Four boosters a year at this rate…

[FluffyCushion123]

…and if MN is anything to go by then apparently only a tiny minority of people are the slightest be worried about the unknown impact on their health of having multiple vaccines per year. It’s official that the expectation in the UK is now to get a booster after three months.

Boris clearly said today that ‘for now’ people will be able to continue to get a Covid pass with just two vaccines, but there was a clear implication that this could change.

I admit I was pretty scared about getting my vaccines and only got them recently.

I actually think the booster policy might deter the vaccine hesitant even further.

Anyone else really concerned about this?

I work with somebody who's BIL has lost over 30% of his eyesight since his booster

So many people are willing at accept yet another injection without putting any thought into it first

I'm double jabbed and planning on staying that way for the time being

I missed the line "It's official that the expectation in the UK is to now get a booster after 3 months." Where is it official? I seem to have missed that too.

@ThereIsAGreenHillFarAway
How is it made up? The factual part is that official guidance is now booster after three months. As per yesterday’s broadcast.
The rest of the OP is evidently a comment ( ie an opinion- which is allowed on MN) based on fears of things to come. Hence the title wording which makes it clear it’s my prediction ( I say ‘at this rate’ )

No not particularly concerned, more relieved we have the option unlike some poor sods in less privileged countries.

I was diagnosed with asthma at 22 and will have to take steroid inhalers every day (not just every 3 months) for the rest of my life (and I have to pay for the fuckers). I don't recall anyone asking if I was concerned about taking those and asking me if I'd researched the ingredients/long term effects.

I listened to yesterday's broadcast but I seem to have totally missed the 3 months thing? Is it in writing anywhere? I have very poor listening comprehension.

@jpbee

No not particularly concerned, more relieved we have the option unlike some poor sods in less privileged countries.

I was diagnosed with asthma at 22 and will have to take steroid inhalers every day (not just every 3 months) for the rest of my life (and I have to pay for the fuckers). I don't recall anyone asking if I was concerned about taking those and asking me if I'd researched the ingredients/long term effects.

Yeh poor sods in places like Africa where vaccine take-up in many countries is in single figures. Africa must be having an absolute nightmare with poor health infrastructure and low vaccine take-up against this deadly virus. Anybody any ideas?

I'm all over the place with this atm as I'm not the best with vaccines. When I was reading the Pfizer/ BioN tech updated press release on Omicron under the side effects they say
"These may not be all the possible side effects of the vaccine. Serious and unexpected side effects may occur. The possible side effects of the vaccine are still being studied in clinical trials. Call the vaccination provider or healthcare provider about bothersome side effects or side effects that do not go away"

which surprised me

meh, i inject myself with insulin several times a day, mild chemo once a week and biological treatment once a week, a couple of vaccines a year is nothing (and i had a 3rd primary dose so my booster will be my 4th)

I had a bad reaction for the first dose, DH. From his booster and DS from his second but we're all happy to be jabbed again because if the reaction is half as bad as having covid and doesn't come with the chance of getting long covid then we'll all there with our sleeves rolled up as often as needs be.

Hopefully as more people are vaccinated against different strains the virus will weaken and eventually we'll stop needing them.

Ah, OP, I found what you were referring to- the reduction of gap between second dose and booster. I am not sure that means 4 boosters a year. Will wait and watch.

For me it’s a no brainer. If a vaccine will allow us to carry on without a huge number of us dropping dead or being disabled by Covid I will do it and advise others to do it. If you prefer to take your chances with Covid then I think you should isolate and except you will not be an active part of the economy. I think you should probably pay higher taxes if you are going choose to take the more expensive and less productive options available to those living through a pandemic and are likely to cost the country more.

@5zeds I’m not even going to dignify that with a proper reply.

@CaliforniaDrumming yes, that. And the assertion by Boris that two vaccines are sufficient to satisfy requirements for a Covid pass- ‘for now’

It might come as a surprise to some, but a sizeable number of people have to take regular medication, injections, infusions and/or inhalers. Even if boosters became a regular three-monthly affair (which I don’t think they will), a once-every-three-months jab is nothing compared to the monthly injections I have to take at hospital, the six-monthly IV infusions at hospital, plus the daily tablets for ten years.

