# Opinions on When to Get a Second Covid Booster? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 30, 2022, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999 "2022-03-30T18:59:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [April 5, 2022, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/21 "2022-04-05T03:40:44Z")
My wife, mother-in-law, and I got our first boosters in August last year and then got our second ones in early January. Both were Moderna. In both cases, we got them before they were officially recommended by the CDC, but after Israel had started giving them. We’re in Massachusetts, and all we did was go to the CVS pharmacy website and schedule them. We filled out the questionnaire, stating our ages (61, 85, 66), and we showed out vaccination cards when we went for the shots. No other questions about eligibility were asked. It may be different where you are, but there’s no harm in going online and trying to schedule a shot with a local pharmacy or other provider, whether you’re officially “eligible” or not. And if one says no, there’s no reason not to try others and see if someone else will say yes. It’s not as though you’ll be stealing someone else’s shot. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/22 "2022-04-05T03:41:51Z")
The advantage of working for a Fortune 100 company is that I don’t have to hunt around for test kits or vaccinations. At our site, they offer twice monthly test kit handouts and vaccinations (all 4 kinds). They promise to keep this going through June, but I’m not taking any chances. I contacted the aptly named Crisis Management Center and asked if they would offer a second booster, given that the CDC has approved them for 65+, and if so what I would need to do to get one at this weeks event. They told me that I needed to show up in the hour set aside for my section of the alphabet and remember to bring my bring my vax card. Talk about bureaucratic hoops! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/23 "2022-04-05T05:55:39Z")
Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California Region (and maybe Southern Ca. too I think, and maybe elsewhere?) – Last I heard they will start accepting appointments on Thursday, April 7. It will be on the home page of their web site. I think they are offering Covid shots to the general public too, not just for Kaiser members. Because the paperwork I got wasn’t from Kaiser at all. It looks like the Federal Govt (CDC or whoever) contracted with some outside company who then contracted with Kaiser to offer these shots. If you are a Kaiser member, they will have a complete record of your shots, which you can view, download, or print from their web site. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2022, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/24 "2022-04-05T12:13:18Z")
I started with 2 Pfizer, then got a j&j booster as part of a clinical study. I’m going for Moderna this time. Gotta catch 'em all. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2022, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/25 "2022-04-05T12:33:38Z")
In Canada, we are waiting on a recommendation from the National Advisory Council on Immunization (NACI) which is expected this week or next. I’ve had one Astra and two Pfizer shots. Based on the recent studies I have read I am going to aim for a Moderna for my fourth shot. I’ll be at the 4 month point towards the end of this month, but I may push it a few weeks to early May as I stick pretty close to home for now and we are planning a trip to Croatia at the beginning of July and they have one of the worst vaccination rates in Europe. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2022, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/26 "2022-04-05T12:44:44Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > FWIW, [Your Local Epidemiologist](https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/fourth-dose-q-and-a?s=r) doesn’t recommend waiting for a wave. Yeah, it takes a couple of weeks to work, and it’s hard to time future waves. But it’s not that hard to time future planned travel. My home life is pretty low-risk, too. ---
**Author:** ![EnglishGrey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/englishgrey/32/14111_2.png) [@EnglishGrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnglishGrey)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/27 "2022-04-06T19:26:05Z")
Probably a bit less than two weeks I think. > **[Covid booster vaccines: what you need to know](https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/coronavirus-and-your-health/covid-booster-vaccine)** > > Get the latest updates on Covid-19 booster vaccines, including who will get one, when, and which vaccine you will get. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/28 "2022-04-06T19:36:37Z")
Wife and I walked into a county health department annex this morning without an appointment. Walked out 30 minutes later with a fresh poke to the arm. Our previous pokes were 2 Pfizer and one Moderna. The RN on duty suggested another Pfizer so that is what we got. ---
**Author:** ![Tfletch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tfletch1/32/5340_2.png) [@Tfletch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tfletch1)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/29 "2022-04-06T20:09:31Z")
Great article by Your Local Epidemiologist on why we shouldn’t be worried about “original antigenic sin” and extra booster shots. > **[Original antigenic sin: Are boosters a threat?](https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/original-antigenic-sin-are-boosters?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo2Mjc5Mzc4MywiXyI6IlN3aURnIiwiaWF0IjoxNjQ5Mjc0NjIwLCJleHAiOjE2NDkyNzgyMjAsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yODEyMTkiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.VgAIGLQRjnImGoPNENY-qRovooqRPGy8pmJpn8s-R0o&s=r)** > > Many are trying to decide whether to get another booster. In order to make this decision, benefits must be weighed with risks. More than 11.3 billion doses of COVID19 vaccines have been distributed, so we are well aware that the vast majority of side... ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/30 "2022-04-06T22:02:09Z")
I’m almost 63 and second boosters here are open to 60 and over in a few days, though I don’t know which one. At any rate my wife and I will get ours ASAP. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2022, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/31 "2022-04-06T22:27:47Z")
