No…I’m over it. I get a flu shot, this is no different
1 Like
Got my 2nd booster this morning (J&J/ Pfizer/Pfizer) and other than a sore arm,I seem to be fine. and here I was half-hoping for a good reason to leave work early 
2 Likes
I got a 2nd Moderna booster Sunday night, following 3 Pfizer’s. Slight sore arm was all, which was great considering I had to watch (and lift) 3 month old grandson 12 hours after the shot.
1 Like
My doctor encouraged me getting a second booster and also recommended staying with Moderna. The side effects from the first booster were noticeably less than from the second vaccination so fingers crossed. No problem scheduling for later this month at CVS - I planned it for 16 days before my trip (first time flying during the pandemic). Now I just have to convince my son that it will be safe for me on an airplane if they lift the mask restrictions…
@Marilyn Why not just go ahead and get it and be done with it? We got our Moderna boosters on Saturday afternoon. Sunday very sore arms but that really was it. You could either make an appointment or probably even walk in at many places. Glad you will be seeing your son!
I just saw a case of trigeminal nerve neuralgia (possibly shingles), with onset <4 days after the patient had a 4th dose (Pfizer). There are a very few reports in the literature of this. Cannot be sure that this was in rxn to the booster. I think that the patient and I both feel that it was better to have gotten the booster, and dealt with this, than get Covid. Responded well overnight to rapid treatment with Valtrex.
2 Likes
Because I don’t want a sore arm while getting ready for Passover - cleaning and cooking. My scheduled appointment is just about six months after my first booster.
Trigeminal nerve neuralgia can be very long lasting and extremely painful. It is often times known as the “suicide disease” as the pain can be constant, burning and unbearable. I know someone who suffered for two years and then did in fact commit suicide.
So, I personally don’t believe that getting a 4th booster with this side effect would be better than getting Covid. I would tend to think the first three shots would prevent serious outcomes of Covid.
The patient had sudden onset paresthesia in the R mandibular branch, then tearing of the R eye and watery discharge from R nostril. No pain. Begun on Valtrex within 6 hours of onset of symptoms, paresthesia and ocular/nasal discharge resolved by morning.
So maybe it was shingles (but pt had had both the old shingles shot and Shingrix), or maybe it was the onset of trigeminal neuralgia (but it seems to have responded rapidly to Valtrex, and it’s not known whether shingles is a/the trigger for trigeminal neuralgia). So I wouldn’t necessarily call it trigeminal neuralgia, but we’ll never know if it was shingles, since it was caught so early that no lesions formed to be cultured.
In any event, the patient and I both feel that this was better than having Covid.
1 Like
Glad it was caught early and the patient is doing well.
I am very glad the 2nd booster is available to those who wish to have it and feel that for them the benefit outweighs any risk. I feel that for us the benefit of that extra amount of protection is great and wonderful relief for D because we will be around her friends who are flying in for weddings later this month. We experienced very minor discomforts from this shot and would do it again in 6 months if that is what is recommended.
H and I are at high risk of serious cases of Covid so are grateful for whatever protection we can get.
5 Likes
Since people get this condition with absolutely no history of recent vaccination, it would be really hard to associate it with the booster, unless there has been a documented increase in cases since the vaccine became available. Are there any records of this being the case? Somewhat disconcerting if this turns out to be vaccine related.
1 Like
For what one data point is worth, I’ve been dealing with TN for seven or so years now, fortunately the “dull” kind after a little bit of experience with the “bad” kind - definitely letting me know why that version is the suicide version.
None of my three shots so far have affected it at all. Not immediately and not a few days afterward.
But it’s one data point and we all know people can react differently, so I’d love to see actual stats too.
2 Likes
Two of my daughters developed shingles in the weeks following their second and third covid shots, respectively. Was it related? Hard to tell. It’s been a super stressful time of life for everyone. And my husband and our other daughter also had shingles as young adults.
One of them also then developed a recurrence of hemicrania continua after about 6 years of remission. She thinks somehow the shot activated the shingles virus and that nerve involvement activated the head pain, but who knows? With young children, she’s glad to have the protection, but an additional booster would be a hard sell if it comes with unrelenting head pain. The hemicrania seems to be responding some to large doses of melatonin but it’s very sad to have it back at all.
Any possible side effect also has a baseline incidence. These are just anecdotal reports. We won’t know for sure until years later if even the reports of serious immune thrombocytopenia were really caused by the vaccine, or are no higher than the background incidence.
That being said, right now the “anecdotal reports” of incidence of Covid cases, at least those that I’m hearing about, are skyrocketing in southern New England. The next wave is arriving right now. Wastewater levels of Covid have tripled from their recent low, but are nowhere near their previous peak. We’re again at the point where the choice will be (another) booster, or Covid infection. The Israeli data apparently indicated that the 4th dose only blocked infection for 4-8 weeks, but decreased the risk of serious infection or death by about 80%, vs those who had only had the 3rd dose, over 4 months ago.
2 Likes
Note that Israel used almost exclusively Pfizer vaccine.
I don’t really care about waste water levels. The only pertinent statistic that I’m concerned about is hospitalization and hospital availability. That is not a concern at all where I live right now. Our hospitalization rate is extremely low.
Hospitalizations ticked up in PA a little bit according to our TV news. Med lad in NY said the same thing when we talked with him on the weekend. Both are still lower than any wave, but have increased.
I hope it’s a short term blip and not the start of something. Spring is here - perhaps with more folks heading outside that will help.
1 Like
Not a concern where I live either.
This was just tweeted by the Health Editor of The Guardian. Something to watch as we often follow England, though this wave may be different.
https://twitter.com/andrewgregory/status/1511770226127425540?s=20&t=gvV5migp0RJ1gvL7Z5nlMA&fbclid=IwAR2BFqHmoO37ffXPbfzhExVgTTzpUOZ9W5VL61VhvumJKU3EgCC7qXyStOA
1 Like
Waste water levels are probably a leading indicator, while hospital crowding is a lagging indicator (since people may still be in the hospital after the surge has gone down), and deaths are even more of a lagging indicator.
So increased detection in waste water may indicate a surge, or just a blip. It may mean that if you have scheduled hospital care or anticipated hospital needs in the near future, be aware of the increased risk that it can be disrupted by a COVID-19 surge, even though such a surge is not certain or may just be a blip.
3 Likes