4 ms·

How long does it take to ramp up production? I'm at 6 months and a few days since my 2nd shot. Do I get a booster now or wait a few months in hope of an updat

How long does it take to ramp up production? I'm at 6 months and a few days since my 2nd shot. Do I get a booster now or wait a few months in hope of an updated one?

SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
Get a booster when you can, it is worth it. I had mine last week. We don't know if and when there will be an omicron-specific jab, and a mRNA 3rd dose cuts your chances of bad outcome (severe illness, hospitalisation) from omicron or previous variants to a lot lower than 2 doses ever did. https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1458020957457731585 https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1458020957457731585 https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1460191035531878405 https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1460191035531878405
- fullstop 5y ago
  I'll likely do that. For what it's worth I was not eligible for a booster where I live until very recently.
- timr 5y ago
  > Get a booster when you can, it is worth it. If you are under 65 and not immune compromised, there's essentially no evidence for this claim. If you are either of those things, there's some evidence that it takes your risk of severe illness (already low after vaccination), and divides it by another factor of ~20 [0]. That's great, but it's a tiny absolute effect, and we shouldn't over-sell it. If you're under 65, there's essentially no evidence supporting widespread use of boosters, and the CDC ACIP was against recommending it for all people [1] (but was ignored by politicians). The WHO continues to ask rich countries not to give boosters to healthy young people, given lack of evidence and supply constraints. [2] Not incidentally: your two tweets discuss infection, not severe illness. All current evidence is that you're well-protected against severe disease after two shots. Paper in the lancet as of last week found that boosters had a marginal impact on cellular immunity, with the primary benefit being antibody response. [3] Again, fine, but we know that antibody response wanes over time. It's completely unsurprising that you'd have more antibodies two weeks after vaccination. You'll have far lower antibodies 9 months from your third dose, too. [0] https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2114255 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2114255 [1] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7044e2.htm https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7044e2.htm [2] https://www.who.int/news/item/04-10-2021-interim-statement-on-booster-doses-for-covid-19-vaccination https://www.who.int/news/item/04-10-2021-interim-statement-o... [3]https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02717-3/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6... > a mRNA 3rd dose cuts your chances of bad outcome (severe illness, hospitalisation) from omicron or previous variants to a lot lower than 2 doses ever did. Literally no evidence for this statement. We simply don't know anything about Omicron and boosters. This is why this press release from Pfizer is on the front page of HN right now.
  - swader999 5y ago
    If you are in that group (under 65 and no co-morbids) two shots should be fine. Getting infected, using early treatments (even controversial ones) and recovering with a dose of natural immunity is probably better as the SA study from yesterday showed.
    - SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
      > Getting infected, using early treatments (even controversial ones) and recovering with a dose of natural immunity is probably better Citation needed, as you appear to be saying that a COVID infection is preferable to a vaccination, and that is an extraordinary claim. Bonus points for using " natural immunity", a loaded term.
      - timr 5y ago
        There's good evidence that natural infection is more robust than vaccination alone, and that a combination of infection + a booster is best overall: https://www.science.org/content/article/having-sars-cov-2-once-confers-much-greater-immunity-vaccine-vaccination-remains-vital https://www.science.org/content/article/having-sars-cov-2-on...
        SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
        That may be a silver lining, but the statement was "is COVID infection preferable to a vaccination". COVID infection, if you're not aware, also can have downsides. This evidence does not make "lets get COVID" a good idea on balance.
        swader999 5y ago
        For low risk groups I think it's preferable to let your immune system have a go at it. Training it on only a portion of the spike with an alpha based vax will get you into the endless booster game. Especially if you have things like ivermectin and vitamins at your disposal.
pseudalopex 5y ago
The article's main point was 3 doses of the original vaccine is more effective than 2 for omicron. They expect to have an omicron vaccine available by March if 3 doses of the original vaccine isn't enough.
- fullstop 5y ago
  I totally agree with that assessment. What I am weighing, though, is that I would not be eligible for any potential omicron-specific booster for several months if I get a booster now. It's a risk/reward calculation.

