Booster for teens wwyd?

[mommyoffive]

1 hour ago, Dmmetler said:

My teen got it at Target's in-store CVS this afternoon and discovered a bonus about being at that site-a $5 gift card for each of the COVID booster AND flu shot :). 

 

Both DH and I feel a bit cheated. We haven't gotten anything for any of OUR shots!!

Me too.  We have missed every incentive our state has offered by getting things right away instead of not and having the state beg us too.  I wish they would just hand out the $100 bucks to everyone that got it.  

[Eos]

Dd17 got hers the day after it was approved and the next day we went to visit family for the first time in two years. It felt momentous to be able to get it for her since her last one was in April, so I understand the OP's concern about waiting to "top up" immunity closer to a big event, It does seem like it's heading towards the every-year-shot like flu, which none of my family ever did.  So perhaps in several years/variants/iterations from now, we'll see when the covid season begins and ebbs, and choose to booster accordingly but it's not there yet for us. 

At that point the other question for us will still be responsibility to community.  We were a low vax family but part of our fully-vaxxed covid policy is trying our hardest to do the right thing by our community and the world in general. 

[TexasProud]

On 12/11/2021 at 7:33 PM, kristin0713 said:

My opinion is different than a lot of people on this board. We are all fully vaxxed, but I'm not big on the boosters right now. We are waiting until...I don't know when. What if they come out with another booster that actually targets the newer variants? A lot could change between now and July. Personally, I'm not getting a booster now, and then ANOTHER one. My antibodies were high in August. I'm planning to get them tested again in January or February and then go from there. If they drop off, I'll consider a booster sooner. But I can tell you that I am not just going to keep getting booster after booster and especially not for my low-risk teens. 

Yeah, if not for my mom, I would not have gotten the booster. Omicron seems to evade all of it, so they will need a new vaccine.  I hate medicines and only take ibuprofen sparingly maybe a couple of times a year.  Medicine affects me strangely, so I don’t want to put anything in my body that I do not have to or any earlier than I have to. 

[MEmama]

47 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

Yeah, if not for my mom, I would not have gotten the booster. Omicron seems to evade all of it, so they will need a new vaccine.  I hate medicines and only take ibuprofen sparingly maybe a couple of times a year.  Medicine affects me strangely, so I don’t want to put anything in my body that I do not have to or any earlier than I have to. 

I mean, that’s not what the studies are showing at all. 

We are in the early days of omicron (seriously, that name is ridiculous), but so far it looks like a booster protects greatly against it— like aren’t they saying 75%? But the original doses not as much, especially if it’s been several months. 

[Syllieann]

12 minutes ago, MEmama said:

I mean, that’s not what the studies are showing at all. 

We are in the early days of omicron (seriously, that name is ridiculous), but so far it looks like a booster protects greatly against it— like aren’t they saying 75%? But the original doses not as much, especially if it’s been several months. 

The 75% is 2-4 weeks after the booster.  After that it tanks. Not a good long term plan to booster people every month.

 

Eta:  that's against infection.  Boosters are surely still helpful against severe disease for much longer.  I'm not suggesting they are worthless, just that they aren't going to stop infection.

Edited December 13, 2021 by Syllieann

[TexasProud]

1 hour ago, Syllieann said:

The 75% is 2-4 weeks after the booster.  After that it tanks. Not a good long term plan to booster people every month.

 

Eta:  that's against infection.  Boosters are surely still helpful against severe disease for much longer.  I'm not suggesting they are worthless, just that they aren't going to stop infection.

Exactly.  So in a couple of months it may not protect anymore than my first two doses. So I will wait to see . 

[Roadrunner]

I hear boosters for 16+ are approved but in my area it’s still limited to 18+. I can’t make an appointment for my teen. 

[Dmmetler]

I figure this way-4 weeks gets my teen through seeing friends who are now scattered across the country at other colleges or in incubator high schools here in virus-land, and back to the almost 100% vaccinated, tested weekly, masks mandated college campus where viral load will be a lot less. That seems worth getting a booster now for, even if it only is temporary.  Even if boosters only last a month, getting one now seems like a good idea to enjoy a more typical holiday season. I've actually got a call in to my specialist to find out if I'd qualify for the newly approved MCA's since I got a 3rd dose in September, to get through the increased exposure season. 

