Bivalent vaccine?

[kbutton]

Yes. 3/4 will do it as soon as we can, but maybe not all the same day. One will wait a little as he was eligible for the 2nd booster and received it in late July.

[El...]

Yes, early next month, I think. The health department here makes it very streamlined, and they are about to release appointment times for the bivalent booster.

[Tenaj]

Yes, at least I will get it an my three youngest who live at home.  I assume my dh will get it, too, we just haven't really discussed it.  The timing is a challenge though because we are smack in the middle of volleyball and soccer seasons.  I was looking today for a gap in games and can't find any until about the third week of October.  My 25yods is getting married Nov 6 so it would be best to have it done at least two weeks before those activities.  We'll see.  My son and his family who live overseas are arriving next week after multiple flights to stay with us for the foreseeable future.  I've been hoping our immunity carries us through whatever they might be exposed to on this trip.

 

Edited September 8, 2022 by Tenaj
I cannot type my phone so always end up editing

[Hilltopmom]

Almost just scheduled it for tomorrow night but it’s the first week of school and I’m exhausted as it is (special Ed teacher here).
I think I’m going to wait at least a couple weeks until my system re adjusts to school. The other boosters have hit me hard.

[Ting Tang]

If I’m allowed I will! 

[Storygirl]

4 hours ago, lauraw4321 said:

I go today. I think it’s bivalent but if it’s not I’ll just get the flu shot. 

The shot doesn't include the flu shot. It's "bivalent" because it covers two kinds of Covid (not Covid plus flu).

[Storygirl]

I will get it, but I have to figure out the timing. I had a very mild case of Covid in June, so I may wait until next month. The half of us who didn't get Covid this summer could get it sooner than that. DH should get it right away, because he has never had Covid (he has been fully boosted, up to this point).

[KungFuPanda]

Ds and I got the bivalent vaccine at Costco on Tuesday. This far we’ve managed to entirely dodge Covid. Meanwhile, in an apartment one county over, my Dd and her husband are just starting to recover from Covid. Dd taught two days of school and was sick on the third. She must have caught it on Day 1.  She’s missed most of the first two weeks of school. She even threw elbows and got a classroom with windows this year. She’s pregnant so she can’t take any drugs that actually work. They’re both on the upswing and she expects to be back Monday. Did I mention that she has HG? It’s rough and she won’t let us bring her anything. 

[mommyoffive]

2 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

Ds and I got the bivalent vaccine at Costco on Tuesday. This far we’ve managed to entirely dodge Covid. Meanwhile, in an apartment one county over, my Dd and her husband are just starting to recover from Covid. Dd taught two days of school and was sick on the third. She must have caught it on Day 1.  She’s missed most of the first two weeks of school. She even threw elbows and got a classroom with windows this year. She’s pregnant so she can’t take any drugs that actually work. They’re both on the upswing and she expects to be back Monday. Did I mention that she has HG? It’s rough and she won’t let us bring her anything. 

Oh my your poor poor dd.  I am so glad she is on the upswing.  Sick by the 3rd day?  And with HG?  I can't imagine.  I had HG with each of my pgs.  I hope she recovers fully soon.

Edited September 9, 2022 by mommyoffive

[Ting Tang]

Why do some say there have been no human trials? My husband of course tells me all these stories, like grandmas in one family having strokes from the vax…. So he’s a skeptic. Well, I’m boosted and hope this one helps protect me against infection and not just death. Is that possible? 

[KungFuPanda]

15 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Oh my your poor poor dd.  I am so glad she is on the upswing.  Sick by the 3rd day?  And with HG?  I can't imagine.  I had HG with each of my pgs.  I hope she recovers fully soon.

Thank you so much. I never had HG so I have no advice for her. My instinct is to feed her, but that’s no help. She’s 17 weeks now. I hope the HG doesn’t last the full pregnancy. 

[Malory]

7 minutes ago, Ting Tang said:

Why do some say there have been no human trials? My husband of course tells me all these stories, like grandmas in one family having strokes from the vax…. So he’s a skeptic. Well, I’m boosted and hope this one helps protect me against infection and not just death. Is that possible? 

