Using high quality well fitting breathable masks really works, especially for indoors and crowded situations. We still wear them a lot and only have had covid once.
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She should get the vaccination at and when recommended by her ob/gyn , perhaps in conjunction with her PCP. Opinions will vary due to individual factors. No blanket recommendations.
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I got three vaccines on Monday, the flu and mspike covid in left arm and pneumonia in right. No soreness in right but a couple of days of tenderness in left (like when rolling on it in bed) but nothing bad.
I feel like Iām wearing armor now as Iām so vaxxed. I donāt get RSV as I donāt have respiratory issues so itās not recommended for me. Iām done for 6 months.
Oh, in Colorado and I did notice the pharmacist signed off at the approving medical authority for insurance purposes. No appointment at my Safeway and I waited about 5 minutes while they prepared the shots. While I was waiting the line grew quite long.
Trying to figure out my timing. I know I want COVID/flu vaccines to protect me on our February international trip. But now weāre planning a short road trip at the end of October. So Iām trying to decide if I should shoot for mid-October, or wait until mid- November.
As a point of reference on my natural (and vaccinated) immunity, Iāve never knowingly had either virus. I havenāt normally bothered with the flu vaccine unless we were going on a cruise. (My last COVID booster was a year ago.) Iām not too concerned with exposure on our road trip since activities etc. wonāt be much different than normal everyday life. But international flights and the escorted tour are quite different. So I want the strongest protection for that.
Was that result specific to you, or the studyās overall result?
A study in Japan linked up thread did find differences in responses, with some having more durable immunity, some fading quickly, and some not getting much immune response to begin with.
I honestly donāt remember. At the time, we were reading that antibodies lasted 3-4 months, but T cells played a role after that. My results seemed to confirm that but I cannot find the email with the study results. Other newer info may have extended the time period for protection more definitively. I would love to see a study. (I am sorry if I conflated personal results and study results!)
One confounding issue with the vaccines prior to 2024 was that after a vaccine became generally available, it took only 3-4 months or less before a significantly different variant showed up.
2021: ancestral ā Delta, then Omicron
2022: BA.5 ā XBB
2023: XBB.1.5 ā JN.1
What that meant was that, in those years, even those who got longer lasting immune response from vaccination (or infection) may have still lost immune effectiveness shortly thereafter due to differences in variants.
After the 2024 KP.2 or JN.1 vaccines, subsequent variants were mainly JN.1 descendants, so the difference between the new variants and the vaccine target (or infection) from 2024 was smaller than in previous years. That may be part of why the 2024-2025 winter wave and 2025 summer wave were smaller than in previous years.
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Interesting. As I have written before, I was in the hospital with COVID one month after my 2023 fall shot. I gather from your info that it is a better match this year, which is reassuring.
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Okay that first sentence just made me giggle - I visualize things easily 
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The pharmacist told me to not take anything unless I felt really bad. Otherwise just let my system work it out. He also suggested Tylenol and not Alleve, which is what I would usually take. I took nothing, and was feeling not great for most of the day after my vaccine.
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My 99 year old mother has Covid for the first time, diagnosed today. She cannot take paxlovid due to a potential interaction with amiodarone, which she is on chronically, so going to treat with Tylenol only. Her last covid vaccination was 12 days ago, so maybe she will have some immunity from that and a mild course.
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Iām well over 65 in California and donāt anticipate any issues getting the vaccines. Presumably mNEXSPIKE is what I want - from the posts, everyone seems to be able to get that variety. I do note that the nearby Walgreens, where I prefer to go, only has Pfizer. So Iāll have to go to CVS for Moderna. (Iāve had both along the way; last booster was September 2024.)
To the best of my knowledge, Iāve never had either COVID or flu.
For maximum protection on our international guided trip next year during the second half of February, it seems smart to get my vaccine in mid to late November. I plan to schedule both COVID and flu together. And call after scheduling to make sure they will have mNEXSPIKE.
Does this all make sense Thanks!
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Iām literally on my way out the door to CVS to get mNEXSPIKE and flu vaccines. They listed what formulations were available online when I booked the appointment.
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I got the mNEXSPIKE and FluZone HD on Friday 10/3 at my local Kroger Pharmacy, both in the left arm. My left arm got hot and swollen which is my usual reaction to vaccines. Of the two, the Covid shot was noticeably more painful going in. Then on Tuesday I went to my PCP for my annual physical. I mentioned having gotten both my flu and Covid shots. She did an exam that included feeling around my armpits and noticed what seemed like an enlargement under the left armpit. So she added an order for an ultrasound to her order for my annual mammogram. Only later did a lightbulb go off in my mind and I realized that itās probably residual swelling from the two vaccines. (Of course, Iāll still get the U/S.) My left arm is still achy 5 days later. In retrospect maybe I shouldnāt have gotten them both in the same arm at the same time.
It may make sense when getting two vaccines to get them in different arms, if you want to know if a sore arm or other local effect is associated with one or the other.
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So far, we have only gotten one shot at a time and wait a week or at least a few days and get the next. We figure for us thereās less chance of side effects that way.
This year, we really had fairly mild side effects from MNextSpike and no side effects from high dose flu vax. Yay!
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Iām of the āone at a timeā schools of thought. If there is a reaction I want to know exactly which jab caused it.
Got the first HepB a few weeks ago.
Got a flu shot yesterday.
Will get second HepB in another week or so.
If I get a COVID shot it will be the Nuvaxovid. As someone who struggled with Long Covid, and is now about 90% better, I hesitate to get another Covid shot. No, not based on rabid anti vax conspiracy theories but rather on the thoughtful recommendation of an Integrative Medicine Long Covid specialist doctor. Another shot can send me either way..a LC rebound or a lessening of the last 10% of symptoms. Vegas odds would say accept the 10% symptoms and not risk falling back into the abyss.
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we also wait a couple of weeks between vaccines.
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My PT who has long covid says sheās always better for awhile whenever she gets a covid shot or any shot. She says she thinks it triggers her immune response.
Because of this, she prefers spreading out her vaccines and always gets Moderna when she can because it seems to help make her long covid better the most.
Her docs think her thinking makes great sense and seems to be helping her.
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