I'm in Pfizer's COVID vaccine trial, ask me anything.

[The Inflicted]

Has anyone done much research into the safety and efficacy of boosting the J&J shot with one or both doses of either of the MRNA vaccines?

[Diomedes]

No idea, but I'm just gonna copy what I said above: "I have no idea how all this impacts J&J. For what it's worth, J&J is less effective at reducing the risk of infection (still really good, just not *as good* as pfizer or moderna), but importantly, it is basically just as good at reducing hospitalization and death. And that's what matters, at the end of the day. If we turn this thing into a mild flu or a bad cold...that's actually okay."

[ta2maki]

Not sure if this helps but, I got the J&J back in April and got my first shot of pfizer a few weeks ago. I'm going to get my 2nd dose tomorrow. J&J, I had no after effects. Pfizer, I felt under the weather, I didnt have to work so I slept the next day. I probably could have stayed up and worked though it if I had to.

I got the Pfizer shot just because. California is trying to pay people to get vaccinated so I figured I was not taking away from someone by double dosing. I didn't know there was any concerns with J&J efficacy until after I got the Pfizer. Unless this 2nd dose kills me or there is any announcement of harm of getting multiples, I plan on getting the Moderna shots in november. If I end up travelling overseas, I would consider getting the other vaccines not available in the US if I could.

[Brokeass_baller]

It's not any of my business, but why are you "collecting" (for lack of a better word) the shots? Don't they all do basically the same thing?

[boarder2k7]

Not sure if this helps but, I got the J&J back in April and got my first shot of pfizer a few weeks ago. I'm going to get my 2nd dose tomorrow. J&J, I had no after effects. Pfizer, I felt under the weather, I didnt have to work so I slept the next day. I probably could have stayed up and worked though it if I had to.

I got the Pfizer shot just because. California is trying to pay people to get vaccinated so I figured I was not taking away from someone by double dosing. I didn't know there was any concerns with J&J efficacy until after I got the Pfizer. Unless this 2nd dose kills me or there is any announcement of harm of getting multiples, I plan on getting the Moderna shots in november. If I end up travelling overseas, I would consider getting the other vaccines not available in the US if I could.

I'm interested in how the second goes for you. I got Moderna first round, and with how delta is looking I'll say doubling up is looking more and more attractive....

It's not any of my business, but why are you "collecting" (for lack of a better word) the shots? Don't they all do basically the same thing?

Pokemon mentality, gotta catch em all!

From what I've seen there is evidence that an additional shot will further increase immune response and it may make you less susceptible to breakthrough infections.

[Diomedes]

That's much lower than the few studies I've seen out there, but maybe something was published in the last week or so. Most data I've seen were in the 80% range, and that was for over-65s, so probably better for younger.

Also, a lot of these write-ups in non-scientific publications, and even in popular-level science magazines, are conflating antibody levels with efficacy, which you can't do. Two different things. So like if the one-month antibody levels are one hundred times the threshold for "has neutralizing antibodies", and that drops by half at month 6...that's still fine. So make sure you read the original studies, and all the fine print.

[Tracker]

so here's a new one that just popped up for me

it would seem that people taking fenofibrate have a reduced risk of infection
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles...21.660490/full

as someone with genetic hypertriglyceridemia and a regular taker of this medication for awhile, would that affect my vaccine?

(me making sure I understand the vaccine properly)
mRNA vaccines, like the one from Pfizer that I have, uses the mRNA signature of covid to make your body produce the correct covid proteins (as opposed to lab made proteins) and your body learns to make the antibodies based off those proteins.

if someone's medication accidentally gives them an advantage fighting it off on its own, wouldn't that have an effect on their body to produce the correct proteins from the vaccine?

[Diomedes]

I don’t *think* so, but I’m not 100% sure. Often, a genetic condition is the result of a slight change to a protein that a virus or parasite happens to use or interact with to infect your cells, and if it’s a little different, successfully infecting is harder. Think like sickle cell and malaria, for example. That’s unrelated to your immune system recognizing and preparing for that same virus. But that’s in general, I can’t say specifically for your case.

Edit: I misread your post, sorry. I don’t think the medication would effect your immune response, but check with your doctor to be sure. But it’s probably analogous to being vaccinated against a bacterial infection vs taking antibiotics. Just two separate things.

[Tracker]

i would like to hope its 2 separate things as well, i didn't have much of a reaction to either shot, so now i wonder if i was lucky, or i had help,

i have a pretty good channel to get ahold of my doc so ill make sure to bring this one up to him.

[Diomedes]

Since there are a ton of questions people have about the Delta variant and what's up with that, I did this video last week, if anyone is curious about the evolutionary dynamics of what's going on. It's long-ish. Sorry.

[GanonsGrin]

https://apple.news/APBJR6utzRUiqOc38e2Prrw

Pfizer just got full FDA approval!!

[Diomedes]

I cannot like this development enough. Huge deal.

[un2xs]

Diomedes, when, if ever, will they unblind the trial? You have said that both of you are sure you received the real vaccine... however, what if you have not?

[Diomedes]

We were unblinded when it was approved back in the winter.

[BrickHaus]

Id like to chime back in. I got my second moderna shot last week, and I can honestly say I didnt see any side effects or symptoms with either shot.

I DID suffer a leg cramp in my calf the night of the second dose, but it was also leg day that morning, so I dunno. Im sure the vaccine was a factor in the cramp. But not the only cause. Lol

[Seajay]

Any truth to blood type being less or more resistant?

