of the week, went in, and tested positive on a rapid screen. They said vaccinated individuals sometimes do test positive on rapid, but he was showing symptoms so they didn't send one off. He most certainly has it-he hasn't had much more than a mild cold, but has been grumpy that nothing, not even his evening beer or glass of wine, tastes right.


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## User.45

I'm eligible for the booster, but I'm holding off for for a few more weeks. I'd prefer to get a Moderna shot. 
To me it all fell in line with the Flu shot, I'll wait for a Friday of a weekend without plans late October.


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## Eric

P_X said:


> I'm eligible for the booster, but I'm holding off for for a few more weeks. I'd prefer to get a Moderna shot.
> To me it all fell in line with the Flu shot, I'll wait for a Friday of a weekend without plans late October.



Were your first two Moderna also?


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## User.45

Eric said:


> Were your first two Moderna also?



Pfizer. Not sure if mix-n-match will be allowed, but my wife got Moderna and AFAIK she's eligible for a pfizer booster too. Neither of us were too excited about the specifics. Our household's primary risk is the kids who are ineligible to get the shot.


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## Alli

P_X said:


> Our household's primary risk is the kids who are ineligible to get the shot.



Let’s hope they come through and approve it for the 5-12 category soon.


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## User.45

Alli said:


> Let’s hope they come through and approve it for the 5-12 category soon.



They will but my kids fall below that… they might become eligible, but that’s probably end of the year if we are lucky. 

My concern is that ALL people i interact with are fully vaccinated. So a transient interaction in the hallway or a hike with friends will not give me breakthrough COVID (we are mandated to use a faceshield and  a mask for patient interactions; the shield is supposed to prevent the mask from getting contaminated, so we don’t have to trash them between each patient interaction). What would be a much higher risk for us is the kids getting it in school, produce high viral copy numbers and bombard us for days. Now that’s the real stress test of immunity and pretty feasible. 

So the booster would let’s say give me 15-20% additional efficacy. A toddler vaccine would eliminate the only major point of entry for COVID in my household.


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## thekev

Cmaier said:


> Swollen ankles, lethargy (some days she can’t get out of bed), bouts of very high heart rate, stuff like that.  She’s had to go to the hospital a few times due to the heart rate issue, and they’re talking about putting in a pacemaker for irregular heartbeat issues.  She’s 50, but a couple years back she ran a marathon, so she was in good shape before covid hit.  (When she got it, she had only minor symptoms, and she only discovered it was covid months later when they did some testing because of some of these other symptoms).




(Note: I am not a medical professional)

Some of those symptoms can be associated with things other than covid. I'm going for a booster too, once it's recommended for me. While it sometimes takes very long term studies to reveal potential problems with some vaccines, covid is bad enough that I prefer to minimize the risk of contracting or spreading it.


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## Eric

P_X said:


> Pfizer. Not sure if mix-n-match will be allowed, but my wife got Moderna and AFAIK she's eligible for a pfizer booster too. Neither of us were too excited about the specifics. Our household's primary risk is the kids who are ineligible to get the shot.



You called it.









						'Mix and match' Covid vaccine boosters are effective, NIH study finds
					

The research will be presented Friday to the Food and Drug Administration's advisory committee as it reviews data about Moderna and J&J booster shots.




					www.nbcnews.com


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## User.45

Eric said:


> You called it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 'Mix and match' Covid vaccine boosters are effective, NIH study finds
> 
> 
> The research will be presented Friday to the Food and Drug Administration's advisory committee as it reviews data about Moderna and J&J booster shots.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.nbcnews.com



Yes it's logical, sorta like when you add your fingerprint to touch ID and do it from different angles. But the more variations the noisier the data and the USA has been somewhat rigid about this. Other countries started with mix-n-match in August. One of the big issues is that we still don't have a validated biomarker for COVID immunity, the regular antibodies only tell half of the story. If we had a good reliable biomarker, we wouldn't need vaccine mandates, just proof of immunity from the past X months. I suspect that's gonna be the way things will go. But this biomarker research is disappointigly slow.


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## Clix Pix

I don't care if they do say "mix and match" is OK, I am still going to wait for Moderna and its booster.


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## Joe

Clix Pix said:


> I don't care if they do say "mix and match" is OK, I am still going to wait for Moderna and its booster.




Do you know when that will be available?


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## Eric

JagRunner said:


> Do you know when that will be available?



I got my Pfizer booster this morning and heard the nurses talking to other patients about it while I was in my 15 minute post-vaccine waiting period. They said they thought it was going to happen by tomorrow but weren't really certain, however, they also told people "if you want to put down that you are immunocompromised we'll give you Pfizer today" (they originally had Moderna), so there appears to be some exceptions, at least with Kaiser.


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## Joe

Eric said:


> I got my Pfizer booster this morning and heard the nurses talking to other patients about it while I was in my 15 minute post-vaccine waiting period. They said they thought it was going to happen by tomorrow but weren't really certain, however, they also told people "if you want to put down that you are immunocompromised we'll give you Pfizer today" (they originally had Moderna), so there appears to be some exceptions, at least with Kaiser.




Yeah, I'm getting my Pfizer booster next week, but I know a few people that got Moderna so I was just curious when those would be available.

thanks


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## Clix Pix

I am hoping that it will be soon -- I believe today and tomorrow is when the committee or whatever it is discusses and then makes a decision on approval or not, and then it probably would be announced and go into effect some time next week.   I saw that info in an article in _The Washington Post. _


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## Runs For Fun

I won't be 6 months out until around December. I'm hoping that maybe Moderna would have an approved booster by then. I got Pfizer but I'm hearing lots of studies that Moderna has been the superior vaccine. If not I'd still take a 3rd Pfizer. Better than nothing! I'm technically not included in the eligible group so I'd have to lie a bit unless that changes by then, but from what I've heard it's all pretty much self-attestation. No one is verifying anything.

I think it's kind of weird there's been so much hesitancy with boosters when other countries have been doing it and there's some pretty good data from Israel on a third dose.


----------



## Eric

Runs For Fun said:


> I won't be 6 months out until around December. I'm hoping that maybe Moderna would have an approved booster by then. I got Pfizer but I'm hearing lots of studies that Moderna has been the superior vaccine. If not I'd still take a 3rd Pfizer. Better than nothing! I'm technically not included in the eligible group so I'd have to lie a bit unless that changes by then, but from what I've heard it's all pretty much self-attestation. No one is verifying anything.
> 
> I think it's kind of weird there's been so much hesitancy with boosters when other countries have been doing it and there's some pretty good data from Israel on a third dose.



According to studies in Israel, the Pfizer booster is up to 95%. It sounds like both will offer a great deal of protection though.


----------



## Joe

I'm getting my Pfizer booster next week at work.


----------



## User.45

Clix Pix said:


> I don't care if they do say "mix and match" is OK, I am still going to wait for Moderna and its booster.





Eric said:


> I got my Pfizer booster this morning and heard the nurses talking to other patients about it while I was in my 15 minute post-vaccine waiting period. They said they thought it was going to happen by tomorrow but weren't really certain, however, they also told people "if you want to put down that you are immunocompromised we'll give you Pfizer today" (they originally had Moderna), so there appears to be some exceptions, at least with Kaiser.











						FDA vaccine advisers recommend emergency use authorization for booster dose of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine
					

FDA vaccine advisers t voted unanimously Thursday to recommend emergency use authorization of a booster dose of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine.




					www.cnn.com


----------



## ronntaylor

We got our Pfizer booster shots Tuesday. Arrived 20 minutes early, they took both of us right away. There were only a few other people, all getting their 1st jabs. IIRC, the county vaccination rate is ~60  53% (just checked for Shenandoah Valley, VA).

Felt fine Tuesday night while the hubby was a bit achy and groggy. Late Wednesday morning I felt slammed all of a sudden. Had to nap a few hours and still felt groggy/lightheaded for another hour or so afterwards. Feeling much better today with just a touch of soreness near the jab site.


----------



## Eric

P_X said:


> FDA vaccine advisers recommend emergency use authorization for booster dose of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine
> 
> 
> FDA vaccine advisers t voted unanimously Thursday to recommend emergency use authorization of a booster dose of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.cnn.com



Glad this is all happening now! Would like to see more first doses getting into arms but at least those of us choosing to get them are going to be pretty well protected.


----------



## Eric

ronntaylor said:


> We got our Pfizer booster shots Tuesday. Arrived 20 minutes early, they took both of us right away. There were only a few other people, all getting their 1st jabs. IIRC, the county vaccination rate is ~60  53% (just checked for Shenandoah Valley, VA).
> 
> Felt fine Tuesday night while the hubby was a bit achy and groggy. Late Wednesday morning I felt slammed all of a sudden. Had to nap a few hours and still felt groggy/lightheaded for another hour or so afterwards. Feeling much better today with just a touch of soreness near the jab site.



