Covid Booster. Yes/No? *** The Covid Thread ***

Use this board for general non-cycling-related chat, or to introduce yourself to the forum.
User avatar
[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Covid Booster. Yes/No?

Post by [XAP]Bob »

Jdsk wrote: 3 Dec 2021, 8:45am The study that's getting the attention this morning:

"Safety and immunogenicity of seven COVID-19 vaccines as a third dose (booster) following two doses of ChAdOx1 nCov-19 or BNT162b2 in the UK (COV-BOOST): a blinded, multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase 2 trial"
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanc ... 3/fulltext

And initial expert reactions at the Science Media Centre:
https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expe ... or-pfizer/

Jonathan
Very good news.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
axel_knutt
Posts: 2869
Joined: 11 Jan 2007, 12:20pm

Re: Covid Booster. Yes/No?

Post by axel_knutt »

axel_knutt wrote: 22 Nov 2021, 1:07pm They wanted to do flu as well, but I decided to wait a week or two so as not to risk piling two lots of side effects on top of one another.
I had the flu vaccine yesterday, no side effects from that, either.
“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
pwa
Posts: 17357
Joined: 2 Oct 2011, 8:55pm

Re: Covid Booster. Yes/No?

Post by pwa »

[XAP]Bob wrote: 3 Dec 2021, 10:05am
pwa wrote: 3 Dec 2021, 5:26am
Tangled Metal wrote: 2 Dec 2021, 7:19am Oh I wish I was allowed to take the booster now. The city I work in and travel to by train has had an omicron case confirmed. I think the hospital will be full by Xmas. Seriously thinking of taking my 7 days holiday to finish early to hide away, not carry them over to 2022.
As yet there is no suggestion that Omicron is more dangerous than Delta. You might catch it more readily, but if you are not in a vulnerable group it will almost certainly just give you a mild illness for a few days.
The problem is that a more transmissible variant will kill more people than a more deadly one.
Not necessarily. If you think about it, having our vaccine jabs has made Delta a less serious infection for most people. And because it makes most of us less ill than it would have before the vaccines, we still have fewer hospital admissions and deaths now than during the first wave, when there was less Covid about, but catching it was a bigger deal. It all depends on whether Omicron is milder, and by how much. Fingers crossed.
colin54
Posts: 2517
Joined: 24 Sep 2013, 4:34pm

Re: Covid Booster. Yes/No?

Post by colin54 »

I had my booster shot today, Pfizer on top of the original Astra Zeneca pair. It was noticeably busier in the W. Lanc's Skelmersdale hub (a temporary set up in an empty shop premises in the indoor shopping Concourse. Plenty of people queuing for walk-in shots, as well as appointment ones. Good to see a good increase in mask wearing since the introduction of the new regulations in the week. People still don't seem to have got the message about 2 metre social distancing though, which is a shame.
All the NHS staff unfailingly cheerful and efficient as usual, so well done them.
Nu-Fogey
User avatar
[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Covid Booster. Yes/No?

Post by [XAP]Bob »

pwa wrote: 4 Dec 2021, 7:06am
[XAP]Bob wrote: 3 Dec 2021, 10:05am
pwa wrote: 3 Dec 2021, 5:26am
As yet there is no suggestion that Omicron is more dangerous than Delta. You might catch it more readily, but if you are not in a vulnerable group it will almost certainly just give you a mild illness for a few days.
The problem is that a more transmissible variant will kill more people than a more deadly one.
Not necessarily. If you think about it, having our vaccine jabs has made Delta a less serious infection for most people. And because it makes most of us less ill than it would have before the vaccines, we still have fewer hospital admissions and deaths now than during the first wave, when there was less Covid about, but catching it was a bigger deal. It all depends on whether Omicron is milder, and by how much. Fingers crossed.
Vaccines or not - if you have two variants, one of which is more transmissible, the other more lethal...
More people will die from the more transmissible one (for most reasonable variance in the two factors), simply because you get many more infections with a more transmissible variant (infections growth is approximately exponential), and a smaller percentage of a much larger population is a larger absolute number.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
francovendee
Posts: 3145
Joined: 5 May 2009, 6:32am

Re: Covid Booster. Yes/No?

Post by francovendee »

My wife had her third jab on Thursday. This time she chose to have Pfizer, having had Moderna for the first two. She wasn't offered AZ.
She's felt a bit poorly since and it sounds the same as my second Pfizer jab reaction .
She's pointed out it's the third vaccination in 7 months!
Surely we can't keep vaccinating this frequently on a yearly basis?
Jdsk
Posts: 24478
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Covid Booster. Yes/No?