 

[Dmmetler]

Just now, Roadrunner said:

I hear boosters for 16+ are approved but in my area it’s still limited to 18+. I can’t make an appointment for my teen. 

Here, the health department wouldn't do 16+ yet, but CVS would. The same happened when boosters were approved for high risk adults-for the first week or so, only Walmart would actually give them. 

[MEmama]

2 hours ago, Syllieann said:

The 75% is 2-4 weeks after the booster.  After that it tanks. Not a good long term plan to booster people every month.

 

Eta:  that's against infection.  Boosters are surely still helpful against severe disease for much longer.  I'm not suggesting they are worthless, just that they aren't going to stop infection.

No vaccine protects against infection 100%. That’s literally not a thing. So people deciding not to get them because they aren’t  guaranteed to never get sick are truly endangering themselves— and in this case, others as well. Same for people who get vaxxed (or even partially vaxxed!) and then go out unmasked, hang out in groups, eat in restaurants…and are surprised when they get sick and say “see vaccinations don’t work”. Nope, they can only offer one layer of protection, they don’t replace the others.

We’ve been through this with the pre-vax  anti maskers who were forced to wear a mask at work, but then ate in the lunchroom, smoked with coworkers,  and didn’t mask outside of work only to get sick and claim masking doesn’t work. Well, no, not if you’re not committed to wearing them all the time.

This just isn’t that hard. We are all tired, whatever. COVID is worse than ever, why give up now when we have more tools to protect ourselves with? 
 

[TexasProud]

4 minutes ago, MEmama said:

No vaccine protects against infection 100%. That’s literally not a thing. So people deciding not to get them because they aren’t  guaranteed to never get sick are truly endangering themselves— and in this case, others as well. Same for people who get vaxxed (or even partially vaxxed!) and then go out unmasked, hang out in groups, eat in restaurants…and are surprised when they get sick and say “see vaccinations don’t work”. Nope, they can only offer one layer of protection, they don’t replace the others.

Well, that is what everyone is doing. It is just life. Somehow I have to live with this. I refuse to be an outcast.

[KSera]

2 hours ago, Syllieann said:

The 75% is 2-4 weeks after the booster.  After that it tanks. Not a good long term plan to booster people every month.

Where did you read it tanks after 2-4 weeks?  I haven’t seen that we have any data on it yet. The latest out of Israel was another study showing strong protection one month out from a booster dose: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-study-finds-pfizer-covid-19-booster-protects-against-omicron-2021-12-11/?taid=61b53a56c672dc0001d661c3&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

41 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

Exactly.  So in a couple of months it may not protect anymore than my first two doses. So I will wait to see . 

You’re right that we don’t have information yet to know how long lasting it will be. Usually, doses spaced farther out from the initial doses give longer lasting protection, but all the mutations in Omicron may affect that. That said, the point for people boosting now is so that they can safely make it through this omicron wave headed our way,  and even more, to protect immediately from Delta, which it does well and is still predominant in the US and the strain causing all the deaths we’re currently seeing.

[TexasProud]

Just now, KSera said:

Where did you read it tanks after 2-4 weeks?  I haven’t seen that we have any data on it yet. The latest out of Israel was another study showing strong protection one month out from a booster dose: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-study-finds-pfizer-covid-19-booster-protects-against-omicron-2021-12-11/?taid=61b53a56c672dc0001d661c3&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

You’re right that we don’t have information yet to know how long lasting it will be. Usually, doses spaced farther out from the initial doses give longer lasting protection, but all the mutations in Omicron may affect that. That said, the point for people boosting now is so that they can safely make it through this omicron wave headed our way,  and even more, to protect immediately from Delta, which it does well and is still predominant in the US and the strain causing all the deaths we’re currently seeing.

I get that. I did that, but it is hopeless. This thing will never end. I am SO SICK AND TIRED OF ALL OF THIS> IT NEEDS TO BE OVER NOW> I CANNoT D

o TJ
OS

 anymor.

