Have you all gotten your booster shots yet?

[Indianamom2]

Yes! Got my Pfizer booster about 3 weeks ago. I had my original shots done by the end of January 2021 and then they had clearly worn off because I got Covid in August. I felt achy and yucky the next day, but still better than Covid!

[AnnieW625]

I haven't signed up yet. I'm super pro-vaccine but I'm not sure how to feel about boosters? I feel like I'm probably influenced by Vincent on TWIV but I'm skeptical that they're needed? That said I'm not opposed to them at all and don't think they're dangerous. Until they opened it up to al 18+ I technically didn't qualify--no health conditions or age conditions for me. I will probably schedule it out of an abundance of caution for others but I'm truly not concerned for me or now for most of my family (since my littles are finally getting vaccinated!) I'm definitely more team "the world needs vaccines" than "I need a booster" but they say there is plenty of the vaccine to go around...

I very much agree with this….you said it way better than I did. I made my appointment for the 8th but honestly I am not 100% sure I really need it and may chicken out and cancel it.


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[essnce629]

I haven't signed up yet. I'm super pro-vaccine but I'm not sure how to feel about boosters? I feel like I'm probably influenced by Vincent on TWIV but I'm skeptical that they're needed? That said I'm not opposed to them at all and don't think they're dangerous. Until they opened it up to al 18+ I technically didn't qualify--no health conditions or age conditions for me. I will probably schedule it out of an abundance of caution for others but I'm truly not concerned for me or now for most of my family (since my littles are finally getting vaccinated!) I'm definitely more team "the world needs vaccines" than "I need a booster" but they say there is plenty of the vaccine to go around...

I feel exactly the same way, especially after listening to almost every single TWIV clinical update for almost a year! It just seems like the research that's come out doesn't prove the need for everyone 18+ needing boosters. The pandemic won't end without the entire world getting 1st and 2nd doses and there's really not much evidence that Americans getting 3rd and 4th shots will really do anything to help in the long run. Like they always talk about on TWIV, no vaccine has ever been created to decrease infection, the goal has always been to decrease disease/hospitalizations/deaths and that it makes no sense to say we all need boosters based on current infection rates. For instance, they were talking about how the infection rate in New York is exactly the same as it was a year ago, pre-vaccine, but that now they only have a few hundred in the hospital vs the thousands that were hospitalized last year, so the vaccines are clearly doing their job, even if antibodies are waning (which is expected). Antibodies aren't the only things that matter and the vaccine also works by creating B cell and T cell responses which no one is talking about. They also mention how getting a booster doesn't just have to be a one size fits all, that you should really take your community spread and individual health into consideration. Live in an area with no mask mandate, no testing in schools, and you're 65 with diabetes and a BMI of 35? Yes, you should get a booster. Live in an area with low community spread, indoor mask mandate, testing in schools and you're 35, BMI of 23, work from home, and no preexisting conditions? Then there's really no need to rush out and get a booster at this exact moment. If anything, they've talked about waiting and seeing if there's a possible spike later in the winter and getting a booster then. And if you're a male who's 18 with no preexisting conditions or weight issues and in that small group of those at risk for myocarditis after the vaccine, then maybe it's also better to wait for more research or to seek out a J&J vaccine for a booster.

I also feel like there's a ton of new Covid info that comes out each week that is completely missed in the news and instead we're only hearing and talking about boosters. The fact that we now have monoclonals to use as both treatment and prophylacticly, that decrease the chance of even developing symptoms by up to 80% is huge! And now we have 2 new oral antivirals that are seeking EUA approval as treatment options, Molnupiravir and Paxlovid, that were shown to be 30% and 89% effective against preventing hospitalization. The TWIV members were extremely excited about Paxlovid and have been touting monoclonals for about 10 months now!

Personally, for me, living in Los Angeles with one of the lowest covid positivity rates in the nation (0.89%), having mandatory masks indoors everywhere, having weekly testing in schools, being a SAHM, and DH working from home with neither of us having any preexisting health conditions or weight issues that put us at risk for severe disease, we are skipping boosters for now. My mom on the other hand is 65, got J&J, and works full time outside of the home, so she went ahead and got an mRNA booster as soon as she was eligible, which to me makes sense in her case. I'm also having DS1 get a booster as he's in college in a small town that has low vaccination rates and a much higher covid positivity rate and is in college living in a frat house. I would prefer he get J&J for his booster, due to the myocarditis risk with mostly the Pfizer vaccine, but that doesn't seem to be an option.

I feel like we should do a weekly thread on here about all the latest Covid news that's discussed on TWIV's weekly clinical update!