This will be me tomorrow, if the second dose is any indication.


----------



## Eric

Just wanted to jump in and say that the symptoms from my Pfizer booster were far less than they were after my second dose. Felt a little bad/tired, sore arm and a headache but all were at tolerable levels and didn't even phase me at work.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Planning on getting my Pfizer booster early next week. Just waiting for the okay from my doctor since I just got the Shingrix vaccine as well.

Unlike some people, I'll take 'em all.


----------



## Thomas Veil

Welp, I was the doctor today (really, the physician assistant), and she had the nurse give me my Covid booster. 

No problems so far. In fact I liked it so much, tomorrow I'm going back for another one.


----------



## Eric

Thomas Veil said:


> Welp, I was the doctor today (really, the physician assistant), and she had the nurse give me my Covid booster.
> 
> No problems so far. In fact I liked it so much, tomorrow I'm going back for another one.



My wife got hers yesterday, no underlying conditions but they gave it to her at Walgreens anyway.


----------



## SuperMatt

Eric said:


> My wife got hers yesterday, no underlying conditions but they gave it to her at Walgreens anyway.



You mean you found an open Walgreens in California? Based on recent posts by some people, I assumed the locations they didn’t shutter and board up had already been robbed to the bare shelves by now.


----------



## Thomas Veil

I just realized something…

They didn’t make me wait 15 minutes after I got the shot. I was free to go. Don’t people have reactions to the shot anymore? Is that not a thing?

@P_X , you’d be the best person to answer this.


----------



## BigMcGuire

Eric said:


> Wanted to have a separate thread for this to get feedback on the booster for those who have received it, were the side effects the same, anything else to report? Looks like we're a couple of weeks out but I won't be eligible until December.



Mother in law got hers last weekend. All she complained about was a sore arm that got really stiff (more so than the 2 shots she got earlier in the year). I know a few people who got it because of their job (in medical field) - who are closer to my age who said they really didn't feel much.


----------



## BigMcGuire

Thomas Veil said:


> I just realized something…
> 
> They didn’t make me wait 15 minutes after I got the shot. I was free to go. Don’t people have reactions to the shot anymore? Is that not a thing?
> 
> @P_X , you’d be the best person to answer this.



They made my mother in law wait 15 mins at CVS last weekend.


----------



## ronntaylor

Thomas Veil said:


> I just realized something…
> 
> They didn’t make me wait 15 minutes after I got the shot. I was free to go. Don’t people have reactions to the shot anymore? Is that not a thing?
> 
> @P_X , you’d be the best person to answer this.



They asked us to wait 15 minutes in the waiting area. Went out of their way to say you don't have to let us know, just leave when you're ready. We waited the 15 minutes, but think others just up and left once they got their shots.


----------



## Eric

ronntaylor said:


> They asked us to wait 15 minutes in the waiting area. Went out of their way to say you don't have to let us know, just leave when you're ready. We waited the 15 minutes, but think others just up and left once they got their shots.



Same here, on the first two they asked to let them know first but this time they just said leave after 15 minutes.


----------



## ronntaylor

Eric said:


> Same here, on the first two they asked to let them know first but this time they just said leave after 15 minutes.



Yeah, for the first two shots, we all had stickers with the time of the shot and even had workers asking to see stickers as we were walking out of the waiting area. When we went with my grandmother to Medgar Evers College, they had tables staffed by the National Guard that were very, very nice but forceful and asking if you were sure you could leave yet?


----------



## User.45

Thomas Veil said:


> I just realized something…
> 
> They didn’t make me wait 15 minutes after I got the shot. I was free to go. Don’t people have reactions to the shot anymore? Is that not a thing?
> 
> @P_X , you’d be the best person to answer this.



No idea. Most likely they've forgotten. Did they ask you if you had a reaction at first? It's also possible that the rate of events was so low, they changed the policy. TBH we don't do that with other vaccines so it was most likely unnecessary with the COVID shot, but I don't have the data to really corroborate this (not very motivated to look).


----------



## Thomas Veil

Thanks for responding. I remember seeing a young man faint after getting vaccinated earlier this year. I'm guessing they're not seeing much like that with the third shot.

They did ask me about my reaction, and all it did to me was make me tired later on. That's probably how they're deciding whether to observe you.

No card notation this time either, come to think of it. It's in my app, so I've got proof if I need it.


----------



## User.45

Moderna mix-n-match is approved today. Time for me to look at my calendar for a nice weekend I can spend in bed.


----------



## Eric

P_X said:


> Moderna mix-n-match is approved today. Time for me to look at my calendar for a nice weekend I can spend in bed.



Maybe you'll get lucky and not have as severe of a reaction, the second shot laid me out for 24 hours but the booster did not, very mild in comparison.


----------



## User.45

Eric said:


> Maybe you'll get lucky and not have as severe of a reaction, the second shot laid me out for 24 hours but the booster did not, very mild in comparison.



I'll take it with the flu shot for a twofer. It's fine.


----------



## Pumbaa

P_X said:


> I'll take it with the flu shot for a twofer. It's fine.



I accidentally pictured the “This is Fine“ meme reading this… That would be inappropriate to post here, so I’m going with this version instead:






Good luck with your boosters! Doesn’t look like I will be eligible for one here in the foreseeable future.


----------



## User.45

Pumbaa said:


> I accidentally pictured the “This is Fine“ meme reading this… That would be inappropriate to post here, so I’m going with this version instead:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Good luck with your boosters! Doesn’t look like I will be eligible for one here in the foreseeable future.



I always get low temp fevers and fatigue for a half day with even with the Flu shot. Not a big deal, I just time it so I don’t have to power thru it at work or when alone with the kids. The latter can get brutal. Anytime I try to take a nap they try to use me as a slide.


----------



## Clix Pix

Some time this next week I'll have to check out where I can get my Moderna Booster -- I've been waiting for things to become official!


----------



## Joe

I got my booster yesterday around 345pm. So far just a sore arm. The only reaction I have had to any vaccine is a sore arm.

I got the flu shot a few weeks ago....just a sore arm too.


----------



## User.191

Got my booster Thursday at 11:15. And a flu shot as well (one in each arm).

Was fine in the afternoon. Shite nights sleep that night. Died at 11am Friday morning.

Rose again this morning after 11 hours sleep feeling right as right (aside from a slightly sore arm where I had the Covid booster).

Just three more weeks now until I can go out and lick me some door knobs again...


----------



## Hrafn

MissNomer said:


> Got my booster Thursday at 11:15. And a flu shot as well (one in each arm).
> 
> Was fine in the afternoon. Shite nights sleep that night. Died at 11am Friday morning.
> 
> Rose again this morning after 11 hours sleep feeling right as right (aside from a slightly sore arm where I had the Covid booster).
> 
> Just three more weeks now until I can go out and lick me some door knobs again...



It's the licking of the doorknobs that's important, for sure.


----------



## User.45

So it appears that my health system defaults to schedule you the same type of shot you got first time around. My wife got Moderna and I got pfizer and we can tell what you'd get scheduled for based on the locations in our system. Moderna boosters seem to be on backorder with hardly any availability until Dec. I could get Pfizer even tomorrow. Now I'll have to make calls so I can mix-n-match my moderna. My PCP is a resident (I chose it that way, I was a """PCP""" once, it's fun), I bet she'll be very much "entertained" by my special requests...


----------



## Eric

P_X said:


> So it appears that my health system defaults to schedule you the same type of shot you got first time around. My wife got Moderna and I got pfizer and we can tell what you'd get scheduled for based on the locations in our system. Moderna boosters seem to be on backorder with hardly any availability until Dec. I could get Pfizer even tomorrow. Now I'll have to make calls so I can mix-n-match my moderna. My PCP is a resident (I chose it that way, I was a """PCP""" once, it's fun), I bet she'll be very much "entertained" by my special requests...



Is getting Pfizer really that bad? I got all three now and am wondering how much I should worry here.


----------



## User.45

Eric said:


> Is getting Pfizer really that bad? I got all three now and am wondering how much I should worry here.



It's not bad at all. It takes you back to the initial efficacy rate. But conceptually it makes a lot more sense to get exposed to a different epitope (minimum unit of recognition on an antigenic molecule that can induce immunity).


----------



## Runs For Fun

I have my booster scheduled for this weekend. I can't wait for the 6G upgrade!


----------



## User.191

Runs For Fun said:


> I have my booster scheduled for this weekend. I can't wait for the 6G upgrade!



Download speeds on our iPhones have reached terabyte speed since we both got our boosters...


