Are we meant to be getting COVID booster jabs?

My mid 80s mother has been offered and accepted a booster every spring and autumn. In our extended family we all test if we have any symptoms, that's all ages from 20s to 60s, because we are considerate and don't want to potentially infect our mother/grandmother or other people. We also stay home if we catch it until we test negative.
Unfortunately most people don't give a shit which means they travel on trains and planes, coughing and sneezing over others who are unfortunate enough to sit next to them. That's how my sister and son have caught it in recent weeks.
It's not innocuous for everyone and there's no way of telling if you'll be one of the people who gets long COVID, like a family member who was extremely fit and healthy, but after COVID has all sorts of debilitating problems including heart issues which doctors think are likely related to having had COVID.

Ds still gets them because he's CV. He's had more jabs than the rest of us by far. Interestingly he's also the only one to have avoided covid (and yes he does test) despite being at school with his friends having it multiple times, and round us when we had it.

I got pleurisy after covid when I got it earlier this year, which I don't recommend to anyone. I still get pain from time to time.

My DH has Covid at the mo and so does my cleaner. Both tested when they lost their taste and smell. I’ve been offered a booster loads of times as I am Immuno suppressed but I’m not interested. DS and I both had it in 2021 and were both fine. Neither of us has caught it this time. DS was too young for the vax and hasn’t had the vax at all. DS and I have both had the flu jab this year though.

The OP's already answered this.
She has tested.
She tested because they had contacts who had previously tested positive and told them. They had some old tests so used them.

I don't know anyone who still does Covid tests and without researching how I don't think I could even find a Covid test. They're not even free anymore are they?

Those who are more vulnerable can also get free testing kits via the NHS website.

Otherwise Covid tests are available in pretty much every supermarket or pharmacy.

How do you know you've got covid?

They still happen for those who are more vulnerable.
There is generally a spring and autumn booster for that group, in the same way that the]is group a]can also get a free autumn flu booster.

That isn't the case we're I am. All over 50's have been offered boosters and we still have drop in centers.
The wards at my local hospitals that are going on lockdown because of Covid are mainly full of care home residents and the very elderly.

Wish more people had this attitude

My mum has had about 10
Invited over and over as v vulnerable

I tested because I felt ill. Still had some out of date tests in the cupboard which came up positive. Then confirmed it with a new test. I tested because it's still something I'll try not to pass on, definitely more than I would a normal cold. Luckily I'm able to take myself out of circulation for a few days without it affecting my work etc. But would be selfish of me to go spreading it around unnecessarily.

I (54, overweight but otherwise well and not eligible for the NHS Spring Booster) bought myself a private vaccine in a pharmacists / chemists in early May and will likely do so again in the Autumn (or an NHS one if the criteria expand to include me).

They ask you a few questions to ensure a vaccine is appropriate (e.g you'd need to wait a few weeks for a jab if you've recently had Covid) and I ended up with the newer 'Novavax' one which is slightly cheaper than another one they were offering (see guide price below). I wasn't sure whether to go with Comirnaty that I'd had before (no side effects other than tender arm) or try the new type of vaccine as a sort of immuno-scattergun approach ;) I think I've had them all now.

From Pharmadoctor.co.uk's website
Price list - guidance only
Comirnaty Omicron XBB.1.5 (Pfizer/BioNTech) - £75-£85 <-- mRNA
Nuvaxovid XBB.1.5 (Novavax) - £45-£55 <-- protein based
https://pharmadoctor.co.uk/patient/service/covid-vaccination

As others have also said Boots offer a Covid vaccination service.

Here's the UKHSA's data dashboard for Covid-19 https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/topics/covid-19

Hope you're all feeling better soon :)
Jo

Snap

They've stopped giving boosters because current strains are much less likely to be fatal than the initial strains. Yes, you might feel like shit, but that doesn't mean you're in any danger of dying.

Current strains of Covid are treated like any other mild to moderate respiratory virus.

They do offer boosters for vulnerable groups. Elderly and immunosuppressed , for example, had a Spring one in April/May, those under 75 with underlying health conditions last had them in Autumn.

I had mine 10th May but I'm immunocompromised so had about 8 now

They're by the till in Boots and you can get them on Amazon. Not exactly difficult to find...

We test when we have flu-like symptoms because we have elderly parents. They get boosters regularly and live life normally, but we don't want to infect them.

I had a booster today. I'm immunosuppressed. DH is 74 and doesn't get one. Mind you he seems to have good immunity as he didn't get covid from me when I had it earlier this year.
Agree it's a nasty one. I was unwell for a month and that's despite boosters every 6 months.

I don't think you are due one now. Everyone over 50 (I think!) will get one around Autumn/October-November time. I could be wrong though @Blondiebeachbabe It MAY only be those who are vulnerable, and their live-in partners/spouses. (Happy to be corrected by someone if I'm chatting shite.)

without researching how I don't think I could even find a Covid test

There are piles of them for sale in Boots, and obviously Amazon. They’re not free any more but not expensive, I think it’s about £1 a test. Intensive research isn’t really required here.

It's flying around the building where I work and a chunk of them are off with it, a couple are in masked up. I know them all by name oddly. There's a stack of tests in the cupboard.

You should be able to get one late fall/ early winter as will be 6 months after you had it

The jabs are only effective for a matter of months. There's really no point.
It's not like trying to prevent a childhood illness.

I have covid currently and have been wondering the same as it's absolutely wiped me out, I feel so ill and fatigued. I'd really like a booster before going into the winter season, can't face going through this again. Good to know boosters will be available privately, last time I looked into it there were no private vaccines available.

@PinkTonic yes nausea and vomiting for first 48 hours this time

I've just had it, and it certainly wasn't mild for me!! I couldn't get out of bed for 10 days straight, had a BLINDING headache and had severe nausea too, amongst other things. This was my third time having it and was the worst by far, presumably because the vaccine has had a couple of years to wear off. I've just been signed off for my fifth week and am nowhere near ready to return to work, but I do seem to have had it worse than anyone else around me, despite not even being immune suppressed.

I'll be paying privately for a booster in the autumn for sure.