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[MSWR0319]

I haven't signed up yet. I'm super pro-vaccine but I'm not sure how to feel about boosters? I feel like I'm probably influenced by Vincent on TWIV but I'm skeptical that they're needed? That said I'm not opposed to them at all and don't think they're dangerous. Until they opened it up to al 18+ I technically didn't qualify--no health conditions or age conditions for me. I will probably schedule it out of an abundance of caution for others but I'm truly not concerned for me or now for most of my family (since my littles are finally getting vaccinated!) I'm definitely more team "the world needs vaccines" than "I need a booster" but they say there is plenty of the vaccine to go around...

I will say they are definitely needed here at least in some of the population/areas with high spread. We're seeing more and more cases of vaccinated individuals (with no booster) ending up in the hospital and even more taxing the medical system by needing to do to the doctor. I'm in the highest area of our state right now, so spread is high, vaccination rates are low, those who are vaccinated haven't gotten their boosters, and there aren't many masking. It's the perfect storm. Our area hospital just put out a notification asking business to think about mandating masks because they are out of room and there are no hospitals to transfer to within 3 hours, even for non-covid issues. They had to ask for ventilators from the emergency stock because they are out. They're going to have to start putting patients in halls, and it's taken 4 days to transfer patients to hospitals that can perform needed treatments not related to covid. I'm doing all I can to not only protect those around me, but to help keep the load off of our medical workers. I'm pretty sure I have a sinus infection from a cold I had but can't get in to see the doctor, and I'm not about to go to a walk in clinic. Are those vaccinated without boosters dying? Not most of them, but they are staying in the hospital for weeks which is causing stress on the medical system. In areas with high vaccination rate and low spread, I would think boosters probably aren't as important.

ETA: Just found out that the bigger hospitals an hour from us are almost out of monoclonal antibody treatments and the supply they are waiting on is back ordered. We're in bad shape here, and at this point you've got to do what you can to keep yourself safe.

[AnnieW625]

I feel exactly the same way, especially after listening to almost every single TWIV clinical update for almost a year! It just seems like the research that's come out doesn't prove the need for everyone 18+ needing boosters. The pandemic won't end without the entire world getting 1st and 2nd doses and there's really not much evidence that Americans getting 3rd and 4th shots will really do anything to help in the long run. Like they always talk about on TWIV, no vaccine has ever been created to decrease infection, the goal has always been to decrease disease/hospitalizations/deaths and that it makes no sense to say we all need boosters based on current infection rates. For instance, they were talking about how the infection rate in New York is exactly the same as it was a year ago, pre-vaccine, but that now they only have a few hundred in the hospital vs the thousands that were hospitalized last year, so the vaccines are clearly doing their job, even if antibodies are waning (which is expected). Antibodies aren't the only things that matter and the vaccine also works by creating B cell and T cell responses which no one is talking about. They also mention how getting a booster doesn't just have to be a one size fits all, that you should really take your community spread and individual health into consideration. Live in an area with no mask mandate, no testing in schools, and you're 65 with diabetes and a BMI of 35? Yes, you should get a booster. Live in an area with low community spread, indoor mask mandate, testing in schools and you're 35, BMI of 23, work from home, and no preexisting conditions? Then there's really no need to rush out and get a booster at this exact moment. If anything, they've talked about waiting and seeing if there's a possible spike later in the winter and getting a booster then. And if you're a male who's 18 with no preexisting conditions or weight issues and in that small group of those at risk for myocarditis after the vaccine, then maybe it's also better to wait for more research or to seek out a J&J vaccine for a booster.

I also feel like there's a ton of new Covid info that comes out each week that is completely missed in the news and instead we're only hearing and talking about boosters. The fact that we now have monoclonals to use as both treatment and prophylacticly, that decrease the chance of even developing symptoms by up to 80% is huge! And now we have 2 new oral antivirals that are seeking EUA approval as treatment options, Molnupiravir and Paxlovid, that were shown to be 30% and 89% effective against preventing hospitalization. The TWIV members were extremely excited about Paxlovid and have been touting monoclonals for about 10 months now!

Personally, for me, living in Los Angeles with one of the lowest covid positivity rates in the nation (0.89%), having mandatory masks indoors everywhere, having weekly testing in schools, being a SAHM, and DH working from home with neither of us having any preexisting health conditions or weight issues that put us at risk for severe disease, we are skipping boosters for now. My mom on the other hand is 65, got J&J, and works full time outside of the home, so she went ahead and got an mRNA booster as soon as she was eligible, which to me makes sense in her case. I'm also having DS1 get a booster as he's in college in a small town that has low vaccination rates and a much higher covid positivity rate and is in college living in a frat house. I would prefer he get J&J for his booster, due to the myocarditis risk with mostly the Pfizer vaccine, but that doesn't seem to be an option.