[regentrude]

OP: since there is no crystal ball and nobody knows what the Covid situation in July will be, I would get their boosters now. So they can be protected now, and your family can be protected at Christmas against the wave that is now. Because "now" is the only thing we have.

Covid may be low in July. Or the booster may turn out to hold very well. Or a new variant may be dominant for which the booster does not work. If I learned one single thing from the pandemic, it's that speculations about the future, even a half year out, are futile, and that the only thing I can react to is the immediate present.

ETA: my college kid and gf are getting theirs this week. Everyone else in our family got theirs already.

Edited December 13, 2021 by regentrude

[mlktwins]

Today I am making appointments for both of mine.  One of my guys has oral surgery on the 23rd.  I am going to call to make sure that won't be an issue once I get an appointment slot.

[Syllieann]

46 minutes ago, KSera said:

Where did you read it tanks after 2-4 weeks?  I haven’t seen that we have any data on it yet. The latest out of Israel was another study showing strong protection one month out from a booster dose: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-study-finds-pfizer-covid-19-booster-protects-against-omicron-2021-12-11/?taid=61b53a56c672dc0001d661c3&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

You’re right that we don’t have information yet to know how long lasting it will be. Usually, doses spaced farther out from the initial doses give longer lasting protection, but all the mutations in Omicron may affect that. That said, the point for people boosting now is so that they can safely make it through this omicron wave headed our way,  and even more, to protect immediately from Delta, which it does well and is still predominant in the US and the strain causing all the deaths we’re currently seeing.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.07.21267432v1.full.pdf

Page 3 figure 1 shows the huge drop in nab 3 months after the third Pfizer booster.  VE can't be directly correlated but it is quite obviously below the level of 6 months after 2 shots against delta.

I want everyone to get a booster.  I hope they do.  That is one part of the puzzle to get through this.  But let's not have people thinking they can ditch their masks and testing just because 75% is pretty good.  That is going to have a lot of people feeling misled and lied to in a couple months.

[KSera]

8 minutes ago, Syllieann said:

I want everyone to get a booster.  I hope they do.  That is one part of the puzzle to get through this.  But let's not have people thinking they can ditch their masks and testing just because 75% is pretty good. 

Totally agree. 

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, Syllieann said:

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.07.21267432v1.full.pdf

Page 3 figure 1 shows the huge drop in nab 3 months after the third Pfizer booster.  VE can't be directly correlated but it is quite obviously below the level of 6 months after 2 shots against delta.

I want everyone to get a booster.  I hope they do.  That is one part of the puzzle to get through this.  But let's not have people thinking they can ditch their masks and testing just because 75% is pretty good.  That is going to have a lot of people feeling misled and lied to in a couple months.

Yeah, it’s interesting to me that some people have mentioned being surprised that a single vaccine dose would be the end all of COVID, nothing else required, and that they feel lied to when that wasn’t the case. They must get their information from completely different sources than I do, because at no point have I heard similar messaging.
 

Nor, in my lived experience, has that been true of viruses which is why flu shot+hand washing+avoiding sick people during flu season was always my norm. Now that I know even more, I’ll add in masking (which, admittedly, we might always be doing anyway during any future “COVID season” if it comes to that). 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

Frankly, I think the messaging has been terrible.  It starts with two weeks and now many people I know feel that masking is now indefinite. New York went mask free in May if you were vaccinated but most places didn’t check.  Now they’re saying you have to mask unless a place is checking. The implication is that if you’re fully vaccinated with two doses you don’t need to mask because you can’t transmit or catch Covid, which just about everyone knows is not true.  So people are left wondering if this is the first step towards indefinite masking, which is going to be an almost impossible sell.  People do not want to mask.  The governor has even said she will not really be enforcing this and several counties have said they don’t have the manpower or political will to run around enforcing mask or vaccine checks.  
 

It literally would be so much better if they just said look, a year ago we were really hopeful based on the data and variants at the time that vaccines would reduce transmission to a very small percentage.  This has turned out not to be the case, and now we need to go back to masking until we figure out the next steps.  That’s more honest and people would respect it better.

