I just got my Moderna booster shot, 8 months after my second shot, and had a terrible reaction. I've never had a bad reaction to any kind of shot before, but the next day I felt for more than an hour as if I was having a heart attack, then for about 12 hour afterwards I was highly nauseous and had terrible chills and fatigue. I slept that night from 6:30pm to 7am the following morning. Never in my life have I slept more than 8-9 hours. I've since found online that these issues are, in fact, directly related to this booster. My non-medical advice: strongly reconsider getting this supposedly 1/2-strength booster.
Moderna booster almost killed me: I just got my... - CLL Support
Moderna booster almost killed me
Oh, Pogee, this is the type of reaction I had after the 2nd Moderna, so I told my doctor, "NO MORE!" Some think I am wrong to go this route, but they obviously have no idea what I, now you, went through. I truly believe I would end up in the hospital if I received the booster. My doctors know I have a very high tolerance for pain and discomfort, so I was told, "Wait, don't get the booster." I'm considering the Phizer, since mixing is ok'd now. I do get upset when people forget we are each different, so will have different responses to medicine treatments. God bless you, Pogee. I'm glad you are better now. Sandra 👍🙂
Bless you, too, Sandra...and Phil4-13. May you always be physically, mentally, emotionally, and spirtually healthy and happy.
Hi Sandra, just reading what you said about "we are all different". Exactly what I was told in 2004 when I needed an MMR shot in order to keep working with special needs children. I was 34, thought nothing of it when my titers came back low and was told to get the shot. It ended up causing me to have 2 swollen eyes the size of baseballs, a severe rash, fatifue I never experienced & 14 months of pain and the 1st 3 months rebuilding my immune system. The specialist at penn in phila said exactly what you stated. And as we age, it changes even more. We can "grow in and out" of things like allergies etc. That's when I learned about "VAERS" to. (Vaccine adverse event reporting system) for those that never heard of it~
I always read for my husband and to learn from all of you and support when I can. I had to respond because you are right and we have to do what is good for us too.
Take care!!
Cristal
Cookie341, thank you so much for your reply. Even CLL has numerous treatment options. God bless you! Sandra🙂
Pogee,
My non-medical advice: everyone’s reaction is different as Phil4-13 said.
You had a rough two days but perhaps you now have some immunity to a virus that could really kill you.
Congrats on getting the booster shot and I pray that after everything it put you through, that it was worth the trouble.
Jeff
Hi Pogee,
I'm sorry you had such a terrible reaction to your Moderna booster. It must have been very frightening...
I had a similar reaction after my second Astra-Zeneca jab. High fevers, nausea, chills, shaking uncontrollably. It lasted several days. I hardly ate anything - it was hard even to drink. The symptoms gradually wore off, but I wasn't looking forward to another Covid jab after that.
I realise you had a half strength Moderna booster, which is very different to my full strength Astra-Zeneca, but the reactions we had sound very similar.
Several months later I was offered a third jab (Pfizer that time). In spite of my earlier experience, I decided I'd go for it. To my surprise, I had hardly any reaction at all! No fever, not even a sore arm! I was very tired and slept more than usual, but didn't feel ill at all.
As others have said, we're all different and have surprisingly different responses to vaccinations.
Paula
Do you have a more detailed description of your reaction?Eg. Did you suffer with tachycardia (racing heart)?
Did you 100% need to sit down / lie down, since to stand made your heart race worse?
I seem to have had tachycardia in response to AZ and Pfizer jabs; my routine involves a minimum of 24 hours mostly lying down - full rest.
There were also major shaking chills (1st jab) and lower shaky chills with 2nd and 3rd jabs — really could have done with good heating or a hot water bottle for the 3rd jab.
1st jab (AZ): felt okay at 24 hours
2nd jab: felt properly okay at 48 hours
3rd jab (Pfizer): 48+ hours and all fine.. needed to catch up on 1st really poor nights sleep where I could not get warm.. lack of hot water bottle.