How long does it take to ramp up production? I'm at 6 months and a few days since my 2nd shot. Do I get a booster now or wait a few months in hope of an updated one?

SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago

Get a booster when you can, it is worth it. I had mine last week. We don't know if and when there will be an omicron-specific jab, and a mRNA 3rd dose cuts your chances of bad outcome (severe illness, hospitalisation) from omicron or previous variants to a lot lower than 2 doses ever did. https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1458020957457731585 https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1458020957457731585 https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1460191035531878405 https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1460191035531878405

fullstop 5y ago
I'll likely do that. For what it's worth I was not eligible for a booster where I live until very recently.
timr 5y ago
> Get a booster when you can, it is worth it. If you are under 65 and not immune compromised, there's essentially no evidence for this claim. If you are either of those things, there's some evidence that it takes your risk of severe illness (already low after vaccination), and divides it by another factor of ~20 [0]. That's great, but it's a tiny absolute effect, and we shouldn't over-sell it. If you're under 65, there's essentially no evidence supporting widespread use of boosters, and the CDC ACIP was against recommending it for all people [1] (but was ignored by politicians). The WHO continues to ask rich countries not to give boosters to healthy young people, given lack of evidence and supply constraints. [2] Not incidentally: your two tweets discuss infection, not severe illness. All current evidence is that you're well-protected against severe disease after two shots. Paper in the lancet as of last week found that boosters had a marginal impact on cellular immunity, with the primary benefit being antibody response. [3] Again, fine, but we know that antibody response wanes over time. It's completely unsurprising that you'd have more antibodies two weeks after vaccination. You'll have far lower antibodies 9 months from your third dose, too. [0] https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2114255 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2114255 [1] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7044e2.htm https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7044e2.htm [2] https://www.who.int/news/item/04-10-2021-interim-statement-on-booster-doses-for-covid-19-vaccination https://www.who.int/news/item/04-10-2021-interim-statement-o... [3]https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02717-3/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6... > a mRNA 3rd dose cuts your chances of bad outcome (severe illness, hospitalisation) from omicron or previous variants to a lot lower than 2 doses ever did. Literally no evidence for this statement. We simply don't know anything about Omicron and boosters. This is why this press release from Pfizer is on the front page of HN right now.
- swader999 5y ago
  If you are in that group (under 65 and no co-morbids) two shots should be fine. Getting infected, using early treatments (even controversial ones) and recovering with a dose of natural immunity is probably better as the SA study from yesterday showed.
  - SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
    > Getting infected, using early treatments (even controversial ones) and recovering with a dose of natural immunity is probably better Citation needed, as you appear to be saying that a COVID infection is preferable to a vaccination, and that is an extraordinary claim. Bonus points for using " natural immunity", a loaded term.
    - timr 5y ago
      There's good evidence that natural infection is more robust than vaccination alone, and that a combination of infection + a booster is best overall: https://www.science.org/content/article/having-sars-cov-2-once-confers-much-greater-immunity-vaccine-vaccination-remains-vital https://www.science.org/content/article/having-sars-cov-2-on...
      - SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
        That may be a silver lining, but the statement was "is COVID infection preferable to a vaccination". COVID infection, if you're not aware, also can have downsides. This evidence does not make "lets get COVID" a good idea on balance.
        swader999 5y ago
        For low risk groups I think it's preferable to let your immune system have a go at it. Training it on only a portion of the spike with an alpha based vax will get you into the endless booster game. Especially if you have things like ivermectin and vitamins at your disposal.

pseudalopex 5y ago

The article's main point was 3 doses of the original vaccine is more effective than 2 for omicron. They expect to have an omicron vaccine available by March if 3 doses of the original vaccine isn't enough.

fullstop 5y ago
I totally agree with that assessment. What I am weighing, though, is that I would not be eligible for any potential omicron-specific booster for several months if I get a booster now. It's a risk/reward calculation.