The vaccines | vaxxed boosted unvaxxed? New poll

How's your immunity looking? Had covid - vote twice - vax status and then again for infection status

  • Vaxxed but no booster

  • Boostered

  • Still waiting in queue for first vaccine dose

  • Won't get vaxxed (unless I have to for travel/work etc)

  • Past infection with covid + I've been vaccinated

  • Past infection with covid - I've not been vaccinated


Results are only viewable after voting.
I had my first jab (AZ) yesterday at 2 pm. The jab itself was almost painless, which really surprised me.

I started to feel quite unwell yesterday evening with a cracking headache and general lethargy. By 10PM I was shivering like a son of a bitch and aching all over.

I felt dreadful this morning but a couple of paracetamol took the edge off of it massively. I feel a lot better now.

24 hours of mild flu symptoms is worth it for the protection it gives you.
 
A couple of notes for the UK under 40s - and an indicator that everyone may get a vaccine offer before the end of June.

First an explanation on Wales


They've decided to break their age priority rules and start using their Pfizer stockpile. This allows them to continue using AZ for second doses and the 40+. It's meant that they've started to push ahead of the rest of the UK in first dose terms and they feel it will give them a big advantage/safety net as hospitality reopens etc.

Scotland has stuck to age priority and is using Pfizer/AZ on the next in the line.

England are apparently using almost entirely AZ at the moment and stockpiling (first dose) Pfizer ready for the under 40s.

Interesting tactics from the different administrations, I suspect Wales have got this right. Though it's fair to say that England (bigger population) may have been more cautious to avoid a situation where they can't do Pfizer second doses in time if something goes wrong.
 
This account on Twitter has some fascinating reading, including various leaked slides and similar minutae for the stats geeks.

https://mobile.twitter.com/PaulMainwood

Summarising the general picture though:


All adults are likely to be offered the vaccine by end June even if there are no new vaccine types available. Assuming of course supplies don't fail in the meantime.

Also it looks like AZ UK are now producing around 10m doses/month. Which means we'll go into AZ surplus by the end of May. Hopefully that'll be the moment when we start actually giving them to other countries.
 
So 5 days in after my second jab (Pfizer) and honestly no real side effects. I was a bit worried on the day felt a bit tired and that weird overly healthy feeling you get just before you come down with a nasty flu/cold but honestly nothing else. It also seemed to improve my sciatica.
 
I had my first AZ vaccine on Wednesday.

For those wondering about side effects, mine were:

  • A sore arm from hour 0 through to hour 12
  • Headaches, chills and sore muscles from hour 12 to hour 24 (enough to make me forget about the sore arm)
  • A sore arm again from hour 24 to hour 36
In terms of severity, I'd say it was about as rough as a bad cold (albeit much shorter, and minus the sniffles and cough).

As somebody under 40, I was surprised to get the text message inviting me to come for a vaccine. But I figured I figured it was because of vaccine hesitancy in the area where my doctors are located (it has quite a high proportion of first generation immigrants).

Given the news about alternatives being offered to people my age, I'm expecting/hoping to get offered a different manufacturer for the second dose.
 
Is there a particular amount of time you're supposed to wait after testing negative before the shot or is that all BS?
 
Anyone has already had Pfizer?

I've got mine planned on Thursday and wonder if there will be any side effects the following day.
 
Anyone has already had Pfizer?

I've got mine planned on Thursday and wonder if there will be any side effects the following day.

Like all the vaccines the answer is maybe, you might feel anywhere from totally fine to atrocious
 
There is so much poor, misleading and plain dishonest information out there about the AZ/Oxford vaccine associated clotting issues. These are the % risks of a serious clotting event,

Catching covid (deep vein thrombosis): 11.2%
Catching covid (pulmonary embolism): 7.8%
(and you can get both)
The Contraceptive Pill: 0.6%
The AZ vaccine: 0.00017%

The risks aren't comparable and even drinking a glass of water has a risk. The best vaccine is the one in your arm. I'm getting my first AZ shot next Tuesday. About bloody time.
 
Anyone has already had Pfizer?

I've got mine planned on Thursday and wonder if there will be any side effects the following day.

My son in the US has. Fatigued for 24 hrs after first and nothing noticeable from the second (hangover possibly masked the symptoms). Typically you get fatigue, headache and/or mild flu symptoms in (working from memory so may be a bit out) about 40% of cases with the first shot and 60% with the second shot.
 
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I can't imagine having a test has any impact on the vaccine.

Naa I meant I contracted Covid in April. Tested negative around 20th April.
Should I wait a few days before getting vaccinated? A friend told me to wait 2-3 months before getting a shot.
 
