I really like how the author sums things up:
“The booster is still very beneficial for protection against severe illness from Omicron as compared to not getting boosted at all - and of course anything is preferable to not being vaccinated in the first place.”
Last week here in England one in twelve were infected (one in thirteen in Scotland). Over 75s (includes me) and very vulnerable people are to be offered a free second booster, but my invitation has not yet arrived. I’ll be booking as soon as I’m allowed. I missed out on the free flu vaccine last winter because I strategically delayed and then there were no more shots left! As it turned out, I didn’t get the flu, regardless.
Change of heart. This is a government program hence easily apt to get totally screwed up. I am eligible for the second booster and my area has an overabundance of Moderna vaccine available right now so decided to grab one while it is readily available.
It was a tough choice because a specific Omicron vaccine is in the works, but by the time it is approved, out, determined to be beneficial, and available, most likely another 6 months will have gone by and I can get it then if needed. My biggest concern was that there is a reported potential Covid wave headed our way around mid-April and if it does materialize, once the news hits, we will go overnight from too many shots available locally to no shots and no appointments available. At the same time it takes several days for the vaccine to become effective, so I took the plunge for the second booster this morning.
I plan to get the 2nd booster. I wouldn’t be surprised if by the fall of this year they will have a combined flue & Covid vaccine shot available. I view the boosters as very important, especially considering that in most places masks and social distancing are gone. As such, probably surges are inevitable going forward. I haven’t rushed to schedule my 2nd booster yet because I received the Evusheld monoclonal antibody treatment about 1 & 1/2 months ago with a 2nd treatment after it was announced that a 2nd treatment was recommended. I’m not sure how long the monoclonal treatments will last but I do feel I’ve got the best protection available. I will continue to get as many boosters as recommended.
Yes, they do.
If you are talking about antibody testing to SARS CoV2 at the Red Cross, they had 2 different ways to give results, which, IIRC, were positive and reactive or something like that. IIRC, positive was for vaccinated and reactive for infected (or vice versa). Sorry, not super helpful.
I dunno. I think that if I were older I would be moving faster to get it. I might wait until we see a surge coming.
I was of the same mindset but the country is currently awash in vaccines and can’t get them into arms fast enough. My concern was that when a new wave is announced, it will be like panic buying and the vaccine cupboards may rapidly become bare. That combined with having to fight with hoards of other people rushing to get it, wasting a lot of time to get an appointment, waiting in long lines, and then having to wait an additional 2 weeks for the booster to mostly take full effect pushed me over the edge to just do it now.
Good point. I am going to get the 4th shot as well
I’m scheduled to get on Saturday. Had an earlier appt, but was canceled due to shipment of vaccine delay.
I will be getting the 4th… May the fourth be with us!
Very glad that I received my second covid booster, and besides a short lived sore arm, I am fine. The vaccination sure has messed up my glucose levels though. Normally in the mornings my glucose levels drop, but the past three days they have risen quickly. I also am running higher and am having to take more insulin. I guess it isn’t a big deal, but it is a bit challenging. I have just ridden my bike for an hour and can’t get lower than 121, so now will have to take a bit of insulin.
Just got mine yesterday, similar symptoms.
I had my second booster three days ago. I was about to respond that this booster has not changed my glucose management. But I decided to look at the data for three days since my vaccination compared to the three-day period just before my vaccination.
Here’s what I found: My average BG for the 3-day period before was 95 and the three days after was 99 mg/dL. Time in range (65-120) before the booster was 89% and after, 80%. Standard deviation before was 18 mg/dL and after 19 mg/dL.
My insulin usage went up after I got the booster. Before the vaccination my three day total daily dose average, including Afrezza, was 34.6 units and the three-day average after the shot was 38.4.
My glucose changes were not dramatic but still show a distinct change in average BG, time in range and total daily insulin dose, while the glucose variability didn’t change much.
By the way, the side effects of this injection were the least of the four I’ve now received. The biggest one was vaccination site tenderness that was limited to the immediate vicinity of the injection. I wouldn’t even call it a “soreness” as it was barely felt. I felt no change in energy, cognitive ability, or temperature changes. My sleep was unaffected.
Most covid antibody tests (in particular, the Red Cross of America test run on donors) are sensitive to Spike (S) antibodies and show positive/reactive for either vaccination or past covid-19 infection with no ability to distinguish between the two.
There are a different group of covid antibody tests that are sensitive only to Nucleocapsid (N) antibodies and will only show positive for infections and are not useful for testing for antibodies resulting from currently available vaccines.
This is the detailed info on the test the Red Cross runs when you donate blood: COVID-19 Antibody Test Details
This is not my experience at all with the Red Cross. (BTW, my understanding - and this may have changed - is that they stopped antibody testing, at least where I am, in June last year.) They in fact were definitely able to distinguish, and I assume that they were able to do so by looking at abs to spike (vaccinated) or abs to the N protein (previously infected). Take care.
It sounds like you did very well Terry. I have been chasing my glucose levels which I find quite frustrating. I even got up to 180 but couldn’t take Afrezza, because 2.6 units of insulin might be too much for me, and I was in the car and didn’t want to use a new form of insulin when not at home. I doubt that I will ever be able to use much Afrezza unless I use it to cover a meal. I wasn’t thinking things through when I ordered it. The next time I hit 180, I will try it.
I have been averaging 20 total units for 260 carbs, but I bet I am taking 25 units now. I hope that there aren’t many more days of this.
Marilyn – Does your insulin sensitivity factor remain the same during the day? Does it remain stable from day to day? Mine varies and when I see a pattern of glucose levels that resists the pump-delivered Loop basal rate changes, I’ll add a 4-unit Afrezza.
For me, a 4-unit Afrezza cartridge is equivalent to 2 units of liquid insulin. Did that 2.6 unit number you reference come from personal experimentation?
If you believe that one 4-unit cartridge delivers the equivalent liquid insulin dose of 2.6 units, then you can calculate how many carbs you would need to eat to offset at least some of that dose if you start to go low. I really think you could benefit from doing some experiments when you are at home and not distracted with other things.
I think our sensitivity to insulin, whether high, low, or medium, is not as stable as we like to think. I know you appreciate how much it reacts to adding and subtracting fat from the diet. It also varies with our circadian rhythm, especially in the early morning hours. I also think that it responds to hot and cold weather and seasonal changes. And we all know that stress can change our sensitivity to insulin.
Yet we are encouraged by the “pros” to use a single individually separate and distinct number for our calculations. I think each of our individual insulin sensitivities waxes and wane every day, much like the wind changes when sailing. If you react by using standard numbers, it may make your corrections too much or too little.
I think that it is this changing insulin sensitivity that makes managing insulin as difficult as it is. I have an ISF schedule that segments my day but I think of these values as nominal, not exact. I then, with Loop and Afrezza, add or subtract insulin to accommodate the changing needs.
I know this sounds rather inexact but this mental framework has worked well for me. My system is neither perfect nor precise. But, when I make a correction, I keep an eye on it and react if needed. It is not as erratic as I make it sound and I can keep a relatively low glucose variability measured by SD.
I think your Afrezza doses may be much more useful to you than you now appreciate. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Thanks for reminding me. going to move my appointment up. Just got the shingles shot recently.