----------



## BigMcGuire

I got the Moderna booster Sunday and my wife got the Pfizer booster Monday. Mother in Law (80+) living with us got Pfizer back when it was first offered. The Moderna booster hit me a lot harder than the Moderna shots did - with muscle pain only. I couldn’t lift my arm above my head and every muscle in my body ached like I worked them all to complete failure. But, no headache, no sick feeling, just severe muscle pain all over - just for 24 hours. Went away almost completely the day after next. It’s Thursday and the jab site is still slightly sore but I feel 100%.

Wife got Pfizer booster and doesn’t seem to have had any major side effects - other than sore arm (to this day) - I keep accidentally hitting it/forgetting it. Lol.


----------



## Edd

Got mine today in NH. I had Moderna vaccines and I wrote on the form that I wanted Phizer. Then I get in the room and they already wrote Moderna on my vaccine card. I said fuck it and got Moderna again. Eh, better than nothing.


----------



## User.45

Edd said:


> Got mine today in NH. I had Moderna vaccines and I wrote on the form that I wanted Phizer. Then I get in the room and they already wrote Moderna on my vaccine card. I said fuck it and got Moderna again. Eh, better than nothing.



Don't be disappointed. That's the best of all the vaccines (right now...)


----------



## Edd

P_X said:


> Don't be disappointed. That's the best of all the vaccines (right now...)



It’s literally produced on the site that I work at so I should probably put my money where my mouth is.


----------



## BigMcGuire

Edd said:


> It’s literally produced on the site that I work at so I should probably put my money where my mouth is.



CVS near my house refused to give me the Pfizer booster and said I had to go to another CVS to get the Moderna booster, interestingly enough.


----------



## Edd

BigMcGuire said:


> CVS near my house refused to give me the Pfizer booster and said I had to go to another CVS to get the Moderna booster, interestingly enough.



Weird. They didn’t seem to care here but I was at a Rite-Aid. I’d had 3 margaritas at lunch so I was also feeling flexible.

Reading my buzzed posts from yesterday I realize why I mentioned I got it in NH. Wondering how other states are putting out the booster info. They’re not being very proactive here. I don't fit into any special categories so I wasn’t sure if they’d give it to me. A random tweet gave me the impression it was possible.


----------



## BigMcGuire

Edd said:


> Weird. They didn’t seem to care here but I was at a Rite-Aid. I’d had 3 margaritas at lunch so I was also feeling flexible.
> 
> Reading my buzzed posts from yesterday I realize why I mentioned I got it in NH. Wondering how other states are putting out the booster info. They’re not being very proactive here. I don't fit into any special categories so I wasn’t sure if they’d give it to me. A random tweet gave me the impression it was possible.



CVSs own site says it is ok to mix and match lol. It didnt bother me as the next cvs was only 1.2 miles away. Lol


----------



## tobefirst

I got my Moderna booster yesterday at Walmart. I’m not in any eligible tier, but they didn’t ask any questions. There are numerous appointments, even same day, so I figured it would be okay for me to grab one. I have a wicked headache this morning and slight arm soreness. Hopefully it won’t last too long.


----------



## Eric

tobefirst said:


> I got my Moderna booster yesterday at Walmart. I’m not in any eligible tier, but they didn’t ask any questions. There are numerous appointments, even same day, so I figured it would be okay for me to grab one. I have a wicked headache this morning and slight arm soreness. Hopefully it won’t last too long.



In California they've made it available to anyone who wants it now but before that my wife did the same thing here, just went in and they gave it to her anyway.


----------



## Runs For Fun

Got my booster today. Didn't get asked anything regarding eligibility.


----------



## SuperMatt

Mr. T gave a report on his booster shot:

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1459628427200266241/


----------



## Runs For Fun

Over 24 hours now and all I got was a mildly sore arm. Much less sore than the first two.


----------



## MEJHarrison

I got my booster this afternoon.  Did it at a drive-thru clinic.  Couldn't have been easier.

It was a Vaccination / Testing site.  Weird watching the cars pull up and get swabbed instead of a needle.  Thankfully, I was there for the needle.


----------



## MEJHarrison

Of all my shots so far, this is the one that hit the hardest.  I've already told the people I'm working with that I likely won't be returning after lunch today.

Plus I'm at something crazy like 44 PTO days.  Since I max out at 52 days, and get 10.76 hours every 2 weeks, it's seems absolutely stupid to work when I'm not feeling 100%.


----------



## Roller

MEJHarrison said:


> Of all my shots so far, this is the one that hit the hardest.  I've already told the people I'm working with that I likely won't be returning after lunch today.
> 
> Plus I'm at something crazy like 44 PTO days.  Since I max out at 52 days, and get 10.76 hours every 2 weeks, it's seems absolutely stupid to work when I'm not feeling 100%.



Agreed. No sense being at work if you're not feeling well. I have about the same number of vacation days as you. But we also get sick time, which would qualify for post-vaccination effects.


----------



## Renzatic

Just got back from getting my booster shot. I would've posted about it earlier, but I wanted to finish my sandwich first.


----------



## Alli

Renzatic said:


> Just got back from getting my booster shot. I would've posted about it earlier, but I wanted to finish my sandwich first.



Priorities.

My daughter got her booster today. My son can’t seem to get one scheduled in NY, so we told him to walk into any drugstore next week when we’re together in Florida.


----------



## Renzatic

Alli said:


> Priorities.
> 
> My daughter got her booster today. My son can’t seem to get one scheduled in NY, so we told him to walk into any drugstore next week when we’re together in Florida.




One thing that's surprised me about the booster is how little it's effected me. Everyone who's received their 3rd shot has told me about how it was the one that knocked them on their ass. All I've had to contend with is the usual soreness in my arm, and it's not even as bad as it was after the previous shot.


----------



## Alli

Renzatic said:


> One thing that's surprised me about the booster is how little it's effected me. Everyone who's received their 3rd shot has told me about how it was the one that knocked them on their ass. All I've had to contend with is the usual soreness in my arm, and it's not even as bad as it was after the previous shot.



That’s all I got from the booster - a sore shoulder. Good for you!


----------



## Joe

Renzatic said:


> One thing that's surprised me about the booster is how little it's effected me. Everyone who's received their 3rd shot has told me about how it was the one that knocked them on their ass. All I've had to contend with is the usual soreness in my arm, and it's not even as bad as it was after the previous shot.




I just had a sore arm for all 3 shots.


----------



## Roller

As I've said before, and as supported by many posts here, responses to the vaccine doses are quite idiosyncratic. That's why it's wise to book your shot when you know you'll be able to take some down time if you experience fever, fatigue, and the like. But I'm happy for (and a bit jealous of) people who only complain of injection site soreness!


----------



## Edd

Anecdotally, I’m not seeing a ton of enthusiasm for getting booster shots. I work on a team of 16 people, and I’m the only person who’s had it. One of the team is a 60 year old woman in bad health. Most of them are in their 20s and 30s. The ones I’ve spoken to about it respond like it’s news they can get one, but don’t seem interested.

Our employer gave it to us on site for the first two shots, which the whole team got, but haven’t offered a booster yet.


----------



## Eric

Edd said:


> Anecdotally, I’m not seeing a ton of enthusiasm for getting booster shots. I work on a team of 16 people, and I’m the only person who’s had it. One of the team is a 60 year old woman in bad health. Most of them are in their 20s and 30s. The ones I’ve spoken to about it respond like it’s news they can get one, but don’t seem interested.
> 
> Our employer gave it to us on site for the first two shots, which the whole team got, but haven’t offered a booster yet.



It's starting to become bigger news now, they said some companies are already mandating it, I've also had a couple of friends who were on the fence but have now chosen to schedule them. I wonder if the holidays will play a role with more surges.


----------



## Hrafn

All my eligible household got our boosters on Saturday.  We all reacted on Sunday, and then Monday found that 3 folks at my wife's work have tested positive, with 2 showing symptoms.  They've shut down except for a deep clean.


----------



## Thomas Veil

MEJHarrison said:


> I got my booster this afternoon.  Did it at a drive-thru clinic.  Couldn't have been easier.



There giving 'em away everywhere lately.

I got mine at Arby's.


----------



## Eric

Thomas Veil said:


> There giving 'em away everywhere lately.
> 
> I got mine at Arby's.



We're having a harder time here in CA, at least in the larger metro areas... most are at least a week out.


----------



## tobefirst

Eric said:


> We're having a harder time here in CA, at least in the larger metro areas... most are at least a week out.



I drove three hours each way to get my first shot back in March before I was technically eligible and the metro area was sold out, but the rural areas had plenty because, well, you know. For my second shot and the booster, I was able to get it much closer.


----------



## Clix Pix

As soon as the Moderna vaccine had been approved for the booster and was available at my local pharmacy I immediately went over there and got the jab -- no appointment needed, no lineup of people waiting.....an advantage of being in the older cohort who was immediately eligible!


