Vaccine booster
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Thank you for posting this!
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I am glad someone started a new post on the Covid booster. Once we are going through or have gone through radiation or chemo I suppose we should all consider ourselves immunocompromised. Even if labs look stable. I am curious to know what others are being told about the "timing" of this Covid booster in between infusions? I made an appointment two weeks after my next Herceptin infusion. When I had my 2nd Covid vaccine I developed a high fever, ended up in the ER as a precaution. But now the Covid surge is horrid again and I would not want to end up in an ER again. I live in a major metropolitan area and I am finding that appointments are being scooped up asap. I have a real feeling that more people are jumping in to get vaccinated (which is good) but may not use the honor system and forge ahead with the immunocompromised patients trying to get vaccinated. Thus appointments and locations trying to find the same type of vaccination vial you had has been a chore. I have two more Herceptin treatments and could certainly wait until they are done.
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i have a question for nurses or any other medical professionals who give injections. What makes the difference between a sore arm or not, after an injection? My first two COVID vaccines (and all of my flu shots) left me with a sore armat the injection site. I had my booster a couple of days ago and the soreness was barely noticeable. What makes the difference?
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Seems that CDC is not supportive of the booster shots to general population. https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/policy/healthcare/570057-cdc-panel-says-more-evidence-needed-for-booster-recommendation%3famp
Does it mean no booster shots after September 20 other than for immunicompromised, healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities?
I am not considered immunocompromised, so was counting on getting the booster after September 20 along with the general population. I do have antibodies >250 u/ml, but not sure if the will last until October. I am flying to Utah in October, plus switching from WFH to working some days in the office and have to commute by subway.
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Reckless, I answered your question in the rant topic, but it just means as of right now, CDC does not have enough data to authorize the booster for general population. FDA has to approve/EUA the booster, then CDC authorizes it before it can be rolled out. I do believe, however, everybody will get a booster. It's just matter of when.
Pfizer has already submitted some data to FDA for booster.
https://investors.pfizer.com/investor-news/press-r...
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exbrnxgrl, I was taught that several factors go into the pain/bruising
- proper landmarking. Sometimes people administering miss the target area
- proper length of needle. An IM needs to be long enough to go to the muscle. If a person has a lot of fat in the area, the needle needs to be longer. Otoh, skinny minnie arms with too long a needle and sometimes you might get close to a bone
-speed. Or rather the lack of. The slower you administer, the less pain and bruising. In assembly line and rushed clinics they tend to just ram it in. Slower is better.
- pt relaxing the muscle. Let the arm hang loose, really loose.
- luck. Sometimes you graze a nerve or a bigger blood vessel. Just a fluke.
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Thank you, Chowdog
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moth, thank you!
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I feel like I am the only one who got the J & J vaccine. I want the booster, but never hear much on J & J and half the pharmacies around here don't even carry it. I'm kind of mad actually. I wish I had gotten pfizer or moderna, but at the time they said get whatever is available. I had J & J on 3/6 so almost 6 months ago.
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I received an email from the cancer clinic for booster shot, guess I don’t need to ask my MO any more. It says the booster is ok after ,at least, 28 days have past since the second shot. So I am going to book an appointment.
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I was really confused after several different emails I received and then the advice at the cancer center on Friday. I mentioned this in the RANT thread. This morning I received another email from the cancer center. I sense that I wasn't the only confused patient because the email contained a detailed FAQ and a request NOT to call the cancer center with questions about boosters.
As to confusing messaging, I note that my sister, not immune compromised or a cancer pt, also received an email from her vax site that seemed to say she could come on in and get a booster. Her and her husband did not do it because they didn't want to take up a space from someone who needed it more.
Basically the latest. email said, if you are not moderately to severely immuno-compromised you are not eligible for a booster at this time. (That same verbiage is now on the State of NJ website)
They specifically said if you received only hormone therapy or targeted therapy for your cancer or are only on observation - you are not automatically considered immune compromised.
I will provide a screenshot or the text of the latest email I got when I get to my other device. I think in my own case, regardless of what the substitute onc told me on Friday, I am not eligible. I am not in a hurry for the booster, my second pfizer shot was in May. I also hope that if I wait a few months there will be an updated booster that addresses the current mutations as opposed to rushing to get a third shot of the very same vax.
