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2nd booster ok for 50+ (etc)
#1
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-an...-older-and

Quote:The agency amended the emergency use authorizations as follows: 
  • A second booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine or Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine may be administered to individuals 50 years of age and older at least 4 months after receipt of a first booster dose of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine.
  • A second booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine may be administered to individuals 12 years of age and older with certain kinds of immunocompromise at least 4 months after receipt of a first booster dose of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine. These are people who have undergone solid organ transplantation, or who are living with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise.
  • A second booster dose of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine may be administered at least 4 months after the first booster dose of any authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine to individuals 18 years of age and older with the same certain kinds of immunocompromise.
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#2
The Emergency Use Authorization (EAU) means that a person can walk up to a pharmacy and receive the drug (vaccine) without prescription.

For some time I have been advising people who are worried to see their doctor. I believe that a doctor can prescribe medication (or a vaccine) that is fully approved "off label." There is nothing magical about the day you turn 50 and "one size fits all" is not a good basis for medicine. Your doctor can review your concerns, look at your health,  and review medical records to perform a risk/benefit analysis for you.

I blew past the tender age of 50 years ago so I have no personal experience with the current situation. I did hear of a clinician that said that she prescribes multiple boosters of key vaccines for certain immunocompromised patients. 

I think this is an important point. The EAU might not exhaustively list all situations where an additional dose is warranted. 
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#3
ChrisGreene,  good point.  My understanding matches yours.  Maybe it only applies to Pfizer - I'd have to check.  I believe an MD can prescribe extra doses, or give the shot to younger children.

Being in 50+, my wife & I have scheduled our next booster next week (in anticipation of attending a grandchild's birthday party about 4 weeks later).  Both of us had a pair of Moderna vaccines.   I had a first booster of Pfizer, so I'm going back to Moderna for this booster.  My wife had a Moderna booster, so she's getting Pfizer this time.
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#4
M_T

It sounds like you are balancing risk and benefits well. Best wishes to you and family.
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#5
There are MD's giving extra boosters, but there is no template for doing so and an awful lot of potential liability. There is no data to show that a 5th dose of vaccine is safer than being infected with Covid after 4 doses of vaccine. I have had 4 doses. I timed it to have maximum antibodies prior to having to travel to Chicago and Phoenix. Maximum antibody levels are now thought to be at 2-5 weeks after dose #4. We are likely to give yearly Covid vaccines in the future, but I certainly would not give any of my patients an extra dose. 

There is no basis for immunizing children under 5 in the USA at this time. I do have one patient in my practice under 5 who is vaccinated with Sinovac (2 doses). She just immigrated from China. 

Sinovac is surprisingly effective after 3 doses. Almost no one in China had three doses prior to the recent surge. They now are trying to get a third dose into older individuals. As of today the surge has fallen 97% in terms of reported cases per day.
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#6
probably only peripherally related to boosters, but relevant in my eyes as people might consider mix/match.  If I read this right, good old J&J seems to give some nice long-term B cell response.  

https://www.news-medical.net/news/202205...cines.aspx
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#7
(06-01-2022, 04:40 AM)Hurlburt88 Wrote: probably only peripherally related to boosters, but relevant in my eyes as people might consider mix/match.  If I read this right, good old J&J seems to give some nice long-term B cell response.  

https://www.news-medical.net/news/202205...cines.aspx

On May 4, the FDA effectively withdrew the EUA for the J&J vaccine for most people.
Quote:Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has limited the authorized use of the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine to individuals 18 years of age and older for whom other authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines are not accessible or clinically appropriate, and to individuals 18 years of age and older who elect to receive the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine because they would otherwise not receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
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#8
From the same news site, I find this incredibly relevant:

https://www.news-medical.net/news/202206...finds.aspx

Kids just don't get very sick looking at it statistically. There are always anecdotal cases where kids get very sick, but generally they are not. I have hospitalized only two kids with Covid. One was co-infected with Respiratory Syncytial Virus and the other was co-infected with 2 other respiratory viruses. Most have a minor respiratory illness.

The other thing is the food allergy study. I'll bet that goes for many types of allergies. Activation of the immune system in that way might prevent many infections, actually. Otherwise, there really shouldn't be any evolutionary pressure to keep individuals with a lot of allergy symptoms in the population.
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#9
You probably saw after you posted that I referenced that study in the Research section.

There is an ethical question about the (low, but non-zero) risks to children due to vaccination, versus the risks they can pose to older people around them if they are unvaccinated. When I think about the emergence of variants in reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2 (in children), I feel the scales are still tipped toward vaccination.
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#10
Given the vastly reduced (but significant based upon individual considerations) risk of COVID for vaxxed individuals, doesn't the risk/benefit shift over to considering the risks of long COVID vs. hospitalization?

I feel that this may be the case, but that is bad news. We don't know much about long COVID: exactly what it is, risks, risk reduction by vaccination, how many ways it manifests, etc.

My family is vaxxed up the wazoo (this is a medical term describing vaccination to the extend that the medical establishment will support). We still mask, meet outdoors and live life with caution but not fear.

I fear that long COVID is the real issue these days.
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