I reported the tachycardia using the UK yellow card adverse reaction reporting scheme.
If the real infection is a lot worse than this, I really must avoid catching CoVID19.
Sorry to read about your issues. I hadn't heard of people taking different shots, and wonder if that could have been partly responsible for your adverse reactions. As for me, I felt a continuous stabbing pain in my chest, with pain in my jaw—typically heart-related symptoms. I took a nitroglycerin, which had been prescribed some two years ago for stable angina, but it didn't help at all. I lay down and slept for about 1.5 hours, and when I got up I felt better. I'm quite fortunate, I suspect, as I've heard/read about others having far worse heart-related reactions. In the meantime, I hope you're feeling better...and won't catch any form of Covid-19—or anything else!
In UK it is very common to have a mix of AZ first vaccines and Pfizer 3rd.. or J&J first with Pfizer 2nd, etc. — it is seen to get a very good immune response.In fact I had the same (indistinguishable) reaction to all 3 jabs.. only minor differences (I am an allergic type, so more reaction is likely)
I sense that your heart reaction and my tachycardia and some reports of myocarditis are all a part of the same/similar response to spike protein production.. it temporarily creates rather a lot of inflammation, with consequences for many muscles, but most of all for heart muscles with their critical function to perform.
And hence my thinking that post vaccination we are all best to rest and take it really easy whilst the phase of spike protein production runs it’s fairly limited course.
I felt much worse after jab2 when I failed to get a full 24 hours rest.. or 26 or 28 .. whatever it was that I proved to need; that day I went for gentle walk with a friend too soon and thus took another 24hours to feel properly okay.
I’m not sure that 25+ years between our ages makes much odds on this matter of post vaccine inflammation — likely it varies between people more than between age groups.
You did well to take nitro and then rest up.
Take it easy!
Pogee, I am sorry you have had this reaction after having practically no reaction for your first Moderna vaccination.
I hope you will report your reaction. If people do not report, there is no record of situations, individual reactions and studies cannot be done. Doing so is a service to us all and future generations.
Here is the CDC VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Reactions )information
cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nc...
Take life and living easy. Be well.
Followup. Earlier today I used your link, spent a decent amount of time filling out the extensive form, and was told, at the end, that an error occurred and wouldn't allow me to move forward. That happened twice, at which point I threw in the towel. Hopefully, my pharmacist will faithfully pass along the information.
My reaction to all three doses of Moderna was very tolerable. A sore arm and feeling "off". After a day, it all just went away. Not bad at all. As I understand it, Covid would be much, much worse.
I have had three Pfizer shots with absolutely no reaction to any of them. I guess there is no way to know how it will affect each individual, but the thought of getting covid without the shot scares me.
Oh Pogee, how truly awful for you. It must have been very frightening. I had Pfizer all three times and have been fine apart from a sore arm for a day or so. I did notice my neck lymph nodes went down after both first and second jabs.
Dear Pogee, I'm sorry you had such a bad reaction, but I'm happy if you are staying well now. I've heard for many cases of reaction on Moderna. My work collegue, even after 6 months, still has reactions - pains in the whole body, especially in articles (she is about 40 years old). I still haven't taken any vaccination, but now I will be obbliged because I work in a state institution. If not, I could stay without job. I don't like to be forced on something so dangerous, I'm so afraid, especially after reading your experience, but I hope everything will be ok.
God bless you and stay well!
Greetings from Croatia!
Lela
Very sorry to read about your colleague. Pogee Admin have edited out the following comments as political and against our posting guidelines.
There's so very much to say about this but I'll stop after asking:
*** "If one has natural immunity after contracting covid and recovering, why be required to take shots plus boosters plus wear a mask?
*** If one has shots and boosters, which are allegedly effective, why be required to wear a mask?
*** If one is required to wear a mask to allegedly protect others who presumably don't have covid, why wear a mask if you don't have covid yourself?
