Covid-19 vaccination experiences

I was under the impression that the 'allergies' thing was mostly, if not exclusively, due to people having egg protein allergic reactions due to eggs being used to produce some vaccines - but not AFAIK covid vaccines used in the UK.

Yes, some people have a bad reaction to covid vaccines, and yes, that is thought to be down to the spike protein, so it's possible, AFAIK, that any covid vaccine could set it off.

So...no idea what they are talking about.

I'm not convinced that they do either.

Possibly I am wrong?

 

I had two jabs last year. Around the time of my second (sept 21) I was in a flare up from moving back into my house after months at my parents and overexerting after the move.

Initially I felt I had had a normal reaction, but very sore arm at night and raindrop sensation on side as falling asleep

A week after the second jab my partner's family visited and I stayed out chatting for far too long.

A day or two later I crashed for months and was almost paralysed for days at a time, barely able to limp to the bathroom. I also developed a head tremor which still flares up regularly.

My GP said I shouldn't get another jab for now but I feel very vunerable and can't be certain that the vaccine caused my ME to worsen. I feel like I'm making a gamble either way.

 

A friend was a given a Pfizer (4th) the other day and was told they normally give you the same vaccine that you didn't have any reaction to previously.

To be honest, I think they just give you a random story b/c they don't know either.

 

Just to update that after 8days i was back to my normal after Pfizer bivalent booster & this has continued for the last fortnight.

 

How are you feeling now, Andy? Are your energy levels back to normal?

 

I received my fourth Covid shot yesterday: The Moderna Omicron booster. I've had no negative side effects beside a sore arm. Covid shots have made me feel much better for periods in the past, but it's too soon for that yet.

 

I just received the 4th new Pfizer bivalent jab. They offered me a flu shot (again)l but I declined.

So far so good.

 

My OH has had cellulitis this year which has proved difficult to resolve.
Recently a horrendous all over body rash - GP put it down to an allergic reaction , perhaps to accumulation of dressing ingredients ( a fair bit of silver) , or to something in the compression stockings.

Referral to dermatology however has surmised this is a reaction to the COVID booster - they are seeing more of it this time around.

ETA Pfizer

 

I'm hanging out for my next Covid vaccine (5th dose) which will be around January 5th.

I don't feel safe at all when out at the moment here in NZ. We are a week into December and it is quite shocking to me how many people are displaying cold/Covid-like symptoms. It's very unusual for this time of year.

It's very disappointing that many are not wearing a mask now. I am still double masking when out and sanitizing my hands. I haven't caught Covid so far.

 

You don't get summer colds down there? Or is this something completely different? Could it be related to the lack of usual exposure to viruses because of Covid restrictions, so people are more vulnerable?

 

I haven't seen summer colds in past years as bad as what I am seeing at the moment. Like @Sean in Australia we are also going through a Covid wave here in NZ.

Regards to colds, it could be a lack of exposure to colds since the mask mandate changed a few months ago? (I can't remember exactly when the mandate changed).

My brother and his family are coming up to see me on Christmas Day. I'm hoping for a warm sunny day so that I can put chairs outside. It's been a long 7 weeks trying to recover from my operation, but the last few days I have begun to feel like I am coming right. The last thing I need now is to get sick with Covid or a bad cold.

The double masking has seemed to have done a good job at keeping me from Covid so far.

 

This really all explains what happened with the flu pandemic, the dynamic that lead to the worst wave.

So how bad it gets this time is really all about chance. We will see a massive 3rd winter wave, with most people having lost the immunity that kept severe illness. And how bad it is is entirely down to chance, not to anything we've done. Well, other than what medical and public health authorities did, wow did they royally screw it all up.

Kind of amazing that we are doing the exact same mistakes as when people knew nothing, didn't even know about viruses, and one reason we are doing the same mistakes is because the people making those decisions somehow believe they know it all. About immunology, of all things. Truly this is the age of hubris.

 

I'll post this data in this thread, as I think it's interesting for the group, though may be better somewhere else. Usual caveats on reading too much, or even anything, into this n=1. To remind everyone as to background, I suspect I had asymptomatic COVID around Sep/Oct 2020 (original strain). No positive test at any stage and only retrospective hints in blood evaluation, but no definitive proof yet. Some clever research-grade tricks still to follow that might yet clinch it. I have not had a confirmed Covid infection subsequently either, with regular surveillance RATs.