Naa I meant I contracted Covid in April. Tested negative around 20th April.
Should I wait a few days before getting vaccinated? A friend told me to wait 2-3 months before getting a shot.

His logic was that around the 3 month mark your natural antibodies start waning and getting a shot before that makes the vaccine a bit less effective.
 
There is so much poor, misleading and plain dishonest information out there about the AZ/Oxford vaccine associated clotting issues. These are the % risks of a serious clotting event,

Catching covid (deep vein thrombosis): 11.2%
Catching covid (pulmonary embolism): 7.8%
(and you can get both)
The Contraceptive Pill: 0.6%
The AZ vaccine: 0.00017%

The risks aren't comparable and even drinking a glass of water has a risk. The best vaccine is the one in your arm. I'm getting my first AZ shot next Tuesday. About bloody time.

The clots aren’t comparable either. You’re comparing apples and oranges. The clotting concern with AZ isn’t a DVT/PE it’s a different, much rarer condition. With a much higher chance of a bad outcome.

I would question all your stats there anyway. No way does over one in ten people with covid get a DVT.
 
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Naa I meant I contracted Covid in April. Tested negative around 20th April.
Should I wait a few days before getting vaccinated? A friend told me to wait 2-3 months before getting a shot.
The standard advice is to wait 28 days from a covid positive test, which protects the vaccination team really and lets the vaccine operate as a booster.

There's no reason to think that there's an advantage to waiting three months. Some studies have suggested that having covid before means that you may only need one dose to get maximum protection, but I don't think any health authorities have actually turned that into a policy.
 
The standard advice is to wait 28 days from a covid positive test, which protects the vaccination team really and lets the vaccine operate as a booster.

There's no reason to think that there's an advantage to waiting three months. Some studies have suggested that having covid before means that you may only need one dose to get maximum protection, but I don't think any health authorities have actually turned that into a policy.

Thanks
 
The standard advice is to wait 28 days from a covid positive test, which protects the vaccination team really and lets the vaccine operate as a booster.

There's no reason to think that there's an advantage to waiting three months. Some studies have suggested that having covid before means that you may only need one dose to get maximum protection, but I don't think any health authorities have actually turned that into a policy.

It’s a policy in Ireland. If you’ve had confirmed Covid infection in the last six months (and you’re < 50) then you only get one dose of vaccine.
 
Anyone has already had Pfizer?

I've got mine planned on Thursday and wonder if there will be any side effects the following day.
According to a mass study in the UK (600,000 adults taking AZ or Pfizer) there's a good chance you'll get a sore arm, and a lower chance that you'll feel a bit flu-ey (headache, fatigue etc) the next day. The unlucky ones feel more fluey and it goes on for longer.

About 70% of people having the Pfizer jab had some reaction around where the needle went in, including pain, tenderness, redness or swelling, compared with just under 60% for the AstraZeneca jab.

The trend was reversed for those reactions that affect the whole body rather than just the site of the injection.

For the AstraZeneca jab, 34% had some "systemic" (whole body) reaction like headache, tiredness or chills. For the Pfizer vaccine this was only 14% after the first dose and 22% after the second.

The most common of these side effects was a headache.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56901356
 
It’s a policy in Ireland. If you’ve had confirmed Covid infection in the last six months (and you’re < 50) then you only get one dose of vaccine.
Ah that's interesting. To avoid wasting resources or for some other reason? I know in the UK they didn't do that - but then we have that three month delay between first and second doses.
 
Ah that's interesting. To avoid wasting resources or for some other reason? I know in the UK they didn't do that - but then we have that three month delay between first and second doses.

Decision was made on the back of the publication you alluded to. With such good evidence that only one dose is needed it doesn’t make sense to get them back in for a second jab. The only unknown is if/when they need a booster 6 to 12 months down the road but that’s an unknown for everyone.
 
Decision was made on the back of the publication you alluded to. With such good evidence that only one dose is needed it doesn’t make sense to get them back in for a second jab. The only unknown is if/when they need a booster 6 to 12 months down the road but that’s an unknown for everyone.
That's reasonable. It's one of the many great things about the public health services. You can monitor a subset of people for antibodies (and the whole group for protection against variants etc) and build evidence, then act.
 
There is so much poor, misleading and plain dishonest information out there about the AZ/Oxford vaccine associated clotting issues. These are the % risks of a serious clotting event,

Catching covid (deep vein thrombosis): 11.2%
Catching covid (pulmonary embolism): 7.8%
(and you can get both)
The Contraceptive Pill: 0.6%
The AZ vaccine: 0.00017%

The risks aren't comparable and even drinking a glass of water has a risk. The best vaccine is the one in your arm. I'm getting my first AZ shot next Tuesday. About bloody time.