Here is the relevant text - just providing this for information only. Not advising anyone
FAQs about the COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Dose for Cancer Patients 1. Why is a third vaccine being recommended? Some patients, especially patients with compromised immune systems, do not have a strong response after receiving vaccines. In these cases, public health officials recommend an additional dose of the vaccine. In the case of COVID-19, immunocompromised patients who received mRNA vaccine (Moderna or Pfizer) should receive a third dose of mRNA vaccine after completing the initial vaccine series.
2. Who is eligible for a 3rd dose of the vaccine? Patients with liquid tumors or blood cancer who meet the following criteria:
• Patients being treated for blood cancers currently or within the past 12 months.
• Patients who were within 2 years after treatment with B-cell depleting drugs (i.e. Rituxan [rituximab] or Gazyva [obinutuzumab]) at the time of their initial vaccination.
• Patients being treated with IVIG for recurring infections.
• Recipients of CART-T-cell, autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (within 2 years of transplantation or taking immunosuppressive therapy).
Patients with solid tumor cancers who meet the following criteria:
• Patients treated with chemotherapy or immunotherapy currently or within the past 6 months.
Patients with other reasons for a compromised immune system:
• Receipt of solid organ transplant and taking immunosuppressive therapy.
• Moderate or sever primary immunodeficiency
• Advances or untreated HIV infection
Patients with autoimmune disease and on active treatment with a high-dose of corticosteroids (i.e. =20mg of prednisone or equivalent per day), alkylating agents, antimetabolites, transplant-related immunosuppressive drugs and cancer chemotherapeutic agents classified as severely immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory.
3. Which cancer patients are not eligible for a third dose at this time? Patients with solid tumors are not considered immunocompromised if their cancer has been treated with hormone therapy, targeted therapy, surgery, radiation, or are under observation only.
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Nancy, this article from a few days ago suggests that J & J is going to or have recently submitted for approval of a booster. It sounds like it's in the works, but won't be available for a while.
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Thank you for posting that AlwaysMeC
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Olma - I'm hoping a half dose of Moderna/Spikevax will be available as a booster. It's been tested against Delta. In the meantime even if antibody levels drop, we're still protected by the memory cells. Think this is why the rates of hospitalization and death remain low for vaccinated people.
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I had a chat with my nurse, MO recommended 8 months gap between a booster and the second shot. Department of health in our state estimated 800,000 people eligible to get additional shot, so I don’t take someone’s turn who is in need now. I condouble-masking until my turn, plus vaccination rate in my city is %77 fully vaccinated of eligible population (the rate is greater, those received at least one dose). it is good to be safe and supported.
new terminology 🤯What is the difference between an additional dose and a booster dose?
An "additional dose" of a COVID-19 vaccine is administered to individuals with weakened immune systems who have not responded fully to initial doses.
A "booster" dose is administered when the response to initial vaccination might have decreased to levels that increase vulnerability.
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Snow Drop,
So, immunocompromised population needs 3 doses (the same vaccine, the same dosage as the original) instead of 2 doses like general population. The booster, FDA&CDC are talking about, is a booster for general population when their immune response wanes.
The booster may or may not be the same dosage. so for Moderna, it looks like the booster will be 50ug instead of 100ug for the original vaccine.
https://investors.modernatx.com/news-releases/news...
For pfizer, it still looks like it will be the same dosage as the original vaccine.
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Chowdog, I have not read or researched any data that the additional dose or "booster" is going to be reduced. All the recent articles , very recent, stated that the boosters are basically the same strength.
This is of particular concern to me as on dose #2 (after starting one dose of Kadcyla back in the beginning of the year) I spiked a very high temp in the middle of the night. Fever is a known SE of the vaccines but this elevation sent me to the ER for a long stay until they determined all was ok to go home. That concerns me now about getting the 3rd booster in the middle of Herceptin only infusions. Not up for another ER evaluation, especially now when ERs are full of covid patients.
Makes me think I should complete infusions and then consider the 3rd vaccine.
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Rachel,
the reduced (half dose) booster is only being studied by Moderna. Also this is for general population, not for immunocompromised. I read on twitter/WSJ that FDA supposedly asked Moderna for more data with regarding the booster dosage like why half vs full.
For immunocompromised, you will get 3 shots instead of 2, and it will be the same vaccine & dosage as the first 2 doses.
You should talk to your MO about the timing of your 3rd shot. I also got fever as part of SE after the 2nd dose but not high enough to go to ER.
I can't figure out how to copy&paste the cached version of the WSJ article, so just copied & pasted the text instead.
