I was knocked out from #2(Pfizer) & #3(Moderna), but barely noticed anything from the bivalent booster (Pfizer). I may have been slightly tired the next day.
The bivalent moderna booster knocked me out for a day. Same as the first moderna booster.
Pfizer might have fewer side effects
I just get them roughly as soon as allowed. I’m on #6 or #7 now. Got COVID once, maybe a second time but never tested for it.
The first one knocked me out for the day, the second I felt a bit ill, following ones were no different than every other vaccine. A tiny bit of soreness in the arm.
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Maybe. I also had covid midway between 3&4.
Should clarify the first vaccine knocked me out. Really it was like a 4 hour nap. COVID took me out for 22 days. Second infection that was maybe COVID was like 2 days.
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Got bivalent booster Friday pm. Between 15-30 hrs had mild symptoms: cold fingers, slight headache, tiredness.
All other family members had no reaction other than injection soreness.
Ranking symptoms:
1st vax < 2nd vax < 1st infection < bivalent < 3 rd vax < 2nd infection
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For me, 1st infection > (not sure if 2nd infection or a cold?) > 1st vaccine > 2nd vaccine > no other symptoms
The CDC recommends it if it’s been at least 2 months since your last one, but most other countries recommend waiting longer. I looked up recommendations from Canada, UK, Germany, and Israel. They mostly recommend waiting 6 months unless there’s a strong reason to do it sooner (like there’s a surge and you want extra protection now) because (they imply) you get better immunity from it if you wait that long. They all say not to get it until at least 3 months have passed since your most recent booster or infection. And Germany says that people under 50 with no risk factors don’t need the bivalent booster. The first two plus one booster is enough.
more details:
I notice that Canada publishes much more detailed and nuanced information than the US CDC.
I read their recommendations as "wait at least 6 months for the booster if you don’t think you’ll be at especially high risk, but you can get it after as little as 3 months if you are worried about the likely fall/winter surge in cases. (Or if you are immune compromised, or otherwise at heightened risk.)
Canada
NACI continues to recommend that COVID-19 booster doses given as part of the fall program may be offered at an interval of 6 months after a previous COVID-19 vaccine dose or SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, a shorter interval of at least 3 months may be considered particularly in the context of heightened epidemiologic risk, evolving SARS-COV-2 epidemiology, as well as operational considerations for the efficient deployment of the fall vaccine program. Based on what is known at this time about the virus and vaccines, it is not expected that a booster dose will be routinely provided every 3 months.
The UK is recommending you wait 3 months for your first booster shot, and are only making additional “seasonal” boosters available to those over 50 or at higher risk (either personally, or of spreading covid to those at high risk). They don’t recommend any boosters for kids under 16 unless they have specific health concerns.
UK
If you’re aged 16 or over you can get a 1st booster dose if you:
- have completed your primary COVID-19 vaccination course (1st and 2nd dose, plus an additional primary dose if you have a severely weakened immune system)
- had your previous dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at least 3 months ago
When to get your seasonal booster
If your NHS record shows you’re at high risk from COVID-19, you should be invited for a seasonal booster (autumn booster).
You can have your seasonal booster if it’s been at least 3 months since you had your previous dose.
Oops, Germany isn’t recommending a routine second booster for anyone under 60.
Germany
Who is recommended a second booster?
The Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) recommends a second booster for the following groups of people:
- People aged 60 or over
- Residents of long-term care facilities as well as people with an increased risk of severe disease progression in integration assistance service facilities
- Employees at medical facilities and long-term care facilities, above all those in direct contact with patients and/or residents
- People aged five or older with an immunodeficiency or increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness as a result of a pre-existing condition
…
As with the first booster, for the second booster preferably an Omicron-adapted mRNA vaccine authorised to the respective age group should be used.When should the second booster (fourth vaccine dose) be administered?
The second booster should be administered no sooner than six months after the first booster. In specific justified cases, this interval can be shortened to four months.
Current information on coronavirus vaccination (bundesgesundheitsministerium.de)
I also looked up Israel, because Israel embraced vaccination early and often (they were the first country to offer a second booster) but it turns out to be really hard to search for their recommendations, because the google results are full of articles (research and news) about the Israeli experience with vaccination. But as best as I can tell, they have pulled back, and aren’t recommending that everyone bother to get the bivalent booster. They are recommending it for those over 65, those with risk factors, and those who work in medical settings or with the vulnerable. They also say to wait at least 3 months.