But also, locally the spread hasn’t really been linked to casual shopping experiences like Walmart(and until today I almost never saw anyone masked in a store since May).  It’s primarily home gatherings, small group type things and private parties.

[JenneinCA]

My 17 year old gets a booster this afternoon.  He was the only person who was both six months post second dose and not boosted.  

[mlktwins]

I called our ped to make appts for my 16 year olds.  They are a week out of their 6 months after 2nd shot period.  

Ped is out of boosters for 18+ (had to cancel today's appts) and has not been told to start making appts for 16-17 year olds.  Probably because they don't have any to give right now. 

They are still doing the young ones though.

I will try and get an appt for one of mine another place.  One wants to do it at the doctor's office so he can lay down for the shot.

[KSera]

1 hour ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

The implication is that if you’re fully vaccinated with two doses you don’t need to mask because you can’t transmit or catch Covid, which just about everyone knows is not true.  So people are left wondering if this is the first step towards indefinite masking, which is going to be an almost impossible sell.  People do not want to mask.

I agree once Delta arrived, it never should’ve been the message that vaccinated people didn’t need to mask. I was never in favor of that decision even before Delta, because there was no way to figure out who should and shouldn’t be masked and those who are supposed to be masked for the same ones who are least likely to do so. i’m still confused about the fear of indefinite masking part, though. I’ve been masking in public continuously since March 2020, and I have no concern that I’ll be masking indefinitely. Where I am, masking is just not a big deal at all for most people. It’s fascinating to me the degree to which how big a deal it seems to be in various places seems to be directly correlated with how big deal people have made of it.

1 hour ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

It literally would be so much better if they just said look, a year ago we were really hopeful based on the data and variants at the time that vaccines would reduce transmission to a very small percentage.  This has turned out not to be the case, and now we need to go back to masking until we figure out the next steps.  That’s more honest and people would respect it better.

But also, locally the spread hasn’t really been linked to casual shopping experiences like Walmart(and until today I almost never saw anyone masked in a store since May).  It’s primarily home gatherings, small group type things and private parties.

A year ago, it was true that vaccination reduced transmission to almost nothing. But, that has changed. From where I get my news, the message has been clear starting with Delta that things changed and masking was necessary again, even for vaccinated people. I expect that differs depending on where people get their news. So I haven’t seen any dishonesty with that, I’ve just seen the situation change as the virus has evolved.

Eta: I keep thinking about this part since I posted it: I need to add that I agree a lot of messaging has been really poorly done. I’m also dismayed to see some increasingly bad takes coming out of a couple main stream media sources lately that have typically pretty good in the past. With most of them, I get the sense that the author has grown weary of the whole thing (haven’t we all!!) and that is being projected in their writing. I rely primarily on reading what scientists in the field are actually saying, so I see their commentary on these bad takes, but I realize the majority of the public isn’t going to be doing that. So yes, that part is really disappointing.

I agree the highest transmission seems to be at social events— big parties and private gatherings. Those that are least concerned or cautious about Covid though are going to be the least willing to change their behavior with respect to those things.

Edited December 13, 2021 by KSera

[TexasProud]

16 minutes ago, KSera said:

 i’m still confused about the fear of indefinite masking part, though. I’ve been masking in public continuously since March 2020, and I have no concern that I’ll be masking indefinitely. 

 

I never stopped wearing a mask, and it is a HUGE deal. I HATE IT.  I have no idea what the new people I've met really look like. I depend on people's facial expressions to read them. I feel like I am blind. I don't understand others well, and they don't understand me. Though I haven't been able to since 2020, singing is HUGE for me. You cannot tell the emotions in the song. My daughter's choir sang with masks. They sounded fine. I am glad they are doing it, but it just isn't the same. I cannot tell you how much it depresses me to think this may gone on for a long time. 

I am also so sick of the almost there, don't give up message. Yeah right. Just hang on until vaccines.... Keep doing it. Keep strong.  Just hang on until boosters. Ha!  No one knows. I WANT MY NORMAL LIFE BACK.