*** I wear a plastic face shield, which is far better than a cloth or paper mask, yet the local requirement in many places is that I can't enter many establishments because I'm not wearing a cloth mask. Why?
*** Oh, there's so much hypocrisy and lack of adherence to science by those who are in control!
Dear Pogee,thank you very much for your useful answer. I agree absolutely with your arguments about this p(l)andemia. I pray a lot and hope it will be ended soon.
I wish you all the best! 😀😍
Pogee and Lela1212, here are my responses to Pogee's questions. Some primary factors behind many of Pogee's questions are that breakthrough infections can occur in those who have have a COVID-19 infection or been vaccinated, protection wanes over time irrespective of how you have gained immunity and people can be infectious while symptomless. We've only been living with this virus for less than two years and have less than a year of experience with assessing long term effectiveness of vaccinations and how long immunity lasts from infection and vaccination. Over time, as science helps us better understand matters, expect more consistency in requirements.
*** "If one has natural immunity after contracting covid and recovering, why be required to take shots plus boosters plus wear a mask?- See above, plus appreciate that because vaccination (with boosters if deemed necessary) after an infection arguably gives you the best possible protection - better than from vaccination or infection.
*** If one has shots and boosters, which are allegedly effective, why be required to wear a mask?
- Depends on jurisdiction, plus avoids the need to require proof of vaccination, which takes time, have an associated labour cost and can result in unpleasant altercations.
*** If one is required to wear a mask to allegedly protect others who presumably don't have covid, why wear a mask if you don't have covid yourself?
- Breakthrough infections, plus symptomless infections.
*** I wear a plastic face shield, which is far better than a cloth or paper mask, yet the local requirement in many places is that I can't enter many establishments because I'm not wearing a cloth mask. Why?
- Because the best protection (for the wearer and for others if the wearer is infected), is provided by a paper mask, then a cloth mask, (depends on the cloth) and finally the plastic face shield. Face shields protect against droplet spray, but don't filter breathed in or expelled air, which can contain virus laden aerosols. Likewise vented masks don't protect others if the vented mask wearer is infectious.
Neil
Hey, AussieNeil—You are a font of knowledge and blessing to soooo many people—myself included. *** However, with regard to your comment above about paper and cloth masks being more protective than a face shield, the following article, based on a large-scale analysis by researchers from Harvard, proves precisely the opposite. I believe it's important enough for you and others to see that I'm reprinting it in its entirety:
Little Evidence Supports Use of Cloth Masks to Limit Spread of Coronavirus: Analysis
BY ZACHARY STIEBER November 15, 2021 Updated: November 15, 2021 biggersmaller Print
Cloth masks are of little use against COVID-19, according to a recently published analysis.
Federal health authorities and a slew of jurisdictions require or recommend wearing masks as a way to limit spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.
But a trio of researchers pored over the studies often cited by the officials and found they were poorly designed and offered scant evidence supporting mask usage.
Many of the studies are observational, opening them up to confounding variables, the researchers said in their analysis (pdf), which was published on Nov. 8 by the Cato Institute.
Of 16 randomized controlled trials comparing mask effectiveness to controls with no masks, 14 failed to find a statistically significant benefit, the researchers said. And of 16 quantitative meta-analyses, half showed weak evidence of mask effectiveness while the others “were equivocal or critical as to whether evidence supports a public recommendation of masks,” they added.
“The biggest takeaway is that more than 100 years of attempts to prove that masks are beneficial has produced a large volume of mostly low-quality evidence that has generally failed to demonstrate their value in most settings,” Dr. Jonathan Darrow, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told The Epoch Times in an email.
“Officials mulling mask recommendations should turn their attention to interventions with larger and more certain benefits, such as vaccines. Based on the evidence currently available, masks are mostly a distraction from the important work of promoting the public health,” he added.
