I plan to take up the offer of the vaccine when I get it (March for over 60s..IF) but my brother, an orthodontist in the USA has delayed taking it as he remembered the link to flu vaccine
in 1976, and some people developed GBS after swine flu vaccination, which was a special flu vaccine for a potential pandemic strain of flu virus. PMR Pro how likely that something like this could happen if we get the vaccine (I hope this makes sense).
Your thoughts please?
Thanks.
Not a professional- but my questions would be - have you had flu jab previous?
If so, any serious adverse affects?
Are you allergic to anything?
If answers are yes, no and no - then personally I would go ahead. But obviously check with GP beforehand if worried.
I think you are most likely to get Oxford/AZ vaccine which is “adapted” from normal flu jab.
As your brother is in USA they may well be offered different vaccines
Also look at PMRpro ‘s latest post - just above yours
Thanks. Last flu jab in Sept upset my PMR a bit for a couple of months but otherwise okay. My GPs are difficult to get hold of and they would not really help me. I trust the forum folks much more. Thanks again. You are right my bro will get a different vaccine.
bbc.com/future/article/2020...
Not a professional but above gives quite a nice balanced and interesting account I think but moderators please remove if not. I can’t wait to have my vaccine. All the best.
Thanks. Last flu jab in Sept upset my PMR a bit for a couple of months but otherwise okay. My GPs are difficult to get hold of and they would not really help me. I trust the forum folks much more. Thanks again. You are right my bro will get a different vaccine.
These vaccines could also upset the PMR - no-one knows until it happens. But think what Covid could so to a PMR flare!
Yep. It is a crapshoot.
These are totally different animals - things have moved on rather since the 70s!! This isn't an influenza vaccine.
However the GBS (Guillain Barree syndrome) thing isn't really what you would have called major - 1 extra case per 100,000 vaccine recipients i.e. 1 or 2 cases, doubling a very small risk is still a very small risk, you have to look at the absolute figures). You are also more likely to get GBS after having the flu but I can't find figures for that - only wants to tell me about the vaccine.
cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/conce....
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
says
"Given the very strong association between influenza infection and the incidence of GBS, and considering the requirement of vaccination in the prevention of influenza, we should not deprive the general population from getting vaccinated on the grounds of risk for GBS due to vaccination. It is to be noted that preventing the complications of influenza is one of the important benefits of the influenza vaccine. In fact, the complication of GBS due to vaccination is a rare event and thus poses very minimal risk. Therefore educational programs are required to erase this fear from the general public opinion."
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/207...
also says
"Epidemiological studies have shown that, except for the 1976 US national immunisation programme against swine-origin influenza A H1N1 subtype A/NJ/76, influenza vaccine has probably not caused GBS or, if it has, rates have been extremely low (less than one case per million vaccine recipients). By contrast, influenza-like illnesses seem to be relevant triggering events for GBS."
In fact, tetanus vaccine is mentioned ahead of flu vaccine in the context of GBS.
This is why you have my undying love and respect. Thank you and I will let my bro know. How are things in the Dolomites? When do you get your vaccine?Grazie mille. x
Snowy!!! We had the wettest October, the sunniest November and the snowiest December for umpteen years! And have had more snow already in the new year. Enough already - especially since it is no use to anyone except the children to sledge as the ski resorts are still shut (thank goodness as far as I'm concerned).
Vaccine? Heaven knows. Medical staff got it first and they have just started on the over 80s ...
I almost got the vaccine today. At 2pm offered the vaccine (not sure which one) but by the time I got one stop on the train they said if you weren't already in the queue it was too late. I am a keyworker and I work with the homeless. They have 'promised' snow here in London tomorrow and rain in the afternoon. I only want snow if I can have a snow day.
Had my first Pfizer shot on January 12. No side effects, not even a sore arm. (Really good technician. Didn't even feel the jab. I was looking away talking to someone else when he said "All done. Next!")
Just as an aside, most of the vaccines for COVID are using a derivative mRNA as the agent that induces the immune system to mount a response. As it was explained by Dr. Fauci for we laypersons, mRNA takes a photocopy of what a portion of the COVID virus "looks like" and shows it to our immune system. Since our immune system knows what the virus "looks like", it manufactures antibodies that "smother" the sucker. If we are exposed after we have been fully vaccinated, our immune system goes to work quickly to kill the invader, since it has been "taught" what to do.
mRNA does not replicate, so it can't make you sick. The slight headache, low grade fever, slight nausea and body aches you may feel after any vaccine is your immune system at work to kill the invader.
You know those "off" days you sometimes get for no reason at all, that come and go within hours or a day or so? But you don't get really sick? It's likely you were exposed to some pathogen, and your immune system killed it, because it recognized the virus or bacteria and knows what to do. It doesn't waste time trying to figure out what to do. It already knows.
Some people can be sensitive or allergic to inactive ingredients in a vaccine in which the active ingredients are suspended. That's why they keep you around for a while after you get the shot, so they can tend to any reaction.
Those of us without fully functioning immune systems may have a more muted response after being vaccinated. That's not a reason not to get the shot. That's a reason to continue to be socially distant, wear a mask, and wash your hands frequently. We can exist in the world with a lower level of anxiety, knowing that we have a better chance than we had before we were vaccinated.
Like everything else in life, taking action is always a risk. COVID can kill or disable you, or your loved ones, or members of your community. What we know right now is that COVID risk is high and imminent. Risks associated with the vaccines are so low as to approach zero.
Get your shot as soon as you can, and depending on the vaccine, get your second shot when it's due.
#FollowTheFauci. He always speaks based on the science, and tells the truth about what's known and what's unknown, even when we don't like it.
Fantastic. Thank you. Follow the Fauci.
I've just sat through a talk by Dasgupta about the vaccines - your version is far better and easy to understand! Mind you - I do struggle with any lecture where they read their slides in their entirety!!
I've actually never seen Dr. Fauci use slides, or notes for that matter. I'm sure he does when he makes presentations in professional environments, but when we see him speak on TV in the US, he just talks. In plain (American) English.
What I have found most impressive about him, going way back to the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, is his ability to say, without equivocation or embarrassment, "We don't know."
The three most important words in a scientist's vocabulary - but only the good ones are confident enough to use them
OH always had slides but they were simple and he didn't use them as support. He just got on with it and spoke ...
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