Agencies who give the vaccines are promoting them and it seems logical for older and compromised adults to continue to get Boosters perhaps every 6 months. To my surprise my own doctors are hesitant about continuing boosters even for their at risk patients. What are others of you finding?
I have lost numbers of friends to Covid but none that I know of to vax side effects. I spoke with one this morning who has long Covid contracted before vaxes and is being studied in a Covid brain research program. This previously lifelong super healthy and athletic person had brain fog from a mild case of Covid that has progressed to dementia; they had to move to AL care. Another unvaxxed friend got Covid and was in the hospital 11 days and had to have his heart shocked twice due to irregular rhythm. He had no heart issues before. We're not sure if heart effects have gone away. His wife had Covid much later but was not as seriously ill. She's now a few months post-Covid and has NO energy, whereas she used to work out at a gym three times a week, hike and swim. She doesn't know when or if she'll ever feel well enough.
Another unvaxxed friend died when he was suspicious of and refused monoclonal antibodies due to misinformation. He and the guy who was hospitalized for 11 days caught it from the same (unvaxxed) person. An unvaxxed relative got Covid and went to the hospital as soon as she started coughing because her blood oxygen level was falling fast. She was dead 23 hours after the coughing started. I know a person who refused the vax, caught Covid and died on a vent after taking taking livestock wormer; his adult child is an RN and couldn't change his foolish beliefs about the vax or his insistence on using a quack remedy when he got it.
A friend's grandson, not over age 30, not vaxxed, has been in the hospital 3 times with Covid. His resulting heart problems are being investigated. A retired friend let down her guard last Thanksgiving and brought Covid into the home after a friendly gathering; her unvaxxed husband, who rarely went out, got it from her and died three weeks later. She's a sad and lonely widow. Another friend died of Covid - his Covid-denier wife refused to allow him remdesivir because despite his Covid-positive tests in the hospital, she said he didn't have it. A neighbor's granddaughter wouldn't get vaxed because she was pregnant. Her newborn got Covid from her and spent a week in the hospital at less than one month old. No news about long-term effects for the baby. A distant relative of mine had a similar situation with her baby. No vax, very social before delivery, got Covid, then baby got Covid, and waiting to learn how baby is. This only happened a few weeks ago.
I know of more. All these people died and/or have possibly lifelong issues not of vaccine, BUT FROM COVID.
She was always examined before receiving the vaccine, and after the damages caused by the virus itself, the vaccines seemed to do her no harm.
I felt safer myself because she was receiving the vaccine.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/index.html?s_cid=11759:cdc%20covid%20guidelines:sem.ga:p:RG:GM:gen:PTN:FY22
I am happy to allow all to make their own decisions as regards masking and their own prevention measures.
I think we think about Covid now so much less. It's still very much there, but not as lethal. My DD just returned from trip with Hubby and another couple to NOLA. The couple they went with came back with a bad case, are home quite sick, but not hospitalized.
At this point I doubt if I will have any further boosters. I was fully vaxxed and boosted and got it in January, just two months after receiving the bivalent. I was a huge proponent of the vaccines before before I got sick. Now I’m just not sure anymore. This was my second bout of Covid. I had it also in September 2020 before the vaccine. I was way sicker this time than back in 2020 . Of course I was told it would have been much worse if I didn’t have the booster. But who knows if getting the booster made any difference.
At this point in time I probably won’t get another booster but that could change. I will wait and see.
I am not going to hurry and jump in to get another booster, unless wastewater suveillance data shows a sharp spike (my area monitors this), or unless a new variant is causing problems. I will consider the next iteration of booster, though, if they are going to come up with a new booster for the fall.
Another mRNA vaccine that might be recommended soon for older people is the RSV vaccine. I don't think I'm going to be in a hurry to get that, since there was some disagreement amongst people on the FDA advisory committee regarding the incidence and importance of GBS as a side-effect. I also noted that there were 10 cases of a-fib post vaccination.
https://www.ontario.ca/page/covid-19-vaccines
"If you are at high risk of severe COVID-19 illness, you are recommended to get a booster dose when it has been at least six months since your last dose or confirmed COVID-19 infection. This includes:
individuals aged 65 years and older
residents of long-term care homes, retirement homes, Elder Care Lodges and other congregate living settings for seniors
individuals aged 18 years and older living in congregate care settings for people with complex medical care needs
individuals aged 18 years and older who are moderately to severely immunocompromised
pregnant individuals
individuals aged 55 years and older who identify as First Nations, Inuit or Métis and their non-Indigenous household members aged 55 years and older"
I just want to add that I've always been pro vaccine (all vaccines) and I see no reason to second guess the experts. By this metric I shouldn't need a booster til next fall when I will also get my yearly flu shot.