I don’t want to steal Leap1’s thunder, but here’s my latest adventure:
On Friday, my wife and I took Moderna multi-valent 3rd boosters. I was trying to justify the timing as we expect to be doing some heavy-duty traveling starting in mid-January so, either we continued with our minimum protection until the end of the year and boosted before the trip - or else took the poke now with the possibility of another poke in a few months.
We chose Moderna because our four previous shots had been theirs and had few side effects (besides a sore spot on the arm).
So, Saturday, my nose started running and my wife started coughing. We started doing “quick” COVID tests - all of which were negative. By Sunday we both felt like crap and my throat was sore and my nose pouring (an Allegra eventually abated that a bit). Last night was “murder” and, while we both felt a bit better this morning, but I was running a slight fever (gone now). So, this morning, we walked to a local medical center and got PCR tests just to eliminate the possibility that we got a case of COVID parallel to the vaxxing.
Anyhow, we are both beginning to feel human again. I called my internist who said we were the first she had spoken to who had taken the booster, but it was likely that it ran into a high anti-body levels and this was our body’s way of fighting off the “pseudo-infection”.
Anyhow, we’ll find out for sure by tomorrow if somehow we also acquired a dose of COVID, but I suspect the issues were vaccine related.
I still think it’s worth it to take the booster (do it across a weekend in case you get hit the way we did), but we didn’t expect the pretty brutal side effects.
Took my new vax. Didn’t sleep at al that night. back to normal next day and slept well that next night.
Yeah, think my body anti-bodies and vax fought each other for a few hours, but definitely worth reducing risk.
Arm sore for 2 days at injection site (muscle) but over that quickly and really not that bad.
I know too many people who DIED from it, and probably at least 100 that got it - and some really suffered through it. One in hospital for weeks! Many ‘down’ for a week of nasty symptoms.
I still think it’s worth it to take the booster (do it across a weekend in case you get hit the way we did), but we didn’t expect the pretty brutal side effects.
Yup, definitely worth taking if you are in a risk group.
But it is worth noting that the omicron booster has not yet completed testing in human trials, so there are a lot of assumptions being made based on past Moderna vaccines. And as you have seen, the severity of the side-effects remain unknown. NPR has a writeup on this: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/08/18/1117778…
The human studies should be available by the end of October. If you are healthy and not in a high risk group, you might consider waiting until then to get the jab, particularly since that would give you peak protection during the main holiday travel days.
Sorry to hear about your illness, Jeff! I hope you feel better soon.
I tend to have strong (bad) reactions to vaccines. I plan to get the Covid omicron booster in early October. Three weeks to develop immunity, then maximum immunity during November - February. Same with the flu shot.
Hi. My husband and I received our third Covid booster from Pfizer on Saturday. No side effects so far, other than some mild soreness in our arms at the site of the injection. Side effects from our shingles vaccines earlier in the year were much much worse. Just wanted to share this information for those who are on the fence about getting the third Covid booster from Pfizer.
Hi. My husband and I received our third Covid booster from Pfizer on Saturday. No side effects so far, other than some mild soreness in our arms at the site of the injection.
Same here. Got the Pfizer Omicron jab last Thursday. No effects other than a sore spot on my arm.
As there was an event last weekend that I wanted to attend, I did not get a flu shot at the same time, because I didn’t want to deal with a double dose of side effects while attending the event.
In 2020, the covid surge from the Michigan religious events in October was larger than the Christmas surge, so I am getting primed for a repeat next month.
So, given the difference in severity of reactions, is the Pfizer jab actually Stokaline, or is the Moderna jab funky? Both companies are publicity hounds, and both want to maximize profit.
Just tried scheduling the 3rd booster/Omicron, on, in my case a local Safeway pharmacy where we got the 2 prior boosters, nit at the last step, ‘technical issues’ prevented it from completing the appointment… Try Later it says…
Held off until 9/30 as we’re going camping the week before, don’t need to be messed up with all the getting ready stuff to do…
So at least it’s rolling out…
Not a peep from my PCP’s office… Same as the prior…
Hi. My husband and I received our third Covid booster from Pfizer on Saturday. No side effects so far, other than some mild soreness in our arms at the site of the injection.
