Covid-19 vaccination experiences

The odd thing is that I've been getting annual flu shots since 2010, after I came down with what was likely an infection from the trail end of the H1N1 pandemic of 2009. I can't remember any of those flu shots giving me flu-like symptoms (just pain at the injection site), so I have to wonder if it's something to do with the mRNA tech of the Pfizer vaccine. I don't know if any of the Covid vaccines are "symptom-free" for everyone.

I suspect the effective antigen dose of these mRNA vaccines is far higher than the dose of antigen from an Influenza vaccine, hence more symptoms.
 
Good arrangement at the pharmacy vaccination centre this morning. Amazing how they fit 18 chairs in what I always thought a fairly small pharmacy. It seemed spacious and not uncomfortable.

Was 10th in line for the Pfizer booster. Got there at 9.a.m and boosted at 9.15.a.m. My arm felt sore, stingy, right from the start but has settled with only the usual soreness now.

It is now 2 hours since jab and no other symptoms at the moment.

Edit: got my numbers wrong. There were 12 chairs not 18.
 
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Update.

Now just over 48 hours since my Pfizer booster. I must say that my arm has been a lot sorer than the previous two Pfizer doses. I even had some pain in my lower arm down by the wrist. Quite uncomfortable - I even wondered if it was a pending heart attack symptom. Arm not as sore today.

Other symptoms were slight and more mild than the previous two shots.

So mainly with the booster the arm was sorer and I had the unusual pain further down the same arm.
 
Had my booster today (pfizer).
A friend emailed me to say they were doing walk in booster jabs in a morrisons carpark a short drive away and offered to take me. It was a 'mobile unit'; in other words, they had hired an ordinary bus and stuck an nhs banner on the side.
Very shambolic; lots of volunteers sitting on the bus with their tablets or chatting. I was at the front of the queue.
Ushered onto the bus where initially one person handed me a form to fill out, but I couldn't see so she told me to sit down and asked someone else to help me fill it out, but she was busy on her tablet. Waited, then someone else asked me for the form, which I didn't have. So she sat down in front of me to fill it out; I did tell her I had ME and was quite surprised when she said, so immunocompromised.
Behind her on a seat were a few ready filled syringes so I took my jacket off and she gave me the jab, then started yelling 'could someone get me some cotton wool' as blood was spurting out of my arm, then someone else appeared and told her to get some micropore to stick on it.
This was all taking place in the freezing cold in the aisle of the first few seats at the front of the bus.

Did not inspire me with confidence, but they were all very jolly about it all.
 
Nice day out, getting infected themselves, whilst 'good doing' for them, I would expect.

I expect the bus had been modified to socially distance all the seats, and the gangway allowed people to pass whilst a meter plus apart?
 
i have two questions. one is just a reddit issue. the other is re vaccinating when infected with bacteria.

1. reddit

i don't know how to use reddit, so i don't know where the covid pinned post is. anybody know?

> Check out the covid pinned post, it has larger polls about
how people with ME and even ones specifically about severe
ME have reacted to specific vaccines

[remove space after h: h ttps://old.reddit.com/r/cfs/comments/mu8nlt/covid_vaccine_and_cfs]

<>

[the forum is interpreting a reddit link as a media tag thing that does not display for me [maybe because no js] so i corrupted the link]

the part i am interested in is the severe m.e. part. in case there are useful experiences listed and polls and such.


2. vaccinating when infected

i recall a post saying something like that it's generally not recommended to get a vaccine when infected [and pwme might need to be much more careful about such things]. is this generally accepted medical or m.e. or pwme wisdom?

[general background for context: i want to find out more before talking to doctor. i have a tooth infection that on doctor's advice i am keeping down with doxycycline [the only antibiotic i know i don't react too much to]. i skipped a dose and didn't brush once and got severe pain. doctor had said i should keep taking it until delta went down. it never did. now omicron is spiking very high [more than twice than worst in the world was with a previous wave] very fast. also ingrown toenails and blepharitis and possibly other tooth infections. not asking med advice.]

[my doctor knows nothing about m.e. or some of my other issues. he did say that with all my medical issues it would be tempting fate to get v but i want to ask him about that again. i'd likely want v /before/ dentist if v during infections is ok with m.e. i am bedridden and i have lots to find out about e.g. whehter i can get a shot at home etc. i had been hoping for e.g. new vaccines/doses but probably will give up on that at this point as i am too sick to research.]

[ETA: also nasopharyngeal staph and probably mold. my reason for possibly giving up on new v/dose/study is just idk if it will occur soon.]
 
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For what its worth.

Today I am 3 weeks after my second shot of Pfizer/BionTech.

