MMcD

Once it's offered for your age or risk category - will you or won't you opt for a Covid booster (ie 3rd) shot?

If you're unsure.....
Here's an informative article which originally appeared in the LA Times....it's worth reading all the way through as it provides specific info regarding differences between Pfizer and Moderna vaccines - a meaningful comparison with important implications: https://news.yahoo.com/big-gap-betwe...034719881.html

I, for one, will definitely get the Booster shot. And while awaiting my turn...(Having read that article) I feel a bit more protected knowing Moderna is providing slightly longer/stronger efficacy.......................

It's funny...I've never been a big vaccine booster. Have never had a flu shot - and only got vaccines when they were required ...eg school or travel, but never any that are discretionary.
But when Covid reared its ugly head I couldn't get vaccinated fast enough. And did. And will continue doing so as long as it seems necessary. And I hope you will as well...because we may be DONE with Covid, but it ain't done with us ! Not by a long shot....

Whoops...meant to post in Trailer Park...Mods::....please move it if possible...

scrubbedexpat091

If its offered where I am in Canada, I will get a booster.

Maybe the 3rd will be Pfizer than I will have had AZ, Moderna and Pfizer.

I have no idea as to what the efficacy is for my mixed doses or how long it protects.

So far only very select immunocompromised groups are eligible for a booster here.

tht

Between not have good medical records in english for my green card and frequent business trips to India in 2016-2019 I can’t even count how many vaccinations I have had in the last 10 years… I think it was 9 separate shots for India with 3 for Hep B.

The wife and I both happened to get Moderna.. I was planning to mix and match, but it looks like sticking to Moderna may be a better idea… will be keeping an eye on the peer reviewed science, by medically trained researchers from highly ranked institutions to inform me when the time comes.

Former Lancastrian

If it is required then I definitely want SpikeVax as the booster.

Jerseygirl

First shot was AZ, second was Pfizer…I will get the Pfizer booster as soon as I can.

Lion in Winter

I'll take any and all boosters I can get.

Having said that, getting the first vaccinations into the rest of the world should probably take priority.

MMcD

If you really want to dive into the weeds - lots of links here to get lost in : https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/16/healt...ner/index.html
And when they're not on the same page about the urgency.... (Fauci and NIH vs CDC and FDA).... whatcha gonna do then
Actually in the States the latter 2 make the final determination regarding what will be available, and for whom, and when................
Then it's up to us individually - to get it or not.
The refuseniks exacerbate the danger.....

"What's in a name...."
"SpikeVax" ?
Had to Google that one
Now I know.....SpikeVax = Moderna = SpikeVax = Moderna = a distinction without a difference, apparently
https://www.fiercepharma.com/marketi...icial-name-and

MMcD

Biden maintains one doesn't preclude the other.
Hope he's right - because I agree about the urgency regarding the rest of the world.
I think I read earlier this week that he'd ordered/released a further million doses for universal distribution (beyond what had been previously sent some months back)

Lion in Winter

The CDC has apparently now not backed Biden on giving boosters in the US yet anyway, other than for the immunocompromised. In the UK, they are starting on anyone over 50 - if not right now, then very soon. My sister and BIL have already been asked to sign up.

SpoogleDrummer

If Biden prioritizes giving vaccines to other countries at US tax payer expense rather than boosters for US tax payers you'll never hear the end of it and the people complaining about it the loudest will be the ones that refused the vaccine in the first place.

MMcD

That shouldn’t happen. There was no outcry back in June when he announced the initial 1/2 billion dose donation. In that context this additional million seems relatively small. Otoh….ganging up on the suddenly beleaguered and vulnerable President after the past calamitous week may seem irresistible to some on a certain side of “the aisle”

petitefrancaise

Yep - will be getting Moderna booster November. Time for the flu jab too.

Lion in Winter

And yet we are wasting huge quantities of vaccine, where we can't seem to find people in the US to take them, and seem to have no mechanism for getting them to people who would.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsan...te-unused-dose

BristolUK

Okay, so one is a bit better at helping avoid hospitalisations after 4 months based on research from 18 states.

Have the variants been built into this? I mean what if Pfizer was mainly or primarily given in states with the Delta variant and Moderna in states where Alpha was the dominant strain. That could mean Delta was the reason for more hospitalisations rather than a 4 month deterioration of Pfizer.

One likes t think this would have been accounted for but shouldn't it say so? Or perhaps it was done before discovering that vaccines were not quite as good with Delta.

robin1234

This article in the Atlantic talks about how a booster shot may boost immunity, and the pros and cons of getting a booster as soon as it is available, or possibly delaying a few months. I personally will get it ASAP - but the article is informative & thought provoking..

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/a...r-shot/620123/

One of the factors the author mentions, is that soon, updated vaccines may be available that take into account new variants and other recent new research results. People who have a third shot already, may go to the back of the line for the new and improved shot ..