I've had my anti-spike (and anti-nucleocapsid) antibodies re-measured. This is via a commercial, proprietary colourimetric ELISA assay. It gives results as a ratio, with 0-0.9 absent, 0.9-1.3 equivocal and 1.3+ present. My anti-NC Abs read as zero. My anti-spike Abs are 6.8 where the top end of the scale is 10 (i.e. they've never recorded a reading over 9).

This is a surprisingly high reading. My last vaccination (2nd of the primary series) was in April 2021. Many people have now had 5 rounds as antibodies wane quickly. On some of my stored blood (Apr 22), I had a reading in the high 7s, which is higher than a contemporaneous, uninfected but vaccinated control, boosted (#3) just a few months prior.

This result suggests to me that I don't need to be considering a booster anytime soon, as in theory I'm still well protected. So I am happy with my previous decision to forgo - a decision I made based on the severe deterioration I experienced four-six weeks following #2 of my primary series.

This also suggests I have an abnormal immune response, ongoing. Does it imply an SC2 reservoir and an inability to clear, but persistent triggering? Or is it something else causing the ongoing production, via now dysregulated Bs / Ts?

 

Sorry, missed this originally. I would say that it was only last week that I got back to what was my baseline prior to my vaccination. I had my flu shot yesterday, so will now have to wait and see what effect that has on me.

 

Hopefully the flu vaccine won't affect you. I had my flu shot 13 days ago and within four hours the reactions started. That's a first for me as I've never had a reaction to the flu shot before. Even with the covid vaccines I usually didn't notice anything until at least a week later. This time it was immediate.

 

Very sorry to read this @TigerLilea. You have had a tough time with vaccines. I hope the flu shot reaction clears.

 

I'll list a little more fully.

Initially Nov/Dec 2020 was a period of reducing energy. I had not recognised this at the time, but in hindsight I was limiting my social engagements and generally not on top form. Eg a lacklustre small supporting role in an end-of-year skit that would usually have been no trouble, and in previous years was often a larger performance.

Jan 2021, sudden recognition of symptoms of tachycardia and mild breathlessness at rest, with HR dramatically increasing on standing and furthermore with a few steps. Assumed "a virus" and waited it out. No resolution by day 5, saw GP and hospitalised with concern for some type of acute cardiac issue or PE. "All tests normal" and specifically no evidence of current viral infection. However, in hindsight my SvO2 was extremely low (22%). Discharged. Started developing episodes of "collapse" (eg after a carb-heavy meal), with ongoing fatigue. Unusual sensations of "zinginess" in my forearm muscles and an odd sensation at the back of my head that was best described as feeling as if brain was continuing to rotate after I'd finished turning my head.

Was cycling through weeks of feeling completely normal vs weeks of above symptoms (2-3 week periodicity).

Saw cardiologist and endocrinologist. Cardiologist excellent - diagnosed POTS, ruled out structural and rhythm pathologies. Endocrinologist looked at my normal blood workup, "listened" to my story, gave very poor advice and told me I was being hypervigilant etc, and that I should definitely continue going to the gym, riding my bike, living a normal life etc. Did so.

Early April 2021 had vaccine #1 (Pfizer). No issues as I recall. End of April 2021 had vaccine #2. Spent the following day "trashed", in bed or in front of the fire (what we consider a crash). By the next day had recovered completely. All seemed reasonably well for the next 2-3 weeks, but reduced biking to work. I hadn't recognised that I was simply recovering during evenings and weekends - eg no longer interested in sailing the boat. Between weeks 4-6 things worsened. Developed headaches, excruciating noise hypersensitivity that saw me curled up in a fetal position. At the end of week 6 I did my last interventional case, walked out of the OR and back to a temporary rental apartment close to the hospital and then crashed into severe.

It took me about three months to "recover" enough to sit, stand and then modestly walk and I joined S4ME early on in that initial excruciating period. I'm now at the mild end of moderate, mostly housebound with limited modest excursions, but able to work from home on a permanent half-time basis.