[Terabith]

34 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

I never stopped wearing a mask, and it is a HUGE deal. I HATE IT.  I have no idea what the new people I've met really look like. I depend on people's facial expressions to read them. I feel like I am blind. I don't understand others well, and they don't understand me. Though I haven't been able to since 2020, singing is HUGE for me. You cannot tell the emotions in the song. My daughter's choir sang with masks. They sounded fine. I am glad they are doing it, but it just isn't the same. I cannot tell you how much it depresses me to think this may gone on for a long time. 

I am also so sick of the almost there, don't give up message. Yeah right. Just hang on until vaccines.... Keep doing it. Keep strong.  Just hang on until boosters. Ha!  No one knows. I WANT MY NORMAL LIFE BACK.

Covid is never going away.  There is always going to be risk, and masking is always going to continue to be an important part of managing that risk.  I get that that can suck and that it bothers some people more than others, but for me, there was really a kind of relief when really before this really got started, when everyone was saying two weeks, and my doctor was saying, "It might be a few months," when I read an article saying that it was going to be years.....it honestly made me more relaxed.  This is life now.  You have to accept it and make it into a life you can live with.  Because it's going to be this way, maybe for a very long time, but maybe forever.  

[Terabith]

I tell my kids every day, and I really feel like it's the one of two pieces of genuine wisdom I've accumulated in life, that the secret to happiness is low expectations.  

[TexasProud]

3 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Covid is never going away.  There is always going to be risk, and masking is always going to continue to be an important part of managing that risk.  I get that that can suck and that it bothers some people more than others, but for me, there was really a kind of relief when really before this really got started, when everyone was saying two weeks, and my doctor was saying, "It might be a few months," when I read an article saying that it was going to be years.....it honestly made me more relaxed.  This is life now.  You have to accept it and make it into a life you can live with.  Because it's going to be this way, maybe for a very long time, but maybe forever.  

I do not want to live in that world. I just don't. I can't.

[TexasProud]

Please please. Hive tell me she is wrong. PLEASE> I cannot do this anymore.

[MEmama]

Just now, TexasProud said:

I do not want to live in that world. I just don't. I can't.

If it’s truly this hard for you, please talk to your therapist. Seriously, call them now. 

 

[TexasProud]

Just now, MEmama said:

If it’s truly this hard for you, please talk to your therapist. Seriously, call them now. 

 

I don't have one. They do not help. They tell me how well I am doing. Smile. 🙂

This pandemic cannot be forever. It just cannot. It just cannot. 

[MEmama]

5 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Covid is never going away.  There is always going to be risk, and masking is always going to continue to be an important part of managing that risk.  I get that that can suck and that it bothers some people more than others, but for me, there was really a kind of relief when really before this really got started, when everyone was saying two weeks, and my doctor was saying, "It might be a few months," when I read an article saying that it was going to be years.....it honestly made me more relaxed.  This is life now.  You have to accept it and make it into a life you can live with.  Because it's going to be this way, maybe for a very long time, but maybe forever.  

Yup. I expected two years. Looks like it will be longer, but we’ve learned so much and have so many incredible tools we didn’t have just two years ago. It’s amazing, really. This morning I read that researchers are using ostrich cells to make covid detecting masks. Science is freaking amazing. (I saw a t shirt the other day that said “Science: It’s like magic, but real!” Lol) 

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/japan-researchers-use-ostrich-cells-make-glowing-covid-19-detection-masks-2021-12-10/

[Terabith]

So, what is it that you cannot do?  At this point, we are 1) getting vaccinated and boostered (and will likely get boostered again at some time in the future six months to a year from now), 2) wearing a mask in public settings, although not really with family or close friends, 3) thinking through things like leaving extra space, trying to do some activities outdoors (like we are still having outdoor church), and thinking about what events are really important.  The only major change from pre pandemic life, besides masking, is that we eat out indoors far less than before, but still sometimes if it's not very crowded.  

I really don't find this a life not worth living.  I'm trying to understand why it's a source of such profound distress to you, to see if there's a way we can help.  

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

7 minutes ago, TexasProud said:

I don't have one. They do not help. They tell me how well I am doing. Smile. 🙂

This pandemic cannot be forever. It just cannot. It just cannot. 

