Got my Moderna booster this morning (Happy Birthday to me!). Jab felt much briefer and less painful than initial doses. So far no real soreness or anything. Still worht it even if I do get some.
Congratulations!
The NZ government has announced a booster shot program beginning in December. All vaccinated residents are eligible, and the government aims to roll out about 500,000 booster vaccine shots before the end of the year. This will cover border workers and their families, healthcare workers and aged-care residents, who were first in line for the vaccinations when the rollout started in May.
Boosters are still Pfizer, although the govt is sourcing limited supplies of Astra Zeneca for those who cannot have the Pfizer for medical reasons, and for those that are mRNA vaccine hesitant. Mandates are in place for health-care and education staff, and frontline services. We also have Advance Purchase agreements with Novavax (who have applied for provisional approval in NZ), but my understanding is that they are still ramping up production, and I don’t expect significant supplies arriving till early 2022. One of our leading epidemiologists has stated that this will be too late for hesitant people, possibly prompting the Astra Zeneca decision with earlier delivery possible.
My call is that NZ access to Pfizer at a particular price-point/delivery schedule is contingent on long-term population-level health data about the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine being shared with the manufacturer, and that the data requires a majority of residents to have been vaccinated exclusively with Pfizer.
The good news it that on a population basis, over 90% of eligible residents have had a first dose, and over 80% have had both doses. This is not evenly distributed though - major metropolitan areas have exceeded that target, but many large rural (and poverty-affected) health districts still have work to do, particularly among Maori populations in those regions. Approval has not been given for 5-12 year old children yet, but it will probably not be far away. That approval will require another 1,000,000 vaccinations (~500,000 children) in the near future, preferably before school starts in February 2022.
I’m scheduled for my booster this coming Saturday, along with the 2nd Shingrex. I’ve got all next week off, so plenty of time to recover before the big feast with my best friend/heart sister and family.
Where does one go for the latest recommendations and regulations in the US regarding who should get a booster?
Just got back from my booster. The health department clinic was full, but they were really cranking folks through. No issue with the crossed out line on my vax card, possibly because I had the same person giving the shot and she remembered me.
But yeah, I suggest that folks close to 6 months schedule for > 6 calendar months from your last shot and not 180 days.
Try the CDC Covid home:
Since two of the underlying conditions for getting the booster shot include being overweight and/or being a former smoker, the majority of 18+ are covered right there.
In California, everyone 18 and over is eligible for the booster, the state health department announced.
Colorado’s the same as per Gov. Polis’ executive order
The FDA/CDC are expected to authorize a Pfizer booster for all adults, maybe as soon as this week.
From the NYT
Here’s what you need to know:
Here, this probably isn’t paywalled:
I got my flu shot Nov 12, and at least with my initial COVID shot they said two weeks since your last vaccination. I had Moderna with the second Apr 29. Not sure if I will mix it up or get Moderna again – probably depends on what is available. (I’m in MN which may allow boosters if the feds don’t move quick enough)
Brian
The state of MA has just authorized boosters for anyone over 18 who received their second dose of Moderna or Pfizer at least 6 months ago, and J&J at least 2 months ago.
Good discussion on boosters:
Short answer: There is no easy answer.
Brian
But why not allow people to get a booster to avoid a “mild” case? A mild case of covid is often like an unpleasant case of the flu, plus worrying about long-term effects. I get a flu shot every year, not because I am at high risk, and not because i’m afraid it will kill me, but because it sucks to get the flu, and I’d rather get jabbed.
That’s what I don’t understand about the CDC position.
Yes, and I (and I bet you) also get the flu shot to prevent being someone who inadvertently spreads the virus to others, and particularly to others who are more vulnerable.
(Not specifically directed to puzzlegal)
I think the CDC position is complicated by a couple of things. One is that they may have some concern about the US taking up so much vaccine on third shots when it may be in short supply elsewhere. Second, I think it is difficult to decide to, essentially, raise the bar on what to expect from the vaccine. I mean, the initial goal was something like 60% protection from moderate to severe disease.
What we got was much better than that, at above 90% when first fully vaccinated for the mRNA vaccines. But, over time, it falls. So the CDC is trying to make an assessment about how much people at lower risk need to be protected. I mean, it would be ideal to keep everyone at 90+ percent protected. But there’s some risk/benefit, and some cost/benefit involved. Particularly when you factor in side effects – getting very mild illness is not that much different from having side effects from the vaccine. If you look at days of lost work, for example, the vaccine side effects could start piling up quickly with frequent boosters.
I support the boosters largely due to the unvaxxed and antivax. If we had higher vaccinated numbers, then I wouldn’t worry as much about the decrease. They are the ones who make me more concerned about the risk of the waning protection. If we’re going to have to have two different classes of people—one protected and one not—then I think those who are protected need to be as protected as possible.
And, ultimately, it’s going to affect the supply less than if more people would have just gotten the vaccine.
I went onto the CVS web site last night, and was able to schedule an appointment for today for a COVID booster (and a flu shot) for this evening.
And, then, I woke up this morning to a text from CVS, indicating that they were cancelling my appointment; I am guessing that they did not wind up having enough doses available. I had to set up a new appointment, which won’t be until next Tuesday.
I qualify for a booster (here in Ontario) but it’s like when I was trying to schedule the second shot – same scenario all over again: yes, I can get it, but no, I can’t get it nearby. I’m waiting until the nearby sports centre that’s been used for previous vaccinations can accommodate me. It’s about ten minutes away – the other places are a significantly long drive. I did end up getting both my shots at the nearby place, but I had to wait awhile for the second one.
Last night, I was chatting on Facebook with my BFF, who lives in rural Kansas. He said he got an order from a local doctor for a local resident, for a FOURTH vaccine. Apparently the patient was on some kind of immunocomprising drugs, and his antibody titer didn’t register.
He also told me about his anti-vax relative who is on a ventilator, and probably won’t be coming off it alive, and the totally outrageous prescriptions that were called in, from one of those telehealth doctors, for his family members for ivermectin and the like. He said he excused himself from the dispensing counter and went to the basement, where this store has a small office space, and called those people and spent 40 minutes telling them why this was not a good idea. And being a farm family, they knew darned well what ivermectin is supposed to be used for.