Because there really was no human trial. The trial was done on exactly 8 mice. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/03/covid-19-omicron-shots-available-but-their-effectiveness-is-unclear-.html?&qsearchterm=booster

This decision did not leave enough time for Pfizer and Moderna to complete human clinical trials on the new boosters before a fall vaccine rollout.

As a consequence, the FDA and the CDC are relying on human data from the clinical trials of the BA.1 shots to understand how the BA.5 boosters might perform. They also relied on data from studies in which the BA.5 boosters were tested in mice.

[mommyoffive]

Just now, KungFuPanda said:

Thank you so much. I never had HG so I have no advice for her. My instinct is to feed her, but that’s no help. She’s 17 weeks now. I hope the HG doesn’t last the full pregnancy. 

HG is so horrible.  Is she on any meds? I was on anti-nausea meds, which sort of helped, but I was still really sick and in bed for weeks. Oh I hope it does ease up for her.  I have heard some people have it the whole time, and others don't.  Mine always went away about the 4 months.  So odd how it works.  Nobody in my family had HG either.  

I was just watching this vlogger a few weeks ago who had some bad MS and some stuff that she said helped her.  Not sure if it would help.

I AM PREGNANT!!! Baby #9 is on the way!!! - YouTube

 

It must be really hard to watch her go through it.  I am sure it was really hard for my dh to see and could really do anything to help make me feel better.

[Ting Tang]

2 minutes ago, Malory said:

Because there really was no human trial. The trial was done on exactly 8 mice. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/03/covid-19-omicron-shots-available-but-their-effectiveness-is-unclear-.html?&qsearchterm=booster

This decision did not leave enough time for Pfizer and Moderna to complete human clinical trials on the new boosters before a fall vaccine rollout.

As a consequence, the FDA and the CDC are relying on human data from the clinical trials of the BA.1 shots to understand how the BA.5 boosters might perform. They also relied on data from studies in which the BA.5 boosters were tested in mice.

Well, I guess if it’s close to BA1 there wouldn’t be a danger of being harmed any more so? I’m reading it won’t offer much in terms of infection prevention. Ugh. Still hoping for a miracle when I don’t feel naked without a mask. 

[kokotg]

12 minutes ago, Ting Tang said:

Why do some say there have been no human trials? My husband of course tells me all these stories, like grandmas in one family having strokes from the vax…. So he’s a skeptic. Well, I’m boosted and hope this one helps protect me against infection and not just death. Is that possible? 

They're doing human trials now, but, yeah...there are no results from those yet. It's the same with the flu vaccine every year; there's no way to keep up with new variants and still do human trials before approval. From what I've read there are no safety concerns because the vaccines are so similar to the originals....but we don't have a ton of information yet about how effective they'll be (and, again, it's the same with flu vaccines every year; there's no way to know in advance how good of a match they'll be for that year's strains). 

[Ting Tang]

1 minute ago, kokotg said:

They're doing human trials now, but, yeah...there are no results from those yet. It's the same with the flu vaccine every year; there's no way to keep up with new variants and still do human trials before approval. From what I've read there are no safety concerns because the vaccines are so similar to the originals....but we don't have a ton of information yet about how effective they'll be (and, again, it's the same with flu vaccines every year; there's no way to know in advance how good of a match they'll be for that year's strains). 

Thank you! So much. I hate naysayers telling me each vaccine/booster might prematurely end my life. I’m still alive after the last one. I just wish I could relax. I’m worried about the fall/winter. 

[kokotg]

14 minutes ago, Malory said:

Because there really was no human trial. The trial was done on exactly 8 mice. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/03/covid-19-omicron-shots-available-but-their-effectiveness-is-unclear-.html?&qsearchterm=booster

This decision did not leave enough time for Pfizer and Moderna to complete human clinical trials on the new boosters before a fall vaccine rollout.

As a consequence, the FDA and the CDC are relying on human data from the clinical trials of the BA.1 shots to understand how the BA.5 boosters might perform. They also relied on data from studies in which the BA.5 boosters were tested in mice.

Where are you getting 8 mice from? The only thing I could find is that Pfizer presented initial findings back in June based on 8 mice. Presumably there have been more since then and Moderna also did trials?

Edited September 9, 2022 by kokotg

[KSera]

5 minutes ago, kokotg said:

Where are you getting 8 mice from?