Same in Ontario, you need to be 6 months out from your 3rd shot. I’m in my 50s and not quite 4 months so I have a while to go. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/32 "2022-04-06T22:42:13Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > The current best estimates are that vaccination reduces the risk of long COVID by about half in those infected post-vaccination, but as you point out, it has been hard to assemble the amount of data needed to nail it down. > > 50% reduction in risk of long COVID is a bit disappointing in light of the 10X sorts of reduction in risk of infection. But the drastic reduction in risk of infection offers its own barrier against long COVID in the vaccinated population, sdo that is some comfort. Israel study: [https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2201570](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2201570) > The number of cases of severe Covid-19 per 100,000 person-days (unadjusted rate) was 1.5 in the aggregated four-dose groups, 3.9 in the three-dose group, and 4.2 in the internal control group. In the quasi-Poisson analysis, _the adjusted rate of severe Covid-19 in the fourth week after receipt of the fourth dose was lower than that in the three-dose group by a factor of 3.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.7 to 4.6) and was lower than that in the internal control group by a factor of 2.3 (95% CI, 1.7 to 3.3)._ Protection against severe illness did not wane during the 6 weeks after receipt of the fourth dose. The number of cases of confirmed infection per 100,000 person-days (unadjusted rate) was 177 in the aggregated four-dose groups, 361 in the three-dose group, and 388 in the internal control group. In the quasi-Poisson analysis, _the adjusted rate of confirmed infection in the fourth week after receipt of the fourth dose was lower than that in the three-dose group by a factor of 2.0 (95% CI, 1.9 to 2.1) and was lower than that in the internal control group by a factor of 1.8 (95% CI, 1.7 to 1.9). **However, this protection waned in later weeks.** _ If I were immune compromised or in a high risk vocation I’d seriously consider getting a fourth shot despite the poor durability of the immunogenicity. I’m not, and am otherwise taking measures to avoid exposure, so I’m going to continue and wait until we have a specific BA.2 (or future variant) vaccine. I would strongly prefer that we take measures to inoculate as much of the world population as possible to limit human reservoirs in which the virus can readily mutate and replicate but given the still very poor vaccine availability and uptake in developing nations, propensity of immune escape in competing variants, and the large number of domesticated animal reservoirs, the emergence of successive variants is all but guaranteed. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/33 "2022-04-07T13:02:19Z")
Yep, same for me, except mine is tomorrow after work. Pfizer didn’t pfaze me, but my dad got Moderna for his first three and had some side effects (mostly extreme fatigue), so I wanted to have the weekend to recover if needed. And yes, with my crappy lungs (and being over 50), I want as many boosters as any public health authorities make available to me. And I haven’t seen my dad in more than 2 years, which will require getting on a plane. ---
**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:** [April 7, 2022, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/34 "2022-04-07T13:34:35Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > the large number of domesticated animal reservoirs Not to mention wild animal reservoirs. We should try to make vaccine available to the world because it’ the right thing to do. But I don’t think it’s going to have much direct impact on our own safety. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/35 "2022-04-07T18:47:52Z")
I’m wondering about two things that might affect when/if I should get a second booster. A few months ago I had gotten my first shingles shot, and I’m trying to figure out when I should get my second (I’ve seen that it should be anywhere between two and six months from the first). More importantly, last week I went to the hospital and was diagnosed with tachycardia and a-fib. At one point while I was in the ER they were talking about giving me shock treatment, but then my EKG showed that my heart activity was back to normal. I was put on additional medications and am currently wearing a heart monitor. I don’t know if there’s any risk of the booster affecting my heart. ---
**Author:** ![dauerbach1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dauerbach1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach1)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/36 "2022-04-08T14:50:50Z")
Going to Disney World in three weeks, so got mine the day after it became available. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/37 "2022-04-08T15:33:21Z")
I just got my second booster. I’ve read that there is some benefit to “mixing and matching” (i.e. getting a different mRNA vaccine than your primary series), so I got the Moderna booster this time after previously getting three Pfizer shots. And it hit me a little hard, which surprised me after already having received three shots. The day after getting the Moderna booster shot (yesterday), I experienced severe fatigue. I tried to power through it, but ended up leaving work early yesterday and going to bed, sleeping over 13 hours last night. I feel much better today, just a little washed out. FWIW, I know two other people, including my wife, who did the exact same thing as me (three Pfizer shots followed by Moderna), and they had no reaction whatsoever other than a sore arm. Anyway, I’ll trade a day of being fatigued for getting a breakthrough case of Covid, and I certainly don’t want to risk getting long Covid, so I’m glad I got the booster. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/38 "2022-04-08T15:42:10Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > I don’t know if there’s any risk of the booster affecting my heart. While it’s possible, getting Covid will have a much greater risk of it affecting your heart (and something like 43% of the population has probably gotten Covid): > **[The COVID Heart—One Year After SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Patients Have an Array...](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2789793)** > > This Medical News article discusses increased risks for cardiovascular disease outcomes 1 year after SARS-CoV-2 infection. I just got my second booster yesterday (a 4th Moderna). While I thought of the benefits of mixing and maxing my theory was that since I didn’t have serious problems with the other three Moderna shots I probably wouldn’t have a problem with the 4th–while who knows what would happen with a Pfizer booster. I didn’t except I felt pretty tired all day. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/39 "2022-04-08T22:00:54Z")
I got my second booster yesterday, six months after the first one. I stuck with Pfizer just because. As with the previous three shots, the arthritis in my left knee flared up. The pain woke me in the middle of the night and sleep was fitful. I’m very tired today but the lack of sleep is probably part of that. But, as before, the pain in my knee is completely gone 24 hours after the shot. I had been dubious that the two things were connected but it seems pretty obvious now after the 4th time. I’ll just have to be ready for that in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999/40 "2022-04-09T05:19:38Z")
> [@robby](#): > > And it hit me a little hard, which surprised me after already having received three shots. The day after getting the Moderna booster shot (yesterday), I experienced severe fatigue. I tried to power through it, but ended up leaving work early yesterday and going to bed, sleeping over 13 hours last night. I feel much better today, just a little washed out. From what I’ve read, Moderna is somewhat more likely to produce relatively severe side-effects than Pfizer. I don’t know if any large studies have been done on it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-on-when-to-get-a-second-covid-booster/961999.md?page=3)