So do I have hardly any protection?

[Twoweekcruise]

I went for my second Pfizer jab last Saturday.
Have had many months of worrying about getting the jab but felt happy and settled in my mind that at least I have had my twojabs now and within a few weeks should have a good level of protection until around March/April when I will get the booster.
I genuinely thought that the booster shots were for the vulnerable and elderly and those who had their 2nd a good many months ago and protection has probably waned hence the need for a ‘booster’ shot.
And then yesterday’s headlines hit.
Where does that leave people like me? I can’t have a booster a week after the second shot.
So do I now have to worry and stress about only having around 30% protection against omicron?
I honestly thought the ‘booster’ was just that, to top up and boost the protection from the spring/summer jabs.
Do the boosters have something in them which has protection against the Omicron variant and how come if they were developed before this new variant was discovered only weeks ago.
Can someone with a more scientific head enlighten me as I will just stress too much without a clearer picture, thank you.

@Theunamedcat

Apparently astra zenica gives zero protection against omicron im wondering just how they know this so fast 🤔

From an analysis which included 56,349 Delta and 581 Omicron cases. It is a first analysis and there are wide confidence intervals but in a week or so we will know more. HTH 😊

What do the vaccinated and the unvaccinated have in common?

They'll never be fully vaccinated 😬

Feeling like AZ has fucked a lot of us over. I wasn't meant to have it anyway because of the clot risk (they changed the age limit literally the week after), then I couldn't get my second dose anywhere because no one was giving it anymore, because of the risk, so had to book a special appointment which meant that there was 6 months+ between my first and second

By the time I got my second I was pregnant, so the blood clot risk was higher and could have had a worse outcome if I had gotten clots. It's also the ONLY vaccine they refused to just replace with Pfizer or Moderna for the second dose so I HAD to get another AZ despite the risks

And now i'm not even fucking protected and the antivax and antimask crowd are out in full force to destroy christmas for the majority of the sensible people who can be bothered to make the effort to get protected in the first place.

Thanks AZ

The daily fail is a shitty media source generally but quite often they give news that has been leaked but unfortunately the news has become quite accurate a few days/ weeks later !!

I read this article a few days ago which describes the vaccines as having two functions - a first line defence and a second and it suggested Pfizer was better at first line but AZ was better at second line - that was in respect of Delta so not omicron - but it was an interesting read
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59260294

For those worried about being 'unvaccinated' with AZ - this is not the case at all.

Certainly AZ is better than nothing, but in retrospect I feel other countries made the right decision in choosing not to use it.

@JS87

The booster increased antibody levels 5-10 fold over and above the peak level four weeks after second dose. As a reduced percentage of the antibodies will bind omicron this is why the booster gives better protection. However this is just anibodies which can bind omicron and stop it entering your cells (neutralising antibodies). Two doses will still give you lots of memory b and T cells which can ramp up quickly if infected to stop you getting seriously well. So you are well protected with two doses against serious illness but more likely to get a mild infection than after a booster. However as you have only just had your second dose you have maximal levels of antibodies compared to someone six months after their second dose so you are still pretty will protected and likely to be more than 40% protected against symptoms which was for people six months past two Pfizer.

Thank you, that is what I needed to know.

As far as I can tell from this graph twitter.com/kallmemeg/status/1469351833416122369?t=rLvm9LsE_T-oq0c_BSSVfg&s=19 your protection having just had your second Pfizer dose is as good as someone who has just had a booster (graph on the right, first and last grey circles). From previous reading, the difference is that your immunity is likely to decline faster, the third vaccination immunity drops off more slowly.

I've had 2 AZ. Got my booster in about 2 hours and I'm crossing my fingers it's not AZ again but Pfizer or Moderna.

The trouble is the scientists have had so few UK cases to look at that they are having to make big assumptions and extrapolations to get to the "facts" in their press releases.

In the papers I read (so the documents sent to Sage, not the newspaper articles) they actually said they had so few instances of AZ jabbed who had caught comicron they couldn't really deduce its effectiveness. There were just a handful of cases in the over 60's, for example.

Well done for overcoming your vaccine hesitancy OP.

The Zoe app is now trying to track the new strain and its likely symptoms. For the sake of 5 minutes/day I urge everyone to sign up and give them real time data.

covid.joinzoe.com

@Twoweekcruise

AntiMaskersAreTwats you no nothing about my life so no need to be so condescending. I have asked a genuine question no need to be a knob about it.

Not sure I’m the knob here

I'm crossing my fingers it's not AZ again but Pfizer or Moderna.

Don't worry, they aren't using AZ for boosters - it will 100% be Moderna or Pfizer.

@getsanta

I don't understand why people say it's scaremongering to get people to have boosters.

What is in it for the government to get people to have the booster if it doesn't help? Honest question.

£££££ after all they are bastards who only care about money. Right?

@GoldenOldBoy

What do the vaccinated and the unvaccinated have in common?

They'll never be fully vaccinated 😬

🤣🤣🤣 but the vaccinated feel they are so much clever.

Going by the science, we definitely are so not sure what you’re finding funny

It is all relative. The vaccine doesn't give 100% protection but it does reduce your chances of getting it, your chances of getting it very seriously and your chances of dying from it.
Two jabs gives some protection, and that level of protection is higher once you first have it, then tails off, hence the need for a booster. So as pp have said you are likely to have a lot of antibodies from your recent second dose that will help protect you and reduce your chances of a serious illness.
Omicron is a different ball game but even that isn't a black and white all or nothing situation.
For people who had their second dose over 3 months ago, it only reduces their chances of catching it by 30% ( if you had Pfizer jab) but even that is better than nothing. Yours is much more recent so is likely to have a better effect only I don't think anyone knows how much yet. Once you have your booster after 12 weeks, it will reduce your chance of getting Omicron by about 75%.

As a certain supermarket used to say, "every little helps". So your recent jab, plus wearing masks when in supermarkets etc plus being sensible about how much time you spend in crowded places etc will all help. The benefits of each measure will add onto each other so double jabbed plus all the other precautions are better than just the other stuff without the jab.
You have done the best thing imo. You have better chances of avoiding serious illness than if you hadn't done it and even better ones once you have a booster.

Is there a difference between protection from infection and protection from serious illness?

Yes

[quote myrtleWilson]I read this article a few days ago which describes the vaccines as having two functions - a first line defence and a second and it suggested Pfizer was better at first line but AZ was better at second line - that was in respect of Delta so not omicron - but it was an interesting read
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59260294[/quote]
Yes, this has been the narrative around AZ for a long while now actually — basically it’s vg at ‘training’ t-cells, which then make antibodies.

AZ hasn’t ‘fucked us over’

Not sure I’m the knob here

Oh, you definitely are. Even more so with that cringeworthy username.

What about people who have had covid already?

That's what I want to know.

Are people who have already had covid becoming infected with this new variant? And if yes, how severely are they becoming ill?

Certainly in South Africa it is many people who've had it before as they have had very high infection rates there (& relatively low vaccination). Anecdotally they don't seem to be getting too sick, but presumably a minority will.

Is there a reason why you're so scared of the virus?

Unless you are at particular risk, chances are very good you won't be more than slightly unwell. I've definitely had worse hangovers. And I'm not vaccinated.

Get vaccinated if you want to, but don't stress about it. You'll likely catch the virus anyway at some point, and the best thing you can do is make sure you are a healthy weight & take vitamin D. That'll put you in a good starting place. Lose the fear! It doesn't help