It looks to be a talking point on conspiracy-oriented sites. I think an important point is that the human trial data we're want to see for the new BA.4/5 shots is how well it performs, not safety data. The safety data is already in, and is approved based on that. The mouse data was for seeing how antibody counts respond. This article has good explanations and talks as well about the human trials done for the BA.1 version. Fact check: Yes, the Moderna Omicron shot for Canada was tested on humans. If we're not going to accept changing covid vaccines to match currently circulating strains, we'd have to throw out doing that for flu as well (I realize a lot of the same people probably think that's exactly what we should do). No idea why they think just letting people needlessly die of covid is the better approach 🤷‍♀️.

 

All that aside, I am still very interested to see what the real world effectiveness pans out to be. Would be amazing to get a boost back to where we were spring 2021, but I'm expecting that's a bit much to ask. I can't imagine it won't be better against infection with current BA.4/5 strains than the original is, though.

[Malory]

2 hours ago, kokotg said:

Where are you getting 8 mice from? The only thing I could find is that Pfizer presented initial findings back in June based on 8 mice. Presumably there have been more since then and Moderna also did trials?

Marty Makary mentioned it a few times and also on this presentation of the Moderna version where 8-10 mice were used in each trial group. 

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2022-09-01/06-COVID-Miller-508.pdf

[Lecka]

I am also sorry about the HG now that I realize what you are talking about.  Ugh!

 

I am just feeling sorry for myself, because right now my husband had Covid recently and nobody else got it, and I don’t know if I should really trust that the rest of us somehow had it without knowing, and that’s why we didn’t catch it from him.  We were around him and my 17yo was in a car with the person we think gave it to my husband, while that person was coughing.  
 

But as far as I know, 4 of us haven’t had Covid and should get the new booster, but then my husband has to get it later than us?

 

It’s just so complicated.

 

I thought getting flu shots for 5 people was hard before covid.  
 

It’s like — there are things I’m good at and things I’m bad at, and for some reason, this is a routine task I’m not that good at.  
 

But I can do it, I’ve done it before, lol.  

[lauraw4321]

12 hours ago, Storygirl said:

The shot doesn't include the flu shot. It's "bivalent" because it covers two kinds of Covid (not Covid plus flu).

I was supposed to get two shots. Flu and COVID. But life severely interrupted and I didn’t make my appointment. I’ll try again. 

[kokotg]

8 hours ago, Malory said:

Marty Makary mentioned it a few times and also on this presentation of the Moderna version where 8-10 mice were used in each trial group. 

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2022-09-01/06-COVID-Miller-508.pdf

Yes--he and a couple of other anti-vax people on twitter are the only references I can find to it as well. That and the news from June that the INITIAL trial from Pfizer had 8 mice. To me "per group" implies the existence of more than one group. 

Edited September 9, 2022 by kokotg

[KSera]

9 hours ago, Malory said:

Marty Makary mentioned it a few times and also on this presentation of the Moderna version where 8-10 mice were used in each trial group. 

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2022-09-01/06-COVID-Miller-508.pdf

You understand that these weren’t safety trials, right? I’m seeing anti vaxers all over Twitter incredulous that anyone would take a vaccine “only tested 8 mice”, but they clearly have no understanding that the safety trials are already done, and at this point we have an incredible amount of both trial and real world safety data, given that billions of these shots have been given now. They just sound silly going on about the 8 mice, as if it were a safety issue. Now, whether it’s going to perform better than the one we have? We don’t know that part yet. But that’s how it works with the flu vaccine each year as well. Totally valid for people to take the gamble of waiting to see how the shot is working before deciding to get another one; I used to do that with the flu vaccine because our flu season starts later, and I didn’t worry about getting it if it was a bad match. Omicron is a little different from flu, because it’s here now and for anyone who hasn’t had it, it’s going to be exceedingly difficult to be out in public and not catch it. 

[Dmmetler]

One of my piano student parents told me last night (when I mentioned that I was getting the bivalent vaccine this weekend) to get the flu shot too-she's seeing more cases of flu requiring hospital admission than they usually see in September.  

[Malory]

3 hours ago, kokotg said:

Yes--he and a couple of other anti-vax people on twitter are the only references I can find to it as well. That and the news from June that the INITIAL trial from Pfizer had 8 mice. To me "per group" implies the existence of more than one group. 

