Covid Vaccine advice/Please help

[Little Lightning]

I wasn't going to say anymore because I think you've already made up your mind but this may help someone else reading this who is on the fence. I just listened to a discussion of Covid on a news cast from a local station here in Denver. Colorado's numbers are rising but not as bad as other states. The reporter stated that low numbers now doesn't mean things will stay that way. He's expecting a rise in cases like we had last Nov. Dec. He stressed that waiting to get vaccinated when infections get too bad in your area is too late. It takes time for the vaccine to become effective. He pointed out the reports of nurses and doctors having to tell their patients that getting the vaccine after they get Covid is too late. Vaccines are preventive, not cures.

 

[mustski]

I don't know if it makes you feel any better, but they really are taking following up on vaccine side effects seriously. I still get V-Safe texts asking me to fill out short surveys on how my health is now compared to before the vaccine, etc. It's not like a flu shot where no one has ever asked me if I had any side effects afterwards.

Wow! That must vary greatly state to state. Neither DH nor I have ever been contacted regarding side effects.

Unfortunately, the vaccine is very political. Everyone who voted for Biden on this board has definitely been vaccinated.. I doubt anyone here is a Republican... I respect everyone no matter which side they are on.

I won’t get political here, but I am an R and know lots of Rs who have been vaccinated. This is not purely divided on political lines.

 

[Ski Sine Fine]

Wow! That must vary greatly state to state. Neither DH nor I have ever been contacted regarding side effects.

When I got vaccinated, I was given a fact sheet on the vaccine, the meaning of the FDA EUA, and a QR code to sign up for voluntary reporting with V-Safe. I opted in for reporting.

 

[Olesya Chornoguz]

When I got vaccinated, I was given a fact sheet on the vaccine, the meaning of the FDA EUA, and a QR code to sign up for voluntary reporting with V-Safe. I opted in for reporting.

That is good. I was not given anything of the sort. But I know that J&J takes any adverse events that happen because of any of their products (consumer, medical devices or pharma products) very seriously and theu have a rigorous reporting and investigation system in place. They are still following people who were in their vaccine's clinical trial. People who were in J&J clinical trial are asked to fill out a survey weekly on how they doing health wise and will have to do this for 2 years.

 

[MissySki]

I signed up for the V Safe alerts as well, I think I sought it out from someone on this site referencing it. I still get contacted infrequently to provide an update on my health etc.

 

[altagirl]

When I got vaccinated, I was given a fact sheet on the vaccine, the meaning of the FDA EUA, and a QR code to sign up for voluntary reporting with V-Safe. I opted in for reporting.

Yes it's the CDC, not the state, and it was opt in.

 

[mustski]

When I got vaccinated, I was given a fact sheet on the vaccine, the meaning of the FDA EUA, and a QR code to sign up for voluntary reporting with V-Safe. I opted in for reporting.

Hmmm. I was vaccinated at Walgreens and was given no information about this . I’ve had no adverse effects but never heard of v-safe before now.

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

Me, too @mustski . And I'm not sure they recorded it because DHEC has called me several times about getting my 2nd Vax. A bunch of us got messed up when our first two appts were cancelled due to the vaccine being stuck in the snow at the Nashville airport...

 

[newboots]

Hmmm. I was vaccinated at Walgreens and was given no information about this . I’ve had no adverse effects but never heard of v-safe before now.

Me too, but I was vaccinated at a mass vax site in NYC.

 

[liquidfeet]

CVS is now offering a third Pfizer vaccine here near Boston to people who fill out the online form and claim themselves to have the required conditions. I'm not sure whether the 8 month wait is part of the requirements.

I know someone who got her third shot yesterday. Her job is to do home visits to homebound seniors and drive them to their doctor's appointments.

 

[Ski Sine Fine]

Hmmm. I was vaccinated at Walgreens and was given no information about this . I’ve had no adverse effects but never heard of v-safe before now.

Me, too @mustski . And I'm not sure they recorded it because DHEC has called me several times about getting my 2nd Vax. A bunch of us got messed up when our first two appts were cancelled due to the vaccine being stuck in the snow at the Nashville airport...

Me too, but I was vaccinated at a mass vax site in NYC.

Interesting. I just assumed everywhere is the same. Our PCM is at a Military Treatment Facility and we got our vaccines there. I believe the fact sheet on the vaccine and EUA came from Pfizer, and the flyer on V-Safe came from CDC. My guess is, for civilian pharmacies and mass vaccination sites, they didn’t want to deal with printing and collating millions of pieces of paper. The one from Pfizer was 6 pages long.

 

[marzNC]

CVS is now offering a third Pfizer vaccine here near Boston to people who fill out the online form and claim themselves to have the required conditions. I'm not sure whether the 8 month wait is part of the requirements.

I know someone who got her third shot yesterday. Her job is to do home visits to homebound seniors and drive them to their doctor's appointments.

The pharmacy program is handling people who qualify under the FDA decision from a few weeks ago. There were assorted questions are related to medical history. No medical documentation is required, so it's more or less on the honor system. Since my husband is has a transplanted kidney and he got his third shot at the pharmacy where he gets his prescriptions, they knew his status. He did it the weekend after the addition to the FDA's emergency approval and the agreement by the CDC a day later.

 

[marzNC]

Full FDA approval for Pfizer is expected soon. Could be some time this week.

Looks like Moderna is also available under FDA emergency approval as of August 12, 2021 "to allow for an additional dose to be given to certain immunocompromised individuals. The emergency use authorization allows the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to be distributed in the U.S for use in individuals 18 years of age and older."

Moderna is behind Pfizer on the process for full approval by FDA. There is more that requires review than the clinical trials data for safety and efficacy. The manufacturing process is also vetted. Moderna started the Biologics License Application (BLA) process that applies to vaccines in early August. (For a new drug, the process is a New Drug Application (NDA).)

 

[Susan 76]

Is anyone on their 3rd dose yet?

 

[ilovepugs]

Is anyone on their 3rd dose yet?

@marzNC posted in a different thread that her husband just got his. My husband (a front-line physician with an immune condition) is signed up for his third dose on Wednesday.

 

[Susan 76]

What is it like after 8 months or something?

 

[MissySki]

I won't be eligible for a 3rd dose until December if the 8 month timeframe from the second shot holds.

 

[ilovepugs]

What is it like after 8 months or something?

If you are immunocompromised, you are eligible for a booster immediately (provided you’ve had the full course of shots initially offered). If you don’t have an immune condition, yes, it is 8 months at this time.

 

[alison wong]

Difference b/w "booster" dose and "3rd" dose:

Booster dose = immuno-comprised
3rd dose = fully vaccinated: eligible to receive 3rd dose 8 months after 2nd dose.

At the end of the day, it is the same covid vaccine but we call it differently...

 

[floatingyardsale]

I'm glad you're asking questions, Susan 76. Please do talk to a doctor -- OB/GYN is fine. It's completely reasonable to have concerns, and the good news is that there's a lot of evidence that the vaccines are safe and effective. Most of the time, side effects are minimal (and the fact that we have a lot of evidence about what the rare bad side effects are should give you some reassurance that it's not being swept under the rug.) And even with Delta, protection against needing to be hospitalized or dying is still very, very good. You're in the age group where it can get nasty very quickly, and without regard to how healthy you are. I have a previously healthy colleague fighting for his life now.

I had Moderna. First shot lead to just a sore arm, and second shot made me feel flu-like for a day. It was sort of weird to realize that whenever I've felt sick, the sick feeling was literally my immune response. But -- that was it, and most people I know had an even easier experience.

Pfizer earned full approval today.