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Original poster

People that had vaccine very early on...

79 replies

Bubbles2456 · 02/09/2021 11:21

I had my first vaccine in Jan, so am I right in thinking, my immunity to covid will be wearing off now?

OP posts:
How2Help · 02/09/2021 21:55

This time last year it was hoped that we would get one vaccine with 50-60% efficacy. That would have been seen as a great result. To have a suite of vaccinations with >60% really was dreamland at that point.

Waning efficacy from a high starting point is better than a low starting point that holds.

They will be watching to see how far/quickly it drops generally, identify those who don’t respond, if there is a benefit to jabbing children, and whether adjustments are needed for variants. This will be what informs the next steps with vaccination and boosters.
The fact that they are not yet advising blanket boosters is positive and is because there is still a beneficial level of protection. Immunosuppressed people may not have developed immunity as hoped so they are getting boosters.

samsalmon · 02/09/2021 22:00

@naynayisay

I had AstraZeneca (before it came out about the blood clot side effects & shouldn't be used in under 40's & before the efficacy statistics) and then my second in May because it hadn't come out again that you could have different vaccines for your first & second.

I'm assuming I have very little, if no immunity, at this point.

Why?
AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 03/09/2021 08:19

@naynayisay

I had AstraZeneca (before it came out about the blood clot side effects & shouldn't be used in under 40's & before the efficacy statistics) and then my second in May because it hadn't come out again that you could have different vaccines for your first & second.

I'm assuming I have very little, if no immunity, at this point.

My timings/jab are very similar to yours and I'm assuming no such thing

Why would you think you'd be totally different to the rest of the population and proven scientific testing?

I'm assuming that the expert scientists who do the research know what they're talking about but will continue to act with appropriate caution. Surely that's what all sensible people are doing anyway

Stealhsquirrelnutkin · 04/09/2021 23:13

I had my second AZ jab in May. My immune system is crap due to an assortment of annoying health conditions, so I decided to pay for an antibody test to see if there'd been any response to the vaccine.

The firm selling the antibody test recommended immunocompromised people should wait 6 weeks before testing instead of the 3 weeks they otherwise suggested. I was relieved when the test found 170 U/mL in my blood, proof that the vaccine had worked despite not causing any reaction after either injection. I had been prepared for it to show no antibodies at all.

Since I had the AstraZenica vaccine and had heard that the immune system takes longer to respond to it compared to the mRNA vaccines I expected my antibody levels would continue to rise for up to 12 weeks after the second jab. I decided to do a second test at that point, to reassure myself that I had decent levels of protection as local case numbers are now nudging 1,000/100,000.

The second test, taken 12 weeks after the second injection, showed that my antibody levels had not risen at all, in fact they had halved in the six weeks since the previous test. Down to 86 U/mL already. That was a surprise and a big disappointment, if they continue to halve every six weeks I'm not going to have much protection left in a few months time.

Other people who have tested their antibody levels 12 weeks after their second jab all seem to be getting much higher levels, > 2000 U/mL, and I haven't heard of anyone else whose levels had halved in just six weeks time.

There isn't any data yet on how levels of antibodies correspond to resistance to covid-19, but it I'd feel a lot happier if my levels had increased instead of dropped by half in the period between 6 & 12 weeks after the second vaccination.

At least I know not to get cocky, and act as if being double vaccinated has made me safe. I have a flu jab booked for the end of this month, and hopefully the Welsh government will offer me a booster some time this autumn. I hope it will be one of the mRNA vaccines and that the combination will ginger up my feeble immune response.

Lbnc2021 · 04/09/2021 23:15

My father was one of the first to be double vaccinated and he’s currently on life support with covid. It’s a question I’ve asked myself too.

chipsandgin · 04/09/2021 23:16

Over 70’s who had it in Jan are being offered boosters soon, presumably that applies to others who had it early for whatever reason?

Hadenoughcrap2 · 04/09/2021 23:16

I had 1st vaccine in Feb 2021 and 2nd in April 2021. Both AZ. Had covid really badly in April 2020 and tested positive again 11 days ago so I'm guessing any immunity wore off quickly. I'm CEV though, so don't know if that makes a difference 🤔. I'm not as bad this time around.

RuthW · 04/09/2021 23:18

I had my first pfizer in Dec and the second in Jan. I'm thinking it's probably not very effective now.

