Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Covid

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

Should I take the latest booster?

102 replies

ClemFandango1 · 08/06/2023 19:16

I took all jabs offered so far, even whilst pregnant and all has been largely fine.

However, I have to admit I've read many reports of post Vax nastiness and I chickened out of the last booster.

Should I just take it? Am I being daft?

OP posts:
Jambala22 · 26/06/2023 15:47

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

AngelasAirpods · 26/06/2023 15:48

CrunchyCarrot · 25/06/2023 07:41

The FDA recently (last week) recommended a monovalent booster for the coming season, using the XBB 1.5 variant, so moving on from the bivalent type. I expect the UK will follow suit, and recommend boosters for the elderly and immune-compromised. I'm not sure that the rest of the population of the UK will be offered it (contrasted with the US where everyone will be).

There's a lot of T-cell immunity now throughout the population, due to the number of infections and/or vaccinations. Not enough importance is being given to this, it's the T-cell immunity that will help prevent more serious symptoms setting in during week 2 of an infection.

Whoever said these vaccines 'don't work' is very wrong. They do work, the death toll would have been far higher without them. Also comments such as 'my partner was vaxxed and got sicker than I did!' are not meaningful. This is why we have proper trials, so statistics can be compiled in a way that is meaningful, not just n=1 anecdotes. Also 'Omicron is milder' - no it isn't. For populations exposed to the previous variants, people have built up a level of immunity both from vaccinations and/or infections, so that on encountering Omicron they experienced a milder infection. If they had not done so, Omicron would still hit hard, indeed has done so.

Most healthy people would likely not need to carry on getting boosters annually as they ought to have enough T-cell immunity now to be protective. The exceptions to this would be the elderly and people with immune issues or other serious illnesses. The only reason this would change is because the virus mutates enough to be sufficiently different to warrant a new vaccine.

There's just so much disinformation about it is very difficult for people to get any sort of clear picture. I do worry that if and when another pandemic happens, people will simply refuse to be protected based on this disinformation and will die as a result.

They do work, the death toll would have been far higher without them.

Plenty of disinformation in your post!

Jambala22 · 26/06/2023 15:51

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Jambala22 · 26/06/2023 15:52

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Jambala22 · 26/06/2023 15:54

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

bonfirebash · 26/06/2023 15:54

I've had my primary and boosters so 7 vaccines
Same as the flu vaccine which I've been having for 20 years. Also a pneumonia one
My risk of covid is higher than vaccine side effects

I also inject myself with 2 drugs weekly, one which increases my risk of cancer and another which means I could have a ruptured spleen. You have to balance out the pros and cons

Someone with cancer is better to get the vaccines than risk covid without them

Jambala22 · 26/06/2023 15:59

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

bonfirebash · 26/06/2023 16:06

And how would you fix the fact my body kills my neutrophils? I mean given there isn't actually any cure for it
One that doesn't involve the words homeopathy, acupuncture, gut health or juicing and bone marrow transplant doesn't work either

The pharmaceutical industry has saved my life over and over and over. I would have been dead at birth without drugs because I needed steroids for my lungs, and NICU

There's a reason we don't see smallpox, tetanus and polio now. And it's not natural immunity

Jambala22 · 26/06/2023 16:17

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Pinkprescription · 26/06/2023 16:20

I have been offered a 7th jab but you have to get it by Friday. I am undecided as I had covid in Jan - if it was a month ago I wouldn't bother.
I am aware people have suffered terrible vaccine injuries. This is playing on my mind as is the fact that I know a few people whose lives have been devastated by long covid.

Jambala22 · 26/06/2023 16:23

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Jambala22 · 26/06/2023 16:24

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

bonfirebash · 26/06/2023 16:28

Not lifestyle choices. It's common in babies and children, from newborns
So not to do with diet/sleep etc. it's an autoimmune condition that can often start from weeks old

Upsizer · 26/06/2023 16:29

I understand OP. I’ve had all the vaccines but am now 14 months into long covid and now largely housebound (from being v fit with a personal trainer). I have teens so wonder if the covid exposure I have from them is sufficient? It’s very hard to know what to do. I’m very scared of the risks either way.

Mariposista · 26/06/2023 16:31

I had my 2 jabs plus booster. Wasn't offered the 4th due to being to young. Had what I am sure was covid (I don't test but pretty sure it was, everyone around me had it), and felt horrendous for 2 weeks. Had to work through it too (SE, no choice I'm afraid).
I would have the jab if offered.

Pinkprescription · 26/06/2023 16:35

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

I needed anti-virals and I haven't been that well since - I have had a series of infections that I can't shift so have spent months on anti-biotics. May be that is ok - It's difficult to weigh up.

Jambala22 · 26/06/2023 16:38

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

MissConductUS · 26/06/2023 16:38

Pinkprescription · 26/06/2023 16:35

I needed anti-virals and I haven't been that well since - I have had a series of infections that I can't shift so have spent months on anti-biotics. May be that is ok - It's difficult to weigh up.

Show quote history

Additionally, the virus has changed. The updated vaccine will provide better protection against what is currently circulating. That's why the FDA has asked the vaccine makers to update it.

Jambala22 · 26/06/2023 16:40

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Upsizer · 26/06/2023 16:42

@Jambala22 You seem a little bit excitable about this. Slightly less sarcasm might improve your delivery, if you are genuinely persuaded of your viewpoint.

MissConductUS · 26/06/2023 16:43

Isn't it funny how in the US a year on year increase in spend on prescription medicine, correlates almost exactly with the year on year increase in chronic health conditions and consumption of ultra processed food.

That's brilliant, except for the fact that the increase in chronic conditions is due to an increase in the average age of the population. Nice try, though.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9881650/

Projecting the chronic disease burden among the adult population in the United States using a multi-state population model

As the United States population ages, the adult population with chronic diseases is expected to increase. Exploring credible, evidence-based projections of the future burden of chronic diseases is fundamental to understanding the likely impact of estab...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9881650

SomeDizzyWhoreI804 · 26/06/2023 16:45

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

How can you make yourself healthy if you have an autoimmune disease? Unfortunately you have to rely on others.

I inject low dose chemotherapy weekly and have regular blood tests/scans/vaccinations (not just for covid). My disease affects my joints but also causes inflammation of my heart, brain, lungs etc if untreated. It can cause blindness. Even if you're lucky enough to avoid all that your mobility would be decimated and at least 15 years shaved off your life expectancy.

And no, I don't eat processed food (I'm vegan and my diet is good). You can't catch autoimmune diseases from your diet. And as the PP said, babies and children have autoimmune diseases. Are they 'playing the victim card' too?

Jambala22 · 26/06/2023 16:51

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

SomeDizzyWhoreI804 · 26/06/2023 16:59

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

You cannot cure RA with diet anymore than you can cure cancer with diet. And insinuating that people are to blame for such health conditions is pretty low, to be honest.

Funnily enough my vegan diet was recommended by a friend who is a homeopathic practitioner - it hasn't cured my disease, which neither she nor I expected it to, but it has made me feel better generally. Just so you know I'm not closed minded.

Yes, my meds are for life. When I can't take them - for example, when I have a cold or flu - my disease crashes in with a vengeance. I've tried other ways to cope with it but this is the only thing that works.

But thanks for telling me I've abdicated responsibility for my health. Do you say that to people being treated for cancer, for example, too? Do you tell them that the need to stop taking their chemo because big pharma is just using them to turn a profit?