That reasoning sounds very odd considering the data everywhere (various countries and US) with breakthrough infections among those who had earlier doses, older, and immunocompromised people complete with charts and numbers showing decreased protection over time.
I wonder if she feels other countries have the same problem?
I certainly don’t agree with her reasoning at all personally.
And was that the case in Israel, too? An oncologist isn’t an epidemiologist or infectious diseases expert, after all.
After what happened with the vaccine shortages last winter and spring, I don’t think everyone will follow the government’s recommendations. The liars and line-jumpers will be back. We’ve already read of people who decided to get their 3rd shots when they are not even 6 months past 2nd dose (I am NOT referring to the immunosuppressed/compromised.) There are already people who have decided to get an mRNA dose after J&J.
Personally, I wonder about teachers. If I were a teacher and got my 2nd dose around Feb - Mar, I would probably lie to get my 3rd dose in time for the start of in-person school as it will have to be this year in many places (no social distancing, improperly worn masks if worn at all, no testing, abysmal contact tracing, etc.). I always thought it was hypocritical that teachers were shoved to the head of the line (after HCWs and LTC residents/workers) in many states, considering that the party line at the time was that “kids don’t transmit covid!” (I never believed that, but it was a very loud refrain at the time.) Why would they need the vaccine first if kids didn’t transmit? They would be at the same risk as people in many places if they just had to be concerned about distance from other adults. But they were vaccinated early in many places, and now their vaccines are wearing off. It’s not 8 months; it’s actually by 6 months after 2nd dose. Interestingly, I haven’t heard an outcry about boosters for the teachers. By the time September 20 rolls around, they will have all been in school for weeks in the public school spreadathons.
It makes sense to me. A local doc office is not prepared to box and ship a super cold item back to its manufacturer (or the state/county) for redistribution. Heck, they might even have ‘permission’ from the local government overlords: "we have unused vials of vax, should we ship them back to the county? Nah, we aren’t equipped for returns, go ahead and use them for boosters on your patients.’ Plus, might as well make a few bucks (can charge insurance for a jab fee.)
We offer free transportation, free childcare, 100 dollar payments, and home visits if necessary for covid vaccines. I do not believe we need to do anything more to encourage shots; if that isn’t enough, nothing will be. We shouldn’t stockpile shots for the unwilling.
Just fyi, the vaccines cannot be returned once distributed, for legal and safety reasons.
She is an oncologist, but I have to respect her opinion as she is his care provider and keeps up to date on the latest medical information. She also is part of an enormous medical conglomerate, not an individual practice. So she is reflecting what is happening with probably thousands of medical facilities in our state.
My brother got his three-peat on the advice of his immunologist since he has virtually no protection from his first two (all Pfizer). I told him I hope he won’t need a three-peat repeat - Chicagoans will get this.
Brother said, “My injectionist (if that’s a word) was confused, as I’d received the first 2 doses outside her system. I just looked at her and said that I was one of the immunocompromised people she keeps reading about. End of discussion.”
I have no idea what other teachers are doing. I got my second one the beginning of April and our school started today with no masks or social distancing or whatever. I’m glad I told them I’d only be back this year subbing. I have no plans to go back at all until Covid subsides - which it might do once the school wave is over. I expect to be able to get a booster in Oct sometime (that will be 6 months, not 8, but the data I see supports 6 months, not 8).
If the wave subsides and I can get a booster, sometime in Oct I’ll start subbing. If not, H and I have mused about whether I should just retire. I had planned to work more years, but I have 20 in, so… I can amuse myself (and help kids) tutoring if I want to - did that last year when I took the year off.
Glad they finally came to the right conclusion. Doesn’t help the CDC credibility much
Where I live, they recently tossed 600K+ expired vaccine doses. There are another 900K+ that could expire by the end of November. I am all for those doses going in anyone’s arms rather than in the trashcan.
agreed. And for the life of me, I can’t understand the hold up of implementing a mask mandate for all federal employees and contractors.
Most research I’ve done agrees with
KDKA’s Meghan Schiller asked the experts what people need to know about mixing the two.
“I think ideally it might be two shots this year, but to get them both at the same time would certainly be efficient,” said Dr. Amy Crawford-Faucher, family doctor and Vice Chair of Allegheny Health Network’s Primary Care Institute…. “When the COVID vaccines first came out, we said no other vaccines within two weeks of a COVID vaccine. So that recommendation changed a few months ago,” said Dr. Crawford- Faucher
But doctors now say people can now get their flu shot and COVID booster shot around the same time. Turns out, people always could, but scientists didn’t want overlap for one reason.
“Because we were just rolling this out to lots of people, we really wanted to be pure in knowing that if you had a reaction, it was due to the COVID vaccine and not from something else you got in your body,” said Dr. Crawford- Faucher.
My physician suggested waiting. CVS is offering flu shots now but she knows that I want to get the booster before traveling to London on business so she thinks I should wait until a few weeks after the booster. @abasket, very good point. I have been very careful thus far and will continue to do so, but I have work that needs to get done in the UK and just want to maximize protection before I go.
I had J&J so I have to wait a bit, but I hope not too long as the data appears pretty strong. I had been asking her about getting an mRNA booster, but again she wants to follow CDC guidelines (generally a reasonable ask).
I friend of mine who is immunocompromised went in to a local drug store and asked for a booster. They gave it to him without any questions about being immunocompromised or any documentation. So one wold not need to lie.
In addition, my NP daughter tells me that in various clinics in her company routinely have to throw out does at the end of the day so she thought it would be fine to go at the end of the day and ask if they are throwing any out and if so, get a shot. No need to lie.
An Israeli friend MD-PhD and his wife (also an MD, I think) have already received their boosters. Pfizer. He is very happy they did.
I was told 2 weeks apart by my pharmacist when I got my third shot.
I had advised D2 to only get one shot of mRNA booster after her J&J, but a virologist told her to get 2 doses of mRNA. She got her second shot yesterday.
I read somewhere the reason they want you to take the same booster brand as you took for the first two vaccines is so they can follow any negative reactions. If you mix them, they don’t know if it was the mix of the two brands, or the booster brand, or delayed reaction from the first two vaccines.
Really glad to hear about the 6 months since medical boy had his back in Jan and will relatively soon start working among Covid + people again. If this comes soon, he will have the 2 weeks for it to take affect. We were just talking about it all last night - whether he should ask for special consideration or not. If this comes through, he won’t have to.
FWIW, I also asked if he knew of any doctors he worked with who were anti-vax. He doesn’t. He knows of one nurse who is leading local protests against requiring the vax (that annoy the bejeebers out of him), but no doctors around him. Most of the people at the protests don’t appear to be local he said, and they’re getting fewer attending the protests as time goes on so I suppose there’s hope.
My son is on Remicade infusions for Crohn’s. His GI doc today said yes, get the booster but do it at least two weeks before or two weeks after his infusion. So he’ll probably get it the day before his next day off.
Took my mother to get her booster today. She took the CDC card but it didn’t have her name on it, just the info about the two doses she already received. The nurse said there is no record of her in the system. At all. She received the first two in Jan and Feb at a big drive through event they had for those over 70, and my nephew made the appointment so he had her name and I think her birthdate. She said when they went they just asked her name and okayed her on their tablets (it was in the baseball stadium parking lot).
They gave her the booster, gave her 2 cards because they screwed up her name on the original one that didn’t have her name, and sent us on our way.
Now I have to deal with getting the first two vaccines recorded. Fun.