I don’t care what’s in the vaccine. I trust the medics for all of my other stuff, so I’m trusting them with that too.

I’ve had 2 jabs and then caught covid a few weeks ago.

I don’t think now is the right time for me to get a booster as immunity will be higher from recent infection. I’m going to wait till after Christmas and then try to book on for February / March time.

Meh, I don't think it will come to that. Booster once a year maybe. If they have strain specific vaccine, maybe. But I really don't think four booster a year is likely.

I can't wait to get my booster.

Annually? Yeah fine. Do that with the flu vaccine.

Every three months? You have to be joking.

I have the flu jab every year & some years I react badly to it, other years I don't.
I've had my Pfizer vaccines 1&2 plus booster & fortunately have had no side effects to any.
(Long may it last!)
Even if I did have side effects, I would still continue to get the jabs.
I have a complicated medication routine for various health issues & would not like to put it in the hands of overworked HCPs if I was hospitalised by Covid.
So I'll have the Covid jabs & hope for the best.

What would you like the government to do instead? If they didn't offer boosters and try to encourage take up, then we could end up with tens of thousands more deaths and the health service might be unable to provide emergency care. This is not some government policy done because "they" want to control you, this is based on science and research by the top scientists in this country and worldwide.

People talk about these mystery long term effects that might appear in the future but doctors and scientists have repeatedly said this is not how vaccines work - they don't linger around for years in that way. Do you worry about the flu jab you had five years ago making you ill next month, or the Hep-B vaccine you had before a holiday in 2018?

Science and medicine evolve all the time. Maybe you're not used to getting boosters but if regular boosters help us live our lives without disruption and keep the economy going and health service available, then why not? Maybe we can do the same for many other viruses too or even cure cancer. More money has thrown into the research for these vaccines than anything else for decades and some of the top people are working on them, so I trust them more than someone on Facebook or MN.

Also, you'll always hear more from those who've had side-effects than those who haven't but millions of people have taken these vaccines all over the world now so I think we can safely say they've been tried and tested more than most medicines now!

I had two AZ vaccines last year and had a horrible reaction especially the first one. After 26 hours I suddenly felt extremely unwell and collapsed in the bedroom. I had an extremely high temperature and was delirious and hallucinating at one point. It was very scary and my poor 7 year old DS had to see me like that which really upsets me. I’ve never had such a severe reaction to a vaccine before.

So no I’m not having boosters every few months unless Covid becomes more deadly and they actually manufacture a vaccine that works against the current variant.

a once-every-three-months jab is nothing

I see where you're coming from re people who already are on a lot of medications and who need regular injections, but if you expand giving boosters 3 monthly to (at the very least) all vulnerable people then that's a lot of nurses, doctors, pharmacists etc who will have to spend time on doing jabs rather than other work. Since we are short of these skilled people, that doesn't bode well for the population as a whole, as other medical situations won't have enough staff. So waiting lists will continue to grow.

I should add I hate crowds so have not interest in the vaccine passport unless they starting applying it to things like shops which I think which cause a civil war in the Tory party which will be much much worse than Brexit. Being in Sainsbury’s this morning was bad enough.

I'm in France so under different rules but the vaccines are the same ones.

Government has recently added a booster to eligibility for the covid pass. Booster must be had 7 months maximum from 2nd dose. So here 3 monthly jabs are not on the cards but twice yearly looking possible.

Not a single scientist has said we need a jab every three months.
They are thinking annually. We are doing six months at the moment as we’re still in the middle of a dire pandemic with variants wreaking havoc.
I had Covid and it was horrendous so yes I’ll keep getting vaccinated
Each to their own

Well said @nordica. I agree.

@FluffyCushion123 because “I don’t like injections” is such a definitive and well thought out stance?.