I cancelled appointments because I was sick. My doctors wanted my immune system to calm down. Clearly I am not making my feelings about vaccines or my dilemma clear, so I am going to stop posting. This is a thread for those with allergies and I hoped for more understanding and less lecturing, honestly.
FWIW I understand where you’re coming from. Between my D’s known allergies + unknown sources of several reactions and my own bad reaction to a flu shot that resulted in six months of vestibular issues, including days that I could hardly get out of bed, I appreciate your concerns. My mother passed away on hospice a few months before the Covid-19 outbreak. You are in a very difficult between a rock and hard place situation.
It’s easy for people who haven’t walked in your shoes to discount your concerns because they haven’t been through it. I wish you the best in your difficult decision process. I have the luxury of putting off my decision a little longer.
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My D who has asthma and a long list of allergies had her shot at a CVS. She got Pfizer and had no issues. They told her the standard 15 minutes but didn’t even seem to care if they waited.
D2 got her Moderna at a vaccination clinic and due to her having allergic reaction to some medications they had her wait 30 minutes. She was fine.
At my county vaccination clinic they had an extensive list of allergies they asked about including the one @compmom has a severe reaction to. They also asked if I had an issue ever with colonoscopy prep. They had chairs in the wait room that were specifically for those who had a 30 minute wait.
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You must mean from this page: What you should know if you can pick between the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines
Unfortunately, that page has no link to any study for that quote, unlike for some of the other statements it makes.
But it looks like the 42% number is on page 29 of https://www.fda.gov/media/146217/download . This is for vaccine effectiveness against infections of at least moderate severity.
| VE 14 days | VE 28 days | Age | Comorbidity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 65.6% | 68.0% | 18-59 | no |
| 63.9% | 64.0% | 18-59 | yes |
| 76.0% | 72.4% | ≥60 | no |
| 64.9% | 42.3% | ≥60 | yes |
| 67.6% | 68.8% | all | no |
| 64.2% | 58.6% | all | yes |
| 87.2% | all | asthma | |
| 81.5% | all | COPD | |
| 76.1% | 79.4% | all | serious heart conditions |
| -4.8% | 47.5% | all | HIV infection |
| 63.2% | 35.7% | all | hypertension |
| 66.8% | 65.9% | all | obesity |
| 52.9% | 23.0% | all | type 2 diabetes mellitus |
Note that page 32 shows that vaccine effectiveness was greater for all age groups against severe disease, but with no breakdown by comorbidity.
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I got the J&J last week. I am in my mid 50’s with no health conditions or concerns. My doctor advised me to “get whatever is available” and since I am not the best with needles, I was happy to get a J&J appointment - not really loving those numbers now! 
The numbers for severe or critical COVID-19 are better:
| VE 14 days | VE 28 days | age | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 76.7% | 85.4% | all | centrally confirmed cases |
| 80.5% | 91.7% | 18-59 | centrally confirmed cases |
| 68.5% | 70.3% | ≥60 | centrally confirmed cases |
| 76.3% | 83.5% | all | includes non-centrally confirmed cases |
| 76.9% | 85.0% | 18-59 | includes non-centrally confirmed cases |
| 75.1% | 80.2% | ≥60 | includes non-centrally confirmed cases |
I wonder if J&J will come out with a booster so their vaccine is more aligned with the results of Pfizer/Moderna…
J&J is studying / trialing whether a two dose sequence of its vaccine makes it more effective.
However, with limited supply, the effectiveness of one dose of the J&J vaccine is generally high enough that giving one dose to everyone first will reduce COVID-19 sickness and death more than giving people a second dose before everyone has had a chance to get the first dose.
Interesting - makes sense. Thanks for the info!
This is a thread for people with allergies and asthma, in regard to the vaccines.
For those who may not understand, I want to clarify that “reactions” are different from “side effects.” Anaphylaxis is not the only “reaction” either. For some of us, an immediate
“reaction” may also bring some longer term health effects (for me, neurological).
This is not a vaccine reluctance thread. It is about people who feel they are between a rock and a hard place, because of some vulnerabilities, trying to make good choices.