----------



## MEJHarrison

Edd said:


> Anecdotally, I’m not seeing a ton of enthusiasm for getting booster shots. I work on a team of 16 people, and I’m the only person who’s had it. One of the team is a 60 year old woman in bad health. Most of them are in their 20s and 30s. The ones I’ve spoken to about it respond like it’s news they can get one, but don’t seem interested.
> 
> Our employer gave it to us on site for the first two shots, which the whole team got, but haven’t offered a booster yet.




Since I'm in healthcare, it's a requirement.  I'm not sure what happens if someone refuses the second booster.  But given that at this point we've all had at least 2 shots, I wouldn't expect tons of pushback on the third.  That would seem an odd point to take a stance.  I know multiple on my team who have already gone in.


----------



## rdrr

Anyone get any arthritis flare ups?  Its been three weeks since my booster and the very mild arthritis in my knees and right thumb have become very noticeable starting 3 days after my booster.   I didn't have any such trouble after the first two shots of Pfizer, but I decided to get the Moderna booster and thats when my current issues starting happening.


----------



## Eric

rdrr said:


> Anyone get any arthritis flare ups?  Its been three weeks since my booster and the very mild arthritis in my knees and right thumb have become very noticeable starting 3 days after my booster.   I didn't have any such trouble after the first two shots of Pfizer, but I decided to get the Moderna booster and thats when my current issues starting happening.



All three of my COVID vaccines were Pfizer, I have pretty bad arthritis in my hands and haven't noticed any difference at all.


----------



## Alli

My son got his booster yesterday (Moderna) and flew down to FL from NY this afternoon…not feeling well. I expect he’ll be right as rain in the morning though.


----------



## chengengaun

I have just become eligible for booster shot and will take the Moderna one tomorrow (my primary shots are Pfizer). I had fever after my second shot; I hope it doesn’t go too badly tomorrow.


----------



## chengengaun

Had my Moderna booster shot yesterday evening. I was told that the Moderna booster shot was half the dosage of that for primary doses, while Pfizer's booster is full dosage like the first two primary shots. (This is practiced in Singapore; seems that CDC recommended the same as well.) It's just over 24 hours and I am starting to get feverish; I developed quite a bit of muscle ache earlier in the day.


----------



## Eric

chengengaun said:


> Had my Moderna booster shot yesterday evening. I was told that the Moderna booster shot was half the dosage of that for primary doses, while Pfizer's booster is full dosage like the first two primary shots. (This is practiced in Singapore; seems that CDC recommended the same as well.) It's just over 24 hours and I am starting to get feverish; I developed quite a bit of muscle ache earlier in the day.



Hang in there, it won't last too long.


----------



## MEJHarrison

chengengaun said:


> Had my Moderna booster shot yesterday evening. I was told that the Moderna booster shot was half the dosage of that for primary doses, while Pfizer's booster is full dosage like the first two primary shots. (This is practiced in Singapore; seems that CDC recommended the same as well.) It's just over 24 hours and I am starting to get feverish; I developed quite a bit of muscle ache earlier in the day.




Pretty much everyone I know got hit hard with the third shot.  If I'm being a completely honest baby about things, it sucked.  But it's far better than the alternative!


----------



## Renzatic

MEJHarrison said:


> Pretty much everyone I know got hit hard with the third shot.  If I'm being a completely honest baby about things, it sucked.  But it's far better than the alternative!




I seem to be the only exception to this. Everyone I knew was also sidelined for a day or so after receiving their 3rd dose, and I was expecting much the same for me.

...it didn't do anything. Barely even made my arm sore. Makes me wonder if it's even working for me or not.


----------



## Runs For Fun

Renzatic said:


> I seem to be the only exception to this. Everyone I knew was also sidelined for a day or so after receiving their 3rd dose, and I was expecting much the same for me.
> 
> ...it didn't do anything. Barely even made my arm sore. Makes me wonder if it's even working for me or not.



Same here. Didn't have a reaction to all three shots. It is working though. Any reaction, or lack thereof, to the vaccine is not an indication of whether it's working or not.








						COVID-19 vaccine: If there are no side effects, does it work?
					

A recent study shows that whether one experiences side effects or not, mRNA vaccines work well and induce the body to produce antibodies.




					www.medicalnewstoday.com


----------



## MEJHarrison

Renzatic said:


> I seem to be the only exception to this. Everyone I knew was also sidelined for a day or so after receiving their 3rd dose, and I was expecting much the same for me.
> 
> ...it didn't do anything. Barely even made my arm sore. Makes me wonder if it's even working for me or not.




I was like that with the first two.  Others I know got hit hard.  I didn't.  I had a sore spot if I was thinking about it.  But for the most part, I didn't even notice.


----------



## tobefirst

I think I mentioned before, I just had a headache the following day. No arm soreness or fever or anything else. It was the easiest of the three shots for me, though none were bad at all.


----------



## chengengaun

Eric said:


> Hang in there, it won't last too long.






MEJHarrison said:


> Pretty much everyone I know got hit hard with the third shot.  If I'm being a completely honest baby about things, it sucked.  But it's far better than the alternative!



Wow, the Moderna booster hit me much harder than the Pfizer second dose. The fever was mild and lasted 12 hours. I also had mild swelling on the injection site which didn’t happen with Pfizer’s. Later on I felt too tired to get out of bed and had to cancel a lunch appointment. Strangely though, the effects wore off quickly after that and I am now able to enjoy a meal outside.


----------



## User.168

.


----------



## AG_PhamD

I got my booster shortly after being eligible as a healthcare worker. My first two shots were Pfizer, which besides injection site pain made me pretty tired. I had no noticeable symptoms with my booster from Moderna (and got the flu shot at the same time). I was quite surprised. 

Unfortunately a lot of people waited to get their booster, include most healthcare professionals I work with, many not until shortly before Thanksgiving. The most recent data I’ve seen says only 15% of eligible Americans have their booster (65% over age 65, not terrible). But only 7% of the black community have been boosted. Thats not good at all. 

Between omicron and the holidays, now everyone is scrambling to get boosted. The local pharmacies here in the Boston area pretty much all booked. Some hospitals are offering walk-ins, but I’ve heard it’s a nightmare. All the mass vaccination sites were shut down months ago. 

The only places for the most part I’ve been able to find appointments are at 3am at 24hr CVS 20 minutes outside the city and lower income areas of Boston (ie Dorchester)… which likely doesn’t speak well to vaccination rates in the less privileged communities. 

I can’t speak for other places, but my state, at least in the greater Boston area, needs to figure out how to get more shots in arms, quickly.


----------



## Eric

AG_PhamD said:


> I got my booster shortly after being eligible as a healthcare worker. My first two shots were Pfizer, which besides injection site pain made me pretty tired. I had no noticeable symptoms with my booster from Moderna (and got the flu shot at the same time). I was quite surprised.
> 
> Unfortunately a lot of people waited to get their booster, include most healthcare professionals I work with, many not until shortly before Thanksgiving. The most recent data I’ve seen says only 15% of eligible Americans have their booster (65% over age 65, not terrible). But only 7% of the black community have been boosted. Thats not good at all.
> 
> Between omicron and the holidays, now everyone is scrambling to get boosted. The local pharmacies here in the Boston area pretty much all booked. Some hospitals are offering walk-ins, but I’ve heard it’s a nightmare. All the mass vaccination sites were shut down months ago.
> 
> The only places for the most part I’ve been able to find appointments are at 3am at 24hr CVS 20 minutes outside the city and lower income areas of Boston (ie Dorchester)… which likely doesn’t speak well to vaccination rates in the less privileged communities.
> 
> I can’t speak for other places, but my state, at least in the greater Boston area, needs to figure out how to get more shots in arms, quickly.



It's the same in California, like you I got mine as soon as I was eligible (pre-existing condition) and I was able to schedule it 4 days out. Now it's weeks out for all my friends, for some reason I thought we had more available and I'm not sure if it's just logistics or what but it's sort of crazy right now.


----------



## AG_PhamD

Eric said:


> It's the same in California, like you I got mine as soon as I was eligible (pre-existing condition) and I was able to schedule it 4 days out. Now it's weeks out for all my friends, for some reason I thought we had more available and I'm not sure if it's just logistics or what but it's sort of crazy right now.




The US actually has/had a surplus, at least as of a couple months ago. In fact, we had so many extras that they were being throw away. This is absolutely shameful considering the vaccination rate in less developed country. 

I don’t believe the issue is a lack of vaccines- especially when you consider 98% of sites are scheduling appointments, which likely correlated to how many doses they expect to have. Talking to my friends that work in retail pharmacies, the issue is there just aren’t enough appointments at enough locations. And pharmacies here have hired additional staff (pharmacists and nurses) with the sole job of giving vaccines. 

