Yesterday evening I received an invitation to go for my fourth Covid vaccine on New Years Eve (booster I presume). It is not due for another three months so I presume we are all only having a three month gap between jabs, same as the younger age groups.
Merry Xmas everyone 🎄🎅🏻
Lucky you Holybee21. Your system is on the ball! Have a happy healthy one!
Good news Hollybee21 🎄
When did you have your 3rd Jab?
Third one was on 1st October and I was told it would be six months to the next one. Was quite surprised when the appointment came yesterday.
It was originally 6months but it’s now been changed to 3months because of Omicron. Your Surgery are on the ball!
91 days after the third one I’ve been told.Paddy
Hollybee my neighbour in his 80’s had his first Vaccine last New Years Eve - who’d have thought a year on we’d have 4 Vaccines under our belt!
Let’s hope they manage to find a new vaccine which only needs one jab, but I think this is with us forever, thank goodness for the scientist’s though.🤞
Chris Witty seems hopeful that they will develop what is called a multi-valent vaccine, works on several levels. That won't be as dependent on perfect identification of the virus. But Pfizer seems to have achieved a T-cell response and that doesn't need the identification to be quite so good but it doesn't prevent infection that well.
Keeping my fingers crossed 🤞🤞
As others have said, your surgery is definitely a good one - don’t ever move house😀 I had to challenge my partner’s specialist as he said that he was not eligible for the 3rd primary vaccine. Eventually he agreed and wrote a letter but when he went to a walk-in vac centre they said they knew nothing about a 3rd vaccine and he wasn’t eligible for his booster.
His specialist finally wrote to the GP and they arranged the 3rd dose on 13th Nov. We are ‘hoping’ to go to Malta at the end of Feb, so it’s perfect that he should now have his booster 2 weeks before we go. Accommodation is free cancellation so we’ll make a judgement nearer the time, but at least it gives us something to look forward to!
Hope you manage to go on holiday and have a wonderful time. I am praying that the Netherlands don’t stop flights to the Uk and my daughter and family get home for Xmas.
They live there? They may get to the UK - whether they are allowed back to the Netherlands remains to be seen. Germany has reintroduced quarantine for travellers from the UK - a whole 2 weeks I think which does feel a bit OTT given how quickly omicron seems to develop.
I'm not sure travel restrictions are useful to control this variant. It was already present and spreading in many countries before we even knew. Might as well try to control a common cold, which I sincerely hope this disease is evolving into.
Yes - but in the first few weeks it probably does delay the explosion. It is thought about 40+% of people have no symptoms at all. Two of those on a plane sends a whole plane-full who have been exposed out and about who won't be quarantining until it is sure they are clear. With omicron the incubation period is so short there just isn't time unless everyone quarantines for 10 days. But whether it works or not - it is happening and I'm very glad I'm here and didn't even think about heading for the UK for xmas.
I cannot begin to express how happy I am we got our visit to Ontario in when we did. A few days later and we would have cancelled. My point really was that it doesn't seem to make much difference with travel restrictions, the virus is travelling anyway, with both the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. I posted a few days ago about being in a small gathering where I didn't remove my mask, although everyone else did. Turns out one of them found out later she'd been at an exposure site (theatre) although thankfully she has since tested negative. Potentially she could unwittingly have infected five other middle aged and elderly women.
When we visited my son yesterday, for a meal and to play with the baby, all four of us adults took rapid tests immediately before getting together. We are going to do that before Christmas dinner as well. We are a small place, which has observed a masking mandate throughout, and yet we now have one of the highest rates of case increase in the country. Community spread, which could only have been avoided by not allowing anyone into or out of the province, or for the fully vaccinated people who behaved as though it was delta, not knowing a new variant was already present, to instead have behaved as I do, which is that everyone I meet is infectious, and I might be also.
That's what I have assumed since the start, because you really can't know. Unfortunately, if the politicians had understood that and conveyed it properly, maybe we'd be in a bit different place.
I'm so glad my girls managed to fit in their trip, couldn't have come any earlier.
Government changed it from 6mths to 3 months when Omicron started to be rampant
I went onto the NHS website and booked myself in for my 4th jab in January - booster after my 3rd primary in October. nhs.uk/conditions/coronavir...
