quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
Right. The science isn't settled. In the meantime, people of all ages who didn't get the booster are getting sick--some of them seriously sick, some of them hospitalized. I don't have time for the science to be settled. There's enough science to show that the series isn't complete without the booster. And that it is as safe as can be reasonably expected, given that no vaccine is guaranteed 100% safe. To me this is a no-brainer. Get the booster.

So, how long will the protection from shot 3 last? Do you worry at all about getting a shot every six months?

I mean, it was not so long ago that we were told that vaccination wasn’t complete unless you had both shots, and I believed it.

Well, obviously we don't know how long 3 shots will last. And obviously what constitutes protection is a moving target.

I am a very pragmatic person. Confronted with the reality that I can't know everything, I have to weigh one thing against the other: the known potential consequences of getting covid v. the known potential consequences of getting the vaccine.

If I get covid I have a higher likelihood of becoming disabled or disabling or even killing another person. If I get the vaccine, that probability is vastly reduced for some unknown period of time.

That's the calculus, at its core.

If I were seriously worried about the vaccine causing harm, or if I believed it wouldn't be effective, I still have to weigh that probability against the probability of contracting covid and spreading it, and the probable severity of those consequences, were I to remain unvaccinated.

To make this decision, I do not have all the information, because no one does. But I believe I have *enough* information.

When we learn more, we can refine our decision making. Meanwhile, we can only act on the information we have. If it turns out we have to get vaccinated every six months, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I had a bad reaction to the third vaccine. It wasn't pleasant. But it was far easier to deal with than contracting covid.

If someone believes the vaccine is harmful, then I think their only option is to live in isolation so they can't get covid. They are mistaken if they think getting covid is a better choice than getting vaccinated. I believe we do know that much.

quote:

But the delta incubation period is like 4 days, not 14.

From the time of exposure to the time of first symptoms appearing is anywhere from 2 to 14 days.

If I woke up this morning with symptoms, I would look at all potential exposures going all the way back to 2 Sundays ago to determine how I might have picked it up.

quote:

Originally posted by AdagioM:
]

Cindy, is there any possibility that Mr. Sphinx got actual Covid from the tail end of your illness, rather than from the booster? Imagining a 14 day incubation period? (probably not, but just thinking…)

Anything is possible.

But the way the dates work out, I think I got it when I made a business trip in early October. (But really, who knows? I could have picked it up on the way out there, during masked meetings, or on the way back.)

If I remember the dates, I got tested around Oct. 14. Because it was an antigen test, the positive means I was in the later stages rather than early stages (according to my doctor). Mr. Sphinx got a PCR test a couple of days after I got mine, so that's maybe Oct. 16, which was negative. And he got his booster about Nov. 2. I think it was the booster.

Pique, I read your other message about how you weigh out the risks and benefits of the vaccine based on your health situation, risk tolerance, where you live, how much contact you have with others. That's fine, no argument.

But you have to allow that other people are not dummies or ill-informed if they weigh things out differently. Me, I weigh this out differently and am not going to get a booster for a while.

When folks get so pro-vaccine that they start believing their decision is the only right decision (not saying you are such a person, Pique, but they're out there), that gets my back up.

I got mine Saturday.

They changed the age limit from 65 to 18 within about the last two weeks. I feel this fact itself is disquieting although I don't know why.

I guess the constant the "noble lies," contradictions, and questions (for which there seem to be no answers) are giving me a headache.

Nevertheless, in for a penny, in for a pound.

The combination of vaccination plus infection and recovery is supposedly the best possible immunity. I'd get the booster (even though I had a bad reaction to it), but I can certainly see why someone might conclude they shouldn't.

Plus, I know some doctors suggest waiting several months after infection before getting vaccinated. So there's that.

quote:

Originally posted by QuirtEvans:
The combination of vaccination plus infection and recovery is supposedly the best possible immunity. I'd get the booster (even though I had a bad reaction to it), but I can certainly see why someone might conclude they shouldn't.

Plus, I know some doctors suggest waiting several months after infection before getting vaccinated. So there's that.

I'm confused about the recommendations re the booster after infection, as there is no apparent reference to just WHAT virus variant one has been infected with. Likewise, whether or not one gets a booster which has or has not been improved to resist the latest variants.

It’s a mess.

There are recommendations that infection followed by vaccination is good.

But there is little regarding vaccination followed by breakthrough. Is it the same? And would a subsequent infection be as mild as this one? ‘Cause if you told me I would have a mild breakthrough like I had every month, I would be fine with it.

There’s just not much good info to help people decide, so you have to guess.

I have not had COVID. My first two shots were Moderna. We’re getting boosters today. If they give us a choice, should we get Moderna again or Pfizer?

Headline this morning is that Pfizer booster works well against Omicron.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry...a863e4b07c4c95c56a93

If you survived the the vaccine and the infection you have a good chance of surviving a new infection.
d'oh
i.e. The more like to survive are more likely to survive.

quote:

Originally posted by pianojuggler:
I have not had COVID. My first two shots were Moderna. We’re getting boosters today. If they give us a choice, should we get Moderna again or Pfizer?

Headline this morning is that Pfizer booster works well against Omicron.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry...a863e4b07c4c95c56a93

I was just reading about this. We already got our boosters, but got Moderna all three times. Something I read today about omicron made me think we should have chosen Pfizer.

Check the NYTs... Or WaPo? Those were two I was reading at breakfast IIRC.

Good luck!

PJ, try this:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2...micron-variant-covid

This is their rolling updates so sometimes things move around, if you don't see it, search for
"Pfizer Says its Booster Offers Significant Protection Against Omicron"

Mix and match info:

https://news.yahoo.com/mix-mat...oster-171900847.html

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
Mix and match info:

https://news.yahoo.com/mix-mat...oster-171900847.html

I found the wording in this article interesting. I had Astrazeneca as my first dose and Moderna as my second. I was obviously interested in the research that was coming out about mixing vaccines. It’s not just that mRNA provides a better response that makes mixing a good idea. It’s that the combo of AZ* and an mRNA provides a BETTER immune response than getting an mRNA for both doses. I assume the same will be true of a booster. I don’t care what booster I get since I already had a mix, and studies seem to support that position.

*I didn’t read about J&J because it isn’t available here

you're right, dol. I did a quick skim and didn't pick up on some of the wording. I'll look for something that's clearer....

The article was also specific about order ... it said, if you got adenovirus first, it makes sense to get mRNA as the booster.

quote:

Personally, I received the same vaccine platform for the booster: Moderna and Moderna,” Dr. Johnston says. “If you received either Pfizer or Moderna initially, I would be happy sticking with the original vaccine. If you received Johnson & Johnson, you may consider doing an mRNA boost, based on the higher antibody levels that were seen in the clinical trials.”