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Original poster

Why the Pfizer Preference over AZ

74 replies

theonlyoneiknow · 28/05/2021 11:07

Hi All,

Both DH and I have had our first dose. He was given AZ and I was given Pfizer (both late 40s). Same clinic just different days.

From what I can gather the majority of the 'bad' press and concerns on MN is about the AZ blood clots with less flagging up about Pfizer concerns (although there has been the a few articles in the press - heart inflammation etc).

So, this is a genuine question - sorry if it has been badly worded. Is it just that people don't want to have the AZ vaccine but would happily have Pfizer? Which is a 'new' type of vaccine (grateful to receive anything that might reassure me here).

DH had zero side effects after his AZ. I developed tinnitus shortly after having my Pfizer vaccine. Neither of us have had second doses yet. But, just really trying to get my head around it all. Still in delayed shock sometimes that this is the current situation in the world (but that's a different matter!)

Thank you.

OP posts:
Original poster
Theonlyoneiknow · 28/05/2021 20:48

It is a pretty even split between social/work circle as to who has been given AZ and who has been given Pfizer. I don't (personally) know anyone who has felt ill after their 1st Pfizer dose (although I have developed tinnitus, unsure if linked but have yellow card it as it is listed as a possible side effect). With regards to AZ about 50% of those I know have felt like they have been "hit by a bus" for a couple of days.

I appreciate your replies, thank you.

From what I have gathered on the Coronavirus board there are many people looking to find clinics that give Pfizer and not AZ (even if they are considered in the 'safe age' bracket), which is what also got me thinking. Pfizer is a new technology so also has it's unknowns, perhaps these haven't come to light in such a prolific manner that AZ has.

I feel like reading up on vaccines is taking up a lot of my mental energy at the moment and I can't pinpoint exactly why.

OP posts:
Bluethrough · 28/05/2021 21:05

It’s because the UK left the EU and the AZ vaccine comes from Oxford

Do you also think the UK s Eurovision entry got no points because the europeans hate us?

Countries around the world have restricted AZ use, not just EU ones.

I ve had AZ because its risks are far far below that of CV but i'd have preferred Pfizer.

Fishandhips · 28/05/2021 21:10

I don't (personally) know anyone who has felt ill after their 1st Pfizer dose

The second dose of Pfizer is double the strength of the first, effects seem to be opposites for both jabs; AZ more side effects after first one and Pfizer more after the second one.

Original poster
Theonlyoneiknow · 28/05/2021 21:55

@Fishandhips

I don't (personally) know anyone who has felt ill after their 1st Pfizer dose

The second dose of Pfizer is double the strength of the first, effects seem to be opposites for both jabs; AZ more side effects after first one and Pfizer more after the second one.

Thanks, I didn't know it was double the strength. Do you know why that is? Are the AZ doses the same strength?
OP posts:
Lollypop701 · 28/05/2021 21:56

Had Pfizer… currently on prescription anti histamines. Still happy to have had it

Thisyearisshit · 28/05/2021 21:56

To the poster who said they developed tinnitus after their Pfizer dose, a friend of mine has developed extremely high pitched tinnitus after her AZ vaccine, it’s driving her crazy.

oneglassandpuzzled · 28/05/2021 22:08

The second dose of Pfizer is double the strength of the first,

Really?

nolongersurprised · 28/05/2021 22:26

I live in Australia where community spread is very low (I would have said essentially zero but Victoria has just locked down again after 34 cases).

No one I know has had Covid. At 47 my risk of getting seriously ill from Covid is extremely low. There have been deaths, breathlessly resorted in the media, of people in Australia dying from TTS after AZ vaccination.

I have had the Pfizer and wouldn’t have AZ. I appreciate the risk of TTS is very low but so is my current chance of being exposed to Covid and becoming critically unwell. I am Caucasian and medically well and not overweight.

My understanding is that some people have had deep venous clots after Pfizer but not at a higher rate than the expected population rate, TTS is not a Pfizer side effect. People who conflate the different types of clotting disorders just seem ignorant to me. I am also not taking the OCP and have finished having children.

I don’t this makes me “moaning”, “ungrateful” or an anti-vaxxer. How many white, 40 something women who aren’t overweight and don’t have diabetes have been seriously ill from Covid?

The down side of the reporting of every TTS death is that there are vaccination hubs set up with AZ and the update of them is very low, even for older people. The people I talk to think of Pfizer as “the good one” and are waiting for that.

Original poster
Theonlyoneiknow · 29/05/2021 00:41

@Thisyearisshit

To the poster who said they developed tinnitus after their Pfizer dose, a friend of mine has developed extremely high pitched tinnitus after her AZ vaccine, it’s driving her crazy.
Hi, yes I have developed tinnitus since having Pfizer. A search on Facebook posts flags up a few other posts about tinnitus being a side effect. I has been 4 weeks since my vaccine.
OP posts:
Tealightsandd · 29/05/2021 00:53

How many white, 40 something women who aren’t overweight and don’t have diabetes have been seriously ill from Covid?

In the UK around two thirds of the population are overweight.

Also, quite a lot of people in their 40s have undiagnosed conditions including diabetes.

Separate from death, reports have suggested that, whilst it's a danger for everyone, women in their 40s are particular high risk for Long Covid.

I understand the situation is different in Australia. You made the sensible decision to save economy, lives, and long term health. Unfortunately for those of us in the UK our government chose to let Covid spread - and they continue to merrily import new strains.

The risks still seem very low from vaccines (any of them) compared to actual Covid but obviously there's less urgency in Australia.

Zeev · 29/05/2021 00:55

@oneglassandpuzzled

The second dose of Pfizer is double the strength of the first,

Really?