"Use this service to book a 1st, 2nd, 3rd or booster dose of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine or manage an appointment."
It seems they have brought the NHS website up to date to include the 3rd primary jabs.
Thanks for this Rugger 😊
I followed the link only to be told “you do not need to book a further vaccination”. Have a feeling that’s because my third dose was registered as a booster on the system - so I’ll follow up with the GP practice in the new year ( not due until 20 January anyway).
May I ask what dose of pred you were on at the time of your first ever vaccination, please? Also, are you only on pred or taking, for example, methotrexate as well? There seem to be a lot of us on this forum who may not be eligible to get a fourth jab, as under the amount of pred specified by the JCVI when receiving first jab. I’m on the cusp, but waiting until new year to contact my GP as he’s working 7days a week, doing extra clinics right now! Thanks!
I doubt you will need to worry - I think the chances are they will be pushing another in 5 months if not sooner. Even Italy is looking at shortening the validity of our Green Pass to 5 months as it is clear the protection is waning significantly by then
I was on 8mg of Pred. for my first two vaccines but had a flare on the 2nd and had to increase to 15 mg. This lasted from April to September when I saw my Rheumy and I had a cortisone injection which really helped. Started to reduce Pred then, but I had the third vaccine on 1st October. Think they just had me on their list as due the 4th, now and I am gratefully accepting.
Thanks very much, that is interesting. My rheumy only saw me once & was more interested in my fibromyalgia (wrote to my doctor about it, even…though it was diagnosed over 12 years ago before we moved here), & more interested & very helpful re my arthritis & sent me to see other specialists. But the polymyalgia didn’t seem to interest her, maybe as diagnosed by my GP?! Anyway, her ‘see you in six months’ appointment shoukd have been October & didn’t materialise, so guess I will just stick with my GP!! Thanks… need to talk to him in the New Year, so will see what he says! You’re the first Ive heard of that’s had 4 jabs, include friends with cancers & multiple myeloma!
Wow-what country are you in that is giving a 4th? UK? I'm in Canada and got my 3rd, the booster, on Tuesday but have heard no talk at all here of getting a 4th one. Merry Christmas
I live in Wales, but the same rules apply for the whole of the UK when it comes to vaccinations.
4th Jabs ie Booster are given to the Immunocompromised- who were given a 3rd Jab as the fear of as they wouldn’t get much protection from just two.
In NS they, finally, seem to be paying attention to immunocompromised, insofar as they are being given priority for third dose, don't have to wait for 168 days after second . I suspect the 168 days for everyone else will change soon, it's evolving. Whether this means the immunocompromised will become eligible for a fourth shot I'm not sure, but it may. To be eligible if on pred you have to have been taking no less than 20 mg pred for at least two weeks so obviously eliminates most PMR patients, unless they are also on something else, like mtx.
Is there not even a classification for long term moderate dose - equally immunosuppressive but fairly unusual.
No. In fact it's only with the third or booster that immune compromised have been defined and given priority. I should say this is only in Nova Scotia and for the most part, until this month, we've been one of the safest places on the planet. We are a small place, just attained our 1 millionth resident, and absolutely no wiggle room in the health system so they stuck adamantly to an age based rollout, with the exception of some health care workers and, after some behind the scenes arm twisting which infuriated the general population, the police!
They didn't really have a preferential roll-out for CEV although my GP got us on to the end of the first tranche of over 80s. That may change in future. Our region is the tail light for vaccines compared to the rest of Italy but I do feel reasonably safe - around here they stick to the rules fairly well and don't crowd you. it is a month and a half since I had my 3rd jab - peak safety for me!
I think here in ON they just today dropped the booster to 3 months and lowered the age to 18 as well
And so begins the mad scramble to score an appointment.
Yes, now it is crazy here. We were very lucky and got one at a pharmacy in days. Now they are booking Feb. Another thing that happened was that the media said that down east they were giving out free quick test kits while charging for them here. So our Premier said we could get free ones at the LCBO, 3 per person. They ran out in 3 hours and now people are selling them on the internet for 80 bucks. Terrible.
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