"Exclusive: FDA Weighing Dose of Moderna Covid-19 Booster
By Felicia Schwartz and Stephanie Armour
A patient receiving a dose of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine at a hospital in Odessa, Texas, last week.ELI HARTMAN/ODESSA AMERICAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to authorize a lower dose of Moderna Inc.'s Covid-19 vaccine for boosters than the dose given in the first two shots, people familiar with the deliberations said.
Moderna said Wednesday it is asking the FDA to authorize a 50 microgram dose, half the dosage of the first two shots. Some in the government are leaning toward authorizing the 100 microgram dose, the people said, because of concerns a lower-dose booster might not offer a durable enough boost to counter fast-changing variants of Covid-19.
No final decision has been made, the people said, as the FDA is still reviewing data from studies that tested boosters using the different doses. People who have seen the data said both doses produce a strong immune response.
Complicating the decision is the fact that the FDA has limited comparative data on which to base their choice, one person familiar with the discussions said.
The continuing deliberations are a reason the agency hasn't yet authorized boosters, though the people expect a decision soon.
Read the full story."
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Not sure what I will do about the booster or the timing. I believe in the 3rd dose, for now, but there are little updates about how immunocompromised patients are tolerating this third dose. Especially with Moderna which had more SE on the 2nd dose. I secured an appointment for a booster in between my Herceptin infusions. I certainly do not want a high fever again or bad side effects so I very well may finish out my Herceptin and do the booster after.
That timing would be beyond my 8 month time frame. Herceptin has been "ok" but don't feel super on that either and it would be hard to differentiate what was causing chills or fever? I do not see articles with a lot of reviews (yet) on how well the 3rd dose is being tolerated by those with cancer currently in treatment. And experts seem to be chiming in and not 100% in agreement that the booster is needed right now. Only the CDC pushing this.
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https://apple.news/Ahq7YFCp3Rnm3IEB6zJW-OQ
This does not bode well for the booster shot approval for the general population by FDA on September 17. Thoughts? I am worried because I am not considered immunocompromised, and hence not eligible for a booster shot currently. Was really hoping that I will be able to get it after September 20!
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FDA and CDC will make a call based on data Pfizer submitted. I still think everybody will get a booster. Fauci seems to believe so.
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So has anyone on this thread had the booster? If so, how did you do? I am a healthcare provider and I have heard recent updates of how sick (temp of 103 for 3 days, etc) have been occurring. I had the same increased temp on the 2nd vaccine. I ended up going to the ER on the advice of my pcp back then, all was ok , BUT that is the last thing I want to do this time on any booster shot. Who wants to end up in and ER right now during Delta surge? Sit 3-6 hours in and ER? No thanks.
I am in between Herceptin infusions and I have the booster scheduled but I think I am going to cancel this until I am done with treatment. Don't trust doing this in between treatment.
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racheldog,
I had my booster about 2 weeks ago. I felt a bit tired and had a headache about 12-15 hours after the shot but was fine after a good nights sleep. No fever! It was pretty much a non-event for me. Kaiser's Santa Clara campus is larger than I imagined and I've been going there for years, so the most difficult part was finding where they had set up the vaccine area. I got my first two doses at Levi's Stadium which was almost like a party!
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I had the Pfizer vaccine. After having the booster, I had very similar side effects as my second dose. I had fever (around 100 degrees), body aches, and fatigue starting about 12 hours after injection. I anticipated this and planned accordingly.
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I received the booster (moderna) vaccine last Tuesday, on the recommendation of my MO. Wednesday and Thursday felt like I had the flu - fever, body aches, nausea (but no vomiting), and a wicked headache. Had almost no reaction to shots 1 and 2, so was a bit surprised. But hoping my antibodies are getting robust now!
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had Pfizer booster last Sunday. Similar side effects as 2nd dose. It took a little bit longer for side effects to show up after the booster (almost a day vs 8 hrs after 2nd dose). I had low grade fever after 2nd dose and booster, ranging from 99 to 100, for a day.
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In my area I’ve heard that you can get a booster if you go to a vaccine location towards the end of the day’s distribution schedule and they have unused doses that would be discarded. You would not be jumping the line. I had the booster due to being in active chemo, but my husband, who is older but not immune compromised may have lower vaccine protection due to age. The CDC recently said that effectiveness may not as robust if you are 70 or older. Sorry I don’t have the citation handy. I would like him to try. What do you all think
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If he's over 70, he should try. I don't think that's jumping the line. Especially since he lives with someone immunocompromised. Hope he can get it easily.
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Serenity, I very much appreciate your affirmation. Now I just need him to give it a go
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