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Have you tried vaccine fairy.org? Have you tried signing up for multiple sites and seeing if J&J comes up? MA just got a recent large shipment of J&J (for this week). Yes, half are going to pharmacies, but what about the rest? For folks who have allergies, I think J&J is the way to go. But, naturally it depends on the allergy, age and so many other factors. Seems like you have a done a lot of the research. I find there are pros and cons to each ( like most things in life). Whatever you do/decide, I’m wishing you the best.
When I see some of the advice given, I just don’t think people understand that allergies can be dangerous and add complexity to a tough situation. Telling someone to just go and get a shot is silly, IMO> Feeling a lot of empathy for you.
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I have signed up at multiple sites, called both the state and hospital vaccine hotlines, and called pharmacies. Polysorbate 80 will cause a reaction but less than polyethylene glycol.
Today my mother’s hospice called to say that her aide tested positive last Friday. This is exactly why i have to get a shot. If I had no responsibilities and could remain a hermit for awhile, I would wait.
Good luck to all on this site and @Happytime2001 thanks and good luck to you too.
Can the hospice bring her outside to meet you, so that you and she can interact while maintaining distance from any staff?
Also, be aware of the vaccine timelines until you are considered “fully vaccinated” (2-4 weeks J&J, 5 weeks Pfizer, 6 weeks Moderna) in comparison to the life expectancy she has left.
I meet her outside when she can make it and when it is not cold out. Yesterday I went in, an exception, but needed to go and no aides had been in the room for a few hours. There are days when she cannot get out of bed and the loneliness is tough. I wore double mask and face shield.
I am hyper aware of the timelines. My first vaccine appt. was late Feb. but due to the health issues described already have cancelled 4. I have also considered renting a short term place to bring my mother to (my place is tiny) but family and friends would want to be there too.
I may ask the hospice to allow one more transfusion to get her to the time when I can be there (relatively) safely. Normally it’s comfort care only.
My mother has had COVID and two vaccine shots.
Don’t want to derail the thread.
Wow, that is so crazy that the site did not require you to wait for 30 minutes. Where are you located? I went with my D21 when she went to get her shot at a Sutter Health mass site in San Mateo, CA. The nurse who gave her her shot went over her allergies and D21 told the nurse that she had many prior anaphylactic reactions that landed her in the ER on multiple occasions. The nurse gave her a large neon green sticker to wear and told her she should wait for 30 minutes and report any reactions to the doctors/nurses who were monitoring all the people waiting in chairs post-shot. We checked in with the doctors/nurses who were actively monitoring all the people waiting and paid particular attention to her. We felt very safe. I would definitely report the site to the County health department.
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North Carolina. At the urgent care, i mentioned that I thought the mass vacc. site should have had me wait 30 mins but the doc said 30 mins are not required and that only 15 mins is what is suggested. The site I went to was run by the county health department and looked really well ran, they had boards with each person wait time and everything. I know they had some people stay 30 min though, so when the nurse told me I only needed to stay 15 min, I assumed I was low risk.
Your mom’s aide getting Covid is sooo unfortunate I hope some J&J becomes available to you ASAP so that you wont have to risk the mrna ones. And I also hope you feel better as well.
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We have been waiting for J& J due to hx of anaphylactic allergy history. Just saw possibly another 65 million doses may be contaminated & need to be discarded (in addition to the 15 million that already had to be discarded). It may be harder to find the J& J vaccine going forward if this turns out to be true.
Wow 80 million total…
Argh My mother’s hospice aide tested positive last Friday. The aide had refused vaccination. My mother tested positive yesterday.
My mother tested positive for COVID on 12/31 and was in bed for a few weeks. She had Pfizer vaccinations on 2/15 and 3/8.
I think the positive is most likely from the previous COVID. It is 5 days outside the 3 month window I have seen online. However, after rescheduling my own vaccine 4 times so far, I may have to reschedule tomorrow’s appointment because I cannot honestly say I wasn’t exposed- right?
I met her outdoors on Easter but made an exception and went into her apartment for 20 minutes, double masked (I may have opened the mask so she could her me though). She is incapable of wearing a mask due to dementia and is hard of hearing.
I have contacted her doctor, and my doctor, for opinions on her test. But noone can say for sure.