Multiple times I’ve been shopping in a CVS and see 15 people waiting in line for their scheduled booster. They apparently keep falling behind because of technical difficulties with their electronic system running on an android smartphone/barcode scanner thing, which is different than the normal pharmacy software running on computers. I can’t imagine having to type in patient data all day on a smartphone. You have to wonder how many people just leave without getting their shot. 

It would be be nice if the state could rapidly re-deploy mass vaccination sites.


----------



## ronntaylor

I think it's time to have a national vaccine mandate for all that have been approved for it, including teens and younger children. And re-open all the special vaccination centers with the help of the National Guard if necessary. Biden-Harris should have been pushing for this months ago with the Flu & Winter seasons expected to be a rerun of last year. With Delta running rampant, we can't afford to go back to extremely high death and infection rates.

My grandmother took the initiative to get her booster on her own. Hubby and I traveled to her for her first two shots and were prepared to take her for her booster. She chuckled when I called to schedule it. "I got it scheduled weeks ago and there'll be a mobile van down the street end of the week!" She can't understand why anyone would either not get vaccinated, or fail to get a booster after getting double-dosed. She's in her 90s and uses a walker, yet got a booster with the help of GP during her semi-annual physical.

I really hope we're not going backwards, but a few weeks in semi-rural/suburban Virginia and even parts of Queens, NYC has me very worried.


----------



## Eric

My work is hosting a retreat in the bay area and I had to let them know that they will not be able to do anything or stay in any hotels there without proof of a vaccine. Case rates have always been steadily low there because they are serious about restrictions. I think the more the free market embraces it, the more people will feel like they have to do it and unfortunately that's what it will take.


----------



## SuperMatt

ronntaylor said:


> I think it's time to have a national vaccine mandate for all that have been approved for it, including teens and younger children. And re-open all the special vaccination centers with the help of the National Guard if necessary. Biden-Harris should have been pushing for this months ago with the Flu & Winter seasons expected to be a rerun of last year. With Delta running rampant, we can't afford to go back to extremely high death and infection rates.
> 
> My grandmother took the initiative to get her booster on her own. Hubby and I traveled to her for her first two shots and were prepared to take her for her booster. She chuckled when I called to schedule it. "I got it scheduled weeks ago and there'll be a mobile van down the street end of the week!" She can't understand why anyone would either not get vaccinated, or fail to get a booster after getting double-dosed. She's in her 90s and uses a walker, yet got a booster with the help of GP during her semi-annual physical.
> 
> I really hope we're not going backwards, but a few weeks in semi-rural/suburban Virginia and even parts of Queens, NYC has me very worried.



I agree, but even the existing mandates have been shut down by Trump-appointed judges. And the SCOTUS will probably block them too. There is no way that Justice Alito, who buys into the “CRT is as bad or worse than white supremacy” nonsense will uphold anything done by Biden.









						Judge halts Biden vaccine mandate for federal contractors nationwide
					

A federal judge in Georgia on Tuesday temporarily halted the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors across the country.The ruling by U.S. District Judge R. Stan Bak…




					thehill.com
				






			https://www.courthousenews.com/kentucky-judge-blocks-vaccine-mandate-for-federal-contractors-in-three-states/
		






__





						Louisiana Judge Delivers A Nationwide Block On Biden’s Vaccine Mandate For Healthcare Workers
					





					www.msn.com
				




In the last ruling listed there, the judge quoted a discredited doctor who had made false claims about COVID-19.

It’s Trump’s world now. We’re just living in it.


----------



## AG_PhamD

ronntaylor said:


> I think it's time to have a national vaccine mandate for all that have been approved for it, including teens and younger children. And re-open all the special vaccination centers with the help of the National Guard if necessary. Biden-Harris should have been pushing for this months ago with the Flu & Winter seasons expected to be a rerun of last year. With Delta running rampant, we can't afford to go back to extremely high death and infection rates.
> 
> My grandmother took the initiative to get her booster on her own. Hubby and I traveled to her for her first two shots and were prepared to take her for her booster. She chuckled when I called to schedule it. "I got it scheduled weeks ago and there'll be a mobile van down the street end of the week!" She can't understand why anyone would either not get vaccinated, or fail to get a booster after getting double-dosed. She's in her 90s and uses a walker, yet got a booster with the help of GP during her semi-annual physical.
> 
> I really hope we're not going backwards, but a few weeks in semi-rural/suburban Virginia and even parts of Queens, NYC has me very worried.




I agree in sentiment, however I’m not sure a mandate coming too down from the government is ever going to stick. There’s probably always going to be a judge somewhere to block it. It happened with Biden and De Blasio. If this goes to the Supreme Court I suspect it will be knocked down. 

I think Biden made the mistake of making his mandates look totally arbitrary- first with the federal employee/govt contractor granting a bunch of exceptions. Then with the second one arbitrarily mandating vaccines to employers with over 100 employees and requiring vaccinations and despite the emergency nature of his policy announced in September 2021, mandating employees be fully vaccinated by January 2022. It just creates bad optics and creates reasons for people to question the mandates legitimacy. 

Even if government mandates did pass, how many of those opposed would just declare religious exemption? I’m not sure that can legally be challenged  too hard by employers. 

I also do think there is a danger in potentially having to fire off swathes of healthcare workers who refuse to be vaccinated, especially with the numbers where they are and general shortage of staff as it is. In September the CDC said 30% of “healthcare workers” are unvaccinated. At the time about 95% of physicians were vaccinated and 90% of RN’s- the people not vaccinated: mostly nursing assistants, nurses aids, etc who don’t have extensive medical training. But still, to loose 30% of hospital staff would cause problems. I imagine this 30% also includes administrative staff and other non-clinical workers. 

I feel even the causal pondering of mandates drives those opposed to vaccines even deeper into their opposition. And I’d love to hear what the justification is now against vaccines now that billions have taken them, dating back almost a year now. 

Frankly, I think the damage has been done and these people will not be changing their mind. It’s shameful how political COVID is in this country. 

And don’t get me wrong, I just fired one of my employees this week for refusing vaccinatio despite Biden’s healthcare mandate in limbo. We hired this young man 2 months ago and he wasn’t vaccinated (and no natural immunity). We politely asked him many times to consider doing so considering he’s working in a residential psych program with 25 patients + a number of staff. He would shut down any non-judgemental inquiry as to what his hesitancy was about. Two weeks ago we told him he had two weeks to get his first dose or he’d be taken off the schedule. He did not get vaccinated. I asked if he had trouble getting an appointment he said he didn’t even try. So he was terminated.


----------



## User.45

AG_PhamD said:


> And don’t get me wrong, I just fired one of my employees this week for refusing vaccinatio despite Biden’s healthcare mandate in limbo. We hired this young man 2 months ago and he wasn’t vaccinated (and no natural immunity). We politely asked him many times to consider doing so considering he’s working in a residential psych program with 25 patients + a number of staff. He would shut down any non-judgemental inquiry as to what his hesitancy was about. Two weeks ago we told him he had two weeks to get his first dose or he’d be taken off the schedule. He did not get vaccinated. I asked if he had trouble getting an appointment he said he didn’t even try. So he was terminated.



Good riddance. If someone is touching patients unvaccinated, they should go find a new field for themselves.


----------



## User.45

AG_PhamD said:


> Unfortunately a lot of people waited to get their booster, include most healthcare professionals I work with, many not until shortly before Thanksgiving. The most recent data I’ve seen says only 15% of eligible Americans have their booster (65% over age 65, not terrible). But only 7% of the black community have been boosted. Thats not good at all.



Boosters' benefit depends on the current prevalence of COVID. It all depends on the timing related to COVID season, which is driven by the unvaccinated. My family has been eligible for the booster since early August. I told them to wait until October so the extra immunity benefit will better cover COVID season. This is why I'm getting irritated about people talking about the 4th dose. 

In my institution, the rules of engagement for those in hands on patient care is wear faceshield and mask. Last report I saw (half a year ago), we did not have a single patient care related infection and this is a relatively large institution. Vaccination+infection control works.  Of course our vaccination rate was >97% in September and administrators have been working hybrid.


----------



## The-Real-Deal82

I’ve finally had my letter to confirm mine is on Thursday 23rd December. I was getting a bit frustrated as colleagues younger than me who live in different counties have been getting theirs sooner. Hopefully it won’t knock me too much for Christmas Day as I have a busy one.


----------



## fooferdoggie

finally maybe today. we wanted to go last satururday to a walk in compounding pharmacy but with 20+mph winds and rain and having to stand outside nope. 20 miles in such weather is not find. I can handle rain or wind but both at 40 degrees is nasty. we have an appointment art Walmart if we cant make it.


