Booster question

[garlictwist]

I had my second jab in late July which means that I was due my booster in January.

Now they're saying you can get it after 3 months.

Am I missing something? Surely that soon after the second jab you don't need a booster? And if you do, doesn't that mean the vaccine is completely pointless and short lived?

@garlictwist

I had my second jab in late July which means that I was due my booster in January.

Now they're saying you can get it after 3 months.

Am I missing something? Surely that soon after the second jab you don't need a booster? And if you do, doesn't that mean the vaccine is completely pointless and short lived?

Are you missing something? Yes. (New variants, ongoing research showing that optimum difference in time between one shot and the next us different to what scientists originally thought, etc)

Why do you think you don't need a booster so soon after your second jab? Is your thought likely to be more scientifically accurate than virologists, epidemiologists and the WHO? If so, tweet them. (don't!)

No, it doesn't mean the vaccine is pointless. As has been shown in eleventy billion pieces of research, vaccine efficiency wanes after time, no vaccine is 100% effective etc etc.

I think if it was vulnerable and elderly people that were getting this then fair enough but most of the people that will receive jabs after 3 months will be younger people that least need it, I am having difficulty getting an appointment locally and this will make it worse, I am over 60 and will probably have to have mine in the new year after 7 or 8 months, If I was younger I don't think I would want one after 3 months, also anyone now that doesn't get one after 3 months will be called an anti-vaxxer

You ask a valid question OP and the first response you had is just weird. Politely answering your question would have been more effective than telling you off for even having questions.

I have the same concerns as you OP.

We were told after 2 vaccines we were fully vaccinated. I always understood that boosters are normally given annually to top up that or for new strains. If you need a booster 3 months after you're 'fully vaccinated' then the vaccine isn't working is it ? What happens in another 3 months, more vaccines?

I also don't understand why we are being told to have boosters when we don't know if it works for Omicron, and may therefore need another one for that.

Personally I am delaying my booster until we hear more about the plans for a vaccine for Omicron.. I heard yesterday that there should be an Omicron vaccine available in the New Year. I'm not having a vaccine now, only to then need another a few months later.

My second vaccine was in July and I am taking precuations such as mask wearing and avoiding busy places.

I've just booked my booster which fits with the original time frame from my second. But what I am concerned about is that DH has had 3 primary jabs and was told he'd need a booster in 6 months is he now going to be told he needs a booster 3 months after his 3rd ?

They seem to be now offering the boosters on a age basis, which is ok. My 29 year old DS had his second 4 months ago, but probably won’t get offered an appointment till January. They really have to get more places up and running to do more vaccines. Here we have a church, some portacabins at Sandown Racecourse and an empty shop in shopping centre doing vaccines when before we had about 7 or 8 places nearby to choose from.

By the time you get invited, it'll be nearer to 6 months anyway. If anything I think the 3 month guidance means I'll get invited later because lots of older people with a 3 month gap have now got ahead of me in the queue. I'm 39 in March and coming up to 5 months since my second dose next week and yet not eligible to book yet. But someone aged 41 and 3 months after their second dose could now book.

@glitterelf

I've just booked my booster which fits with the original time frame from my second. But what I am concerned about is that DH has had 3 primary jabs and was told he'd need a booster in 6 months is he now going to be told he needs a booster 3 months after his 3rd ?

That is the plan. In reality for my DH will be 4 jabs in just over 12 months. For someone newly eligible it will be 4 jabs in 9 months.