COVID-19 Vaccine Talk, 2nd Dose

[TorqueDog]

Pretty much; there is an abundance of supply, so if you're five months past your last dose, just go ask for it and you'll eventually find one.

[kipperiggy]

Originally Posted by GGG

Are you 6 Months post Vaccine and 3 months post infection and not eligible?

Got my third in December but I’m also in Sask and as far as I’m aware not eligible yet

[bagofpucks]

Is the official recommendation 90 days post infection for boosters? I’ve heard a few different guidelines and wasn’t sure if there was anything official.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by bagofpucks

Is the official recommendation 90 days post infection for boosters? I’ve heard a few different guidelines and wasn’t sure if there was anything official.

Yes, NACI recommends 3 months post infection for a booster.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

Yes, NACI recommends 3 months post infection for a booster.

My kids had COVID and were told 6 months.

[Jiri Hrdina]

FYI some pharmacists are considering your 4th shot your first booster, if your first shot was AZ. I got my 4th shot today ahead of some travel i'm doing.

[Amethyst]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

FYI some pharmacists are considering your 4th shot your first booster, if your first shot was AZ. I got my 4th shot today ahead of some travel i'm doing.

What pharmacy did you go to? I'm in the same situation and wouldn't mind getting one before travel.

[activeStick]

Yes, I'm interested to know which pharmacy too

[TorqueDog]

We know someone who got their fourth shot the other day by signing up online and saying they had a condition (they don't). Apparently when asked if it was their third or fourth and they said fourth, the pharmacist just asked "why do you qualify" and took their answer at face value.

Better that than letting shots get thrown away due to expiry, I suppose. It isn't like vaccines or appointments are in short supply.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

We know someone who got their fourth shot the other day by signing up online and saying they had a condition (they don't). Apparently when asked if it was their third or fourth and they said fourth, the pharmacist just asked "why do you qualify" and took their answer at face value.

Better that than letting shots get thrown away due to expiry, I suppose. It isn't like vaccines or appointments are in short supply.

This seems weird. As soon as you give them your health card, they can access information and know exactly how many doses you have had.

[TorqueDog]

Well no, they they didn't lie about how many doses, they said they lied about why they qualified for their fourth. [shrug]

[Amethyst]

I got AZ first and got my third shot (second Pfizer) in September. I'm travelling in July, so wanted to get another shot, that was within 6 months, so I didn't end up with issues at a border crossing. There is something on the AHS website that says if you are travelling and need another dose, you can get one and it's your responsibility to know what you need.

I had to stop at Shoppers anyway today, so I asked them. She told me I needed to be over 70, but when I mentioned the website, she looked it up. She didn't want to hear my explanation, but basically said if I told her it was required for where I was travelling, I could get it (she didn't ask where). So, I just said, yes, it was required. And after that, all was good.

[Buff]

I know a guy who just got his 5th shot. All moderna. Each time he took two or three days off work to recover. He claims he needs it due to being immunocompromised but what claims makes him immunocompromised doesn't seem to make it on any lists for being something that works that way. He just tells the pharmacist that he had to travel for work and it's required to have a booster for where he is going. He does not travel for work. He's just convinced that he will die if he gets covid.

[Fire]

Has any company updated their shot or is it still the same "formula" as their first?

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Fire

Has any company updated their shot or is it still the same "formula" as their first?

Pfizer is the same, Moderna is the same at half the original dose.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Fire

Has any company updated their shot or is it still the same "formula" as their first?

They all still use OG Covid as the spike protein.

[GoinAllTheWay]

I was thinking about this last night....

I realize that the virus would continue to mutate but would a vaccine based on the current strain perhaps help more down the road against other mutations vs one based on the original strain or no difference at all?

[opendoor]

What ancestor a new variant will come from isn't really predictable, and so far the newer dominant strains aren't directly related to the prior one (i.e. Delta didn't mute from Alpha, Omicron didn't mutate from Delta, etc.). So the next variant of concern might be unrelated to Omicron at all. Which would make sense, because once you have a high level of immunity to a variant (as we do with Omicron), the fittest virus is going to be one that's as different from the prior dominant one as possible, since that will allow it to spread more easily.

That said, Moderna is producing a bivalent vaccine that targets both the original strain and Omicron, which should give better breadth of protection. At least that's what they found in their prior studies which combined the original formulation with one targeted at the Beta variant. That produced a better response to both variants (as well as most others) than the original did. And it should provide better protection against Omicron as long as that remains dominant, which will be important for at-risk people.

[opendoor]

Moderna released results from their bivalent vaccine trial designed to target both the original spike protein and the Omicron one. Results were good, but not groundbreaking or anything. The antibody response against Omicron was about 60-70% higher with the new vaccine compared to a further dose of the original vaccine.

Should be a good tool to protect more at-risk people. Though we won't know how much better it is at protecting against severe disease until it's used more widely; I think they're expecting to roll it out this fall.

[TorqueDog]

The only COVID vaccine I really care about at this point is the SpFN COVID-19 Vaccine being developed by Walter Reed. That one could be a game-changer. Primary completion date is October 30th, 2022 with the study completion date set for the same date in 2023.