COVID-19 treatment and vaccine update thread

[Zaxxon]

Yikes. Best of luck.

[Smoove_B]

Again, I'm genuinely sorry to hear it. It's also the same message I tell people (when they ask) - you have no idea how your body is going to react when you're exposed. It's also why until we get a handle on what Long Covid is, we're still rushing forward without a rudder.

Regardless, hope you recover soon but don't hesitate to seek medical attention if you take a turn for the worse - especially with your breathing. If you need any help getting in touch with possible local resources, send me a PM; happy to try and help.

[Skinypupy]

Appreciated.

[Victoria Raverna]

Yeah…this sucks.

Taste and smell are both completely gone. Coughing fits are taking me to my knees every 30-45 minutes. No fever yet, but my whole body just hurts like hell.

I’m a relatively young (48), relatively fit (non-smoker, non-drinker who runs 15-20 miles a week), not obese (6’, 205), vaxxed and boosted person with no risk factors (otherwise healthy). I can’t even imagine how awful this is for people without those benefits. Yikes.

Seem like it is random. I got COVID-19 last month. Sore throat, cough, slight fever, problem with taste buds (food didn't taste good but still could taste). Only took a few days to recover. I got COVID-19 from my wife. It was the second time for her. First time was very mild for her. Second time was still mild but worse than the first time.

[Smoove_B]

Seem like it is random. I got COVID-19 last month. Sore throat, cough, slight fever, problem with taste buds (food didn't taste good but still could taste). Only took a few days to recover. I got COVID-19 from my wife. It was the second time for her. First time was very mild for her. Second time was still mild but worse than the first time.

It's random in the sense that we don't fully understand the virus yet - and what it means when you're exposed to different variants. There's also the dose you're exposed to, the duration of exposure and how your individual immune system responds.

I guess my point is that it's not random as much as we don't know all the variables yet.

[LordMortis]

It's random in the sense that we don't fully understand the virus yet

Like Mono, and the wonders we've done for understanding CFS and Epstein Barr or how Anti depressants work differently on different people. It's nice to believe "yet" is a reasonable qualifier for medicine of the immediate future but I'm inclined to doubt it. I'm glad necessity and will of very smart people got us to where we are but I don't have much hope we go further than moving COVID into the flu column where different different people are blessed with different immunities and constitutions and biochemical responses.

[Zaxxon]

Bloomberg's vaccine tracker is shutting down...

https://twitter.com/ArmstrongDrew/statu ... t0G7Q&s=19

[Daehawk]

The key word for COVID is 'meh'.

[MHS]

The key word for COVID is 'meh'.

Only for some.

[Unagi]

Seem like it is random. I got COVID-19 last month. Sore throat, cough, slight fever, problem with taste buds (food didn't taste good but still could taste). Only took a few days to recover. I got COVID-19 from my wife. It was the second time for her. First time was very mild for her. Second time was still mild but worse than the first time.

It's random in the sense that we don't fully understand the virus yet - and what it means when you're exposed to different variants. There's also the dose you're exposed to, the duration of exposure and how your individual immune system responds.

I guess my point is that it's not random as much as we don't know all the variables yet.

I mean…

This is getting philosophical because I believe that’s all random ever really means.

[Smoove_B]

I mean…

This is getting philosophical because I believe that’s all random ever really means.

Perhaps. The situation you find yourself in at any given time has random elements. But some of us might be more likely to develop severe or chronic illness after exposure based on genetic factors we haven't identified. That's not random, that's something we haven't identified yet. If you breathe in 5000 virons because you're living free and I breathe in 50 virons because I'm wearing a mask, that's also not random. We might learn that infectious dose increases risk for negative outcomes.

So much of what I've heard over the last 2+ years (increased significantly over the last year) is "you can't control this, so you might as well just do whatever - it doesn't matter, we're all gonna get it."

That's not true and doing things to reduce exposure when we don't understand etiology makes sense. To me, at least. As was noted early on in this pandemic, if we treated HIV the same way we're treating SARS-CoV-2 we would have said, "Eh, people get exposed, they get a fever and then they recover; it's fine. Stop over reacting." Knowing what we now know about HIV, that would clearly be a mistake. Just to clarify, I'm not saying COVID-19 = AIDS in any capacity. Just pointing out that being alive while another previously unknown virus movies through our global population unchecked is most likely going to have short, medium and long term impacts. I'd argue we're still in the short-term with respect to seeing what's going to happen next.

[Blackhawk]

Bloomberg's vaccine tracker is shutting down...

To be fair, they make good points (COVID data of every form is distorted now to the point of near-uselessness, and there are about a hundred of these suckers out there.)

[Exodor]

Had a wonderful weekend with ~50,000 of my closest friends in Chicago. Brought home a nice case of COVID.

So far it's been a mild sore throat, a fever and occasional coughing. Tuesday was the worst of it and I seem to be on the mend today. I've had 3 shots - by the time I was eligible for the 4th booster the omicron booster was on the horizon.

