I had my Covid booster yesterday. I already received my flu vaccine last month. I had Covid in mid August when we returned from Europe so I had to wait 3 months before getting the Covid shot. We leave for Europe in less than 3 weeks so I wanted to make sure I was protected before we travel. My only symptoms today are a sore arm.
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How did this CDC report get out?
From August 29, 2024 to September 2, 2025, COVID-19 vaccination was 66-79% effective against COVID-19 urgent or emergency care visits in children from 9 months to 4 years, and 45-60% effective in children age 5 to 17 years.
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This thread has been very helpful. Checking in as an over 65 year old who is to become a grandparent in a few weeks. We had our Covid (Moderna) shots in October 2025 and are thinking boosters now, 4 months out, it makes sense to be protective of the newborn, as well as us. Any further info about this?
In the fall of 2024 and February of 2025 we had vaxes/boosters (and have had all previously available). I had a manageable, but protracted Covid case with rebound in June of 2025. TIA.
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I would do your regular vaccination schedule and not push it for the baby’s sak. If the mother is vaccinated then some immunization maybe passed on to the baby. If you are concerned about passing it to the baby unknowingly, you may want to do home testing before you go see the baby. During Covid, my D’s MIL worked with children and she would always test before she came down to see GD1.
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agree with old fort. If you are concerned, just test every morning before you head over to see the baby. (personally, I went and paid for a PCR test a couple of days before we got on the plane to see the newborn.)
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Get an MMR booster or titer to see if you are immune. I’d do what the other posters said with the covid shot.
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Appreciate the replies. We planned to test for Covid and be sure all other vaccinations are up to date. I have some recollection of hearing in early fall that a booster of the vaccine 6 months out (with any time after 4 months out being okay) could be helpful. Not sure how that is playing out now. I know that protection can wane sooner with age and that the overall activity of Covid can be stirred in. Thanks!
We may be another covid booster 2 weeks before going on a monthlong international trip, so we have max protection while so far from home.
I will be traveling overseas next month. My last Covid shot was Moderna in 2024 (got several shots prior to that). Nothing in 2025. I think I need one before my trip.
I wonder if I should get Moderna or Novavax.
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When GD was born, the vaccine we were told to make sure we were up to date on was whooping cough.
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But the pre-trip PCR test won’t help if you get infected in the few days before your trip, or if you get infected at the airport or by someone in the next seat in the airplane.
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Targeted variants:
- Moderna Spikevax 2024: KP.2
- Moderna Spikevax and mNexspike 2025: LP.8.1
- Novavax Nuvaxovid 2024 and 2025: JN.1
JN.1 is ancestral to the variants that have circulated since 2024. However, the Moderna (and Pfizer) vaccines targeted variants that, although descended from JN.1, were closer to the then-current circulating variants.
As of early 2026, the XFG variant, a recombination of LP.8.1.2 and LF.7 (both descendants of JN.1), has been dominant.
Of the Moderna vaccines, mNexspike has a smaller dose of mRNA that targets only the frequently changing part of the spike protein, rather than the entire spike protein (like Spikevax and other companies’ vaccines).
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I went to a community talk by a microbiology researcher and emeritus chancellor of our flagship U about Viruses. During Q&A, I asked her which COVID booster to get and she says she gets Moderna, so I’m going to get Moderna. She also agreed that it’s good to get 2 weeks before you want it to be fully effective, so I will get it 2 weeks prior to us leaving on our “big trip.”
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But which Moderna, Spikevax or mNexspike?
We’ve gotten the COVID vaccines right along, since they were first offered, most recently this past fall. Asked my PCP this morning if we should get a booster before travelling in a couple of months, and he said no, our immunity should be ramped up enough.
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In our state, you DO get a choice among Moderna—if you want that and go to a site which has it, you get either of the formulations available. If you’re 65+ they’re recommending the mNexspike, and that’s what I had 9/2025. I suspect that’s what they’ll recommend again.
I think I will ask my lung doctor about whether I should get a booster. We have been keeping up with injections all along as well.
Also need to ask about travel to Scandanavia with Tamiflu and Paxlovid. Our neighbors got VERY ill when traveling internationally last trip and even lost their hearing for a week due to severity of their infections. They couldn’t get Greek and Italian healthcare providers to give them anything but homeopathic concoctions, which did nothing. This time they are traveling with more Rx.
The rare clotting problem associated with adenovirus vector vaccines (Janssen / J&J and Astra Zeneca against COVID-19) has been identified. The adenovirus produces a protein that is similar enough to platelet factor 4 that a rare autoimmune attack against platelets can occur. This can also occur with natural adenovirus infections (which typically cause minor respiratory infections like common colds).
Knowing this, future adenovirus vector vaccines can be designed to delete the expression of that protein from the vector virus.
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‘Conclusion:
Our findings may help to improve the safety and specificity of future mRNA platform technologies by emphasizing the importance of evaluating intracellular protein processing and the potential cellular effects of translated immunogens already during preclinical development.”
‘At present, we can only speculate as to the stability and half-life of the spike proteins and their high-molecular complexes, as well as to associated effects on the viability and function of different body cells, with particular attention to irreversible postmitotic cell types such as neurons and cardiomyocytes, which may warrant closer investigation due to their limited regenerative capacity.’
‘The risk profile of mRNA-induced immunization cannot be generally defined at present, as the non-cell type-specific LNPs currently in use may reach distant cells following injection, and the nature and extent of potential side effects depend on the transfected cell types and the properties of the immunogen. Given the exceptionally high safety standards required for vaccines, a precise understanding of the intracellular processing of encoded proteins and their potential impact on cellular physiological parameters is essential for mRNA-based applications before they advance to clinical use.’