Yes, other groups include the control group and others that don't get the bivalent vaccine as a way to compare the results. It seems Pfizer and Moderna run their trials very similarly, using rougly the same number of animals. Is this standard procedure in initial trials? And I read somewhere that Pfizer must have more gotten more results since June, but they are not available to the public.

 

2 hours ago, KSera said:

You understand that these weren’t safety trials, right? They just sound silly going on about the 8 mice, as if it were a safety issue. Now, whether it’s going to perform better than the one we have? We don’t know that part yet. Totally valid for people to take the gamble of waiting to see how the shot is working before deciding to get another one;  Omicron is a little different from flu, because it’s here now and for anyone who hasn’t had it, it’s going to be exceedingly difficult to be out in public and not catch it. 

I agree. It's good that it is available to anyone who wants it, just as long as it is not mandated. I live in a very highly vaccinated area, we just came out of a big wave, so it will be interesting to see how much uptake there will be. 

[madteaparty]

No.

 

[KSera]

42 minutes ago, Malory said:

Is this standard procedure in initial trials?

I don’t think these would be considered initial trials. Initial trials were back when Pfizer and Moderna were formulating the original Covid-19 shots. 

[Spy Car]

Just had mine. I was "on campus" at my health provider and they got supplied with their first doses this morning, so I jumped on it.

Bill

[MEmama]

4 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

Just had mine. I was "on campus" at my health provider and they got supplied with their first doses this morning, so I jumped on it.

Bill

Lucky you!

My pharmacy doesn’t have them yet but I’m anxious to get it done before our next trip.

[Spy Car]

6 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Lucky you!

My pharmacy doesn’t have them yet but I’m anxious to get it done before our next trip.

I just sent my son off to get his, before goes off to college next week.

The arrival of the new vaccines was so "sudden" that it hasn't been announced and people can just walk in.

Sometimes you get lucky.

I hope you have good luck as well.

Bill

[mathnerd]

1 hour ago, Spy Car said:

Just had mine. I was "on campus" at my health provider and they got supplied with their first doses this morning, so I jumped on it.

Bill

So, the health care provider can administer this vaccine? Good to know as I thought that i had to go to the county run site to get it. Thanks!

[Acorn]

I received a booster yesterday. Today I’ve had a headache and 100.8 temp. I am glad to know that antibodies are being formed. 

[Spy Car]

7 minutes ago, mathnerd said:

So, the health care provider can administer this vaccine? Good to know as I thought that i had to go to the county run site to get it. Thanks!

You can search here:

https://www.vaccines.gov/

There are an array of places that dispense the vaccines, from pharmacies, to health care providers, to county sites.

I'm told that many places don't know precisely which day they will get it, but--if one checks in the morning--one can get lucky.

Bill 

[MEmama]

44 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

You can search here:

https://www.vaccines.gov/

There are an array of places that dispense the vaccines, from pharmacies, to health care providers, to county sites.

I'm told that many places don't know precisely which day they will get it, but--if one checks in the morning--one can get lucky.

Bill 

Thanks for posting the link. I just signed both DH and myself up so we'll be covered before our next trip. 👍

 

[Spy Car]

14 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Thanks for posting the link. I just signed both DH and myself up so we'll be covered before our next trip. 👍

 

I'm very pleased to know that.

Bill

[Mom_to3]

I think it's very telling that we have to go to a pharmacy or doctor's office to get a shot. And the lines at the CVS last week seemed much longer than pre-covid...though of course it could have been just a coincidence.

[KungFuPanda]

2 hours ago, mathnerd said:

So, the health care provider can administer this vaccine? Good to know as I thought that i had to go to the county run site to get it. Thanks!

I went to Costco 😆

[Shoeless]

Got my bivalent booster today. DH and DS will get Pfizer when I can find it around here. I may be able to get them vaccinated next week.

I started to get wound up about timing the vaccines to optimize coverage, but my last booster was in November so I just want it done. DS is back in some in-person things so our risk is now increased.

[maize]

4 hours ago, Spy Car said:

I just sent my son off to get his, before goes off to college next week.

The arrival of the new vaccines was so "sudden" that it hasn't been announced and people can just walk in.

