OT:Can/should I get a 4th Shot???

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DW and I are fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine and received our “booster” (3rd) Pfizer shot on October 4, 2021.

We received our booster shots almost exactly 7 months after our initial doses, a little later than the 6 months recommended by the CDC.

Friday, February 4 will be 4 months after our booster shot. I am faced with soon deciding whether I try to get the 4th shot - and if I want it, who will offer it to me.

Israel recommends a 4th shot to anyone over age 60 just four months after receiving the booster, noting that COVID antibodies are increased 3 to 5 times after receiving the 4th injection. They recently decided to offer the 4th shot to people of all ages five months after their booster.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/…

In the US, the CDC offers a 4th shot to severely “immunocompromised” people 6 months after their booster shot. I am over 60 and suffer from pulmonary fibrosis, along with numerous other comorbidities, including heart disease, so I am extremely vulnerable - even if not immunocompromised.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/09/health/immunocompromised-…

Less than 30 days after the second Pfizer dose, I developed AFib - although correlation does not equal causation. Fortunately, my electro cardiologist has been able to keep it under control with medication. I had an earlier bout of AFib corrected surgically in 2018, but I don’t want to go into any hospital full of COVID patients.

Unfortunately, DW says she will refuse to get any 4th COVID shot. Her 3rd shot left her with recurrent injection site pain and persistent fatigue, which she attributes to the vaccine booster. I’m waiting to receive the “free” test kits my taxes paid for. I don’t know if testing DW with one of the free kits could reveal whether her perceived “side effects” were symptoms of COVID infection.

Somehow I cannot imagine her having COVID without spreading it to me. We do share a bed, after all.

Despite my own concerns about repeated vaccinations, I trust Israeli authorities more than I trust US authorities. If it’s good enough for the grandparents of Jewish doctors, it’s good enough for me.

I am still left with 2 questions:

  1. If I want a 4th shot, will it be difficult to get it?

  2. Should I even try, if DW will not be joining me?

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I don’t know if testing DW with one of the free kits could reveal whether her perceived “side effects” were symptoms of COVID infection.

The rapid tests being sent out by the government will only show an active infection, not any prior infection, so, no it won’t show what caused your wife’s symptoms. You could get an Covid antibody test, which would show if she’s been infected. I’m not sure where to get one.

1. If I want a 4th shot, will it be difficult to get it?

2. Should I even try, if DW will not be joining me?

I don’t know for sure about the first question, but I expect you can probably go to a pharmacy and claim to qualify for the 4th shot, and they won’t require any documentation. With all your co-morbidities, it seems like there is potential benefit to you, whether or not your wife gets another shot.

I personally don’t know if it’s a good idea for you to get a 4th shot. I think the science is not settled by any stretch. There’s some worry about provoking and auto-immune reaction from repeated vaccinations, if I’m not mistaken.

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A compromise is to get the omnicron-specific vaccine as your 4th dose.

If you and your wife are concerned about vaccine side effects, make sure you get enough supplementary Vitamin D, and be sure to consume healthy diets. Inflammation may be the cause of vaccine side effects, so anything you can do to minimize this would help.

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1. If I want a 4th shot, will it be difficult to get it?

2. Should I even try, if DW will not be joining me?

Whether you should get the 4th shot or not should be up to you and your doctor, IMO.
Or a cherry-picked doctor…

As to getting the shot, I’d just make the appointment and show up.
If they even bother to ask, just say your doctor told you to get it based on your “condition”
Doubtful they’d not give you a shot.

Mike

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