I had Pfizer 1 and 2, and the first was way worse than the 2nd for me. I passed out on a table. The shot location had soreness but that was it as far as any pain.
I've been tested multiple times since I was vaxed and always negative.

[Diomedes]

To my knowledge, no differences by blood type. Edit: Looked it up, there have been some large studies on this, no evidence of differences in outcomes based on blood type.

[un2xs]

Diomedes, it was my understanding that Type O blood types were either more resistant to COVID or are affected less. This was in the news last year. Have studies either confirmed or negated this?

[Brokeass_baller]

I thought they vax was still in phase 3 trials for another year or two? How did they get FDA approval without competing the trial?

[Rusty Brass]

Phase 3 was completed a while ago.
https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-re...vid-19-vaccine
There is more evidence/data behind the Pfizer vaccine's safety/efficacy than any other drug or treatment the FDA has ever reviewed. Over 200 million doses... it's safe.

[Brokeass_baller]

Oh ok. I must have misunderstood something then. Thanks

[The Inflicted]

It's not any of my business, but why are you "collecting" (for lack of a better word) the shots? Don't they all do basically the same thing?

Some reports indicate that the J&J shot is less effective at preventing Delta than the mRNA shots but that combining it with the first shot of either mRNA vaccine regimen will correct this.

https://www.reuters.com/business/hea...ng-2021-06-25/

[Magmoormaster]

Sorry if this has been asked already, anything past 10 pages I'm not willing to go back and dig.

I've heard a hypothesis that if you have previously had covid, you will experience worse side effects from the vaccine. I've also heard a hypothesis that if you get a bad reaction to the first dose, that means you've had covid before. I am highly skeptical of that, but figured our favorite Warrior of Athena would be the guy to ask.

Also have a different question that involves more storytelling.

This last week in school, we went on a field trip to San Francisco. We drove from SLC in a sprinter van. One of the guys' wife got a positive covid test the day before we left. He got tested that night and got a negative so he decided to come with. He started getting sick a couple days later, went and got tested again and got another negative. We got back, he got more sick and then got a positive. A few of us decided to go get tested on campus, and we got another positive. Not surprising since we were crammed together in a van for several hours for about a week.

I don't know what type of test the guy who got 2 negatives did, but from what I can find each ahve at least a 90%+ accuracy. It seems unlikely that he got two false negatives in a row, especially after having experienced symptoms. The statistical likelihood is just so damn small. But it makes me question the negative result I got back. So like. What's going on here?

The annoying thing is that we spent a lot of time on the trip arguing about vaccines.

[shocker_monkey]

I think the problem stems from the types of tests. According to Mayo Clinic the antigen test is less accurate and has an increased chance of false negatives, but the PCR test is more accurate. If I were to hazard a guess I would say the early tests may have been of the antigen type and were simply false negatives where the person still had a low viral load.

[Grendel]

I'm no expert, but I had a pretty bad [but short] reaction to both the 1st and 2nd shots [Moderna] and I was told that there was a high likelihood that I had Covid prior to the 1st shot without knowing. They said it was not uncommon for people to be sick with Covid without serious symptoms and recover at home and that the anecdotal evidence at the time (March/April 21) was that Moderna vaccine reaction was more severe/pronounce for that population. I asked to be tested out of curiosity if I had had Covid earlier unknowingly but everyone told me the test would not necessarily be positive if I had had Covid early on and recovered (basically a year earlier) and most likely would be negative so it would be a waste to test for it and still leave me in the dark. I basically am operating on the assumption I did have COVID and recovered at "home" with basic care and rest

When the lock downs started I had just been travelling and had been sick with "the flu" while in SC visiting my new granddaughter (once I started getting sick I had kept myself away from my granddaughter to be safe so I saw her all of 10 minutes). The Friday after I got back from travelling was when they started making us work from home and everyone started shutting down. I had pretty strong flu like symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, body aches and terrible headache) for about a week and then got better.

[un2xs]

A new study from St Louis: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7036a3.htm

What is already known about this topic?

During January–May 2021, Saint Louis University implemented a modified quarantine protocol that considered mask use when determining which close contacts required quarantine among an almost entirely unvaccinated student population.

What is added by the report?

Compared with only masked exposure, close contacts with any unmasked exposure had higher adjusted odds of a positive test result. Each additional exposure was associated with a 40% increase in odds of a positive test.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Universal masking and fewer encounters in close proximity to persons with COVID-19 can limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in university settings.

[lhamilton1807]

The implications should, by now, be universally obvious. Masking has never been a big ask - it’s a piece of cloth - and for some reason in the US it’s been made into a rage topic. I don’t get it. Glad there’s a study that quantified their efficacy though - I always appreciate having the numbers.

[lhamilton1807]

Been off the forum for a while - home remodeling stuff happening. Anyway, the kids are 2wks last their second Pfizer jab today. I’m so glad they got the shot since a large portion of the homeschool community is heavily anti-vax. They’ve lost two great grandparents to COVID-19 (tested & confirmed) since the pandemic started, and a 3rd wasn’t tested but passed away in her sleep after feeling crummy for a week. Makes me feel more at ease knowing the family’s risk of participating in a spreader event is lowered.

Regarding boosters, the UK has been officially allowing vaccine mixing (I.e. booster from a different manufacturer than original doses). Makes sense this is a good strategy, as it seems any strengths of one would fill in the weaknesses of another.

[Diomedes]

YES! I know in the US every combination of JJ, Pfizer, and Moderna is being tested, and we expect approval for mixed boosters pretty soon. Plus younger kids starting as soon as October. I can't wait.