Well, no, pandemics by their nature do not last forever.  But the viruses do. The 1918 H1N1 flu evolved over several waves into a less virulent flu and was no longer a novel virus. But that h1n1 strain still exists and the influenzas we see today are descendants.  It’s the most probable outcome for Covid as well.  We won’t eradicate it, but it will likely become less virtulant as time goes on.   If you’re going to spend the rest of your life trying to avoid getting Covid, that’s probably impossible.  Everyone will have to decide their own safety analysis for themselves.  My own safety analysis is that my kids go to school(masks are required), my immediate family is vaccinated, we fly, we travel, we eat indoors.  Until the mask mandate went back into effect today we haven’t masked much in public; mostly because there really hasn’t been a lot of outbreaks linked to casually shopping at the mall or box stores and there’s only one place we really eat indoors at and it’s not crowded when we go.  My kids are in gymnastics where everyone is masked.  They go to church where there is singing and no real masking.  They’ve all had exposures, but those have been either from the school bus or from small group gatherings.  None of my children have health conditions and neither do their grandparents or the aunts they see frequently.
I do expect some people will mask and even socially distance for years to come. And that’s okay too.  In the end, it’s all going to be a very personal decision based on individual risk factors.

Edited December 13, 2021 by Mrs Tiggywinkle

[TexasProud]

8 minutes ago, Terabith said:

So, what is it that you cannot do?  At this point, we are 1) getting vaccinated and boostered (and will likely get boostered again at some time in the future six months to a year from now), 2) wearing a mask in public settings, although not really with family or close friends, 3) thinking through things like leaving extra space, trying to do some activities outdoors (like we are still having outdoor church), and thinking about what events are really important.  The only major change from pre pandemic life, besides masking, is that we eat out indoors far less than before, but still sometimes if it's not very crowded.  

I really don't find this a life not worth living.  I'm trying to understand why it's a source of such profound distress to you, to see if there's a way we can help.  

I sang in choirs for 40 years before Covid. Cannot do that. Instead I watch them sing together every Sunday unmasked.

I sang in Praise Team for 15 years. With my mom, I cannot even do that level of exposure. 

I did ladies Bible studies where we prayed, hugged...Physical touch is very important to me. I am attending church with an N95 mask, but my husband and I are the only ones who are masked these days.

I miss hugging my mom, my MIL, those I love. If I do, I worry I will infect them.

No longer able to go to my classes in person. Even if we did, as I said before, body language and facial expression is so important to me. It is like half talking.

I miss hugging people. I miss shaking their hands. I miss going to Wednesday night dinner and just laughing and joking.

Heck, even if you wear a mask if you are in a big crowd, you worry about getting infected.

I miss being carefree as I interacted with people, not worrying if some stupid cough or sneeze means they have it.

I miss doing community theater.

I miss going on our mission trips, which were a HUGE part of my life. We cannot minister in hospitals if they are full of Covid. 

My daughter is a musical theater major. How can I go and not get infected???  How will she do it? Those kind of organizations spread so much during their performances. Her cast of Newsies all got sick the week of performance. Will this wipe them out???

Then part of it is my mom's diagnosis. I was finally going after my dreams and that completely screwed it all up. First Covid and now this. Again, I am caring for someone else. Again. My dreams really don't matter. I am getting too old anyway.

Edited December 13, 2021 by TexasProud

[Terabith]

Caring for high risk family members does make things harder.  But even before covid, flu season and regular viruses would have been a concern that would have limited your protection if you were being her primary caregiver.  

[TexasProud]

53 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Caring for high risk family members does make things harder.  But even before covid, flu season and regular viruses would have been a concern that would have limited your protection if you were being her primary caregiver.  

The last two times she battled breast cancer I did not. I had small kids then as well. We never masked or anything. I don't think she did either. She came to their soccer games. We didn't do anything different. Now I didn't have to care for her then, he husband and friends did as I was raising my family and couldn't be there much either time.

I was taking care of my dad then. I didn't mask. I then took care of my husband's grandmother. Didn't mask. 

Edited December 13, 2021 by TexasProud