My second injection experiences are very slim. And that’s good. I had some very slight soreness in the arm for about 24 hours, but close to nothing of what I call the two days of more “usual” immunological side-effects. So by today, it’s sort of the other way around of the “normal” here, then assuming that younger and relatively young people in general are having a greater immune response after second shot. At least that what the experts say. But most side-effects to first shot here.

It’s hard what to make of the longer though period (relapse) after shot one. It might not have been a reaction to the vaccine at all, but simply just a long period in PEM at level 9-10.

If I were an immunologist I would like to know what, if anything, to make of it, the worse reaction to first shot, then close to nothing after second shot. But I don’t have a clue.


Had my booster 30.12. Pfizer x 3. First dose was May 4’th, second 5,5 weeks after, booster close to 8 months after.

After booster I experience more of the extra immunological stuff that I did when having shot one. It was 3-4 pretty rough weeks before recovering back to baseline. Two weeks in after booster, it seems I’m experiencing the same as shot one.

What I find interesting is that I had almost nothing of adverse effects after shot two. Speculation: Was the “nice” shot two cause it was close to the first (approx 5,5 weeks)? And is experiencing same as shot one now, because booster 8 months after means that the immune system adapting/starting all over again?

Have no clue, but status:

Shot 1: 3-4 weeks to recover
Shot 2: nothing particular
Shot 3: hopefully 3-4 weeks to recover (2 weeks in)
 
I did tell her I had ME and was quite surprised when she said, so immunocompromised
We are not considered to be immunocompromised. Even if your total WBC is a bit low, you will still mount an immune response to an infection. I wish people understood that our immune system works when it needs to work. There might be some immune abnormalities but recent paper showed no difference in NK cell # and function between ME and healthy controls.
 
i recall a post saying something like that it's generally not recommended to get a vaccine when infected
I have heard that you shouldn't get the vaccine for a month after a Covid infection, but no idea about how it's affected by other infections.

If you are in the UK and housebound and want the vaccine, your GP should be able to arrange for you to have it at home.
 
i don't know how to use reddit, so i don't know where the covid pinned post is. anybody know?

Hi @Samuel

I'm no expert on reddit but have used it a little bit over the years. I even created an account but rarely log in.

I think the "COVID pinned tweet" is one of two "pinned" threads (marked so that they will stay at the top of the list) in the CFS topic area. The subject line is "Coronavirus/COVID-19 and ME/CFS Info." I skimmed the posts and it looks like they are mostly about vaccines and side effects.

I've posted the link using the CODE tag here:
Code:
https://old.reddit.com/r/cfs/comments/kqqpl8/coronaviruscovid19_and_mecfs_info/

And here's the link without tags which should be automatically embedded (hope that works)



I hope this helps!

PS. I used the link you posted with the domain "old.reddit.com"

The "old" part changes the way the threads are displayed. You can omit that part if you prefer the most recent reddit display.
 
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I have had Pfizer with only a slightly sore arm after shots one and two. The booster which i had a few days ago has given me sore glands under my arm. I also feel very wiped out. I wasn’t expecting to feel anything as I breezed through the first two!
 
I have had Pfizer with only a slightly sore arm after shots one and two. The booster which i had a few days ago has given me sore glands under my arm. I also feel very wiped out. I wasn’t expecting to feel anything as I breezed through the first two!
@Daisybell I can't remember how long it was after my booster but I also felt a hard sore lump under my arm. I vaguely think the other arm was affected also but I really felt the lump under the shot arm. It's weird because I remember getting a fright when I felt it but I brushed it aside at the time. I think I thought that it would pass so
squashed any worry that it might be something worse. It did pass, so it must have been to do with the vaccine.
 
I wasn’t expecting to feel anything as I breezed through the first two!
it must have been to do with the vaccine.
Lymph node activation implies you might have had a strong vaccine response. This could be a good thing if you come into contact with Covid, which will be nearly all of us within months given how fast it is spreading.
 
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Just felt i wanted to say that now, 4 wks after booster, i can say i am definitely back to my pre vaccination 'normal'. I feel so very sad & sorry to those who have had terrible experiences.
My body certainly doesnt enjoy vaccines, but I am so grateful not to have lasting effects
 
Dear @Mij, I understand your apprehension. Yesterday I had my booster dose, Moderna, following the 2 Pfizer vaccines... very painful for me the side effects of Moderna (worse than my 2nd Pfizer). It's been 24 hours now, and I'm still in a lot of pain with exhaustion : triggering a bad PEM. Last night was pretty hell; woke up at 1:30 am, feeling that my body was burning inside and all over, while being completely frozen and unable to warm myself even while dressing more under my duvet ! I had to get up, wrap myself in a warm blanket, to make myself a boiling herbal tea. I had a little fever. Well, I don't want to scare anyone, but if I had known that my chronic pain was going to become acute, I would have preferred Pfizer without hesitation. Nevertheless, I hope to get out of it.
 
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