One widely-cited study (pdf) by mask proponents, of rural villages in Bangladesh, found that surgical masks appeared to be marginally effective in reducing symptomatic COVID-19 but that cloth masks did not, Darrow and his colleagues noted. The other real-world randomized controlled trial examining mask effectiveness, conducted in Denmark, did not find a statistically significant difference in infections between the masked and unmasked groups.
“The remainder of the available clinical evidence is primarily limited to non-randomized observational data, which are subject to confounding,” the researchers said, including accounting for other differences in behavior among those who don’t wear masks.
They did say that there is evidence masks reduce droplet dispersion, though cloth masks are unlikely to capture the particles even if worn properly.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers cannot wait for higher-quality evidence to support masking, but from an ethical standpoint, they should “refrain from portraying the evidence as stronger than it actually is,” the researchers concluded.
COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. The CCP virus is also known as the coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2.
Some outside experts’ views align with the researchers, including Dr. Martin Kulldorff, senior scientific director of the Brownstone Institute.
“The truth is that there has been only two randomized trials of masks for COVID. One was in Denmark, which showed that they might be slightly beneficial, they might be slightly harmful, we don’t really know—the confidence interval kind of crossed zero,” he said. “And then there was another study from Bangladesh where they randomized villagers to masks or no masks. And the efficacy of the masks was for reduction of COVID was something between zero and 18 percent. So either no effect or very minuscule effect.”
Some experts, though, say the existing evidence does support masking recommendations, and several reacted strongly to the new analysis.
The analysis drew some pushback, including from Kimberly Prather, director of the National Science Foundation Center for Aerosol Impacts on Chemistry of the Environment.
Prather noted on Twitter that researchers said masks reduce the amount of virus in the air and believed that ran counter to their conclusions.
Darrow responded by saying the amount of virus in the air was a surrogate, not a clinical endpoint.
“The amount of pathogen in air (to be inhaled) directly determines the dose. This is directly linked to risk,” Prather added. “Or can you explain how less virus in the air could be higher risk? It’s equivalent to saying that less pathogen in drinking water is higher risk so don’t filter water.”
“If the theory diverges from what you see in real life, which one do you believe?” Darrow said.
Hi Pogee,
In the context of the discussion of protective shielding, I said "Because the best protection (for the wearer and for others if the wearer is infected), is provided by a paper mask, then a cloth mask, (depends on the cloth) and finally the plastic face shield." The article you quoted says nothing about face shields. I totally agree that "Officials mulling mask recommendations should turn their attention to interventions with larger and more certain benefits, such as vaccines.", but because we are immune compromised and vaccines don't work as well for us as they do for healthy folk, extra shielding, as you are doing in wearing a face shield, makes sense!
I also totally agree with the following quote from your quoted article:- "They did say that there is evidence masks reduce droplet dispersion, though cloth masks are unlikely to capture the particles even if worn properly." (Confirms my point that (paper) masks are better than cloth masks.)
Your quoted article also (conveniently) omits mentioning probably the largest population study of where mandatory mask wearing reversed the exponential growth of COVID-19 infections, in a population of 6.5 million: healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo...
Please keep in mind that you've quoted not from a medical source, but from a reporter's article published in the Epoch Times, which per the mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-...
"Overall, we rate The Epoch Times Right Biased and Questionable based on the publication of pseudoscience and the promotion of propaganda and conspiracy theories, as well as numerous failed fact checks.", hence the "COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. The CCP virus is also known as the coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2." Nearly all the references in your quoted article are to other Epoch Times articles. The only mention of Harvard, was the email correspondence from Dr Darrow, who works at Harvard and didn't reference a Harvard study.
With respect to the mentioned Brownstone Institute,
New Institute Has Ties to the Great Barrington Declaration
— All three GBD lead authors contribute to Brownstone Institute
"A new think tank is promoting some old, controversial ideas about COVID-19 -- and has strong ties to the parties involved in the Great Barrington Declaration.
