Mum's vaccine dose schedule

[User72642]

Hi I have read that the schedule of 2 doses of vaccine 12 weeks apart is most optimal. My mum has blood cancer (Non-follicular lymphoma) and got her second dose of Pfizer 18 days after her first (had to have it quickly ahead of receiving cancer treatment). I am just worried about whether this will have been effective. I know it would be best to discuss with a doctor but don't want to bring it up and worry her as she was so happy to get the vaccine. I don't know if anyone has read anything. Might she require a booster (if these are approved)?

Im pretty sure that the optimal 12wks is for the AstraZeneca vaccine and they have the same timescale for pfizer for logostical/speed reasons. At least initially the recommended dose for Pfizer was 21 days I think, so much closer to what your mum received.

I also think that the 12 weeks was optimal for AZ and that Pfizer was originally 3 weeks so it sounds sensible what she is having to get it done quickly and to get her 2 doses in.

I understood the same as the previous poster.

Yes the Pfizer vaccine has been found to get even better with a longer gap but is actually designed to have a 21 day gap. So she should have good protection.
They are saying people that are more vulnerable like your mum will probably get a more tweaked booster jab in the Autumn. That is because older people and some vulnerable groups can theoretical loose antibodies quicker. Plus being more protected from different variants will benefit them. The rest of the population probably won't need a booster at all.

A very first people to have been given Pfizer back in December were given their second dose 21 days after, as this was what was recommended by the manufacturers back then, so presume they want your Mum to be covered as much as possible before she starts her treatment.

The mRNA vaccines build immunity a little faster than AZ, the actual difference in any of them with different time gaps is just a higher quantity of antibodies. She can get a booster later that will give her the same, most important to get the protection now. Those with compromised immune systems will be top of the list. Try not to worry.

Pfizer antibodies are shown to build more quickly than AZ, but drop slightly after 10 weeks, so a shorter interval will be better for your vulnerable mum.

Your mum’s doctors have her very best interests at heart and have made their clinical decisions based on those.
If you have concerns though you must, of course, raise them and they will be happy to talk through them with you.

They were both developed with a 3 week gap, partly to get through the studies quickly. 18 days probably isn't optimal but she will still likely have a good response. Longer is certainly better for AZ, & possibly Pfizer, but the important thing is that she's had two!

My dad has just had his Pfizer ones 3 weeks apart, he said it was what was recommended in the USA where he is for maximum effectiveness. I hope your mum is doing well

AZ is now 8 week gap.

If your mum has certain treatments for cancer she may need a lot of vaccine boosters because certain types of chemo can weaken your immune system a bit. Sorry, I'm not an expert by any means, I only know from someone I know who had to have some childhood vaccines again after his chemo finished.

My DH had a stem cell transplant ( v high dose chemo) and had to have every single one of his childhood vaccinations again afterwards.

He was making covid antibodies three weeks after his first AZ vaccine. ( As measured by the ONS blood test)

Wishing your mum ( and you) all the very best.

My DM was one of the first to get the Pfizer jab and was lucky enough to get her second dose after 3 weeks which is what Pfizer recommends.

I think her first jab must have given her good immunity as 3 days after having her in the car with me for over an hour each way to get her second jab I tested positive for Covid. I was pretty poorly but absolutely distraught thinking I had probably passed it in to my mum who was 81 and who had lost part of her lung the previous year due to a cancerous nodule. Luckily she didn't contract the virus and I'm positive it was all thanks to her having had that first jab.