Is the vaccine totally ineffective after 12 months? That was the time of my last booster shot (Sept-2023). I had five shots from 2021-2023, all Pfizer.
Not at all. It is much less effective at preventing symptomatic disease after a year, but it still offers robust immunity. People who were fully vaccinated (an initial series and a booster/infection a year later) are much less likely to die, much less likely to be hospitalized, and significantly less likely to suffer long covid than people who weren’t vaccinated.
Got my Moderna+flu yesterday in the left shoulder because my arthritic right shoulder is unhappy. So I have 2 sore shoulders now, slept like crap, and feel pretty wonky today. Hopefully better tomorrow cos I have exercise plans…
I had the 2 Modernas in 21. Nothing since.
Had covid in March.
What should I get and when?
Am 64, no health woes.
Either of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have been updated for the most recent variant, Novavax is one back. There is no need to match your previous vaccine and you should get it now or within the next month for optimum protection during the worst of the season.
As fins said, get either Pfizer or Moderna within the next few weeks. The suggestion is you only need to wait three months to vaccinate after having Covid. You should also get a flu shot at the same time. At our age, protection against both starts to really matter. Both on the same day is just fine.
I got my Tetanus, Flu, and Covid on Monday. My arm was very mildly sore for the day. Never had a problem with that stuff.
I’m jealous. I get pretty sick from both the tetanus shot and the covid shot. I wouldn’t get them at the same time.
Flu shot is on the agenda next week. Will call Dr.
Nearby pharmacy in walking distance is offering either Moderna or Novavax. Any thoughts?
Moderna definitely. Higher efficacy reported and better targeting of the most current Covid version. Pfizer is also preferred over Novavax.
I scheduled an appointment at CVS this week and received the Moderna Spikevax vaccine the next day. The pharmacist who dispensed it asked if I wanted to get a flu vaccine at the same time but I said no. My thinking is that it’s possible to get the flu shot too early. The New York Times ran an article on this issue and said the following so I’m planning to get it in mid- to late October. Anyone have opinions on this?
Experts say most people should get vaccinated between mid-September and late October. The C.D.C. recommends getting your shot by the end of October at the latest.
If you are at lower risk, some people have less side effects with Novavax. And if you’ve never had Novavax, there might be some benefit to mixing vaccine types. Novavax is a traditional protein & adjuvant vaccine, not an mRNA vaccine.
That being said, I’m planning to get Pfizer or moderna this year, because they are based on a slightly newer variant, and they are possibly slightly more effective.
Moderna and Pfizer are very similar, except the dose is much higher in Moderna. So it might be more effective.
All of these differences are second-order effects, though. Getting any of them will greatly reduce your risks this winter.
Yes, Novavax has milder-to-none side effects but is somewhat less effective because it goes after the trunk of the virus while the Pfizer/Moderna are more specialized and go after the branch, the specific KP3 strain floating around.
Prudent. On the other hand, prudence may not be enough. On the gripping hand - whoops! too late!
I got Novavax last year, and i definitely had side effects. So ymmv. But i think most people have fewer side effects from it than from the mRNA vaccines.
-pew-pew-pew-pew-pew
“Call in the cleanup squads, we cannot be too careful.”
Ahem, what was I doing? Oh, just eliminating a dangerous, quickly reproducing species that would drag us into an endless cycle of death.
Moving on to Covid though (snicker), just did my seasonal flu and Covid booster yesterday afternoon. Surprisingly or not, I feel just under the weather although the injection site pain was pretty noticeable last night. While previous boosters made me feel actively ill (not unbearably so) for 48-72 hours.
Which means it’s likely that the Pfizer shot I just had is indeed better targeted, and the Covid I had just over 3 months ago was the same or very similar variant.
IE booster comes in and the body says “Get read to attack… wait a sec, wasn’t that the bastard we nuked from orbit 3 months ago? Yeah, we’re on the lookout for that bastard, no worries!”
Speaking of which…
-goes back to ordering the Imperial Space Fleet for an orbital strike on vbob’s former location, there is NO SUCH THING as too careful with moties-
I was talking to a personal trainer who says that this year, many of her clients who had side effects in previous years, reported fewer side effects from the covid vaccine. 
I got my Pfizer booster about two weeks ago and, for the first time, just forgot all about it after I got home. I realized the next day that I hadn’t felt bad at all.
Forewarned is FOUR armed - but I only got three vaccine jabs last week - pneumonia in one arm, flu and covid in the other. I was moving scaffolding the next day, so THAT explains the stiffness and aching arms…