I got really behind on this thread. Glad to hear everybody is recovering well.
Really weird that so many of you got it around the same time.
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We all forgot to update our antivirus definitions! 
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Earlier this week both Pfizer and Moderna submitted their bivalent COVID vaccines for approval - should be routine and quick. The bivalent formulation combines the mRNA in the original vaccine with mRNA that is specific to Omicron. Healthcare systems are gearing up for approval early this fall - should be 12+ for Pfizer and 18+ for Moderna.
Trials show good efficacy against omicron in the wild, but as always the overall end goal is to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed, because all causes mortality rises as hospitals get stressed. (Kind of common sense that exhausted docs and nurses aren’t as good at treating heart attack, stroke and trauma as well-rested docs are). So the goal is to keep hospitals in the green - and any vaccine that prevents hospitalization meets that goal, and the original COVID vaccines did a great job of that. The bivalent formulation should improve on that. This kind of marks the transition from pandemic to endemic - as we’ll probably see yearly COVID shots matched to the circulating variants - just like you’re used to getting trivalent and quadrivalent flu vaccines every year.
Speaking of the flu - best predictive model for the US is watching what happens in Australia - we’re about 22 weeks behind them. Looking to be a pretty rough flu season here - so don’t forget to get this year’s flu vaccine too!
And double jab years (flu + COVID) might not be around for long. Novavax has already done clinical trials on a combined flu/COVID formulation - and it seems to be working. I don’t anticipate any hurdles for that either - some of our most effective and widely given childhood vaccines are mixtures (Tdap = tetanus, diptheria, and pertussis all in one).
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Man, I’m in for the bivalent. Big time.
Double vaxxed and double boosted, I haven’t had the crud and I mean to keep it that way.
And I remember getting DTP shots as a kid. Hurt like a bastard every time.
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Oh yeah!
I had my TB and smallpox jab at the same time stupidly on the same arm when I was 13
( I was travelling to Japan so the smallpox was an added bonus)
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I once got a vax and flu shot, then later a booster and a flu shot, each at the same time, respectively. On different arms, though. No pain or after effects either time.
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There is no vaccination quite like military vaccination.
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The next one on my list is shingles, but need to sort out some down time post as I hear its a doozy. I never have a good couple days clear to do that.
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I did both shingles shots. Not a problem. No pain or side effects. YMMV.
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Definitely worth the shot.
I had shingles in my late 20’s and I can honestly say I have never experienced pain like it ( and I’ve done some stupid shit to my body)
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I had chicken pox twice as a kid and a fairly mild case of shingles in my 20s while traveling for work, just one patch on my chest. The pain was the $200 cream and $75 pills they gave me at the out of network doctor.
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I’ve had shingles. You don’t want it.
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I’ve had my first, and am having the 2nd shortly. It didn’t make me feel as bad as the Covid vax did, but my arm was sore for a few days, and I was pretty tired the day after. Like was said, YMMV.
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I had the chicken pox vaccine as a kid. Isn’t that the same/similar strain as shingles?
So is that why I’ve never had it? Or do you become more susceptible to it as you age?
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I had chicken pox as a kid - they didn’t have a vax for it then.
But yes, I believe that if you haven’t had chicken pox, you’re not susceptible to shingles… At least, that’s how I understand it.
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Sort of right. Chicken pox and shingles are caused by the same virus. If you haven’t had chicken pox and are exposed to shingles, you can catch - chicken pox.
If you had chicken pox, you have the virus in you already, though dormant.
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Right. So if you were vaccinated against chicken pox then you’re protected against shingles? Or does the protection wane with age?
I’m going to need see a copy of your medical qualifications before I start swallowing bleach FYI.
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You can still get shingles if you have been vaccinated for chicken pox, though not as likely is my understanding.
The vaccine works by injecting a weakened strain of the virus and causing you to develop anti-bodies, so you in effect get a mild case.
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