# Just got my updated vaccine for Omicron & BA5 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [September 8, 2022, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231 "2022-09-08T17:38:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/1 "2022-09-08T17:38:05Z")
I just got it. This is my 5th shot: 1st shot 2nd shot 3rd shot (that is, full strength Moderna) Booster (that is, half strength Moderna) Omicron version today Plus, I got the senior flu vaccine (double strength) in my other arm. I’m 65. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/2 "2022-09-08T18:26:24Z")
Thank you for posting this. It’s the first time I’ve heard of double-strength influenza vaccines for seniors. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/3 "2022-09-08T19:56:29Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > It’s the first time I’ve heard of double-strength influenza vaccines for seniors. Really? They have been selling increased strength flu vaccines for seniors for years. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/4 "2022-09-08T20:02:38Z")
I’m doing exactly the same thing (just regular strength flu) on Monday. And I have an identical history of prior Moderna vaccination. Please PM me if you experience fatal side effects before Monday! ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/5 "2022-09-08T20:13:40Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Really? They have been selling increased strength flu vaccines for seniors for years Yup, really. The last time I got an influenza vaccine, it was not mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/6 "2022-09-08T21:02:30Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Please PM me if you experience fatal side effects before Monday! I’ll, ah, try my best. > [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > the first time I’ve heard of double-strength influenza vaccines for seniors. No more kiddie table for me! Drumsticks, my ass. If they’re so great why don’t the grownups want 'em? ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/7 "2022-09-08T22:40:49Z")
It looks like today [vaccines.gov](http://vaccines.gov) has added the bivalent Moderna and Pfizer vaccines as search options. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/8 "2022-09-08T23:07:24Z")
Thank you for reminding me, its Sept and I’d forgotten it was time for a flu shot. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/9 "2022-09-09T10:40:11Z")
I have to take another medication today that will make it unwise for me to get a vaccine for another week or two, and then I’m all over it. I’m seconding the request for any fatal side effect reports. I had my booster and my second (really third, because I took too long) shingles shot on the same day. Do not recommend. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/10 "2022-09-09T11:05:17Z")
Too late for me, I’m afraid. It was Omicron BA5 that had me down for two weeks in early August. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/11 "2022-09-09T11:20:20Z")
We have the bivalent vaccine (the one that is formulated for Omicron) even all the way out here on our neighbor island in Hawai’i! I got mine the day before yesterday, YAY. But I did something I now regret a bit which is to get the first dose of Shingrix at the same time. No one told me until AFTER I got the Shingrix that significant side effects - it has a tendency to lay people low for a couple of days - are quite common. (Now all my friends are saying, “oh yeah, I felt like shit for two days after the Shingrix vaccine.”) Previously I’d had Pfizer Covid vaccines with virtually no side effects. This time it was Moderna. Anyway, I don’t know if the Covid vaccine caused any side effects but wow, I was NOT prepared for how sick I felt, presumably mostly or entirely due to the Shingrix. I’ve had a fever over 101 and lots of physical aches and fatigue. Quite a surprise, as I mostly sail through life side-effect free for everything - vaccines never bother me, I’ve recovered from surgeries very quickly, I had the world’s most painless pregnancy, etc. Overall I’m glad I got the Shingrix as it’s been on my to-do list for ages (and yes, I know I need to get a 2nd shot 2-6 months out) but I am preparing for a conference on Saturday and it’s extremely inconvenient to be sick right now. Bah. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/12 "2022-09-09T15:54:17Z")
We are about at the 24 hour mark now. Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. I felt a bit off yesterday evening. But only a bit. I’d have thought nothing of it if I didn’t know I’d just had two vaccines. Now I think I only have a little soreness when I press on the injection sites, and nothing else. I’ve also had, within the past year, Shingrex, Pneumovax, and some other pneumonia vaccine. None of them did any worse than perhaps making me feel a bit off for 24 hours. None of them would have kept me from enjoying a hike, for example. Which I’m packing up to go do! ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/13 "2022-09-09T18:19:19Z")
Shingrix is a bastard. My doctor told me now that it’s time for my second dose to make sure not to ‘forget’ to get it. She said that compliance with that second dose is really low despite how terrible shingles is. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/14 "2022-09-09T18:31:35Z")
I suffered with my first shot of Shingrix - but barely noticed the second one. There’s a lot of variation in reactions, of course, but you need not assume the worst. I know two people who have had shingles who disagreed only in the exact _number_ of their own fingers they would be prepared to cut off with a blunt butter knife to avoid getting it. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/15 "2022-09-09T23:25:39Z")
Can anyone answer/clarify the following: A friend of mine age 70-ish went on the CVS website to schedule her latest Omicron. booster. She has had the first two vaccinations AND the next two boosters. She has not had COVID and has not tested positive at any time (and she got tested A LOT at the retirement home where she lives). Apparently there were quite a few screening questions in this scheduling process. One of the questions was about being immuni-compromised in some way. My friend answered yes, she is. (She has a bunch of health problems.) When she answered in the affirmative, the application process told her that before she could get the latest Omicron booster she would have to go back and have the **original vaccine** all over again. (Just the first one, not the second one or the followup boosters.) Has anyone else come across this? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/16 "2022-09-10T03:48:48Z")
Here’s the CDC page for people who are immunocompromised. > **[COVID-19 Vaccination](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/immuno.html)** > > COVID-19 vaccines protect against COVID-19. Get safety info and more. I see nothing there that could lead to the recommendation she appears to have received. The only thing I see is that if your original series was Pfizer, your bivalent booster must be Pfizer. I would suggest that she starts the form again to make sure she filled everything else in correctly. Or try the Walgreens site, fill everything in there in case there is a bug in the CVS site. Alternatively, she could just answer “no” to immunocompromised to get an appointment, take along all her vaccine/medical info along with a printout of the CDC page, and discuss it with the pharmacy tech when she goes. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/17 "2022-09-10T13:21:02Z")
Thanks! I forwarded the info to her. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/18 "2022-09-10T15:11:58Z")
My wife, MIL, and I got the Moderna bivalent shot yesterday, and so far three sore arms are the only side effect. Didn’t think to get the flu shot at the same time. I guess we’ll have to go back soon. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/19 "2022-09-10T15:26:21Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > No one told me until AFTER I got the Shingrix that significant side effects - it has a tendency to lay people low for a couple of days - are quite common. I’ve got a Shingrix and Prevnar 20 (pneumonia) script waiting for me at the pharmacy. I was planning on getting it next Friday and having the weekend to feel like crap. I had Covid, likely BA.5, in July. Current advice is to wait 6 months (3 minimum) for a booster after infection, so I’m going to have to wait anyway. Canada purchased the bivalent BA.1 vaccine, but I’ll be in Florida in November so I may get the BA.5 version if it seems to work better. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231/20 "2022-09-10T15:28:05Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > Shingrix is a bastard. My doctor told me now that it’s time for my second dose to make sure not to ‘forget’ to get it. She said that compliance with that second dose is really low despite how terrible shingles is. Shingrix kicked my butt HARD. Both doses. Still worthwhile (had a shingles episode at 12. NOT an experience I’d care to repeat. Bonus points for getting the first dose at the same time as TDAP and the second at the same time as a Covid booster. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-got-my-updated-vaccine-for-omicron-ba5/971231.md?page=2)