Sometimes you get lucky.

I hope you have good luck as well.

Bill

It's not likely to require luck here--if shots have arrived, they will be a available for walk-ins. I'm not in an area where people will be lining up for this booster.

 

[maize]

Those who have received it already, please report back in a few days on how your body responded. I'm curious to know how it will be compared to earlier doses.

[Spy Car]

33 minutes ago, maize said:

It's not likely to require luck here--if shots have arrived, they will be a available for walk-ins. I'm not in an area where people will be lining up for this booster.

 

I frequently make the mistake of thinking other people think the way I do. LOL  

Bill

[Acorn]

40 minutes ago, maize said:

Those who have received it already, please report back in a few days on how your body responded. I'm curious to know how it will be compared to earlier doses.

With 24 hours now, I’m responding same as earlier shots with 100-102 fever, body aches and headache. I switched manufacturers so I’m curious if the side effects will be gone tomorrow as they were with prior doses.

One difference is that it hurt more to get the vaccine. While I was walking around the drugstore, a man approached and asked if I had just received vaccine and if I thought it hurt more than previous ones as his did. He said that our administrator was very fast but it felt like being stabbed. The administrator told me that he was having side effects from his shot a day earlier but he couldn’t call off because he had given like 40 vaccines that shift. I was the last of the day. I’m very much hoping that he actual had true side effects and not covid itself but like I said it was extremely quick to get the shot.

[Dmmetler]

2 hours ago, Mom_to3 said:

I think it's very telling that we have to go to a pharmacy or doctor's office to get a shot. And the lines at the CVS last week seemed much longer than pre-covid...though of course it could have been just a coincidence.

They stopped running public vax sites here except for special events over a year ago. Even by the time 12-16 was eligible at all, you mostly had to go through a pharmacy or doctor’s office. Certainly for boosters you did. Now, some of the pharmacies may do a separate window/place for vaccine appointments vs just picking up prescriptions. Walmart does that here during flu shot season.

Edited September 10, 2022 by Dmmetler

[Longtime Lurker]

Just got the Moderna bivalent booster a few hours ago at our local pharmacy. I did not have to make an appointment and only had to wait 10 minutes. This is my first Moderna after three Pfizers (Jan/Feb 2021 and late Sept 2021). I also had covid starting on May 1, 2022. I work in a school so I wanted to get it sooner rather than later. I will be interested to see if side effects are different than Pfizer for me.

[Spy Car]

Just an update (I hope it helps someone) I've had no real reaction to this round. I keep forgetting I had it.

A little local tenderness around the injection site. But quite mild.

Otherwise, no improvements   

Bill

 

[ScoutTN]

5 hours ago, Mom_to3 said:

I think it's very telling that we have to go to a pharmacy or doctor's office to get a shot. And the lines at the CVS last week seemed much longer than pre-covid...though of course it could have been just a coincidence.

Our health dept. has them too. They even have a tent at local farmers’ markets - no appt necessary, just walk right up.

[maize]

35 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

Just an update (I hope it helps someone) I've had no real reaction to this round. I keep forgetting I had it.

A little local tenderness around the injection site. But quite mild.

Otherwise, no improvements   

Bill

 

Maybe the new microchip takes awhile to install...

[mellifera33]

I had mine on Tuesday. I felt a little tired on Wednesday, and the glands in my armpit on the side I got the shot have been a bit swollen. My 15 y/o had it at the same time. It was his first booster and he had a reaction similar to my reaction to my first booster—fever, chills, feeling crummy for a day. 12 y/o had it too and complained that the shot hurt and his arm hurt for a day, but otherwise no SEs. We’ve all had Pfizer for all our doses and haven’t had covid as far as we know. 15 y/o and I didn’t even feel the shot, but we’re good at relaxing before a shot. 12 y/o gets nervous and tenses up. 

[Shoeless]

It's been about 10 hours since the bivalent booster. My arm hurts and I'm a bit tired. I could power through it but I don't feel like it. Instead, I'm playing video games.

[mellifera33]

1 hour ago, maize said:

Maybe the new microchip takes awhile to install...

I’ve joked with some friends that with as many vaccines as I’ve had in my life, my body is 37.5% nanobots.