My lung doc and my internist told me to get my 3rd Pfizer shot. I complied at local cvs and had my 92 year old mom and 79 year old asthmatic H get their 3rd shots too. We all got our 2nd in mid Feb, so we’re 7 months past that date and our state is very low on hospital and icu beds due to delta surge and all the unvaxed in our hospitals.
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Our state still has some max VAX sites, some mobile VAX clinics and a lot of pharmacies offering a wide range of VAX, including flu, covid shots 1-3, Shingrix, pneumonia and most other ones.
My pharmacist said his less busy pharmacy was giving 100 shots/day plus all his other duties. He is now at a busier pharmacy and finally has a pharmacy tech to help check folks in and administer shots (tho he gave H a huge bruise in connection with recent flu shot).
Anecdotal evidence is that 3rd doses of Moderna (whether after 2 Pfizer or 2 Moderna) elicit a stronger reaction than subsequent doses of Pfizer. But they all seem to be much, much safer than having breakthrough Covid.
Recent statistics from Israel, where over 3 million out of 9.2 million have received 3rd doses of Pfizer (but only over the last three weeks), show that of the just over 700 people currently hospitalized for serious illness, 70% were unimmunized, about 20% had received 2 doses (and remember, Israel was about two months ahead of us on vaccinating, so their immunity had likely waned further than ours), and about 10% had received a third dose, but likely not in time to have worked. I would expect that within a couple of weeks, there will be virtually no people who had received third doses in the seriously ill category.
What this means is that as we get farther away from the second doses, we’re going to have more and more fully-immunized people getting seriously ill, unless they get third doses. Under the circumstances, and with the current strain on the healthcare system, it seems to me that getting a third dose by whatever means necessary is a virtue and a contribution towards not only one’s own health, but also towards public health.
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Very excited for my 10 -year-old nieces who have been waiting to get vaccinated
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Your thought is that the time for the booster is 6 months or 8 months out from the second dose?
But not a booster, right?
Probably 3-4 weeks (if everything goes well) before approval for the 5-11s though.
It doesn’t matter, I don’t think there’s been any formal study just because there hasn’t been time enough to test any differences between groups that received #1 A, #2 A and #3 A vs #1 A #2 A and #3 B. It’s preferred to be the same for all 3, presumably to minimize side effects, but if the 3rd isn’t the same because the other is not available, it’s ok to get a different one
Yes, in some places of the country they are out of MAb and have patients waiting for a shipment. People will be prioritized based on a number of factors……….with the goal of keeping people out of the hospital.
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I will add that I had Pfizer #1 and #2, am immunosuppressed, so when it came time for #3, I debated between Pfizer and Moderna. I knew people who did Pfizer/Pfizer/Moderna because they heard Moderna was better (larger dose/more antibody production) and felt really sick afterward the 3rd (Moderna), did not feel sick after the 2 Pfizer injections. Kept debating over the weekend after it was announced that I could get the 3rd. Talked to lots of people, read lots of studies. When I went for my 3rd, all they had was Pfizer available, so there you go, I took the Pfizer. But the 3rd Moderna is supposed to be half the dose of the first 2, so maybe getting the full-on 3rd Moderna would be too much and the half dose better. So much to digest, with no studies because science is still learning and adapting as things play out in real-time. If we had the time, there would be studies to tell people what to do, but waiting for the results would result in too many lost lives.
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As discussed several times up thread, if you get a third does of Moderna today (bcos you are immunocompromised or otherwise eligible), it will be the exact same amount and concentration as Doses 1 & 2. Moderna just recently submitted its application to FDA/CDC for approval for a Booster which will be a half dose. Expect any federal approvals of this new dosage to take several weeks, at a minimum.
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Yes, I meant the 3rd one in the future, sorry. The people getting the 3rd Modena now are getting the full dose, which is possibly why their reaction is so severe (what I meant when I said “full-on third”).
I signed up last night on the CVS site for my 3rd Moderna shot. I answered all the questions honestly, including the one about being immunocompromised (I am not). I thought the registration would end there and kick me out but it allowed me to complete it and gave me an appointment.
By the way, it also allowed me to choose between Pfizer and Moderna. Some CVS stores offer one, others offer the other one.
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So interesting! Our township still regularly sends out vaccine and other related covid info to residents…last week’s said CVS doesn’t require any medical documentation for boosters, and one of the large grocery store chains uses the honor system.
So, yes, it looks like there are plentiful options (at least in my major metro area) for people to get boosters and not have to tell untruths…which seems ok since the vaccines aren’t supply constrained right now.
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New JNJ data this morning, data show a second shot “substantially increased its protection against Covid-19”
In a clinical trial, researchers found that two doses of the vaccine delivered 94 percent efficacy against mild to severe Covid-19 in the United States, up from 74 percent conferred with a single shot, the company reported. And two shots showed 100 percent efficacy against severe disease, although that estimate had a wide range of uncertainty.
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Interesting. There is an article in todays WSJ stating “Pharmacy chains such as CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said they are offering booster shots to people who sign a form stating that they qualify for the shot because they are immunocompromised . . . Both chains said they aren’t requiring patients to show documentation of their immunocompromised status.” Based on your experience, it seems some stores will give you the booster even if you don’t claim to be immunocompromised.
I am coming up on seven months since my second shot (Pfizer). I ride the subway every day to work and the trains have gotten much more crowded since school started. A vaccinated woman in my department tested positive yesterday. Once I hit the eight month mark, I plan on doing what I have to do to get the booster even if its not officially approved by the FDA.
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Question for those wanting additional doses: do you expect to need to get a dose every 6-8 months in the future, or do you expect this one additional dose to be enough for years at least, unless a vaccine-evading variant appears?
Following Israel’s lead, I expect a 4th dose in January 2022.
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Whether we get a 4th dose or not will depend upon the known metrics at that time. It’s impossible to predict right now, but if Covid remains a problem and vaccines are shown to help, why would I be opposed to it?
My critters get certain vaccinations every year. It’s part of life.
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What about the young women that got J&J before the clot issue came up? This vaccine is now not recommended for young woman so what should they do about boosters? I assume they could get P or M but should they get both doses or one as booster?
The city of SF was offering one of the mRNA vax as a booster to anyone who had JJ
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