----------



## fooferdoggie

man hardcore after I got the bike ready we were riding the 10 miles to the pharmacy. got a flat on the way fixed it .a long line with about twice the people for Pfizer then Madera figured we would get Pfizer boosters to mix it up took about a hour or so . we went to a good store and the wife got some pastries and a slice of pizza to warm up since we had to wait outside. I got some cooked Turkey breast since I only get the protein side of life.  then stoped at the grocery store and then rode home.


----------



## The-Real-Deal82

Literally just got back from having my booster jab. Big queues which is reassuring


----------



## Nycturne

P_X said:


> Boosters' benefit depends on the current prevalence of COVID. It all depends on the timing related to COVID season, which is driven by the unvaccinated. My family has been eligible for the booster since early August. I told them to wait until October so the extra immunity benefit will better cover COVID season.




I’ll be honest, we’ve been waiting a bit for our boosters because we are still in full work from home mode, and wanted to line it up better with the winter spike. Unfortunately, I waited too long and with Omicron it looks like I’m going to be under protected this winter. Perhaps its not so bad that it’s been so wet that I’ve cut down on biking the last couple months.

The only real comfort I take on this is that I’ll _still _be working from home when my appointment comes up after the new year.


----------



## User.45

Nycturne said:


> I’ll be honest, we’ve been waiting a bit for our boosters because we are still in full work from home mode, and wanted to line it up better with the winter spike. Unfortunately, I waited too long and with Omicron it looks like I’m going to be under protected this winter. Perhaps its not so bad that it’s been so wet that I’ve cut down on biking the last couple months.
> 
> The only real comfort I take on this is that I’ll _still _be working from home when my appointment comes up after the new year.



Not sure if i follow. Weren’t you able to get the booster?


----------



## SuperMatt

Got my booster appt for January...


----------



## Runs For Fun

Man good thing I got my booster when I did. Sounds like there's a long wait now for boosters. I was able to get mine scheduled 3 days out.


----------



## User.45

SuperMatt said:


> Got my booster appt for January...



Dm sent!


----------



## Nycturne

P_X said:


> Not sure if i follow. Weren’t you able to get the booster?



Have an appointment, but the wait lists around here are over a month.


----------



## User.45

Nycturne said:


> Have an appointment, but the wait lists around here are over a month.






Runs For Fun said:


> Man good thing I got my booster when I did. Sounds like there's a long wait now for boosters. I was able to get mine scheduled 3 days out.



In my state, you could still get a pfizer dose at CVS, unless you were aiming for Moderna. I suspect the moderna shortage is partly due to the "booster" being a half dose, whereas for pfizer (AFAIK), you get the same thing each time.


----------



## Herdfan

P_X said:


> In my state, you could still get a pfizer dose at CVS, unless you were aiming for Moderna. I suspect the moderna shortage is partly due to the "booster" being a half dose, whereas for pfizer (AFAIK), you get the same thing each time.




Is it a different shot?  Or do you just get half a regular dose?


----------



## Roller

Herdfan said:


> Is it a different shot?  Or do you just get half a regular dose?



The Moderna and Pfizer "boosters" are the exact same vaccines as the first two shots, but the dose of the Moderna booster is decreased by 50%. This was done because the immune response with a lower Moderna dose was deemed adequate, with a slightly lower incidence of adverse reactions.


----------



## Herdfan

Roller said:


> The Moderna and Pfizer "boosters" are the exact same vaccines as the first two shots, but the dose of the Moderna booster is decreased by 50%. This was done because the immune response with a lower Moderna dose was deemed adequate, with a slightly lower incidence of adverse reactions.




Thanks.  But what I was looking for is if the Moderna booster is made as a half dose or if the provider just gives you half of a regular dose.


----------



## AG_PhamD

Herdfan said:


> Thanks.  But what I was looking for is if the Moderna booster is made as a half dose or if the provider just gives you half of a regular dose.




It’s the same medication from the same vial, only 0.25mL is administered instead of 0.5mL. Makes things a lot easier that way.


----------



## Roller

Herdfan said:


> Thanks.  But what I was looking for is if the Moderna booster is made as a half dose or if the provider just gives you half of a regular dose.



I'm pretty sure it's the latter — that is, the booster dose comes from a multi-dose vial. It's the same from the patient's perspective, like a 5 mg pill being the equivalent of half a 10 mg pill.


----------



## Herdfan

Roller said:


> I'm pretty sure it's the latter — that is, the booster dose comes from a multi-dose vial. It's the same from the patient's perspective, like a 5 mg pill being the equivalent of half a 10 mg pill.




Yeah I just didn't know if they packaged them separately to prevent errors when they are dispensed.    Certainly makes sense to just ship one type of vial, but let's just say the person who gave me my second dose wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.  Not sure I would want her determining who got what dose, especially if there were both initial and booster doses in line.

Probably going to get mine this coming week when I have some down time.  No appointments here, just walk in and get it.


----------



## Roller

Herdfan said:


> Yeah I just didn't know if they packaged them separately to prevent errors when they are dispensed.    Certainly makes sense to just ship one type of vial, but let's just say the person who gave me my second dose wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.  Not sure I would want her determining who got what dose, especially if there were both initial and booster doses in line.
> 
> Probably going to get mine this coming week when I have some down time.  No appointments here, just walk in and get it.



It's possible to administer an incorrect dose with any medication. But the folks that are doing this usually aren't new to the job, and the likelihood of a bad outcome even if you get twice the recommended dose is very low.


----------



## fooferdoggie

Herdfan said:


> Thanks.  But what I was looking for is if the Moderna booster is made as a half dose or if the provider just gives you half of a regular dose.



they all come from the same vial the pharmacy we went to had the smaller doses in one tray and the full dose in another. plus another size for children.


----------



## SuperMatt

Roller said:


> It's possible to administer an incorrect dose with any medication. But the folks that are doing this usually aren't new to the job, and the likelihood of a bad outcome even if you get twice the recommended dose is very low.



According to info released by Moderna, if you got a double-dose, you’d actually be more protected, but might have stronger side-effects.



> The drug company said its currently FDA-approved 50ug booster was found to increase neutralizing antibody levels against omicron 37-fold compared to pre-boost levels. Meanwhile, it found that a 100ug booster dose gave an 83-fold increase in neutralizing antibody levels












						Moderna says booster effective against omicron in tests, will still develop new shot
					

The drug company said its currently FDA-approved 50ug booster increased neutralizing antibody levels against omicron 37-fold compared to pre-boost levels.




					www.cnbc.com


----------



## fooferdoggie

Herdfan said:


> Yeah I just didn't know if they packaged them separately to prevent errors when they are dispensed.    Certainly makes sense to just ship one type of vial, but let's just say the person who gave me my second dose wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.  Not sure I would want her determining who got what dose, especially if there were both initial and booster doses in line.
> 
> Probably going to get mine this coming week when I have some down time.  No appointments here, just walk in and get it.



well if they cant read the numbers  on the syringe then I doubt they can give a shot.


----------



## The-Real-Deal82

I be had no side effects at all from the Pfizer booster I received. I was a little worried as I had it 2 days before Christmas but it all turned out good. One of our friends was telling us she was getting calls to rearrange boosters because people didn’t want to be ill over Christmas . Yeah, go to the back of the queue and stop clogging up yet more NHS resources!


----------



## Pumbaa

Became eligible for booking the third shot today. Wohoo!

Slots disappeared (got booked by someone else) between me selecting them and getting to confirm them. Plenty of people out there who want it, that’s good. 

Got myself a nice booking for next Monday. Gambling on next week with a limited dose of public transit being less less of a risk overall than this week with a convoluted one.

No clue whether it will be another Pfizer or if I’ll join the Moderna gang. Time will tell.


----------



## Pumbaa

Done! Now waiting to see if I survive the first 15 minutes.

#TeamPfizer #TeamModerna


----------



## fooferdoggie

Pumbaa said:


> Done! Now waiting to see if I survive the first 15 minutes.
> 
> #TeamPfizer #TeamModerna



well did you?


----------



## Pumbaa

fooferdoggie said:


> well did you?



I think so. On the other hand… I’ve seen The Sixth Sense so I’m not sure I would be able to tell.


----------



## The-Real-Deal82

I haven’t mentioned this online yet but about a week after my booster I woke up with a lot of pain in my left arm. The doctor thinks this could be due to the needle from my booster and although most of the pain has gone, I have lost strength in my arm. I can’t lift a 4 pint carton of milk above my head and was due to go back to the doctors on Wednesday as they had x-rayed my shoulder. My youngest daughter has tested positive for covid so I don’t think i’ll be seeing the doctor now. Looks like i’ll need physio and possibly some steroid injections. It’s just unfortunate.


