3rd vaccine

[Oscarsboy]

Just an update from earlier this week, re 3rd vaccine dose. I had the telephone consultation this afternoon with Practice Nurse who assured me that the dose is classed Booster/Dose. ie there is no difference and it is a full pfizer dose. It is just how they clarify it. She had read the MPN literature I had left, said they do not use Moderna and therefore the full dose is appropriate. Appointment booked for Saturday week.

[Dazakella2010]

Agree… it doesn’t matter what you call it, it’s still a Covid vaccine, people are getting themselves in a twist over the wording. People need to just be patient and wait y tip they are called.

[Ebot]

No! This is really wrong! The wording absolutely matters. The booster programme and the third vaccine programme are not the same and aimed at different groups of people.

Yes, the nurse is correct in that the dose of the AZ and Pfizer booster vaccines is exactly the same as the previous two primary vaccines (but not in Moderna).

BUT the third dose is a primary vaccine followed by a booster in six months (ie four doses in all). The booster is exactly that - a booster.

You must make sure your vaccine is recorded as a third primary vaccine otherwise you might not be offered the booster next Spring.

In addition, I’m concerned that if other protective measures are deemed necessary in the coming months and the ‘third vaccine’ records are used to identify the most at risk group, people who would have otherwise qualified will simply be overlooked because they are down as only having had the ‘standard booster’.

[Oscarsboy in reply to Ebot]

I will check again when we go next Saturday. However I also have an appointment later this month under Professor Claire Harrison's team at Guys and St. Thomas's and have put this on my list of questions to raise about the Spring booster.

[Ebot in reply to Oscarsboy]

I only managed to get the ‘Third Vaccine’ (as opposed to the booster) because I got it through Guy’s Hospital on the recommendation of the CNS in Prof Harrison’s Dept.

[Oscarsboy]

Did you get a new vaccine card with batch number on etc? There seems a great deal of confusion around this and how it is understood and interpreted. The nurse assured me this is full Pfizer vaccine .

[Minu68]

The wording is totally crucial, as Ebot says! We need our booster in 6 months after the third dose, just like the general population need it after the second dose.We need the third dose to help us get protection, as research shows we may not have much of a response to just 2 doses.

If they just record it as the booster instead of as the third dose, you are likely to have to go through hoops to get the actual booster at the time you need it to continue to be protected!