Post by Jdsk »

francovendee wrote: 5 Dec 2021, 4:01pm Surely we can't keep vaccinating this frequently on a yearly basis?
We just don't know how the frequency is likely to pan out. Annual doses are being discussed, and there's a group in England's Department of Health and Social Care looking at that. Any programme is likely to vary between groups.

We know what annual feels like because of seasonal 'fu vaccination. And doses of vaccine for 'flu and COVID-19 can be given at the same visit.

For other vaccines there's quite a range of regimes and intervals out there across the national programmes and those for travel requirements.

Jonathan
Psamathe
Posts: 17616
Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: Covid Booster. Yes/No?

Post by Psamathe »

Jdsk wrote: 5 Dec 2021, 4:12pm .....
We know what annual feels like because of seasonal 'fu vaccination. And doses of vaccine for 'flu and COVID-19 can be given at the same visit.
....
I'm surprised the NHS has not done C-19 boosters with flu vaccines same time, one appointment. It must be a lot more efficient to do the two at the same time. Particularly as they are now looking to cut monitoring of vulnerable patients to allow resource for C-19 boosting.

e.g. C-19 vaccination centre appointment flags-up patient qualifies for flu so booking says "you will also be offered ..." and person administering says "do you want your flu as well?" and GP practices freed up a bit rather than loaded further.

That said I've not yet had flu vaccine (I'm 65) as local GP practice has not had any vaccine for ages now and have no idea when they might get some.

Ian
Jdsk
Posts: 24478
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Covid Booster. Yes/No?

Post by Jdsk »

Psamathe wrote: 5 Dec 2021, 4:21pm I'm surprised the NHS has not done C-19 boosters with flu vaccines same time, one appointment. It must be a lot more efficient to do the two at the same time.
The current advice is that it's OK to give both at the same appointment.

But "the NHS" isn't a single thing. TTBOMK there has been both regional and temporal variation, and it's all come down to practicalities rather than policy.

And I agree about the efficiency.

Jonathan
User avatar
Paulatic
Posts: 7796
Joined: 2 Feb 2014, 1:03pm
Location: 24 Hours from Lands End

Re: Covid Booster. Yes/No?

Post by Paulatic »

Psamathe wrote: 5 Dec 2021, 4:21pm [q]
I'm surprised the NHS has not done C-19 boosters with flu vaccines same time, one appointment. It must be a lot more efficient to do the two at the same time. Particularly as they are now looking to cut monitoring of vulnerable patients to allow resource for C-19 boosting.

Ian
They did here in D&G and I recently noted 53% of over 12s have had the 3rd jag.
Whatever I am, wherever I am, this is me. This is my life

https://stcleve.wordpress.com/category/lejog/
E2E info
Jdsk
Posts: 24478
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Covid Booster. Yes/No?

Post by Jdsk »

I should have include the possibility of it increasing uptake as well as efficiency.

Jonathan
User avatar
simonineaston
Posts: 7993
Joined: 9 May 2007, 1:06pm
Location: ...at a cricket ground

Re: Covid Booster. Yes/No?

Post by simonineaston »

On my last visit to the medical centre, I was jabbed for 'flu and pneumococcal - once given, they declared me out of arms and bade me return on another occasion!
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
sizbut
Posts: 211
Joined: 2 Oct 2018, 11:56pm

Re: Covid Booster. Yes/No?

Post by sizbut »

Jdsk wrote: 5 Dec 2021, 4:26pm temporal variation
Those bloody time lords messing with things again.Well, it either that or we need to bring in the Lords Spiritual.
Jdsk
Posts: 24478
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Covid Booster. Yes/No?

Post by Jdsk »

sizbut wrote: 5 Dec 2021, 5:20pm
Jdsk wrote: 5 Dec 2021, 4:26pm temporal variation
Those bloody time lords messing with things again.Well, it either that or we need to bring in the Lords Spiritual.
Is it a Dr Who quote... ?

: - )

Jonathan
francovendee
Posts: 3145
Joined: 5 May 2009, 6:32am

Re: Covid Booster. Yes/No?

Post by francovendee »

Fair enough, a once yearly covid booster would be acceptable. After all, the flu jab is done yearly.
What isn't clear to me is for us to remain safe will boosters be needed on more frequent basis.
I think (my memory isn't that good) initially it was hoped one injection would offer sufficient protection?
We are now, for those that want it, having our 3 rd injection.
Is it wrong to suspect that as this covid mutates it will need another top up or a modified vaccine on a more frequent than annual basis?
Post Reply