----------



## AG_PhamD

The-Real-Deal82 said:


> I haven’t mentioned this online yet but about a week after my booster I woke up with a lot of pain in my left arm. The doctor thinks this could be due to the needle from my booster and although most of the pain has gone, I have lost strength in my arm. I can’t lift a 4 pint carton of milk above my head and was due to go back to the doctors on Wednesday as they had x-rayed my shoulder. My youngest daughter has tested positive for covid so I don’t think i’ll be seeing the doctor now. Looks like i’ll need physio and possibly some steroid injections. It’s just unfortunate.




Sorry to hear that. 

Sounds like it could potentially be SIRVA - Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration. This occurs when the needle is injected too high in the arm hits the bursa of the shoulder instead of deltoid muscle of the arm. 

This is not unheard of and is usually the result of poorly trained medical staff or those giving injections hastily.


----------



## The-Real-Deal82

AG_PhamD said:


> Sorry to hear that.
> 
> Sounds like it could potentially be SIRVA - Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration. This occurs when the needle is injected too high in the arm hits the bursa of the shoulder instead of deltoid muscle of the arm.
> 
> This is not unheard of and is usually the result of poorly trained medical staff or those giving injections hastily.




That is what they think it might be yeah. Ironically the nurse who gave me the injection had been a nurse for 30 years and was in her late 50’s. Strange and just one of those things I think. 

The injection mark is on the front rather than the side of my arm too.


----------



## fooferdoggie

AG_PhamD said:


> Sorry to hear that.
> 
> Sounds like it could potentially be SIRVA - Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration. This occurs when the needle is injected too high in the arm hits the bursa of the shoulder instead of deltoid muscle of the arm.
> 
> This is not unheard of and is usually the result of poorly trained medical staff or those giving injections hastily.



this what they thought my wife had before they found the bad joint.


----------



## The-Real-Deal82

fooferdoggie said:


> this what they thought my wife had before they found the bad joint.




Did your wife’s condition deteriorate overnight literally, or did the pain/limited movement build up over time?


----------



## fooferdoggie

The-Real-Deal82 said:


> Did your wife’s condition deteriorate overnight literally, or did the pain/limited movement build up over time?



it built up. but before they did a MRI that was one of the things that was blamed.


----------



## AG_PhamD

The-Real-Deal82 said:


> That is what they think it might be yeah. Ironically the nurse who gave me the injection had been a nurse for 30 years and was in her late 50’s. Strange and just one of those things I think.
> 
> The injection mark is on the front rather than the side of my arm too.




Could have been a hasty mistake, especially if she was doing shot after shot for hours on end. Or maybe she hasn’t had to do a lot of deltoid IM injections given whatever her usual responsibilities are. 

IIRC correctly you’re in the UK, but in the US under normal circumstances you would be potentially eligible for compensation under VICP, Vaccine Injury Compensation Program… but the COVID Vaccine is under another program, Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program. I believe difference is CICP requires serious injury rather than any type of injury and the COVID vaccine exists in this category because of its EUA. CICP also don’t cover legal bills or pain and suffering. Any success with CICP historically is rare while VICP settles 60% of cases. 

The original idea between VICP was to not hold pharma companies or providers responsible for injuries in an effort to ensure they would not turn away from providing vaccines out of fear of liability, thus the government took on that burden. They have a list of vaccines and accepted known adverse effects. If you can reasonably prove the vaccine caused the injury, then you get compensated. It’s far less complicated than a civil case. 

Generally speaking though, has been talk of removing SIRVA from the list of accepted vaccine injuries and putting that liability back on providers.


----------



## The-Real-Deal82

My arm is hurting less but I haven’t got my strength back. I don’t really want to go down the legal route and at the moment I am hoping it’ll continue to improve.

My youngest daughter tested positive on Sunday and so far my wife, eldest daughter and myself are all negative. I have a feeling by the weekend this may change though.


----------



## AG_PhamD

The-Real-Deal82 said:


> My arm is hurting less but I haven’t got my strength back. I don’t really want to go down the legal route and at the moment I am hoping it’ll continue to improve.
> 
> My youngest daughter tested positive on Sunday and so far my wife, eldest daughter and myself are all negative. I have a feeling by the weekend this may change though.




Yeah, generally I’d say it’s not worth it unless you suffer permanent or extremely long lasting injury that impedes your ability to work or severely impedes your QOL. In that the NHS would be paying for whatever you may receive treatment as is, it’s not like the US where you could easily be stuck with thousands in medical fees. 

A couple times in my life I pinched my radial nerve, resulting in temporary complete paralysis of my left hand. Totally different situation but for me took about 6 weeks to get motor function back and a couple more weeks to get the strength back. You really take for granted how much the world is designed for having 2 functional hands. So I can totally sympathize with paralyzed or weakened motor function. 

Sorry to hear about your daughter. The sense of impending illness sucks. My sister just tested positive. She’s a doctor and has made it the entire pandemic until now. My wife (also a doctor) and I have been waiting to get sick- while obviously I’d prefer not to get sick, at this point if it’s going to happen, it would be kinda nice just to get it over with.


----------



## bunnspecial

AG_PhamD said:


> Sorry to hear that.
> 
> Sounds like it could potentially be SIRVA - Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration. This occurs when the needle is injected too high in the arm hits the bursa of the shoulder instead of deltoid muscle of the arm.
> 
> This is not unheard of and is usually the result of poorly trained medical staff or those giving injections hastily.




Little anecdote on that, although not as severe by any means. 

My wife and I went to the same pharmacy on different days for our boosters. 

Mine was-per my wife-in exactly the right spot. She said that they were taught in nursing school to go two fingers down from your shoulder joint. I actually had both my flu shot and my booster in the same arm. 

A couple of days later, same pharmacy, but a different tech, they first of all wouldn't go same arm for flu/COVID for my wife. Second, the tech went right into her shoulder on both. Not any lasting effects, but she had a couple of rough nights of sleep because she couldn't lay on either side. 

I had a DTaP back in August that was also in my shoulder and not on down-that was when she first told me about the two finger rule. That one felt less than great both when they gave it to me and a few days after. 

Granted I've never given a vaccine, but if it really is correct to find your joint and go down the width of two fingers, that doesn't seem difficult to do.


----------



## Runs For Fun

bunnspecial said:


> Little anecdote on that, although not as severe by any means.
> 
> My wife and I went to the same pharmacy on different days for our boosters.
> 
> Mine was-per my wife-in exactly the right spot. She said that they were taught in nursing school to go two fingers down from your shoulder joint. I actually had both my flu shot and my booster in the same arm.
> 
> A couple of days later, same pharmacy, but a different tech, they first of all wouldn't go same arm for flu/COVID for my wife. Second, the tech went right into her shoulder on both. Not any lasting effects, but she had a couple of rough nights of sleep because she couldn't lay on either side.
> 
> I had a DTaP back in August that was also in my shoulder and not on down-that was when she first told me about the two finger rule. That one felt less than great both when they gave it to me and a few days after.
> 
> Granted I've never given a vaccine, but if it really is correct to find your joint and go down the width of two fingers, that doesn't seem difficult to do.



Yikes, yeah definitely not supposed to go right in the shoulder. Two fingers down is about where the thickest part of the muscle is. You definitely don't want to be hitting a bone.


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## Herdfan

Runs For Fun said:


> Yikes, yeah definitely not supposed to go right in the shoulder.




Back in my playing days in college when I junked my shoulder, they did this thing where they inserted a needle into my shoulder joint and injected dye to see how bad my rotator cuff was was torn.  That was bad enough, but then they told me they had to put some pressure in the joint to try and force the dye out and I would feel a little pain.  Little my @$$.  I about came off the table.  Worse pain from a medical visit EVER.

So I feel the pain of a shot in the bursa.


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## DT

The little G got her booster on Friday, sore arm, no other symptoms.


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## The-Real-Deal82

Well I’ve had physio on my arm and they have said it’s most likely where the needle from my booster injured the muscle. I’ve been given some exercises to do over the next few weeks which I am happy with. The pain is only there in certain positions and I’ve noticed my strength is starting to come back gradually. I think these exercises will hopefully get me back on track


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## Renzatic

Around 5PM last night, I found myself silently, suddenly developing a sore throat. As the night wore on, the soreness became worse, to the point that I kept waking myself up last night making weird snnnrrrrkkk noises due to the swelling.

Today, I have a runny nose. I'm sneezing like an absolute bastard, too. My throat feels better, but still a little sore.

Normally, I'd write this off as a sinus infection. I still have my sense of taste and smell through the snot, and I'm not running a fever. But still, I'm gonna grab a covid test.


