# The third jab of Pfizer **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [September 27, 2021, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471 "2021-09-27T22:54:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/82 "2021-10-01T09:48:55Z")
I know this thread is about third Pfizer shots but I’m curious if anybody has received a third Moderna shot yet and how the side effects were. I just got my third Moderna 11 hours ago because I had been receiving treatment with Rituximab, COVID’s very best friend after Republicans. I’ve had no side effects yet other than a barely sore arm. I also got a flu jab at the same time in the other arm. They only info I’ve read on this is kinda scant–just speculation that side effects might be “about the same as your second shot”. I had some fairly rough flu-like symptoms after jab #2 but I tried to look on the bright side that it was perhaps a sign that my immune system had risen from the cold, dead, world of Rituximab where it lay beaten and enslaved. I haven’t had a Rituximab infusion in 9 months and I have no plans to anytime soon. Sadly that leaves me open to the ravages of little brain eating gremlins (actually myelin destroying gremlins) instead of SARS Cov-2. Heads disease wins, tails I lose, I guess. Sure hope this third shot (along with delaying/ending my Rituximab therapy) allows me to stop being “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble”. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/83 "2021-10-01T12:13:07Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > They only info I’ve read on this is kinda scant–just speculation that side effects might be “about the same as your second shot”. Yikes. I’m still going to get it but Jab 2 was not fun. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/84 "2021-10-01T13:57:23Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I know this thread is about third Pfizer shots but I’m curious if anybody has received a third Moderna shot yet and how the side effects were. I don’t believe a 3rd Moderna shot is currently recommended. The FDA and CDC have only considered Pfizer as of now. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/85 "2021-10-01T14:51:21Z")
Two older family members got their 3rd Moderna shots (over 80). They said their side effects were similar to the previous series. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/86 "2021-10-01T16:12:00Z")
> [@Trom](#): > > > [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > > > I know this thread is about third Pfizer shots but I’m curious if anybody has received a third Moderna shot yet and how the side effects were. > > I don’t believe a 3rd Moderna shot is currently recommended. The FDA and CDC have only considered Pfizer as of now. It is recommended if you are immune compromised. So a lot of people have had it. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/87 "2021-10-01T16:24:35Z")
Right, I forgot about that. I don’t think it’s been considered for the general population yet. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/88 "2021-10-01T17:10:10Z")
I’ve received the Moderna booster because of medication I was taking at the time. It hit me hard. I had all the sickly aches and chills of the second shot, with one additional symptom: nausea. It all started exactly 24 hours after the jab. I had to take the day off work, but I was fine the day after that. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/89 "2021-10-01T17:16:31Z")
I had Pfizer #3 this morning. While I sat for 15 minutes, I updated my V-Safe and Zoe C-19 profiles. The injection was well-done and deep enough that I don’t have an immediate lump (unlike my flu vax 2 weeks ago that’s still raised and itchy). By the 2-hour mark after #2 I had a headache, and don’t yet today, so score. My lovely wife has broken out the jar of matzoh balls and cooked me up some parsnips to throw in it (cf. parsnip discussion in the thread about common items unknown to store employees–I grew these parsnips). She is due back from her 3rd in a few minutes, and with luck she will have a package of Stouffer’s creamed chipped beef on toast for me and an easy treat for herself. I will report back later since I know this is deeply fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/90 "2021-10-01T21:31:22Z")
I was scheduled for a massage today and due to the bus schedules was going to get there early, so I stopped at the nearby CVS to see if I could get a walk-in third shot. No, I had to make an appointment on-line (they didn’t explain why I couldn’t make one while I was there). So I opened the CVS app on my phone and scheduled one for Monday morning. I’m hoping I don’t have any serious effects, but since I have no urgent plans for next week it shouldn’t matter much if I do. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/91 "2021-10-02T15:22:00Z")
At 24 hours out, I have a slightly stuffy nose, noticeable but not very bad pain at the site, a very minor headache, a tiny bit of myalgia, and lethargy. Normal temperature. Other than the injection pain, I’d assume I was starting to het a cold based on other symptoms. Fortunately it’s Ducks vs. Stanford today and I have soup. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2021, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/92 "2021-10-02T15:27:39Z")
HELP?!? My gf’s two elderly aunts are in a nursing home dying of extreme old age. She went to visit and “say goodbye “ yesterday. Got a call that both aunts (fully vaccinated) had positive COVID-19 tests this am. Should gf get a booster? Should I move out for a few days (I’ve had three Pfizers). /shit getting real ETA: what a weird feeling! GF masked in our home. I am avoiding hugging/comforting her over her aunties slipping away. ETA again. I’d rather sleep rough under a bridge than spend a night in a nursing home. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/93 "2021-10-02T15:42:54Z")
Did GF get pfizer? If so, when was her last dose? If she’s 6+ months out from her 2nd pfizer dose, she should plan on a booster, but it’s too late for a booster to up her immunity for her recent exposure. With you both vaccinated and with your own booster already in you, you’re low risk for real bad outcomes. Up to you if you want to distance yourself further. If it were me, I would not, but I’m rather fatalistic. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2021, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/94 "2021-10-02T15:49:11Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > If it were me, I would not, but I’m rather fatalistic. I’ve mentioned a desire to re-enter the dating pool, but only to lighten the mood. She is five months out, was planning on eventually getting her third. She’s masking at home, avoiding any contact with others until she clears quarantine. We’ve been as careful as possible. When despite that things go south, it really brings the situation to light. ETA: thank you for the reassurance ---