The Brownstone Institute for Social and Economic Research aims to evaluate the "global crisis" stemming from the policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its stated mission is "constructively to come to terms with what happened, understand why, discover and explain alternative paths, and prevent such events from happening again."
It currently publishes articles that criticize COVID lockdowns, question vaccine mandates, and describe masking as "an attack on our communal life."
medpagetoday.com/special-re...
Pogee, for the good of your health, I recommend you obtain your medical advice from respected medical sources, not a biased reporter who probably knows little to nothing about how CLL impacts your immune system.
Neil
Hey, AussieNeil,
Thank you for your comprehensive and timely response. However, it's a well-known fact that every one of the alleged purveyors of truth—those alleged know-it-all fact checkers who conveniently, and egregiously, block all alleged misinformation on a range of subjects—are of a far-left pursuasion.
If you haven't read anything about this uber-liberal tilt, you might be interested in knowing that the original founders of multiple sites, who have since been ousted from their positions, have long railed against the direction that their original brainchildren have taken. I speak of the founders of, inter alia, Wikipedia, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Greenpeace. There are others, as well, who I can't recall off the top of my addle-riddle 79-year-old cranium.
Although I do not have websites handy, as you amazingly always do, I encourage you to broaden your horizons beyond the "official" fact-check sites of which you speak, if you have not already done so.
With regard to Covid-19, there are numerous highly-respected researchers who have taken substantial issue with the "official" line, but who have been blackballed and blacklisted by the alleged "authoritative" legacy media.
Off the top of my head, I seem to recall that the lead scientist for Pfizer—a senior VP—resigned because he was in vehement disagreement with management's decision to move forward with results from a clinical trial that he felt was ill-designed, poorly-written, and contained unsupported conclusions. Naturally, this didn't fit the narrative for the legacy media—e.g., The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, MSNBC—to report it.
As for your casting aspersions on The Epoch Times and related allegedly right-wing media, you do yourself no honor by quoting the mediabiasfactchecker group, whose fact checkers are primarily young, radical socialists hand-picked by Facebook, Twitter, and related totalitarian monopolies whose owners—e.g., Zuckerberg and Dorsey—have permanently removed from their websites individuals and groups who don't toe the "party" line, and who have contributed literally hundreds of millions of dollars, to shutting down dissent of all kinds—almost uniformly from the right.
In conclusion, having lived just short of 79 years, and as a professional journalist for 40 of those years, I believe I have the ability to tell the difference between journalism and opinionated writing, as well as among fact, fiction, and opinion. I sincerely, and respectfully, hope that you will, too.
Pogee, I have quoted you examples from the article you quoted, illustrating the journalist's bias. Our community guidelines cllsupport.org.uk/informati... state in item 22, "Please show a clear distinction between personal experience or opinion and evidence-based information. Theories or supposition which are not supported by evidence – i.e. a link to that evidence, must be made clear that it is personal conjecture and not fact."
The reason for this guideline is so that other members can, if interested, read for themselves the references to learn and make up their own minds, as part of the evidence based approach we encourage here. The Epoch Times article does a poor job of providing direct references to medical and scientific sources and you have just provided none for your assertions in your reply. Again, I recommend you obtain your medical advice from respected medical sources. Preferably, those should be directly relevant to those with immunocompromised immune systems, ideally with an appreciation of how blood cancer, specifically CLL, impacts on our health and which provide evidence based recommendations on we can to do to live well with CLL. The Brownstone Institute, from whom the reporter quoted medical opinion, supports natural immunity. Attempting to develop COVID-19 immunity by that means for our community members would put them at a high risk of death!
Neil
I'm sixty and had a full dose of Moderna booster on Saturday, Nov. 6. I lucked out and got nothing but some arm pain.
But given my experience with Pfizer 2, I was expecting way worse. The second Pfizer resulted in waking up at 4:00 am the next day feeling like someone beat my lower back and kidneys with a 2X4.
