I assume that all METARs are vaccinated and boosted. The CDC has recommended 2nd boosters for over age 65 and/or high risk. (I qualify on both counts.) I got my 2nd booster yesterday. DH last week.
Based on rises in infection rates, the CDC has widened their recommendation.
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/s0519-covid-booster-…
**CDC Strengthens Recommendations and Expands Eligibility for COVID-19 Booster Shots**
**May 19, 2022**
**CDC is strengthening its recommendation that those 12 and older who are immunocompromised and those 50 and older should receive a second booster dose at least 4 months after their first. Over the past month we have seen steady increases in cases, with a steep and substantial increase in hospitalizations for older Americans. While older Americans have the highest coverage of any age group of first booster doses, most older Americans received their last dose (either their primary series or their first booster dose) many months ago, leaving many who are vulnerable without the protection they may need to prevent severe disease, hospitalization, and death.**
**Whether it is your first booster, or your second, if you haven’t had a vaccine dose since the beginning of December 2021 and you are eligible, now is the time to get one.**
Wendy
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Have appointment for Wednesday 25 at 17:02.
The Captain
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The current second booster is the same as the first regardless if it is the Pfizer or Moderna.
Pfizer & Moderna are working on new vaccines more effective against Omicron variant. I’m wait on that vaccine.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2022/04/24/second-covi…
https://pharmaphorum.com/news/pfizer-moderna-are-prepping-ne…
The current second booster is the same as the first regardless if it is the Pfizer or Moderna.
By the time that’s available, it’ll be time for another booster regardless. Cases are rising. I suggest you just get the jab.
DW and I got our 2nd boosters two weeks ago. Zero issues. We leave for 9 days in Paris on Sunday, happy that we’re double-boosted.
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A few more link folks can peruse & perhaps find them helpful.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/vaccine-stops-protecting-omi…
The latest research considered 128 patients who had received at least both initial shots of the Pfizer vaccine and some who had received the third booster dose. Blood tests were taken from each to examine antibody levels, which can help measure how protected someone is from infection from the virus or severe illness. Results found that levels of specific “neutralizing” antibodies that protect against the Omicron variant fell “rapidly” compared to those effective against the Delta variant and original strain, dropping from 76 percent four weeks after the second initial dose to 53 percent eight to ten weeks later and 19 percent at the 12 to 14-week mark.
The above seems to suggest bimonthly or quarterly shots would be needed. Forbes has a more detailed report:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/05/13/pfizers-c…
Israel has found that “Fourth COVID vaccine still doesn’t stop Omicron”. The 4th shot provide some additional protection though.
https://nypost.com/2022/01/18/fourth-covid-vaccine-still-doe…
https://www.fox7austin.com/news/moderna-aims-fall-release-om…
Moderna aims for Fall release for omicron, variant-specific COVID-19 vaccine boosters
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I don’t think anyone knows if it helps or not but we got them a couple of weeks ago. Generally nothing serious from it other than being drained (very tired) for a couple of days.
Work wise due to the county moving up into medium and a pinch from high CDC category, they are adding new restrictions at work. The whole thing seems predictable to me. Remove all restrictions, have large groups of people gathering, start seeing numbers go up, do nothing and be surprised as the numbers continue to grow.
No one really wants to wear a mask at work for 8 hrs a day so it would have made most sense at my place of employment to remove masking at desks restrictions but required most meetings to be virtual and in congested places wear masks. Of course with the looser restrictions we’ve had multiple cases in my office and near by. Somehow I’ve avoided it. Fortunately I do my best to avoid close contact with people but not much you can do with someone coughs/sneezes in a closed space. And allergies are pretty bad right now with high pollen counts.
I believe hospitalizations have risen a fair amount in the Maryland area which is never good news.
Life goes on, for most of us…
DW and I got our 2nd boosters two weeks ago. Zero issues. We leave for 9 days in Paris on Sunday, happy that we’re double-boosted.
To follow up, even being super-boosted and carefully masking on our return flight, except briefly while eating, did not prevent us from getting Covid, which we almost certainly contracted on the return flight. (We are aged 73 and 70.)
We took the (then required) Covid test the day before our return flight: negative. We tested again the day after we got back home: negative. A couple of days later, I started running a slight fever and had some GI issues but no respiratory ones. Chalked it up to possible foodborne illness from the inflight meal. Then DW started having similar symptoms. We stayed home, mostly in bed, running low-grade fevers for the next few days. Then DW said she couldn’t smell anything. We re-retested: positive for both of us.
Apparently this pattern is not uncommon for boosted folks: it’s takes time for the viral load to get high enough to register. Our fevers are now gone, DW says she’s starting to smell things again. I’ve got the sniffles but otherwise fine. Still low energy, though.
Our takeaways: 1. The current variants are super-contagious; act accordingly. 2. Keep your (properly fitted) mask on for the entire flight, other than fleetingly to take a drink or a quick bite; you’ll survive even a long flight without “dining.” (We’ll be flying to Hawaii, where we split our time, in about a month.)
PS: We had a glorious week in Paris, even if we limited our dining to outdoors cafes, sitting at some remove from others. We were always masked indoors (e.g., shopping, museum).
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Apparently this pattern is not uncommon for boosted folks: it’s takes time for the viral load to get high enough to register.
This means that the booster still has some benefit. If it takes longer for the viral load to grow high enough to cause symptoms and a positive test result, then that the immune system has a head start in fighting the infection. This results in a milder case and maybe even an asymptomatic case. I’m sure that other factors (like a healthier diet, Vitamin D3, selenium, Vitamin B12, etc.) would help even more.
A couple of days later, I started running a slight fever and had some GI issues but no respiratory ones. Chalked it up to possible foodborne illness from the inflight meal. Then DW started having similar symptoms. We stayed home, mostly in bed, running low-grade fevers for the next few days.
I know that this is classified as a very “mild” case, but it still sounds plenty nasty to me. The last time I was that sick for that long was at least 10 years ago. Even a slightest hint of a fever stops me in my tracks and makes it impossible to concentrate on anything.
That’s why I’m more cautious now than I was a year ago. The graphs at https://biobot.io/data/ show that the latest wastewater viral load for the US is just slightly lower than the late May/early June peak and still over 6 times higher than that of the March low and 11 times higher than that of this time last year. Additionally, reinfections and breakthrough infections were quite rare a year ago but are quite common now.
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PS: We had a glorious week in Paris, even if we limited our dining to outdoors cafes, sitting at some remove from others. We were always masked indoors (e.g., shopping, museum).
If you had to get sick, so glad you are doing well now and it was on the return trip. How was masking in Paris?
I have emailed you separately on another subject if you would not mind looking for that email and replying.
IP
How was masking in Paris?
Many Asian tourists/residents were masked, even outdoors. Also maybe 1/3 of the folks on crowded public transit. Otherwise, pretty much nonexistent. But at least those of us who wore masks didn’t get side-eyed by the non-masked.