PlagueWatch 2020-23 - Coronavirus

[Bluedog]

My semi-informed opinion. If you got J and J make sure you get an mRNA booster. Either one is fine.

If you got Pfizer or Moderna, get another mRNA booster. Doesn't matter which one. I got Pfizer for first 2 doses because that was what my county site had at the empty Sears in the mall. I got Pfizer for a booster because that was what the Publix pharmacy closest to my house had.

• Moderna is showing slightly less efficacy of waning from the original 2 doses. So maybe will hold up longer after 3. But the difference isn't really significant.
• But, as you point out, Pfizer 3 is showing slightly better nAb level than Moderna 3. Again differences are negligible.
• Moderna has slightly higher myocarditis rate (but still rare) and, anecdotally, slightly more people feeling like crap at some point within 48 hrs of getting a shot. But that was with their 100ug dose. Booster is 50ug dose.

Just get one to help reduce re-infection and transmission this winter and keep our health care system from being extremely overburdened.

Thanks for your response and expertise. Interestingly, Walgreens isn't allowing "mix and match" even though it states on the scheduling page "While CDC allows you to choose, we're not doing that at this time and you can only receive a booster of the shot you already received." CVS seems to allow it by me though...for me (Moderna recipient) as you said seems to not make much of a difference between the two mRNA options.

[acdevil]

Took my 8 year old for her first vax shot and they gave me a booster while I was there. Productive trip. Got Moderna booster (Pfizer original shots)

[YmoBeThere]

Back up over 100k cases the last couple of days, rolling 7 deaths still over 1,000.

[acdevil]

Check with local towns etc. the volunteer ambulance corps in my town was giving out vax - children, adults, boosters, whatever you needed.

[MChambers]

Anecdotal evidence but it's happened. Someone that I know who has recovered from covid (hospitalized about a year ago) and remained unvaxxed is now in the hospital for the second time with covid.

I have a friend who believes (and her PCP agrees, but she wasn't tested) she got covid twice before being vaccinated. She wasn't against getting vaccinated: vaccines just weren't available. She is now fully vaxxed and I assume will be getting a booster as soon as she is eligible.

[OldPhiKap]

Good luck OPK. I had a hell of a 36 hours after getting mine on Wednesday. Fever broke in the middle of the night last night and my headache, coughing and muscular pain all went away in a flash. Phew.

Appreciate it!!!

Thankfully, no problems after 24 hours. Fingers crossed for the next bracket!

[cspan37421]

Got my Moderna booster this morning ... would have gotten it yesterday when the approval for under 55/healthy came through, but the pharmacy didn't get the "Go" email from corporate until this morning.
Today was 7 months exactly from my 2nd shot (of Moderna). Chose the right arm b/c my left has been taking the brunt of vaccines lately (flu, covid, shingles).
7 hrs later, no issues, but we'll see. Could be a rough night, but I didn't have any trouble with my 2nd shot, and only an afternoon of heavy fatigue with the first. Maybe a dead arm for a bit, too, I forget.

I asked for Pfizer, just to mix things up, but they said it had expired. But to make it up to me, they say within a day or so I should get an extra bar with my 5G reception.

[Bluedog]

I just scheduled Pfizer booster for early December after having gotten Moderna in the spring. I hope I don't experience what I did after dose #2 but we shall see. I was hoping that the lower dosage might help with that, but haven't seen conclusive data on side effects with the mix and match.

With that and my 5 year old getting his second dose also in early December, will feel more protected for the holidays. 🙂 Although my 3-year old still is ineligible of course.

[Bluedog]

Well, despite our scientific advances in treating COVID and having an effective vaccine, deaths in 2021 in the US due to COVID have now surpassed 2020's total. (I recognize 2020's "clock" didn't start until mid March basically.) That's depressing...

[YmoBeThere]

Well, despite our scientific advances in treating COVID and having an effective vaccine, deaths in 2021 in the US due to COVID have now surpassed 2020's total. (I recognize 2020's "clock" didn't start until mid March basically.) That's depressing...

I'm not sure how useful the yearly comparisons are as 1) the virus doesn't use a calendar 2) 2020 contained significant periods of inactivity in large swaths of the country and 3) vaccine usage didn't ramp up until late January/February of this year. At that time, nearly 3,500 a day were dying.

I think the more useful comparison will be Year 1 from onset versus Year 2 from onset. The time frame of 2020 versus 2021 strikes me as manipulation.

[-jk]

I'm not sure how useful the yearly comparisons are as 1) the virus doesn't use a calendar 2) 2020 contained significant periods of inactivity in large swaths of the country and 3) vaccine usage didn't ramp up until late January/February of this year. At that time, nearly 3,500 a day were dying.