I would note that both I and my girlfiriend got Covid-19 earlier in the year, and it was not pleasant. She had the first two Moderna shots, and both made her really sick for 2-3 days.
It seems like people's reactions to these drugs are random, and I haven't found that much out there on reactions to the boosters.
I hope you feel better!
Sorry you had a bad reaction to your booster shot, I was unwell for over a week with my first vaccine which was theAZ vaccine .
Unwell for 3 days or so with the second AZ vaccine, with symptoms like you have had.
Due to have my 3rd shot today and feel a bit apprehensive, but if it helps prevent me becoming very ill should I get Covid, it’s worth the couple of days of feeling unwell.
Yes not everyone reacts the same, hopefully these reactions will be brief compared to having the Covid infection.
I am so sorry to hear about your experience with the Moderna booster. I am due for the booster, but was afraid of a third shot before hearing of your reaction, now I may not get it. I have had heart side effects with Ibrutinib and acalabrutinib, I don't need any more. Thank you for sharing your story, and I am so glad you are better now.
In summary, the highest risk is for vaccine-induced myocarditis is in males ages 12-17 after the second vaccine dose, though it is not a common event. According to a statement by the American Heart Association, “The facts are clear: this is an extremely rare side effect, and only an exceedingly small number of people will experience it after vaccination”. The vast majority of affected individuals are admitted to the hospital, though for a brief time. Though some people were monitored in the ICU, almost all cases have recovered without symptoms or seem on the road to recovery. Vaccine-induced myocarditis is rare and serious, permanent consequences seem rarer still.
You are very kind, Bijon3. Certainly, I’m not in a position to give you medical advise. However, I can note that my wife asked if I thought she should get the booster, and I recommended against it, especially as she’s far more sensitive to most things than I am.
Hello! I had a 3 Moderna injections. The 1st one was terrible, the 2nd one not a problem! Now, I had the 3rd (booster) 4 months after the 2nd. Why? I was diagnosed with CLL and MS in the year of the Covid Monster. My primary physician felt it best to get the booster sooner. Yep, it kicked my behind for 2 days!
I had my Moderna booster 10 months after my 2nd shot like you. I felt the reaction was slightly stronger than the 2nd, I definitely was down for about 36 hours. My headache felt like my brain was on fire and just really bad fatigue and foggy brain. However after that time period, back to normal. If it keeps me safe, I'll take it.
Oh how awful! Please report this to your doctor to have them report it to VAERS. We need information like this, to help adjust dosages and keep track of how often a particular side effect actually occurs. Covid vaccines were brought to market ASAP to prevent death and morbidity, but this type of information is routinely collected for ALL vaccines in the US, even those that had been around decades.
Thank you for the information. As noted to an earlier reply, I did report it to my pharmacist. Then, given the VAERS link, I filled out the somewhat extensive form, only to have the site give me an error reading at the end, despite my having carefully answered all questions, and not having received any warnings of incorrect or not filled out boxes. This happened twice. Am I surprised? Does a tree fall in the forest if no one hears it fall?
I've had THREE full-strength Moderna vaccinations with zero adverse effects. I believe that folks who have a history of vaccine intolerance should avoid vaccinations altogether and stay the hell away from the rest of us. This way, everyone is safe.
FYI, in nearly 79 years, I never had a negative reaction to any vaccine, including my first two full-strength Moderna shots. Any suggestions as to whether I should have taken the booster?
I had the Moderna booster two days ago. I don't have CLL (my wife does, watch and wait). I had a 101 degree fever and chills the night of the booster, and still had some aches and fatigue and headache the day after the booster. Now on the third day I feel ok. When my wife had the booster she had less reaction than I did; pretty mild.
Hi i had my 2nd dose of pfizer in April. I collapsed shortly after and was violently sick, chills etc. Ive never felt same since awful fatigue and head issues whichever i never had previously. Has really affected my whole life and due for booster this week!!!