Vaccine reluctance & General COVID Discussion

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9345

Not sure. Or maybe their original reccs changed? From the site:

Vaccination of children against covid-19

Children and adolescents rarely become severely ill from the Omicron variant of covid-19.

From 1 July 2022, it was no longer possible for children and adolescents aged under 18 to get the first injection and, from 1 September 2022, it was no longer possible for them to get the second injection.

A very limited number of children at particularly higher risk of becoming severely ill will still be offered vaccination based on an individual assessment by a doctor.

Also, looks like they consider those whoā€™ve had natural infection after vaxx to be well protected.

Why are people aged under 50 not to be re-vaccinated?

The purpose of the vaccination programme is to prevent severe illness, hospitalisation and death. Therefore, people at the highest risk of becoming severely ill will be offered booster vaccination. The purpose of vaccination is not to prevent infection with covid-19, and people aged under 50 are therefore currently not being offered booster vaccination.

People aged under 50 are generally not at particularly higher risk of becoming severely ill from covid-19. In addition, younger people aged under 50 are well protected against becoming severely ill from covid-19, as a very large number of them have already been vaccinated and have previously been infected with covid-19, and there is consequently good immunity among this part of the population.

It is important that the population also remembers the guidance on how to prevent the spread of infection, including staying at home in case of illness, frequent aeration or ventilation, social distancing, good coughing etiquette, hand hygiene and cleaning.

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9346

Thank you for sharing this article. I have one daughter who I did not think had a reaction to the vaccine besides being sick for several days after each shot. Her sisters both had serious reactions, one long term, the other short. But my daughter who I thought did not have a reaction has been having recurrent utiā€™s and candida infections, bad enough to end her up in the ER at the end of last semester. They started within a couple of weeks of the booster. Of course, that could happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime, and I never thought if the connection, but it makes me wonder after looking at the paper you posted. She has an appointment with a specialist this week.

If what the paper suggests is true, maybe sheā€™ll at least have resistance to the flu. Interestingly, this kid was often sick but I donā€™t think she has had one virus since getting vaccinated, not covid or anything else. And she lives a very full life. We have all had other viruses, multiple times, and Iā€™ve been surprised that she hasnā€™t caught anything at all.

9347

My daughter also has been battling recurring oral thrush (candidiasis) that she has never had problems with in the past. Interesting article indeed. Correlation does not always mean causation but there might be a link there. Iā€™m interested to hear what your daughterā€™s specialist says. Hope it resolves soon for them both.

9348

If Iā€™d been quick enough, I should have said that. (mostly I was just trying to keep as far as possible).

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9349

Has anyone here gotten verified* or highly probable** COVID-19 more than once?

If so, what was the prior vaccination and infection status (including time since most recent vaccination or infection) at the time of each infection, and what was the probable variant*** for each infection?

*By antigen or PCR test while infected. Or nucleocapsid antibody test indicating at least one past infection as of the date of testing.

**Based on significant exposure (e.g. within household) to a verified case followed by typical COVID-19 symptoms.

***In the US, before June 2021, probably ancestral or Alpha; mid-June to early-December 2021 probably Delta; mid-December 2021 to now, probably Omicron.

9350

My D19 had PCR confirmed ancestral strain in Jan 2021, then PCR confirmed infection (likely Omicron but not sequenced) in April 2022. She had received 3 Pfizer vaccines prior to the Omicron infection. Both infections were mild, neither would have kept her home from school pre-pandemic. Antigen tested negative on day 6 of Omicron infection.

9351

I have a friend who has come down with verified COVID-19 twice - once in December 2021 and once in August 2022. Based on his geographic patterns we believe it was Omicron both times. He is late-40s, vaxxed and 1x boosted. For risk factors, he is male, has hypertension and is overweight. First time he was pretty much knocked out of commission for a week and not great for another week - we sent him a care package, even. Second time, he was down for about a day but able to work from home for the remainder of his quarantine period.

9352

First of all, @ucbalumnus, Iā€™m thankful you got through your infection

My husbandā€™s story of two positive infections with timeline:

First shot.

Less than a month after 1st shot, 1st infection. Delta wave.
Negative antigen first day of symptoms but PCR came back positive.
1st day: Mild headache and low grade fever. After that, congestion.

One month after that, second shot.

Two months after that:
Late Delta/very early Omicron time.
Symptoms: fatigue and heart palpitations for one day, which sent him to the ER.
He tested positive by antigen and PCR at the ER.
The next day he had some sinus pressure.

I have almost wonder if he got it again after that during one of the later Omicron waves because he had that throat clearing thing that lots of people got with Omicron but he did not test because he had no other symptoms.

My daughterā€™s story:

Two vaccines one month apart.

Three and a half months later, first Omicron wave, first infection.
Positive by antigen.
Not as bad as a flu but worse than a mild cold for a day or two.
Congestion followed my mucus and throat clearing.