**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:** [October 2, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/95 "2021-10-02T16:53:34Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > With you both vaccinated and with your own booster already in you, you’re low risk for real bad outcomes. Up to you if you want to distance yourself further. If it were me, I would not, but I’m rather fatalistic. Realistically, any time you are on a commercial airliner, on public transit, or in a poorly ventilated public space, the odds are pretty high that there is an infected carrier and you are going to get some level of exposure. If you are vaccinated and wearing a _respirator_ mask in such high risk areas, you’ve done pretty much everything you can do to protect yourself short of suiting up in a positive pressure suit. Even at 6+ months out from the two shot series (or from the single Janssen/Johnson & Johnson shot) protection against severe illness requiring hospitalization is very good unless you are immunocompromised or at very high risk due to underlying conditions. As @Qadgop_the_Mercotan noted, getting a ‘booster’ dose at this point will not boost your immunity to a hypothetical exposure, but the exposure itself at low viral titers (count of virus particles) will actually prompt the immune response, maybe even just as well as a booster dose (studies are inconclusive at this point). I feel that the media and even many public health officials have done a very poor job of educating the general public about sensible risk assessment and management, and the result is a polarization of views that are either “Any exposure will immediately sicken you,” or “The vaccine will completely protect you, and if it doesn’t you were fated to die anyway.” In fact, while the vaccines are highly important to getting the pandemic under control, measures such as correct masking (again, with _respiratory_ masks, not just neck gators or surgical masks often pulled down under the nose or just around the chin) and good indoor ventilation with three or more complete exchange of air per hour are good preventative measures to reduce exposures., (Handwashing, physical distancing, and regular cleaning of surfaces are all good general hygiene measures but haven’t been shown to significantly affect transmission of SARS-CoV-2 because it is an aerosol that can remain suspended in still air and unventilated spaces for long durations.). Dr. Michael Osterholm of the [University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP)](https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/) has addressed this regulating on [his COVID-19 Update podcast](https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/podcasts-webinars); it gets kind of repetitive because he essentially keeps emphasizing the importance of respiratory masking and the fact that we do not have a very complete understanding of viral transmission and what drives the infection patterns of the pandemic, but it is illustrative to listen to at least one or two to get a critical take on what is working well and what is going more poorly than expected or is being advertised, particularly school reopenings and states with large public gatherings. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2021, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/96 "2021-10-02T17:21:08Z")
I’m wondering about the logistics of widely available vaccinations. When they first started distributing the Pfizer vaccine, I remember reading about the storage and dispensing requirements, that it has to be stored at -70° and once a vial is defrosted, it has to be used within a few hours or the remaining doses have to be discarded. So hospitals had to rush to obtain special freezers and these were hard to get. Now seemingly every CVS, Walgreens and supermarket pharmacy in America is able to dispense the Pfizer vaccine. So did anything change or does the pharmacy at the back of my supermarket have one of those extreme freezers? And how do they handle people who walk in for a vaccination? ---
**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:** [October 2, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/97 "2021-10-02T19:44:33Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > If you are vaccinated and wearing a _respirator_ mask Some good advice on respirator masks in this thread, by the way: > [@What is the most comfortable face mask for long-term wear?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-comfortable-face-mask-for-long-term-wear/951201): > > I have been using the ubiquitous blue paper face masks throughout the pandemic and they have worked fine for me. Thing is, I generally only need to wear them for less than 30 minutes at a time. That’s worked fine for me so far but I am looking at a long flight so will need to wear a mask for an extended period. Those blue face masks get wet fast from condensation and uncomfortable as a result. Does anyone have a recommendation for a comfortable mask for long-term wear? It needs to be suitab… ---
**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:** [October 2, 2021, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/98 "2021-10-02T19:49:56Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > So did anything change or does the pharmacy at the back of my supermarket have one of those extreme freezers? And how do they handle people who walk in for a vaccination? First, the difficultly of finding those freezers was greatly overstated. I worked in a little, budget-bound research lab in the 80s, and we had one of those knocking around. I’m sure every major hospital in the industrialized world had dozens of them in use, and finding space for a few more vials can’t have been a big deal – at least not in urban areas. Second, yes, research since the release of the vaccines has shown they keep longer at modestly cold temperatures than initially reported. And third, my CVS won’t do walk-ins for covid vaccine. It’s a little annoying, because the corporate website suggests they do, and they DO walk-ins for flu shots. But if you want a covid vaccination you need to make an appointment. So they know how much to grab in the morning from whoever has the deep freeze they are using. I suspect a lot of the drug stores and supermarket pharmacies are similar. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2021, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/99 "2021-10-02T20:11:27Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Second, yes, research since the release of the vaccines has shown they keep longer at modestly cold temperatures than initially reported. > > And third, my CVS won’t do walk-ins for covid vaccine. Thawed but unpunctured vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can be stored in a normal refrigerator at 2 °C to 8 °C for up to 31 days. Once punctured and brought up to room temperature for vaccination, they are only usable for 2 hours, hence why no walk-in appointments. > **[prep-and-admin-summary.pdf](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/pfizer/downloads/prep-and-admin-summary.pdf)** > > 124.87 KB Stranger ---
**Author:** ![frognot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frognot/32/8752_2.png) [@frognot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frognot)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2021, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/100 "2021-10-03T19:02:37Z")
Had my third shot 💉 today this week. Sore arm for a day that was managed with Tylenol. Looking forward to our first flight this week since 2019. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2021, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471/101 "2021-10-03T20:03:48Z")
At ~48 hours out: We both have somewhat disrupted sleep and don’t feel entirely right, but other than a little pain at the injection site for me, we appear to be recovered. SO MUCH better than 1 & 2! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-third-jab-of-pfizer/951471.md?page=6)