I feel like we should do a weekly thread on here about all the latest Covid news that's discussed on TWIV's weekly clinical update!

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See this is soo helpful. I am 44 working from home, my BMI is higher than 25 (has been since DD2) but I have no other underlying conditions, no diabetes, no high blood pressure, and am trying my best to lower the BMI/weight by doing weight watchers. I do know I need to see a doctor in person at some point soon so maybe I will talk to my physician about it then. If I was working outside the home I wouldn’t be this hesitant. I am honestly glad there are others here who are hesitant about it because I was afraid I was the only one (and made the appt. this am after first reading this post). My county residents are still good about masks and masks are required in schools. Both of my kids will be fully vaxxed as of Wednesday.

Dh if he gets a booster says he wants the J&J and I think that is why he hasn’t scheduled it yet.


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[chlobo]

I haven't signed up yet. I'm super pro-vaccine but I'm not sure how to feel about boosters? I feel like I'm probably influenced by Vincent on TWIV but I'm skeptical that they're needed? That said I'm not opposed to them at all and don't think they're dangerous. Until they opened it up to al 18+ I technically didn't qualify--no health conditions or age conditions for me. I will probably schedule it out of an abundance of caution for others but I'm truly not concerned for me or now for most of my family (since my littles are finally getting vaccinated!) I'm definitely more team "the world needs vaccines" than "I need a booster" but they say there is plenty of the vaccine to go around...

What did Vincent say?

[o_mom]

I also feel like there's a ton of new Covid info that comes out each week that is completely missed in the news and instead we're only hearing and talking about boosters. The fact that we now have monoclonals to use as both treatment and prophylacticly, that decrease the chance of even developing symptoms by up to 80% is huge! And now we have 2 new oral antivirals that are seeking EUA approval as treatment options, Molnupiravir and Paxlovid, that were shown to be 30% and 89% effective against preventing hospitalization. The TWIV members were extremely excited about Paxlovid and have been touting monoclonals for about 10 months now!

I am excited about the new meds, but the biggest problem is that they have to be given early on, in the first 3-5 days. With the lack of testing availability and turnaround time, many people are outside the window by the time they know they have it, and then face delays of days to get them. A friend's wife (fully vaxed), ended up in the hospital (in FL) because by the time she could get tested and get results, it was too late for antibody treatments. She was high risk, but faced barriers in getting testing, results, and treatment.

Personally, for me, living in Los Angeles with one of the lowest covid positivity rates in the nation (0.89%), having mandatory masks indoors everywhere, having weekly testing in schools, being a SAHM, and DH working from home with neither of us having any preexisting health conditions or weight issues that put us at risk for severe disease, we are skipping boosters for now. My mom on the other hand is 65, got J&J, and works full time outside of the home, so she went ahead and got an mRNA booster as soon as she was eligible, which to me makes sense in her case. I'm also having DS1 get a booster as he's in college in a small town that has low vaccination rates and a much higher covid positivity rate and is in college living in a frat house. I would prefer he get J&J for his booster, due to the myocarditis risk with mostly the Pfizer vaccine, but that doesn't seem to be an option.

I don't fall into any particularly high risk category, but at almost 50, in a place where masks are pretty much gone and the cases are skyrocketing, I'm going to get a booster. The positivity rate here is almost 12%. If cases were where we were last summer, I would probably wait. Not sure what DS1 is going to do. He had a pretty strong reaction the first time (high fever for several days), so he is not keen to get it. If he does, it will be over break.

[carolinacool]

DH does have a couple of comorbidities (as do I). But I really kept pushing him to get his booster because we're coming up on a busy time. Even though we both work from home, we're spending a fair amount of time out of the house. DS' basketball season is about to start, so that will be several weekends of sitting in gyms. I'm guessing most folks will wear masks, but we are not under any sort of mandate, so who knows. We're also going to a few college and pro basketball games, DS has a birthday outing in a couple of weeks, we might travel over Christmas, etc.

Our vaccination rate is middling and the percentage has been hovering in the 4% range, although creeping up some.

[essnce629]

What did Vincent say?

This is the blog post that Vincent wrote back in August where he talks about his stance on boosters and the data. He still stands by what he wrote back then and said Paul Offit agreed with him as well (he brought it up again in yesterday's TWIV episode). He is bringing Paul Offit back on TWIV on December 17th to discuss boosters and to see whether his opinion has changed since August, and if so, what does the data show.

Are COVID-19 vaccine boosters needed?
https://www.virology.ws/2021/08/19/a...osters-needed/

Opinion of Paul Offit and 2 other co-authors of recent research that came out today:

We don't need universal booster shots. We need to reach the unvaccinated.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlo...ersal-opinion/

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[citymama]

Yes. Knocked me out for 24 hours - Moderna x 3 for me.