No.
Christoncrutches · 29/05/2021 00:57

Personally, I've been approved to receive Pfizer instead of AZ despite being 47 because I have long covid and research is showing that 40-50% of people who receive either Pfizer or Moderna are reporting an improvement in symptoms.

All 3 are showing to have around a 10% chance of worsening long covid symptoms, so it seems sensible to be given P or M.

Willingness to make exceptions seems to depend on the healthboard that's organising your vaccine roll out though - a friend in Lothians (I'm in Scotland) wasn't able to get anything other than AZ despite having long covid AND history of blood clots.

nolongersurprised · 29/05/2021 01:13

Also, quite a lot of people in their 40s have undiagnosed conditions including diabetes.

Similar to Australia, I’m sure. But I still think the risk of dying or being seriously unwell from Covid is very low for a 40 something year old while woman with no underlying health conditions and who is not overweight. I’m happy to be proved wrong by the UK stats, if anyone has them Smile.

This means that, had I not had the Pfizer, I’d have to weigh up the risk of actually being exposed to Covid (currently close to zero but will increase as borders open) and getting seriously ill from it versus a very small but very present risk of dying after the vaccine.

If say, 1-2% of women aged 47 with no risk factors died from covid that would be different but it’s hard to move past the perception that for me, having the AZ, is introducing more risk.

nolongersurprised · 29/05/2021 01:19

Long Covid concerns etc is a major reason I was happy to be offered Pfizer.

WineAndMassage · 29/05/2021 01:37

@RedMarauder

I wanted AZ and got it.

Mainly due to the historical lack of ethics of Pfizer.

Exactly this... don't trust Pfizer.. I had two doses of AZ , no sides effects
Syylvia · 29/05/2021 01:43

Because Astra Zenrca is non profit making. So much corruption and greed. Lots more profit to be made by pushing Pfizer and discrediting Astra Zeneca. Look at the boss of the CDC in the States and what job he was doing a year ago...then ask why USA have been ever so slow to approve Astra Zeneca.

Spekoppar · 29/05/2021 06:18

Pfizer, Moderna and others are making a lot of rich people even richer, AZ is not.

It’s looking extremely likely that the risk profiles and the efficacy for each vaccine will be broadly the same but most, myself included, don’t know as much as they’d like about the topic and so the media narrative leads.

Trinacham · 29/05/2021 06:22

One person I know got Bell's Palsy after first AZ.
Another has got a blood clot on their lung, after their second.
I don't know many people who've had the jab yet but 2 already have had these side effects!

Bluethrough · 29/05/2021 06:23

@Syylvia

Because Astra Zenrca is non profit making. So much corruption and greed. Lots more profit to be made by pushing Pfizer and discrediting Astra Zeneca. Look at the boss of the CDC in the States and what job he was doing a year ago...then ask why USA have been ever so slow to approve Astra Zeneca.
I think its down to side effects and efficacy, AZ seems to be less effective against the newer strains, so here in the UK a Pfizer booster is to be offered to the over 50s.

There has now been 58 deaths and 360 reports of clotting in the UK.

QueenStromba · 29/05/2021 07:51

[quote Devastatedandlost]This is the link

www.research.ox.ac.uk/article/2021-04-15-risk-of-rare-blood-clotting-higher-for-covid-19-than-for-vaccines[/quote]
They just lifted the AZ clotting rate out of the EMA data at the time - as that paper is more than six weeks old, it's massively out of date now.

Forestiere · 29/05/2021 07:57

My DM had the AZ, fine after the first but after the second she developed severe bruising all over her body which she's still recovering from.
DH had the AZ and he was fine.
I had the Pfizer and no side effects apart from a slightly sore arm both times.

I believe that the Pfizer one has greater protection against the Indian variant? I think its seen as better in general though, not sure why?

Peppapeg · 29/05/2021 07:58

@Christoncrutches

Personally, I've been approved to receive Pfizer instead of AZ despite being 47 because I have long covid and research is showing that 40-50% of people who receive either Pfizer or Moderna are reporting an improvement in symptoms.

All 3 are showing to have around a 10% chance of worsening long covid symptoms, so it seems sensible to be given P or M.

Willingness to make exceptions seems to depend on the healthboard that's organising your vaccine roll out though - a friend in Lothians (I'm in Scotland) wasn't able to get anything other than AZ despite having long covid AND history of blood clots.

That's interesting re: long covid, very good news for people who are struggling if it turns out to be the case and not coincidence.

The cynical part of me cannot help but feel it is odd that the not for profit jab is receiving a pummelling in the press when there are also side effects and deaths following the other vaccines, but that's just my suspicious mind. I had both doses of AZ quite happily, and if boosters are recommended going forward would have whatever.

Scottishskifun · 29/05/2021 08:03

I had Pfizer was more comfortable doing so due to medical history. But before they changed it for under 40s I spoke with the vaccination medical staff who also told me to have Pfizer.

Pfizer and moderna are completely new though in the style of vaccine as they are mrna based. Although research has been ongoing into mrna based vaccines for a long time.
Given it trains cells for a protein response it might be longer lasting but currently unknown.

JollyAndBright · 29/05/2021 08:05

@RedMarauder

I wanted AZ and got it.

Mainly due to the historical lack of ethics of Pfizer.

This.

I had my first dose yesterday, they were offering Pfizer as standard but I requested the Oxford/AZ and was given it.

I really dislike Pfizer as a company, just a quick google will tell you they give zero fucks about anything other than profits, they are a disgusting company.
For many years I have and will continue to refuse medication created by them, I always just ask for an alternative brand.