# CDC recommends spring COVID booster for people 65 and up **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [February 29, 2024, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260 "2024-02-29T01:48:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/21 "2024-03-08T17:06:41Z")
I’ve never had much of a reaction to Covid boosters except for some soreness at the injection site. After my very first Covid shot I had a bad bout of full-body muscle pain and exhaustion for a day, but after that I was fine. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2024, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/22 "2024-03-08T17:07:43Z")
I had my last Covid shot last October. I messaged my doctor and asked if should get another, she said I’m good for a year from my last booster. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2024, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/23 "2024-03-08T17:10:26Z")
The CDC says to wait at least two months after getting covid to get a booster, most countries recommend 3-6 months. The issue isn’t that it’s dangerous to get a booster right after having covid, but that it’s a waste. It “feels like” the same exposure to your immune system, i think. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/24 "2024-03-10T18:52:40Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > In January my doctor mentioned that in April I am due for my 10-year Tetanus booster. Do be sure to get that updated. Whooping cough aka Pertussis is on the rise again. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2024, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/25 "2024-03-10T21:41:31Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > I had my last Covid shot last October. I messaged my doctor and asked if should get another, she said I’m good for a year from my last booster. Almost the same. My last boost was Sep 2023, so just coming up on 6 months. I asked and Doc said “Wait until Fall 2024.” I was a tad surprised; she’s usually one to embrace safe better than sorry. But if she says “wait”, wait it is. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/26 "2024-03-20T11:51:35Z")
I followed the CDC’s advice and got a spring booster yesterday, since I’m 67 and my last booster was September 2023. Got a vaxx for RSV at the same time, too. That RSV one hurt! The pharmacist said everybody was saying the same thing. So today I feel pretty much like poop. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/27 "2024-11-21T22:47:15Z")
The US’s CDC said today only a small fraction of people here have got an annual COVID booster this year. It’s easy to work into a conversation yet follow-through is difficult. I had to wait 20 minutes to get one and am allergic to something in the shot yet sucked it up and got one anyway so I understand drawbacks to some extent. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/28 "2024-11-22T00:24:53Z")
Got my booster / latest version a couple weeks ago. Other than the usual slight blob of stiffness / swelling under the skin the next day, it was a non-event. Got the flu shot and the prevnar 20 pneumonia cax the weeks prior & after. Likewise non-events. I’m as ready as they come. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/29 "2024-11-22T00:29:57Z")
I get boostered as soon as the next shot becomes available. COVID, flu, pneumonia, RSV, shingles. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/30 "2024-11-22T01:04:01Z")
I got the triple - COVID, flu and RSV - in September. It seems to have done the trick. I had lunch with a friend last Thursday, and that night she texted me that she tested positive for COVID. A week later and I have no symptoms and keep testing negative. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/31 "2024-11-22T01:41:50Z")
I got really sick from my covid booster this year. Cold sweats, fever (101.4F), exhaustion. I spent a day in bed sleeping, and another day convalescing. Basically, it’s gotten a little worse each time, with a big jump this time. In prior years I maybe took a nap the day after, but it didn’t take a full two days to be back up and doing stuff. I’m going to talk with my doctor next year about the marginal benefit of an annual booster, and whether it’s worth it. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/32 "2024-11-22T01:46:34Z")
Are you always getting the same booster? Always Moderna, always Pfizer? if so, I’d switch from one to the other and see if that helps. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/33 "2024-11-22T01:52:06Z")
Naw, I’ve actually gotten all of them. Well, all the ones that have been available in the US: - Initial vaccination, 2 Pfizers - Initial booster, J&J (that was part of a study) - A couple of Moderna boosters - Last year I got Novavax (a traditional protein+adjuvant vaccine) - Last spring I caught covid, and my immunity was boosted the traditional way - This fall back to Pfizer ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/34 "2024-11-22T01:54:08Z")
Jeez, then I have no ideas to offer. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/35 "2024-11-22T02:41:09Z")
Yeah, I’m going to ask my doctor for advice. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/36 "2024-11-22T02:45:49Z")
I unfortunately came down with Covid in late August before the new vaccines were available. So my doctor advised waiting three months which puts me at the end of November. I’ll plan to get one at the beginning of December. This bout of Covid has definitely impacted me significantly. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/37 "2024-11-22T02:51:04Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Yeah, I’m going to ask my doctor for advice. Will you please share what your doc recommends? Every single COVID vax I’ve had hits me like your most recent one, except it’s usually 3 days before I’m back on my feet. I skipped the spring booster because, like you, it’s gotten a bit worse each time. I was supposed to get a booster today but rescheduled due to an unforeseeable conflict. I’ll get this one in early December, but I’d sure be interested to hear what your doctor has to say. I expect they will recommend you continue to get them due to the changeable nature of the virus. (Well, viruses in general.) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/38 "2024-11-22T02:52:54Z")
Hey, maybe with the new administration there won’t be a new covid vax next year. 😬 ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/39 "2024-11-22T02:53:34Z")
I fear this will be the case. I’m getting vaxxed for everything before January 20th. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260/40 "2024-11-22T12:43:53Z")
I’ve also been holding off on my booster, because of the down time associated with it. Normally, it’s a trade-off I’m willing to take, but without understanding if the value is high or marginal, I really, really can’t afford to be out of action for a day right now. I know that missing a week+ because of COVID would be worse, though. Once the current issues in my personal life are resolved, I’ll happily get a booster regardless, and take a day on the sofa if I need to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cdc-recommends-spring-covid-booster-for-people-65-and-up/998260.md?page=3)