I think the more useful comparison will be Year 1 from onset versus Year 2 from onset. The time frame of 2020 versus 2021 strikes me as manipulation.

Indeed. People like nice, recognizable milestones. And they're often arbitrary - whether calendar or numbers that end in zeroes.

-jk

[budwom]

I've seen several wire service articles in the last several days stating that Europe is the only place where case counts are rising...I guess the writers aren't looking at the CDC website, which has the U.S. national rate with a strong upward trajectory now.

[Bluedog]

I'm not sure how useful the yearly comparisons are as 1) the virus doesn't use a calendar 2) 2020 contained significant periods of inactivity in large swaths of the country and 3) vaccine usage didn't ramp up until late January/February of this year. At that time, nearly 3,500 a day were dying.

I think the more useful comparison will be Year 1 from onset versus Year 2 from onset. The time frame of 2020 versus 2021 strikes me as manipulation.

I hear ya, and wasn't intending to make a direct comparison but rather simply relaying the numbers that have been reported by publications elsewhere.

I've seen several wire service articles in the last several days stating that Europe is the only place where case counts are rising...I guess the writers aren't looking at the CDC website, which has the U.S. national rate with a strong upward trajectory now.

Yes, cases are increasing in the US certainly, but if you look at the case counts for a country like Germany, it certainly is a bit of a different narrative with the pace of increase and how it compares to prior surges.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...vid-cases.html 14 day change of cases +74%, deaths +64% (Germany)
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...vid-cases.html 14 day change of cases +29%, deaths -9% (US)

[YmoBeThere]

I hear ya, and wasn't intending to make a direct comparison but rather simply relaying the numbers that have been reported by publications elsewhere.

I'm suspicious of everything theses days. Around the end of March we hit 570k or so. There have been an additional 220k since then. Using an annual cutoff allows one to point fingers politically.

Screenshot 2021-11-22 083708.jpg

[throatybeard]

Are most people sticking with the same booster they got originally?

I did, Moderna #3 on Saturday. Slight arm pain and no other sides.

[Bluedog]

I did, Moderna #3 on Saturday. Slight arm pain and no other sides.

That's good to hear. I guess I'll be the guinea pig as I'm scheduled for Pfizer #3 after Moderna #1-2. Hope I come out like you did.

I just read an article from Germany that says many of the general public there don't want Moderna because they view BioNTech as superior (since its a German firm). Obviously, that has shown not to the case and both are top notch, but I thought the home bias was interesting. We probably would have it too if there was a vaccine approved in the U.S. that didn't have a U.S. firm associated with an aspect of it. (And that's not the reason I'm going with Pfizer of course).

[jafarr1]

Thanks for your response and expertise. Interestingly, Walgreens isn't allowing "mix and match" even though it states on the scheduling page "While CDC allows you to choose, we're not doing that at this time and you can only receive a booster of the shot you already received." CVS seems to allow it by me though...for me (Moderna recipient) as you said seems to not make much of a difference between the two mRNA options.

In Colorado, there are public vaccination sites (mine was at a community college) where one can drive up and get whichever of the shots they are offering that day. Lines were short midweek; it took me about 15 minutes to get my booster.

I got a Pfizer booster on my original J&J. I had a much stronger reaction to the booster than the original - I was laid out for about 8 hours starting approximately 22 hours after my booster, but I only noticed a slight fever after my J&J shot.

[devil84]

That's good to hear. I guess I'll be the guinea pig as I'm scheduled for Pfizer #3 after Moderna #1-2. Hope I come out like you did.

I did Pfizer #3 and the flu after Moderna #1-2. I didn't really have much of a reaction other than a sore arm that was only noticeable if I raised my arms above my shoulders. My better half, though had shaking and chills for about an hour in the middle of the night, which was a completely new symptom for either the COVID or flu vaccine. Moderna #1 was a sore arm, Moderna #2 was a really sore arm and a day of lazing on the sofa feeling icky (but not bad). Neither of us had "shaking and chills" on the bingo card.

Daughter did flu and Moderna #3 after Pfizer #1-2. She, too, had a rough night. Of course, she's a nursing mom and had decided to paint her dining room that day after getting the shot, so she was a glutton for punishment.

So now I'm left to wonder if my immune system is up to snuff, since I didn't seem to react very much! Good luck on your booster, Bluedog.

[Skydog]

My totally scientific theory:
<45yo likely chills & fever
>55yo likely sore arm and tired
45-55yo little of this, little of that

[freshmanjs]

My daughter (Duke Sophomore) got her Moderna booster at Duke Student Health today. Her biggest concern was whether her arm would be too sore to cheer properly at Cameron tonight