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## Eric

Renzatic said:


> Around 5PM last night, I found myself silently, suddenly developing a sore throat. As the night wore on, the soreness became worse, to the point that I kept waking myself up last night making weird snnnrrrrkkk noises due to the swelling.
> 
> Today, I have a runny nose. I'm sneezing like an absolute bastard, too. My throat feels better, but still a little sore.
> 
> Normally, I'd write this off as a sinus infection. I still have my sense of taste and smell through the snot, and I'm not running a fever. But still, I'm gonna grab a covid test.



Did you request any tests from the big bad Government? We got ours in the mail last week. If not hopefully they're easier to find now with case rates tanking the way they are.


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## Renzatic

Eric said:


> Did you request any tests from the big bad Government? We got ours in the mail last week. If not hopefully they're easier to find now with case rates tanking the way they are.




Never did. Though I just got back from picking one up at the local CVS. I'm now awaiting the results.


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## Renzatic

NEGATIVE! Guess I've just got a head cold.


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## Eric

Renzatic said:


> NEGATIVE! Guess I've just got a head cold.



Congrats! These tests are great man, not just for this but it also allows you to hang out with other people who test negative as well. Anytime I visit a friend we both test first.


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## Clix Pix

My tests still have not yet arrived.....  Glad I wasn't in an urgent rush for them!


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## Renzatic

Eric said:


> Congrats! These tests are great man, not just for this but it also allows you to hang out with other people who test negative as well. Anytime I visit a friend we both test first.




Though I can't help but wonder if I did it right...


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## Eric

Renzatic said:


> Though I can't help but wonder if I did it right...



Scrub thoroughly, it made me sneeze like a mofo but I was sure I got all up in it.


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## Renzatic

Eric said:


> Scrub thoroughly, it made me sneeze like a mofo but I was sure I got all up in it.




Oh, I went all up ins. To the point it was uncomfortable.


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## MEJHarrison

In our house we have two who tested positive, two who tested negative and 1 who didn't get tested.

Of the two positive, they're fully vaccinated and had a mild cold for a week.  The two negatives haven't gotten sick enough to take another test.

The person who didn't get tested had both initial shots, but skipped the booster.  It's obvious to everyone he has/had Covid.  He even got blisters on his toes for no reason (it seems that's another symptom?)  He was sick for basically all of January.  Nothing horrible, but lots of coughing.  It's like he had a bad cold for a month (and counting).

Obviously 5 people aren't enough data points to draw any conclusions.  But that's how things have played our in our house.


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## Renzatic

Well, I thought I was on the mend today, but as the day wore on, I’ve developed a light fever, and have a little cough. I’m hardly suffering, but it feels like a good case of the grud.

We’ll see how I am tomorrow, but I can’t help but wonder if I got a false negative on my Covid test.


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## Renzatic

Still have my sense of smell though. I can still savor the myriad stanks of the earth.

Also, my fever is fluctuating between 99 and 100. Fun!


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## Renzatic

Update! Fever broke again. My belly’s cold for some reason.

Still feel like I have these last couple of days,: a little blah, sometimes perfectly fine, other times a little chilly and tired, and it seems to vary every hour or so.

I’ll write more tomorrow, after my morning poop.


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## Thomas Veil

We focus so much on Covid that we tend to forget…maybe it’s just this year’s flu bug.


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## Renzatic

Thomas Veil said:


> We focus so much on Covid that we tend to forget…maybe it’s just this year’s flu bug.




That's the problem, it could be either/or. In a way, I'm almost hoping it is covid, just so I can say that I finally got it.


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## Roller

Renzatic said:


> That's the problem, it could be either/or. In a way, I'm almost hoping it is covid, just so I can say that I finally got it.



Be careful for what you wish for. I know many people who feel the same way, but recall that COVID-19 may be associated with persistent effects. I know there's a prevailing opinion that everyone will get it regardless, but even if that's so, any illness that may require hospitalization would be best to avoid for now, if possible. As mentioned, you may have influenza, but unfortunately confirmation requires testing not available at home...yet.


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## Eric

Thomas Veil said:


> We focus so much on Covid that we tend to forget…maybe it’s just this year’s flu bug.



At least we now have easy testing so we'll know.



Roller said:


> Be careful for what you wish for. I know many people who feel the same way, but recall that COVID-19 may be associated with persistent effects. I know there's a prevailing opinion that everyone will get it regardless, but even if that's so, any illness that may require hospitalization would be best to avoid for now, if possible. As mentioned, you may have influenza, but unfortunately confirmation requires testing not available at home...yet.



Yeah, my brother was the same way about wanting to get it over with and he's still paying the price weeks later, a lot of people end up with long haul effects. He had both shots but refused the booster.


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## MEJHarrison

Renzatic said:


> That's the problem, it could be either/or. In a way, I'm almost hoping it is covid, just so I can say that I finally got it.




It sounds odds, but I wanted to be positive too. My theory is, if I'm feeling a little under the weather and it turns out I'm positive, then I'm not likely to be hit hard.  I get to be one of those who say "It was no big deal, like having a small cold".

But since I came back negative, then it's still a big unknown.  If I were to get it, I most likely would be just fine.  I have all three shots and am generally a super healthy person.  But I don't KNOW that until it happens.  I _*could*_ be one of the tiny percentage that gets hospitalized or even dies.   

So it sounds dumb to say I wish I was positive, but I absolutely understand.


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## Renzatic

MEJHarrison said:


> It sounds odds, but I wanted to be positive too. My theory is, if I'm feeling a little under the weather and it turns out I'm positive, then I'm not likely to be hit hard. I get to be one of those who say "It was no big deal, like having a small cold".
> 
> But since I came back negative, then it's still a big unknown. If I were to get it, I most likely would be just fine. I have all three shots and am generally a super healthy person. But I don't KNOW that until it happens. I _*could*_ be one of the tiny percentage that gets hospitalized or even dies.




This is exactly my thoughts on the matter.


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## Roller

Renzatic said:


> This is exactly my thoughts on the matter.



There is an increasing body of research showing that even patients with mild COVID-19-related symptoms may have significant persistent effects, and at least one lab study showed neurological damage. The trope that COVID is almost always mild and therefore not a concern isn't supported by the data. It's still unclear to what extent vaccination mitigates the risk, however.

My expectation is that the coming years will show long-term effects from a number of viral infections, the association between Epstein-Barr and multiple sclerosis being just one example. The more we can learn about the underlying mechanisms, the more we'll be able to devise effective therapies.


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## Edd

It’s just about 3 months since my booster. Wondering if I should get another, but not much data in the news about that.


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## Renzatic

Roller said:


> There is an increasing body of research showing that even patients with mild COVID-19-related symptoms may have significant persistent effects, and at least one lab study showed neurological damage




Eh, I’ve had brain damage since I tried holding my breath for 15 minutes back in 2nd grade. A little more brain damage isn’t all that open the door at the end of the hall, then take the first right. You’ll find the oven behind the shelf.


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## Hrafn

Renzatic said:


> Eh, I’ve had brain damage since I tried holding my breath for 15 minutes back in 2nd grade. A little more brain damage isn’t all that open the door at the end of the hall, then take the first right. You’ll find the oven behind the shelf.



You should plan ahead better, next time.


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## Renzatic

Hrafn said:


> You should plan ahead better, next time.




I should’ve aimed lower. Like try for just 10 minutes.


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## Nycturne

Finally got boosted last Friday. Had a couple days of issues. Felt blah Saturday, felt better on Sunday so I overdid it and felt blah again on Monday. Feel fine now. It was Moderna on top of Moderna. 

Yes, I've been slacking, but since we work from home and haven't really been going out anywhere this winter, I wasn't in a rush, but I do want to get back on the bike as things warm up.


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## Renzatic

I went in for an official covid test yesterday, mostly out of a sense of curiosity. I've felt fine for a couple of days now.

...except that my nose won't stop running.


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## Edd

Renzatic said:


> I went in for an official covid test yesterday, mostly out of a sense of curiosity. I've felt fine for a couple of days now.
> 
> ...except that my nose won't stop running.



My nose has been running for at least 6 weeks, which kinda just feels like winter to me. I’m out on the slopes a lot, which tends to cause that. It’s intermittent though.


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## DT

@Renzatic @Edd 

Maybe some allergies?  I know a lot people say they don't have them, but they can develop over time (where previously, you seemed to have none).

We use this site:









						National Allergy Forecast & Info About Allergies
					

Check out national allergy map, get your local allergy outlook, track you allergies with Allergy Diary, and more features at Pollen.com




					www.pollen.com
				





Here's out 5 day forecast, the drop is due to the rain - they calculate not only pollen generation but distribution (so rain really reduces the latter):


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## Renzatic

DT said:


> Maybe some allergies? I know a lot people say they don't have them, but they can develop over time (where previously, you seemed to have none).




It's the aftereffects of whatever it was I had (which wasn't covid, the test confirmed.) I'm just generally snotty now.


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