I get that. But does he really think she won’t be exposed to infection? That’s the only way I can get that logic to make sense.
Why would he think it’s less likely in 5-10+ years for her to have detrimental effects from having been infected multiple times than being boosted?
If that’s his concern, it’s accepting a small probability potential risk to avoid a known risk. Even ignoring Long Covid (probability still TBD) and the extraordinarily low probability of a severe acute outcome, reducing her risk of infection means not missing out on ~5 days of school and whatever else is important in her day-to-day.
17 is a hard age. (My two oldest are 18 and 21.) so if you’re really going to rely on her to make the decision, then I’m thinking that you would want to coach her through doing some research using reputable sources, not just going on what she’s “heard”. If she’s making adult decisions, it’s probably best for her to learn to make them like an adult.
Totally agree. She wants to get boosted and I support that decision 100%. Upon asking my husband for more information about his perspective, he told told me that his information comes from Senator Rand Paul. I’m unfamiliar with the Senator’s views on this this issue (boosters), but am a bit familiar with his views on others. I stand by my decision to get whatever Covid boosters are available for myself and those I care about.
Fellow parent of mature 17 yo. It’s an ongoing power struggle on what we make her do vs what we let her decide for herself. Mine felt the original 2 shot series was important but didn’t push for getting a booster, so we didn’t push her either. The risk is not make or break enough to me for us to overrule her and make her. She’s more than capable of researching pros and cons, but if she’s fine where she is, so am I. But that’s just my experience. That’s great yours is making the choice she is.
With gathering sources, I admit I don’t always do this the right way. I will defy experts at times based on my own alternative logic or no logic at all. But when I’m not being as stubborn, I like @amvanhoose_701479 's method of listening to many reputable voices. At some point there will be some judgment calls on who is reputable though.
My take on Rand Paul is he has spent a good deal of energy fighting with Fauci and positioning himself. That’s good for some, but pathetic for others. But that’s what politicians do. And he does have some knowledge as an MD, but not much of an expert in epidemiology or virology as an ophthalmologist. When I’m not in an ultra political phase, I try to give less weight to any politician and more to people that have the right background, are apolitical, and preferably not just trying to sell a book.
My thought too is they don’t test the flu each time they update it. Did they change the main components/preservatives to the vaccine or just the code? If just code safety should be the same. If they changed components then I’d be a bit more concerned.
And the article answered my q- code change only. And they mentioned the same thing about the flu not being tested every year.
Even if it offers just slightly more protection I’ll take it. My last booster was last November so I was due and I’ve never tested positive so I don’t think I’ve had COVID.
I had chills, a headache, and fatigue along with a very sore arm. It was definitely worse than my previous booster but not as bad as my second shot in the initial series. This was also my first Moderna, so I was expecting to have a stronger reaction.
It’s a bit old - you can see right off that it’s dated because it talks about the high efficacy of the vaccines at preventing infection, but the info relevant to vaccine protection still applies.
Some key bits:
Unlike many medications, which are taken daily, vaccines are generally one-and-done. Medicines you take every day can cause side effects that reveal themselves over time, including long-term problems as levels of the drug build up in the body over months and years.
“Vaccines are just designed to deliver a payload and then are quickly eliminated by the body,” Goepfert [Director of the Alabama Vaccine Research Clinic at the University of Alabama at Birmingham] said. “This is particularly true of the mRNA vaccines. mRNA degrades incredibly rapidly. You wouldn’t expect any of these vaccines to have any long-term side effects. And in fact, this has never occurred with any vaccine.”
Vaccine side effects show up within weeks if at all
That is not to say that there have never been safety issues with vaccines. But in each instance, these have appeared soon after widespread use of the vaccine began.
The vaccine is only really in you for a day or two. After that, the only thing left is your body’s natural immune response. By the time you get a booster, the prior dose is long, long gone.
This article is a bit more detailed and technical. It lists vaccines where severe side effects were found, and in each and every case they showed up within months, not years.
I don’t think there has ever been a vaccine with severe side effects showing up years later. I can think of viruses that have effects years later though (chicken pox → shingles, HIV → AIDS). In my mind, that’s much more of a concern.
Well you know the president declared the pandemic was over earlier this week so I expect every mention of it and precaution associated with it to disappear asap now.
Today:
Bivalent booster (Pfizer)
McDonald’s drive thru for an egg mcmuffin & mango- pineapple smoothie
Work from home
I don’t have to physically go into work until Friday so hopefully I’m good to go with side effects by then. Our trip is in 12 days but hopefully I’m somewhat protected. I couldn’t get until today, schedule wise.
I’m being facetious, but he really did say that earlier this week and I really am afraid that’s all that most companies needed to make it all poof and go away.
I got my bivalent shot Fri 9/9. My side effects were similar to my 2nd dose of my initial vaccination series (which was Moderna). The side effects were extreme fatigue for a day, moderate headache & extreme sore arm for 2 days and then tender at the injection site for another day or two after the severe overall arm soreness died down. Both times the fatigue was so strong that once it hit I just needed to sleep for 18-20 hours only waking up for water/bathroom breaks & maybe a snack to be able to take an ibuprofen for the headache in that time. My bivalent booster was Pfizer though so different brand than when I had the same exact side effects which is what I found interesting. I had planned to get Moderna & went in thinking I would have a choice but ultimately, I was more interested in getting my boost sooner than later.
I went through my local health dept & they had both listed on their site (and have since forever) so I didn’t think to ask specifically when I got there. It was a really busy afternoon so I ended up having to wait 20 min to go back & when I did finally get back, the nurse didn’t mention anything about only having Pfizer until she was literally raising the needle to jab me & I really was fine with getting Pfizer if that’s all they had, so I went with it.
DH got his bivalent Fri 9/16, same health dept as I did, just a week later. He did have a choice so was able to get Moderna and his only side effect was a super sore arm. No fatigue or anything else. So interesting all around.