How long after a case of COVID should one wait before getting the next booster?

[Smoove_B]

How long after a case of COVID should one wait before getting the next booster?

CDC is saying 2 months. Medical professionals, researchers and immunologists are saying a minimum of 3 months with a range of up to 6 months.

[LawBeefaroni]

How long after a case of COVID should one wait before getting the next booster?

CDC is saying 2 months. Medical professionals, researchers and immunologists are saying a minimum of 3 months with a range of up to 6 months.

We're doing "at least 3 months."

[Carpet_pissr]

Why, bc you already have a high dose of antibodies? Your body’s hopped up defense mechanism acts as a kind of vaccine?

[LawBeefaroni]

Why, bc you already have a high dose of antibodies? Your body’s hopped up defense mechanism acts as a kind of vaccine?

You get a better immune response a few months out. Too soon and the vaccine is wasted, or at the least the effectiveness is greatly reduced.

[ImLawBoy]

This is a bit of an REO Speedwagon situation (Heard it from a friend who, heard it from a friend who . . . .), but I was at a work event last night (yes, I was Bill Hader as the only one wearing a mask) and one of my colleagues has a sister who is an epidemiologist who works on the vaccines. She said that she'd get the updated boosters as soon as possible without considering whether to wait 2 or 4 or 6 months. (Don't know if this applies post-infection, however.)

[LordMortis]

I would follow guidance. Of course the guidance from CVS, whose questionnaire I filled out to get my booster, was more about treatment for COVID than contracting COVID. It asked about medications and plasma and such. Has it been X time since receiving them. I wanna say they said 90 days but I don't trust my memory. It asked when your last vaccine was but I don't know if that figured into its availability.

[LawBeefaroni]

She said that she'd get the updated boosters as soon as possible without considering whether to wait 2 or 4 or 6 months. (Don't know if this applies post-infection, however.)

If she meant as soon as possible after availability, sure. With the exception that you should space them out after infection or prior shots.



FWIW, bivalent booster on Monday had me feeling like shit but not bad enough to skip work. Was fine by Wed.

[ImLawBoy]

She said that she'd get the updated boosters as soon as possible without considering whether to wait 2 or 4 or 6 months. (Don't know if this applies post-infection, however.)

If she meant as soon as possible after availability, sure. With the exception that you should space them out after infection or prior shots.

The telephone-lined message was that you should get the shot as soon as it was available to you, regardless of when you had your last booster (i.e., no consideration for spacing). I think you'd probably still need to wait at least a bit from the last one, but as I'm sitting here considering whether I should get the bivalent now or wait the full 6 months from my last booster, I'm leaning toward going ahead and getting it now (about 4 months out).

[LawBeefaroni]

6 months is on the long end. IIRC, they asked me if I was at least 3 months out from any infection or 4 months out from latest booster.

[Smoove_B]

The telephone-lined message was that you should get the shot as soon as it was available to you, regardless of when you had your last booster (i.e., no consideration for spacing). I think you'd probably still need to wait at least a bit from the last one, but as I'm sitting here considering whether I should get the bivalent now or wait the full 6 months from my last booster, I'm leaning toward going ahead and getting it now (about 4 months out).

In isolation, I think the general consensus for vaccine/immunology theory is that maximum spacing is best. That is, the nuts and bolts of how vaccines work suggest that the human body is more likely to mount a strong/full response as the space between doses is increased. That's why for kids they have minimum windows of time to wait between a multi-dose vaccine. If you go beyond that window, generally it isn't a problem - they can "catch up" and provide the missed shots. However, because we're in a pandemic (despite what you might have heard), this changes the equation.

I do think the science behind an 8 week minimum is coming from a sound evaluation and is likely based off when they would expect the average person to have "cleared" viral antibodies if they had an exposure and were sick.

I would think anyone at elevated risk or that is looking to protect others at elevated risk would benefit from a "sooner than later" philosophy - and that might be what your telephone call message was implying. If I was a healthy adult and I had Covid in early August, I would probably be inclined to get my booster right before Thanksgiving (if I was planning on socializing) or closer to winter holidays (same reason) if it were just me and I wasn't looking to protect people in my household. If I was looking to protect people, I think I'd probably go sooner than later, especially if I was engaging in activities that put me (and therefore people in my house) at risk.

Trying to figure this out shouldn't be so difficult, but here we are. It's an impossible decision because until there's an exposure and potential illness, you don't know if you make the right move. Knowing that, I'd hedge on wanting to feel like I did everything I could to protect someone else if that was something I was trying to address. Waiting 6 months would be better (from an immunological standpoint) than waiting 4 months, but only if there's no exposure and potential illness during those 8 weeks.

Sorry if that's not helpful.