Hadenoughcrap2 · 04/09/2021 23:19

My CEV is due to being immunosuppressed.

Fairlyurgentdecision · 04/09/2021 23:21

Lbnc2021

That's really sad, so hope he pulls through xx how old is your father?

Magissa · 04/09/2021 23:24

My son was on the AZ trial. He had his 2 vaccines 4 weeks apart last September. Though he is technically still on the trial there are no further vaccines for him so he is in a kind of limbo. Is there even a policy yet for boosters?

Lbnc2021 · 04/09/2021 23:25

@Fairlyurgentdecision he’s 66

Lbnc2021 · 04/09/2021 23:25

So not elderly in my eyes!

tinkerbellvspredator · 04/09/2021 23:27

My Uncle is over 70 and had Pfizer in Feb/Mar. Didn't know if it would work due to having a blood disorder. Just a few weeks ago was massively exposed (sharing house with positive child coughing all over the place, no distancing, for a week). No symptoms didn't catch it. Unlikely to have been exposed naturally before because he is in a rural area and has been at home on his own most of the pandemic.

Fairlyurgentdecision · 04/09/2021 23:32

Lbnc2021

No, not elderly whatsoever, really hope he's ok. If it helps I know of a similar aged gentleman who had it right at the beginning, last March, was on a ventilator for the best part of a month and is perfectly fine now Smile xx

RoseWineTime · 04/09/2021 23:48

I had Pfizer in feb snd March as part of a trial and have been a bit worried. I went for blood tests as part of the trial last week and the nurse said that nobody on any of their vaccine trials has had serious covid including people who were vaccinated over a year ago. My trial is 900 people and there are thousands of others in other trials. I found that very reassuring.

andadietcoke · 04/09/2021 23:50

I had mine as part of a trial last October. We don't get boosters unless we're in a group that would be having them as part of the NHS programme, despite being vaccinated 9 months earlier than other people in my age group, so they can't be too worried.

Mistlein · 05/09/2021 00:03

A friend of mine in his late fifties was vaccinated back in March. He had an antibody test for work last week which has shown he has no immunity to the virus. None. He is concerned enough to cancel everything he had planned over the coming weeks. 😔

I too am not remotely assured I am still (if ever) protected by the jabs I had in May, unless a test showed otherwise.

shouldistop · 05/09/2021 06:28

Yes, abit however I have a pcr every week and lft 2 times a week and have never been

Sounds like your vaccination is still working well then

HarebrightCedarmoon · 05/09/2021 06:31

@welshweasel

I had mine June and August 2020 so over a year since my second. I’m hoping that the regular contact with covid cases at work has given me a natural immunity boost.
The vaccination programme surely didn't start that early in any country. Don't you mean June and August this year? I remember people in care homes having theirs in December 2020 and people in their 80s from January.
3womeninaboat · 05/09/2021 06:34

The existence of individual people with few or no antibodies is not necessarily an indication that everyone needs a booster. Every type of vaccine fails in some people. The number of people that it fails in just needs to be low enough on a population level. Plenty of people are walking around thinking they have immunity to e.g. measles when they don’t.

MedSchoolRat · 05/09/2021 15:22

The way human immune systems react to betacoronaviruses, we need regular exposure to retain high resistance to severe disease. After all the vulnerable have had a few safe exposures thru vaccine, repeat exposures will be easiest to achieve minimal harm by having lots of SARS-CoV-2 circulating at all times.

Eventually it will just be another strain of common cold. We'll be most protected from covid harms by letting it be like that, by tolerating lots of it around.

The only realistic debate point has been how each society reaches that equilibrium point of minimal harms.

Musicaltheatremum · 05/09/2021 15:34

She was in the vaccine trials that were done last year.

Hippywannabe · 05/09/2021 15:59

I had AZ in Feb and May. I have worn a mask all the time in school and avoided public places.
I met a friend for coffee on Tuesday this week in a pub, not busy and in a booth with shields. Felt unwell and booked pcr on Friday which came back positive.
I feel like I have bad flu, headache, temperature and totally drained. Also coughing.

ActonSquirrel · 05/09/2021 16:00

@welshweasel

I had mine June and August 2020 so over a year since my second. I’m hoping that the regular contact with covid cases at work has given me a natural immunity boost.
What? The covid vaccine existed in summer 2020?!