Ditto. Sorry your reaction was different, Jeff, but I have to admit the one Moderna shot I took, booster number 2, was the worst reaction of all my shots.
OK, we got our PCR test results this morning and neither of us are infected with COVID. While I guess it’s conceivable that we caught a parallel head cold, I’m just going to call this an unanticipated (based on both of us having “nothing special” through four previous Moderna shots) side effect of our COVID booster (our fifth shot in less than two years).
My wife has pretty much completely recovered and I still have a bit of a clogged head (helped a lot by Allegra antihistamine) and a slight return of the sore throat, but otherwise feeling much better.
I would still take another booster if it became recommended, but I have a new respect for its potential side-effects (before now it was "that ain’t gonna happen to me) and will take that into account.
While an asymptomatic infection (barring long-COVID aspects) trumps what I just went through, this was definitely a better experience than spending time in an ICU.
While I guess it’s conceivable that we caught a parallel head cold, I’m just going to call this an unanticipated (based on both of us having “nothing special” through four previous Moderna shots) side effect of our COVID booster (our fifth shot in less than two years).
It’s not only conceivable that you both caught a cold at the same time, if you spend much of your time together, it’s probable. Less probable that you would have the same reaction to the booster given you don’t share the same genetics, and don’t have the same immune system. All 4 members of our family has very different reactions to the covid shots. Why should yours all of the sudden be the very same?
Your logic sounds like that of an antivaxxer, (not that I am calling you one, obviously), and gives them ammunition. Truth is that you don’t know where the symptoms come from but you “calling” it as a consequence of the booster is a disservice to those considering getting the booster. Please be logical.
IP’s comment that we likely suffered from an external cold or virus, rather than a side effect from the new COVID booster got me to thinking. Unlikely as it was, the possibility that we simultaneously caught a dose of the highly contagious Omicron COVID was the reason we took a PCR test in order to rule that out.
The reason I said it was unlikely, is that we remain masked at nearly all times when we are likely to meet people, but have, a couple of times, eaten in restaurants (but not within the past week or so).
It was indicated that we were unlikely to suffer the same side effect because we were genetically different. Actually, while (according to 23 and Me) we are not directly related, we come from the same gene pool (Ashkenazi from what would now be called Poland/Moldova/Belarus/Ukraine, but was the the “Pale” in Russia, and both of us have similar eye color/hair color and skin tone). As alluded to, we have spent about 95% of our time over the past 3 years within a few feet of each other as well as being vaccinated from the same lots of COVID shots as well as both having recently gotten PTAP shots on the same day. So, while it is possible that we caught the same “bug” through being exposed to the same pathogens, it is also possible that we are similar enough from a physical standpoint to suffer the same side effects from the COVID booster.
My current theory is that we have, over the past few years of both being vaccinated (5 times over a 2 1/2 year period) as well as being exposed to dozens of “close calls” of others getting Delta and then Omicron COVID nearby on a cruise ship - and maybe picking up some spillover) built up a significant level of COVID antibodies which were then triggered by the new mixture of bi-valent vaccine.
I have heard of people getting adverse side effects in the past and sort of ignored it as a possibility in my case (after all, I’m too important for side effects :-)). I am not suggesting not to get the booster - I think it is important to have its protection - but I am suggesting to allocate taking it at a time when, if you have a significant side effect, it doesn’t interfere with anything important. We got the shots on last Friday. Today is Wednesday and my residual effect is a “moist” nose, but my wife still has a sore throat and is coughing. I would put the side effect in the order of magnitude of a head cold, rather than the flu and think it’s a reasonable tradeoff to getting really sick from a COVID infection. Any anti-vaxxer who wants to take that action is going to go that route whether there are side effects or not.