Novavax vaccine trial part 2

[Frazzled2207]

A continuation of the thread for those of us taking part in the Vaccine trial.
Never had a thread continue to part 2 before so quite excited.

Old thread
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/4048789-novavax-vaccine-trial-anyone-else

Thanks Queen, let’s see.

I've been for my first crossover appointment this morning in Cheadle (on the Stockport trial) so I have now definitiely had at last one Novavax vaccine dose - wohoo!!

Dr Baxter gave us a quick overview on the crossover trial and where things are up to. I think they are hoping to receive approval in the next week or so then, all being well, the Novavax vaccine should enter the UK rollout in June. He said something really lovely about how we are a very special group of people who are enabling the CV vaccines to be used in the world and we should be very proud of what we are doing.

It was a bit quicker than the very first appointment as there was no extensive medical checks at the start, just a quick zip through the medical paperwork. Then on to the nurses to have the swab, pregnancy test and blood test done before getting the jab.

It seemed busier than previous visits so there was a bit of a wait to see the nurse plus then the wait for 30 minutes at the end in case of any reaction to the jab. I was there for exactly 1 hour 40 but some people were a bit longer, depending on the wait for the tests/jab.

I'll report back on any post-vaccine symptoms but I feel very happy to have definitely had the real thing now.

@SpeckleDust
Brilliant
Me and @andadietcoke are there tomorrow
Pleased you said it wasn’t ridiculously long I really do need to leave for work after about 2hours but ideally a bit earlier

We are! Currently sitting with a BP monitor strapped to my arm to see if I can magic it down. Those of you that had high measurements at the trial, can you remember what you had to get it down to?

So frustrating, I do 30-60 mins of cardio a day, don't drink, drink loads of water and am losing weight. It should be going down not up!!

My first reading was 160/100
My second reading was 115/75
I can't remember what the threshold was.
Hope it comes down. Close your eyes. Take slow breaths. xx

It's currently 133/102. Looking back at my historical readings it's not unusual for me and I've only just taken my medication. Will try again later. I've just read through all the trial documentation and it says if it's clinically significant / indicates it's not controlled. For me, it's neither so hopefully fine.

Fingers crossed!

Thanks so much for all the info SpeckleDust. Really helpful. I will mentally block out 2 hours for the appointment. I am fortunate that I WFH and no one checks up on me (other than my kids!) so at least I won't be fretting about that.

Yesterday a friend asked me what kind of vaccine Novavax is and I was rather embarrassed to admit I had no idea so I've looked it up. In case anyone is interested it's a 'Protein' vaccine similar to the Hep B one. A bit different to the currently licensed ones which are Viral Vector (Oxford AZ) and Genetic mRNA (Pfizer and Moderna). You probably all already knew this but it was news to me!

I knew it wasn't MRNA but when I try to get all clever and read about it, I gloss over. I just don't understand every second word.
So I'd say something like 'It's a synthetic protein spike and the spike is kind of like a key so it gets into the cells and that triggers the immune response. Somehow they use moths to make these and there's something called an adjuvant which makes all this happen better. That might be where the tree bark comes in' Can you tell I'm not a vaccinologist?!

I just go for "it's got tree bark and moths"

@andadietcoke
Will look out for you tomorrow - I’m tall, glasses, 42, dark hair and will be wearing my purple work top and jeans.

Good luck tomorrow DietCoke and Frazzled! Let us know how you get on.

I'm 39, long highlighted hair (with epic roots), jeans probably, white trainers, and that's as far as my pre-planning goes. We need a secret wave

Can you both carry a carnation?

I had my first crossover appointment today too. It was pretty quiet although all the bays were full in my section (4) at one point. I was in and out in just over an hour.

The injection site isn't at all painful - not even to touch! The blood test site is pretty achey though. I had a new person doing it and he was quite heavy handed!

Lovely to know that I have now had one vaccine at least! I was also told that we would be issued with a certificate (an a4 sized piece of card) once we have had our second injections and will find out in October when we had the actual vaccine as we will probably need boosters and so will need to know the date of the original vaccine dose.

@PleaseReferToMeAsBritneySpears

Can you both carry a carnation?

Or wear the 'Mumsnet scarf'!

Had my 3rd jab, all very efficient, was told it might take up to 2.5h but actually left in 1h16. No medical checks other than checking nothing had changed from last time. Feeling good.
Waved to @andadietcoke on the way out (is your hair wavy?) but not convinced it was her.

I asked dr Baxter about plans for vaccine passport. He could not say exactly how it would work except that when the time comes “you certainly will not be disadvantaged in any way and there are people that are paid to ensure that is the case”. So am duly reassured.

Great news re vaccine passport. Also good that it didn't take too long. Hope DietCoke escaped without BP check too!

Yes, I have wavy hair today! I looked when I came in but didn't see you, and didn't see you wave either.

My BP was high but they let me use my home readings which were okay, so either way I've had at least one vaccination dose 👏🏻

Yay! That's brilliant! How many home readings did you show?

Phew @andadietcoke.
Feeling chuffed and relieved now. And totally fine.

So exciting that we are all gradually getting our crossover jabs!

I feel fine too. Not even any tenderness on the needle site. I actually forgot I'd had it until someone else mentioned it this morning

@PleaseReferToMeAsBritneySpears

Yay! That's brilliant! How many home readings did you show?

I took photos of the machine this morning and last night and had a load from last year too that show the variance. The threshold is 150/100 and mine was 130/103 (that was the second attempt!). Consultant wasn't concerned when she saw the home readings and just signed it off with her GMC number.

Reporting to say I have had absolutely no reaction in the 24 hours+ since my 1st crossover jab. I’m a little confused as I was convinced I’d had placebo in the first round of vaccines (no reaction then either). I can’t even see where the injection site was

Good to hear @Frazzled2207 and @andadietcoke everything went ok today and that more people are getting the crossover appointments

@SpeckleDust
I am already predicting that I will be the same tomorrow- actually hoping I have some minor kind of reaction having not had any at all last time