Israel
Omicron-specific vaccine:
Over the next few days the HMOs will begin to vaccinate with a vaccine compatible with the Omicron variants, of the Pfizer company. The new vaccine is expected to provide a more significant protection from these variants, and possibly for a longer period of time.
Anyone aged 12 and older can be vaccinated in the following cases:
• Those who have been vaccinated twice or more with the original variants, and at least 3 months have passed since the last vaccination.
• Those who have recovered from COVID and at least 3 months have passed since the date of recovery.
• Those who have recovered from COVID and are vaccinated, and at least 3 months have passed since the date of the last vaccination or the recovery.Please note, there is no combined vaccine against COVID and flu, and these are two different vaccines. It is possible to get vaccinated at the clinic with both vaccines.
Who is recommended to receive the new vaccine?
• Those aged 65 and older
• At-risk Groups
• Medical teams
• Patients and workers in “Magen Avot veImahot” institutions
• Patients and workers in Ministry of Welfare institutions
• Caregivers of individuals who belong to high risk groups
COVID-19 Vaccine - Corona Traffic Light Model (Ramzor) Website (health.gov.il)
Anyway, I’d definitely recommend waiting at least 3 months, unless there’s some really compelling reason to try to do it sooner.
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For me: 1st infection (pre-vax) >>>>>> 5th dose (with 2nd dose of Shingles) > 3rd dose (with flu) > 1st dose > 2nd dose ≈ 4th dose > 2nd infection
First case of COVID had me incapacitated for 3 weeks. The COVID+Shingrix combo had me out of commission for a couple of days. COVID+flu had me sick for the better part of a day. 1st COVID shot had unpleasant effects that reminded me of my first case of COVID for the evening and morning after. 2nd and 4th doses just had me fatigued the evening and morning after. 2nd case of COVID had minimal symptoms, and was caught only because I did a precautionary test when my wife tested positive.
And this is where the U.S. has failed with its recommendations. They have not combined the science with common sense or logic.
The media also fails the U.S.
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The worst by far was the 2nd vax for me. My wife got the bivalent booster recently and it wasn’t so bad, which is a good sign if/when I get it since we were both hit hard by previous vaccine iterations.
2nd vax > Moderna booster >>> COVID infection >> 1st vax
Man, I must be lucky.
1st = 2nd = 3rd = 4th = 5th = 0
I was excited about the vaccine and planned to get it, but also knew I would wait a bit to see how things went. The more time passed during the rollout the more wary I became, so I never got the shots. Was a good decision for me. Didn’t get Covid until the summer of '22 and didn’t take too many precautions beyond the first 6 months of '20.
So basically you got lucky, but even though you didn’t get Covid, you aren’t necessarily any better off than if you had gotten the shots. Possibly you would have had some side effects, which might have been only mild even had you gotten them, but possibly there would have been no side effects. I never noticed any beyond very minor arm stiffness, no worse than with any other vaccines.
It may be true that I basically got lucky. It may be true that you too basically got lucky with side effects. We each made our own risk/benefit assessments and acted accordingly.
It’s been well over a year since I logged in here. I saw the thread title and thought I’d respond. Not trying to start anything, just posting after a long absence.
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so, based on this i assume you had a mild case in summer of 22?
Not exactly mild, but I’ve had worse flu experiences. I had fever and sore throat for 3-4 days followed by a week+ of fatigue. Not as mild as a cold, not as bad as the flu in intensity. Duration of fatigue was greater than cold or flu recovery for me. About the same for my wife, who also declined the shots.
i think my case was milder than that and i had all vaccines plus a bivalent booster.
i had fever and fatigue for 2 or 3 days with an annoyingly runny nose. no sore throat, no cough.
after that the fever and fatigue was entirely gone. didn’t have any week plus of lingering symptoms.
if i add the side effects of the vaccine itself to symptoms, i had a sore arm for the J&J initial shot and nothing else. for the 2 moderna boosters i was fevery for about a day plus the sore arm. so total sick time for me even counting that was i think less than you had.
so i wouldn’t say that you made out by not getting the vaccine.
@ao_fan , when did you get sick with it? Was it during Omicron or an earlier varient?