I was able to have my fourth Covid vaccination....

[Rostom]

I thought you may be interested that yesterday I was able to have my fourth Covid vaccination.

I was diagnosed with PMR in December last year and began with a dose of 15mg of prednisolone raised to 20mg almost immediately and have been tapering down since then with one flare. Currently on 15mg.

I have not received 'the letter' advising that I should be on a list of those with a compromised immune system etc., so spoke to 119 who told me to go to a vaccination centre, taking all the paperwork I had (discharge from A and E showing prednisolone, steroid warning card etc.) together with relevant medications (I took prednisolone, alendronic acid, lansoprazole and EvacalD3) and.... had no trouble at all.

I explained that I was there on 119's recommendation to four different volunteers/staff members who were all happy with my explanation and I was given the vaccine.

I am asthmatic, too and whether that had any bearing on my situation, I don't know (someone did check me out on their lap top but I don't know what they were looking at - joint medication record?) but I doubt that it did.

My medication was peered at, the prednisolone boxes examined (presumably to check that they were current) and there was a cursory glance at everything else.

If you are recently diagnosed and wonder if you qualify for the fourth dose, it may be worth your while to speak to 119 or visit a vaccination centre and see how they respond.

I recently read that the third dose (booster in my case) provides three months of good protection but then wanes and by six months is not very effective. My six months is up next week hence I was keen to obtain more protection.

Almost every family I know has several cases of Covid at the moment, it is really rife in my area. I feel it is still something best avoided!

[piglette]

Interestingly enough I had an antibody test the day before I had my third vaccine last year and the antibodies still seemed pretty good after six months. Of course the mutations have changed since then so life may have changed. They are now offering the second booster to over 75’s after three months rather than six months in UK. Just walk in to a Covid vaccination centre. I wonder if that means we should be having four vaccines a year!? I am not sure I can go through the side effects afterwards at that rate.

[Carrollee in reply to piglette]

Same here piglette, had a bad time with my booster ( middle of december) then caught covid middle of January and just been offered 4th vax. Only 3 months from booster and 2 months from covid. So I kindly said no for now. Don’t think my system can take much more at the moment and still dealing with post covid “stuff”. It’s all a personal choice of course and I would never put anyone off. 🤗

[piglette in reply to Carrollee]

I was also hoping that the new vaccines would be ready to fight the recent mutations more effectively soon, I believe in the Autumn. I might give in before then as nearly everyone in my village seems to be catching Covid and some are quite ill. The anti vaxxer I know is fine.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Carrollee]

Here in Italy, recovered from an infection counts the same as fully vaxx'd. People can now even go back to work even if not vax'd at all but recovered. Our numbers spiked for Omicron and now a little spike for Omicron2 but very very few really sick people - 4 in ICU at present for a region of half a million. But we wear masks so there is a degree of protection even against the infected who have no symptoms, which is well over half.

[Exflex]

Take note the wise words from The Master. Taking too many green pills may impede response to later, potentially more effective, vaccines - immune imprinting in other words.

theguardian.com/commentisfr...

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Exflex]

That has been the line taken here in Italy for some time. No extended primary course for anyone, just a 3rd dose for all 6 months after the first. No more boosters unless you are over 80 (I think) and no anti-Covid drugs unless very immunosuppressed, for pred, over 25-30mg per day.

I got my first jabs quite early for here, last Easter for the second Moderna, 4 weeks after the first. My 3rd (Pfizer) was early November. No sign of getting another. But we have had an Omicron surge and now a much smaller Omicron2 surge (almost certainly due to Carnival and tourists) but our hospitals are in a much better place than the UK and life is almost back to normal - except for mask wearing and Green Passes which will both continue into April. And 7-10 days isolation if you test positive. But if you don't have symptoms, you don't test - so can continue to self-monitor and go out and pass it on ...