Including that post.

Assuming a transmission risk of 2 cases in 10,000 (the UK is currently at around 0.3), the probability of catching Covid and ending up in ICU vs the risk from the vaccine:




The risk balance will be quite a bit different for countries with virtually zero transmission like Australia/NZ.
 
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That
Including that post.

Assuming a transmission risk of 2 cases in 10,000 (the UK is currently at around 0.3), the probability of catching Covid and ending up in ICU vs the risk from the vaccine:




The risk balance will be quite a bit different for countries with virtually zero transmission like Australia/NZ.

That slide has been updated, based on new data from MHRA (and other regulators) and the reduced current case rates in the UK. As you say, the risk level is lower again for the average Australian (not working in healthcare or linked to quarantine centres)

E0zHxTNXIAAcCuj


 
That

That slide has been updated, based on new data from MHRA (and other regulators) and the reduced current case rates in the UK. As you say, the risk level is lower again for the average Australian (not working in healthcare or linked to quarantine centres)

E0zHxTNXIAAcCuj




Thanks. The UK's case incidence is now approximately half again from that updated slide. The relationships between cases and ICU admissions look to be fairly linear so you could assume with half the case count those figures on the left will also be halved.
 
Anyone has already had Pfizer?

I've got mine planned on Thursday and wonder if there will be any side effects the following day.

Had it last week. Upper arm was stiff the evening of the jab, and a lot achier the following day.

Felt a bit lethargic, slight headache, stiff neck for upto 48-60 hours post vaccine, but absolutely fine since.

I reckon my reaction was fairly standard based on speaking with others.
 
Motoring through the jabs here by the sounds of it (don't know if it's related to AZ supplies being redirected to the age groups), I've got my second jab booked for this Wednesday morning.
 
They seem to be speeding up a little here in central Italy, too. They opened my age group on Saturday, this week people in their 50s will be able to book.

On Saturday, 29,000 people aged 60-64 booked in the first 7 hours in our region. I got an appointment for Friday, I'll give it a go. If they say "no", then at least I tried @Wibble. At the big centres, they decide what vaccine you get after they've looked at your medical history.
 
They seem to be speeding up a little here in central Italy, too. They opened my age group on Saturday, this week people in their 50s will be able to book.

On Saturday, 29,000 people aged 60-64 booked in the first 7 hours in our region. I got an appointment for Friday, I'll give it a go. If they say "no", then at least I tried @Wibble. At the big centres, they decide what vaccine you get after they've looked at your medical history.

They are hoping to open up to all age groups by the end of May. The original best case scenario was 14 May, here we are running about 10 days late and by the sounds of it are a few days ahead of you. We opened to the over 50s on Saturday.
 
I may be getting J&J this week due to the trial ending on Friday (they have to discard any vaccines not used according to the trial requirements) and working in the Health industry (extremely back office admittedly). Still touch and go at this stage and I'm in my 30s so not high risk at all. But if the alternative is straight into the bin, I'm taking it.
 
They are hoping to open up to all age groups by the end of May. The original best case scenario was 14 May, here we are running about 10 days late and by the sounds of it are a few days ahead of you. We opened to the over 50s on Saturday.

Friday in Ireland. Interesting how close EU countries are tracking, despite loads of assorted different tweaks to the vaccine strategy.
 
34, first jab booked in for tomorrow. Wasn't expecting it quite so soon but got the text earlier today. Appointment isn't till 20:40 so they are putting in some long hours. No idea which one it'll be.
 
They seem to be speeding up a little here in central Italy, too. They opened my age group on Saturday, this week people in their 50s will be able to book.

On Saturday, 29,000 people aged 60-64 booked in the first 7 hours in our region. I got an appointment for Friday, I'll give it a go. If they say "no", then at least I tried @Wibble. At the big centres, they decide what vaccine you get after they've looked at your medical history.
Good luck with the appointment and getting the right help.

I was looking at some of the background stats on Italy from this site:
https://coronavirus.gimbe.org/vaccini.it-IT.html

Interesting variations between the regions on vaccine take-up. I don't know if that's how they've prioritised/distributed their appointments or if it comes down to vaccine hesitancy. Lombardy comfortably 90%+ in the over 80s (and 80% in the 70-79) meanwhile Sicily and Calabria seem way behind.
 
Still hoping they offer it to people in their 30s soon. I want to get it done before I go on my roadtrip.
 
Still hoping they offer it to people in their 30s soon. I want to get it done before I go on my roadtrip.
In England? Best guess is 35+ next week across the country with some areas sending out texts this week. Rest of the 30+ group before the end of the month, again with a bit of regional variation followed by a national announcement.