Fwiw, my kids felt sick after several of their childhood vaccines. Not all. But we foolishly had our daughter’s 12 month shots on her first birthday, and a birthday party later in the day. And she was in no shape to enjoy that party.
Are you saying the severity of the vaccine side effects correlates to how you might fare if you were to have a breakthrough case of COVID after vaccination? That’s not how I understand that it works.
I believed I never had chicken pox as a kid. My mom was convinced, too. She kept me home when my sister had it, in the hopes I’d get it and get it over with (it was the 70s!) but I had zero indication of chicken pox.
Fast forward to about 2016, I decided to ask my doc if she thought a chicken pox vaccine was warranted for an adult who’d never had chicken pox, since chicken pox in adults is supposedly way worse than for kids. Her response was to order a titer test, which came back saying I’d definitely had chicken pox at some point.
So, when I was eligible, I ran to CVS and got my first and second Shingrix shots.
Effects for me were very mild. Sore arm for 4-ish days and some fatigue for both, and for the second also a low-grade fever for a couple of days.
What I’m trying to say is - don’t assume you’ve never had chicken pox, ask your doc if they think you ought to be tested and/or get a chicken pox vaccine, then figure out if you need Shingrix.
Don’t mess with shingles. It can cause long lasting debilitating pain, and in some cases cause blindness.
I had nothing more than a sore arm after SpikeVax #1. After #2, I had fever, chills, aches, and general malaise for two days, then fatigue for two more. Whether or not that was an indicator that I’d have been very sick had I gotten COVID, it made me realize anew how terrible COVID would have been and even more grateful for the jab. No reaction from the booster.
Since the research says older people tend to have less of a reaction, I assume there are some specific factors that affect the severity of side effects. I suspect they’re rather difficult to tease out, however, the immune system being as complex as it is and the number of things that affect it being so great. It makes sense that age would be one factor because, as has been noted, babies and little kids tend to get feverish and uncomfortable after vaccinations, but that’s not universal, either.
I had no side effects from either dose of the Shingrix shot, but maybe that’s because I’d had the single-dose Vostavax shot 8 years earlier (with no side effects)? I had a hellish experience with chicken pox when I was 27, and my docs said lupus would mean an even more horrible experience with shingles. Knowing how awful shingles are, I paid over $200 out of pocket for that first shingles shot (Insurance wouldn’t cover, as I was too young.)
Your whole post is great advice. Thanks for reaching out and sharing your story.
I have an appointment with my GP in April and will ask about the titer test. Finding out that I had chicken pox at some point, as you did, would definitely cause me to reconsider getting the Shingrix vaccination. I do know shingles is a dangerous thing to risk.
I really appreciate your input!
OMG yes. The shingles vaccine was so much worse. The first one, I felt kind of flu like, as you do with vaccines. The second one I was SICK. I had a high fever, I felt like a truck hit me. And both shots, my arm was hot, sore and swollen for several days.
Pfizer 1, 2 &3 I had slight headaches, stomach upset and diarrhea. But not bad at all.
See, even the more severe side-effects for all these kinds of vaxes that we hear these horror stories about, don’t sound too traumatically bad – at worst you feel shitty, and you get over it after several days, usually without any long-lasting effects.
I had the Zostavax shot several years before the Shingrix vax came out, and then the Shingvaxes. I don’t recall any particularly memorable side-effects. If there were, I think I’d remember them.
So, @Aspenglow , I’ll add to the Greek Chorus suggesting you should go ahead and get your Shingvaxes, and damn the side-effects. Then congratulate yourself afterward and treat yourself to a nice reward of some kind.
Indeed. Me? Maybe sore arm is all I had from all three injections. No side effects other than that. My wife? No side effects. My kids? No side effects. My cousin had some side affects after the third that knocked him on his ass for a day, but most of my friends actually had no issues I know of other than muscle soreness. So, yes, mileage varies wildly on these, because I keep hearing about people on these boards who have significant side effects, while those in my peer group I have asked about have experienced little to none.
I have no problem with getting a vaccine to develop antibodies against a virus I’ve actually had. My reluctance is to get a vaccine against a virus I may never have had.
@Motorgirl’s advice is good, and I’ll follow it. I’m such a hermit a few more months are a chance I’m willing to take. I promise to follow my doc’s advice to the letter! And I’ll definitely reward myself if (when) I get my Shingrix vax. 
Thanks for adding your encouragement.
Ask your medical professional for a titre.
All three of mine were Pfizer. The first two, side effects were barely noticeable. Third, I wished I’d stayed home from work. It wasn’t terrible, but I felt achy and light headed enough that bed would have been really comfortable.
Yep. I got shingles right around the same time as when COVID started. Basically felt like a month of someone sawing through my torso. Worst pain of my life by far. I still have faded scars on my back to remind me. My doctor told me that I don’t have to worry about Shingrix, since I won’t get shingles again. Hearing someone had shingles twice is scaring me, so maybe I’ll seek another opinion on the vaccine.
I have definitely had chicken pox. Acquired over a New Years weekend stay at the Grand Island, NY Holiday Inn in 1976. My dad brought me home an origami book, because what feverish, itchy 6 year old doesn’t have the patience to sit and fold small pieces of paper.
I expect to see my GP before the summer and I need to discuss Shingles and Pneumococcal pneumonia vaccines with him
And your third sounds exactly like my first two. I think the worst part of shot 3 was peeling off the bandaid that was stuck to my arm hair.
No, I hope that by getting vaccinated and boosted, if I do end up with covid I will not have as bad a case of it as I would if I did not get vaccinated or boosted.
I read “The Chronicles of Narnia” when I had chicken pox. And I was really sick. I had pox up and down my esphagus, and in my urethra, and they didn’t itch, they hurt. I couldn’t eat for more than a week. Drinking water burned. I lived on chicken broth (which didn’t hurt) and milk (which hurt, but less than water) and hard candies. And dreaded needing to pee. But I did enjoy reading the books.
According to the CDC :
- Get Shingrix even if you already had shingles, because you can get the disease more than once.
Oh, ok. That makes sense.
I sometimes have the presence of mind and sufficient forethought to shave a patch of my arm before getting a shot.
Sometimes.
Thanks. Considering my reactions to the COVID vaccines, I am a bit leery. Not even sure if there would be a correlation.