[hitbyambulance]

received flu vax AND Pfizer BIVALENT Covid-19 booster (previous three shots were Moderna) at Safeway Pharmacy today - they wouldn't let me get them in the same arm. i asked if i could also get my Hep B vax as well and they were like yeaaaah wait a couple weeks for that.

[Carpet_pissr]

received flu vax AND Pfizer BIVALENT Covid-19 booster (previous three shots were Moderna) at Safeway Pharmacy today - they wouldn't let me get them in the same arm.

Walgreens didn’t even ask which arm I preferred. Before I realized it dude stuck me with both flu and updated booster in right arm.

Very little soreness compared to previous shots, though, so wasn’t a problem.

[hitbyambulance]

i can say i am feeling quite tired. like a nap sounds really good.

[Smoove_B]

Sorry I missed this Wednesday evening:

https://twitter.com/bhrenton/status/1572790859980066829

CDC anticipates a recommendation for bivalent boosters in kids ages 5-11 in early to mid-October, pending FDA authorization.

Moderna doses will come from the same adult vials — just a smaller dose. Pfizer will be ordered separately beginning next week.

[Zaxxon]

Awesome.

[hitbyambulance]

i can say i am feeling quite tired. like a nap sounds really good.

kinda spacey now, but not too bad. still need a nap. no other symptoms.

[FishPants]

Got my Moderna bivalent this morning at 930am, arm is starting to get a touch sore as it always did from these - otherwise so far so good.

[Blackhawk]

I finally found a place to get the updated boosters, and dragged the family there this afternoon. I'm expecting a fatigue wave to hit right around bedtime (based on my experience last time.)

[Max Peck]

I went out and got all hopped up on Moderna (bivalent) this afternoon. If things go the way of my previous Moderna binges, I'll wake up in the middle of the night feeling rekt and have a slightly rough day tomorrow.

As I understand it, Canada is using Moderna's BA.1 targeted bivalent vaccine while the US is using the BA.5 version. If so, I wonder if anyone is going to paying attention to how the two versions fare against whatever variants are in circulation over the next few months. I vaguely recall reading somewhere that the BA.1 version might be more effective against the BA.2.75 lineage, so it would be interesting to see if that holds up with BA.2.75.2.

[LawBeefaroni]

I went out and got all hopped up on Moderna (bivalent) this afternoon. If things go the way of my previous Moderna binges, I'll wake up in the middle of the night feeling rekt and have a slightly rough day tomorrow.

As I understand it, Canada is using Moderna's BA.1 targeted bivalent vaccine while the US is using the BA.5 version. If so, I wonder if anyone is going to paying attention to how the two versions fare against whatever variants are in circulation over the next few months. I vaguely recall reading somewhere that the BA.1 version might be more effective against the BA.2.75 lineage, so it would be interesting to see if that holds up with BA.2.75.2.

Relevant, useful, and comprehensive testing and reporting? Whatever they put in your Moderna is some gooood shit.

[Smoove_B]

As I understand it, Canada is using Moderna's BA.1 targeted bivalent vaccine while the US is using the BA.5 version. If so, I wonder if anyone is going to paying attention to how the two versions fare against whatever variants are in circulation over the next few months. I vaguely recall reading somewhere that the BA.1 version might be more effective against the BA.2.75 lineage, so it would be interesting to see if that holds up with BA.2.75.2.

I felt a tingling...like someone was reaching out for more information...

https://twitter.com/JosetteSchoenma/sta ... 4202694657

New graphs.
Picking countries that sequence fast, because a few weeks make a big difference!

Week 37 for England and especially week 38 for Denmark and Belgium are still preliminary.

England en Denmark both just got their first XBB!

Btw, not the only growing sublineages around

I guess we'll be finding out how vaccines hold up as these variants rip through other parts of the world...

[Max Peck]

I hadn't even heard of most of those variants. Life happens fast when you have a virus spreading out of control.

[Smoove_B]

I know, right? Update on what's happening here

https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/15 ... 6279602177

The BA.4.6 variant now accounts for >12% of US cases, steadily rising. Its Arg346 mutation, shared w/ many of the new variants, makes it more immune evasive than BA.5, resistant to Evusheld prophylaxis and potential of reinfections after BA.5

With our collective half-assed effort and refusal to lower transmission with NPIs, we're pressuring selection for viruses that can escape immunity. This is genuinely the worst timeline.

[Max Peck]

I've had relatively mild side effects from my Moderna booster yesterday. My arm has been only slightly sore, and I'm running a very mild fever this afternoon (37.7C), but aside from that I feel fine.

[Blackhawk]

I crashed pretty hard last night at around 10 (about 10 hours after the shot), slept through the night, and today just feel a little blech, as if I'm in the early stages of catching a cold. I expect that tomorrow I will be fine.

[ImLawBoy]

Got my bivalent and flu shots today. No effects 45 minutes out!

[Zaxxon]

Got my bivalent and flu shots today. No effects 45 minutes out!

...as far as you can tell...