Four months after that, Omicron BA2? Milder than the first infection.
First PCR negative on second day of symptoms.
Second PCR positive from later the same day.
I knew she had been around people who tested positive so I pushed her to get a PCR, not realizing she had already had a PCR. I thought it was just an antigen test. Iā€™m grateful we did not rely on just that one test even if my D thought I was crazy at the time.

9353

We got together with friends for dinner last night. Theyā€™re in their mid-50s, in great shape. Vaccinated and boosted. They got COVID over a month ago and are still feeling the effects. They said they couldnā€™t believe the fatigue. :frowning: They think they got it at an event we would have attended if we hadnā€™t had a conflict! Apparently, a lot of people who went fell ill.

9354

I am vaccinated and 2 times boosted. I got the first booster last December. In January I got Covid. Confirmed by home test. I felt like I had a moderate cold with one day having a mild fever. My theory is I was protected reasonably well agains the initial infection and even the Delta strain but what I probably had was the Omicron strain. I decided not to get a second booster when it was offered but when the Bivalent booster came available I decided to get it. I got my flu shot at the same time. All I had was a sore arm and a bit of body ache the next day. That went away with a couple of ibuprofen. Now I guess I wait until the next variant comes out :crazy_face:

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9355

I have been very cautious and there have been a few occasions where I backed out at the last minute because I had uneasy feelings about attending and they turned out to be super spreader events.

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9356

My oldest son (late 20s at the time) probably had Covid back in the beginning months as per a chest x-ray taken at a hospital. Thatā€™s what they told him. ā€œLower respiratory infection, likely Covid.ā€ No vaxxes were around then. He ended up with long Covid after a three or four week battle at home with all the symptoms they had at the time.

A year+ later he received both Moderna vaxxes and his long Covid symptoms that were still around (chest pain and fatigue) completely disappeared.

This past spring he got Covid again, as per a home test. Had a few symptoms for about 3 days (cough, fatigue, perhaps others), then it was gone. He was much happier with his second go around. I donā€™t recall if he ever got a booster or just those first two doses.

His wife got neither of his cases even though they live together. The first one could have been asymptomatic, but on the second they had her test at least once and it came back negative.

9357

I had covid in July 2020, well before the vaccine. Symptoms were so mild (like a summer cold) I would not have thought to test had I not known I was exposed to a family member who was positive and hospitalized. Testing was very limited then and so much was unknown; we had to wait in line at a pop up location for testing and then quarantine for 14 days.

Second case Iā€™m aware of (per home test) was in August 2022 after both vaccinations and booster. This time I did have symptoms along the lines of a bad flu for 2-3 days. Mild cough and fatigue continued for another couple weeks. The only lingering symptom I have now is loss of smell and taste. Maybe that will help me lose the 5 lbs I hope to drop!

9358

A close friend of mine got Covid this past Feb, a couple months after her booster. Then got it again in July. Both times confirmed with the antigen test. She has asthma so was able to access anti-virals immediately; no need for a PCR confirmation fortunately. Mild symptoms both times. However, a recent CT scan ordered for something else happened to pick up atelectasis in at least one lobe area, and her doctor noted that they have seen that with other people following Covid infection. I had suspected long-Covid given some pulmonary symptoms she had been experiencing following the first infection; we work out together and she had been struggling with her breathing but thought it was due to having the wrong asthma medication.

9359

There are parts of that article which - to me - raise concern. They discuss the trans-generational inheritability of the immune system changes/responses.

Nano- lipid particles assumed to be inert showed to actually be inflammatory.

We donā€™t know if this is good or badā€¦but it should cause an increase in caution - since apparently the good and or bad changes are inheritable.

I thought of those DES daughtersā€¦

9360
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9361

Thereā€™s been many scientists making the same claim for monthsā€¦

9362

Of course itā€™s less lethal now that the culling of the human population has occurred.

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9363

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)01585-9/fulltext

This is worth a read. Thereā€™s also the response from WHO in the Lancet.

9364

COVID-19 lethality appears to skew by age much more strongly than flu lethality.

So it is entirely possible that, for well vaccinated people (3 doses for COVID-19, current seasonal flu vaccine), COVID-19 may be less lethal for younger people, but more lethal for those of Medicare age.

So it is entirely possible that, after getting sufficient vaccinations, younger people may not be too concerned about dying of COVID-19 themselves, but may be concerned about avoiding bringing it as an unwanted viral guest to a visit of their elderly parents or grandparents. Similarly, they may not be too concerned about their vaccinated kids sharing viruses possibly including SARS-CoV-2 in school, but may be more concerned about grandparent day care of those kids if the kids bring unwanted viral guests to the grandparents.

So US society is now in the weird state where most people seem to be treating COVID-19 as no big deal, making it difficult to avoid getting it, but it is still a big deal for a significant subset of people (elderly and those with some pre-existing medical conditions), and can be a big deal in certain contexts (e.g. international travel to destinations with COVID-19-related restrictions and testing and quarantine requirements).

Of course, either COVID-19 or flu can be rather unpleasant even if you do not die from it.

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