Booster Shots for the Immunosuppressed

I didn't put too much thought into it. I was told by the pharmacist that Moderna was approved as a followup shot for people who had Pfizer before, and Moderna was what they had available for walk-ins.

In addition, I read somewhere that one study found you got a better immune response from having different vaccines.

@poopydoop, no problem, I remembered your field of work, in fact in one of your posts here you gave input on mixing the the booster shot. I've had the 2 Moderna shots & wondered if the booster shot should be different than the two Moderna.

I hope the ones getting the booster shot will post their info.

clo2014 said...
My GI recommended the booster 4 weeks after my next Remicade infusion with the following Remicade treatment at least 4 weeks after the vaccine. (He would prefer 5 and 5 but fears I will go into a flare)

The pharmacies I have been calling have refused to schedule me for a Moderna because I received the Pfizer first. (I too read that study online) I will take whatever they give me though.

Anyone have their GI recommend this timetable for their vaccine or booster?

Clo

The FDA is recommending 28 days (4 weeks) after the 2nd dose so most of us are likely to hear that from our GIs unless you have a specific situation.

Are you getting Remicade every 8 weeks? 4 weeks is the time between both doses of Remicade so this would make some sense if you're not at high risk to covid exposure. If you're at high risk like working in a medical setting or at a school that is reopening then you may want to remind your doctor of that as a factor to consider in determining when to get the booster.

Now that the FDA has approved Pfizer doctors can make adjustments and add extra doses for immunocompromised patients - this is common with organ transplant patients whose bodies will not produce enough immune responses to protect them with normal dosing.

ks - the study showing stronger side effects with mixed vaccines was the UK com-cov study, where the 2 shots were given 4 weeks apart. In german studies where the 2 shots were given 9 weeks apart, this enhancement of side effects was not seen.

Most of the published studies on mixing vaccines have been with astrazenica and pfizer. I've not seen pfizer/moderna mixes, but I admit I stopped following the literature after I was done with my shots.

CCinPA - I don't even know what kool-aid is. We don't have that in europe. I just know it's an insult.

poopydoop said...
ks - the study showing stronger side effects with mixed vaccines was the UK com-cov study, where the 2 shots were given 4 weeks apart. In german studies where the 2 shots were given 9 weeks apart, this enhancement of side effects was not seen.

Most of the published studies on mixing vaccines have been with astrazenica and pfizer. I've not seen pfizer/moderna mixes, but I admit I stopped following the literature after I was done with my shots. .

We are now allowed to go as soon as 28 days apart for the 3rd shot. Some of us are at the 6-8 month mark already.

FDA/CDC guidance is to try to stick to your original manufacture if you had Pfizer or Moderna. If you had a J&J shot then you should get Pfizer.

I’m not sure how I feel about developed countries putting their entire population ahead of the less developed countries around the world. I understand the sick, the elderly, and healthcare workers getting boosters if the scientists think it is necessary. But these recent variants developed in India, South Africa and Peru are becoming problematic for the entire world. They’ve only produced 1/3-1/4 of the necessary vaccines that we need in the world. Putting already vaccinated populations ahead of the devolving world could be a huge mistake and ethically dubious.

CCinPA said...
poopydoop -- kool aid is a cheap powdered drink mix that is mixed with water. It comes in a variety of fruit flavors. I drank lots of it as a kid. We rarely had soda or real fruit juice in the house, but kool aid was (and still is) very inexpensive. You can serve a lot of people for very little money and was the beverage used to administer the poison the followers of Jim Jones drank when they killed themselves. Now people use the phrase "drink the kool aid" when they are implying that someone who opposes them doesn't know what they are talking about.

I was out of it for a day after my 2nd dose of Pfizer with severe chills and fatigue. The booster wasn't like that at all. I had a delayed sore arm reaction -- it didn't get sore until after the 2nd day. I had the booster on 8/19 and it's still hurts when I press on it today 4 days later. No other reaction.

Thank you for the explanation 😁I thought maybe it was anti-freeze and drinking it meant you were crazy 🤣

UCinGV said...

Well crap, wish I had known that. I thought Pfizer and Moderna were really close.

They are really close. I'm sure you'll have the same or better immunity as if you'd had 3x the same vaccine

In addition to the yucky KoolAid, artificially colored, flavored, & overly sweetened, the USA devised Tang, an artificial orange "juice". It was initially touted as the long-lasting drink our early astronauts could depend on during their space flights. I suspect it has been used in the mix for double-contrast CT-scans, as one I had to swallow ca. 4 yrs ago sure tasted like that, ugh!!!!! (Maybe it contributes to the explosive D side-effect from that procedure.) *** RE alternating vaccines against COVID-19, I've read that UK research on 1st dose Astra-Zenica followed by 2nd dose Pfizer resulted in higher antibody counts in trial subjects; also other trials report that Janssen followed by Pfizer is similarly beneficial. What I've read about Moderna all along turns me off because it seems to produce the strongest side effects of currently available COVID vaccines post-shot #2, and I'm not a masochist. Hopefully those of us not on immunosuppressants can stay safe enough for 8 months following shot #2 before pursuing the #3 booster! (In days of yore, the Salk polio vaccine booster shot was given 1 yr after shot #2.) / Old Hat (40+ yrs with left-sided UC; in remission taking Colazal)

That's interesting what he said about the antibody testing. There is a lot of confusion surrounding how to determine what the test means, we have a thread here about the testing.

Thanks poopydoop for posting this.

Good article, poopydoop ... wish they could come up with a reliable antibody test so we would know how much protection we get from the vaccines. I guess first they have to understand what level and types of antibodies we need.

Or rather 10,000s of the worldwide population dying of covid daily...since neither covid nor this glorious website focuses solely on America.

Totally agree. If your first two shots didn't give you any protection then you need another one or the whole thing was pointless. But blanket boosters for everyone at this point in time are ethically questionable. (although, if everyone is going to lose their protection after X months, then at some point they will need a booster too...)