I wanted to ask a naive question. Repeated tests show that I have as close to zero immunoglobulins as makes no difference. Unsurprisingly post all five Astra Zenica vaccine jabs, I had no reaction and no antibodies. A couple of days ago I got the Moderna vaccine - and spent the following day with exactly the symptoms I had when I had COVID-lite earlier in the year (aching legs, a headache, slightly sweaty ...)
Do I dare to hope that this time I might have developed antibodies? And how so absent immunoglobulins?
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Me2AsWell
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When you next have your immunoglobulin/antibody testing done, look for an increase in your IgM initially then your IgG and IgA.
Don't get too concerned about your absent immunoglobulins. These have been much more studied than T cells, simply because they are far easier to study. Encouragingly, what studies have been done on T cell immunity, have shown about 80% did respond to vaccinations/boosters.
Hi, I too have just received my Moderna vaccination and it’s the first time I have had a bad reaction to any vaccinations, I felt ill for 3 days, but feeling a bit better today.
Hello Me2, as I understand your question you are asking if the symptoms you got from the booster are evidence that your body created antibodies to the vaccine.
While that hypothesis certainly seems plausible, most of what I have read suggests that is not necessarily so. That said, I don’t think they know for sure:
Though it is a valid question, more studies need to be conducted to unpack what the severity of side effects actually mean, said Anna Wald, an infectious diseases physician and researcher in COVID-19 vaccine trials at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine.
But Erasmus, Kelley and Wald all say the effectiveness of the vaccine is unlikely to be determined by how severe your side effects are.
“Remember that most people have mild or no side effects in the clinical trials [for the mRNA vaccines], and yet the vaccine was still found to have 95% effectiveness at protecting them from illness,” Wald noted.
“Anecdotally, it does appear that people who may have had COVID-19 before their vaccine do tend to have those longer duration of symptoms,” Kelley added. “But we’re still gathering additional scientific data to really support this.”
I do agree with Neil that regardless of what antibody response we get, it does appear those of us with cll who took covid vaccines do appear to benefit from the vaccine.
One could probably do an observational study of people with cll on healthunlocked and reach the same conclusion, albeit a conclusion based largely on anecdotal evidence. We have people at all stages with their cll on here, some old and treated many times. Yet there have not been nearly as many deaths or severe covid cases reported on here as I might have expected.
I think part of that reflects that our cll group on healthunlocked is maybe not reflective of the cll population overall, but rather reflects a subgroup of people who, on average, are more proactive about their cll and have more availability to better medical resources. And I think, as a group, people with cll on healthunlocked are more likely to have had covid vaccines as compared to the general population.
The science points to vaccines being helpful to us with cll, and people on healthunlocked are more likely to have science based views, While unfortunately even the word “science” has been politically hijacked”, I am not trying to be political. I lack training to have my own science opinions, I have to rely on those with more knowledge. Since virtually every major cll cancer treatment center and cll specialists recommends the vaccines, I am relying on their collective knowledge of the science.
AZ - Moderna utilize different "delivery" technologies/mechanisms. I've had 5 Modernas & 3 Pfizer's. No or little antibody response. Plus all had the same reaction you described for 2-4 days post- Vax. I got the Novavax protein-based Vax (same basis as other non-Covid vax's) 5 days ago & felt fine vs. mRNA type. Assume will be antibody deficient though. Recommend if someone in our situation wants to continue getting the COVID Vax, try the Novavax or non-mRNA Vax's (I think AZ just discontinued it's Vax). I think most of us, especially those of us in treatment, will be antibody deficient --none to low.
Can't comment on IG's other than test for them in your next labs. I do know mine are low.
I too had the vaccine last week. Except for slight discomfort after my previous vaccines, I was expecting the same, but this time I had the chills, in the night, very flu like symptoms all the next day, and had to stay in bed. (Very unusual for me). I also felt nauseous. The next day I woke up perfectly fine and back to normal! My husband said 'well it's better than getting covid' which is right. Hope it means I've developed better antibodies, though I've been very lucky as I've never had covid, and I do socialize a lot.
I've had Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna, More Pfizer BioNTech, Sanofi-Pasteur and last week No 9, Moderna. Previously I have had no reaction at all to any of them but this last one knocked the stuffing out of me; headache, postural hypotension, flu feeling, nauseous and finally I was sick for the first time in years. I felt like a pile of old cat-poo for two days. The raised temperature may have been the effects of the paracetamol or may have been part of the reaction. Either way, it was particularly nasty but I have recovered except for a sore-feeling shoulder. As I have SCIG, perhaps the Moderna reacted to antibodies acquired from the donor IgG but then I have been having SCIG since 2018 so the IgG has always been boosted artificially. Hey ho, could be a bloody sight worse.
As SERVrider above says, several people of my acquaintance have said that the latest (Moderna Spikevax) vaccination has had unusually strong side effects for them (all men). I have now had 8 covid vaccinations of all (available in UK) kinds, and I have had strong side effects from all of them except the first. This latest one was, if anything, slightly less bad for me than the previous time, but I still got a 38C temperature, and a pulse rate of 120 together with muscle aches and a headache - exactly like flu. I am now so used to it that I find the worst part is the lack of sleep on the day of the vaccination, but as a bonus I always sleep like a top the next night.
I had the vaccination three days ago, and I have felt completely back to normal for the last 24 hours. It was only really bad for 30 hours after the vaccination. I guess it's a small price to pay for avoiding those life-threatening pneumonias with intubation and all the rest of the worst dangers. I do wonder, though, as I get older just whether my body will be able to cope with the heart work-out it gets as a result of the jab!
I am certain that the strong reaction does show that your resistance to covid has increased.
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