5 ms·

Maybe it is less about it being the 2nd or 3rd shot and more about how recently you received your last shot? I got my 2nd shot 7 months ago and we've already h

Maybe it is less about it being the 2nd or 3rd shot and more about how recently you received your last shot? I got my 2nd shot 7 months ago and we've already heard that protection fades over time, so maybe the booster just works because it boosts, not because it is really any different than my 2nd shot.

SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
> Maybe is ... about how recently you received your last shot .. not because it is really any different than my 2nd shot. No. That appears not be the situation. Immunity shortly after the thirds shot is substantially higher than shortly after the second https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1460191035531878405 https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1460191035531878405 https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1458026852249919490 https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1458026852249919490
- eightysixfour 5y ago
  I have seen speculation that the second dose was given too quickly.
  - wlesieutre 5y ago
    I wonder if that's a factor in the Pfizer/BioNTech vs Moderna performance. Moderna had a higher dosage, but it was also 4 weeks between doses instead of 3.
    - SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
      > but it was also 4 weeks between doses instead of 3. YMMV. The UK gave out AZ and Pfizer. First at a 12 week interval, then shortened to 8 weeks.
  - SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
    Firstly, YMMV, different people got different separations of different vaccines. The US doing Pfizer 3 weeks apart was the fastest. The UK gave out AZ and Pfizer. First at a 12 week interval, then shortened to 8 weeks The question is: too quickly for what? My understanding is that a) If the goal was optimal immunity in the longer term then yes, it might be overly quick. b) But if the goal was fighting the raging pandemic that needed urgent actions right now as "the house is on fire", and you have a lot of vaccine doses, then no, maybe not too fast. Finally, a lot of vaccine courses require more than 2 doses, separated by more than a couple of months. UK standard childhood vaccination schedule for instance. "Polio" is in there 5 times. Polio is a memory, but only because because to this day they don't mess around with vaccinating against it
    - eightysixfour 5y ago
      Agreed, I was only referencing a.
  - Symmetry 5y ago
    If you assume an unlimited supply of vaccine then the shorter dose interval gets everybody to good level of sterilizing immunity as quickly as possible.
    - SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
      Yep. if you need to fight against a raging pandemic, then quickly as possible (as quickly as is tested to be safe, quickly as makes a significant difference) is the over-riding concern.
      - astrange 5y ago
        That implies we thought about it in the US, but we didn't really, and our public health people seem to be completely inflexible about everything. The schedule we used for vaccines is just what was done for their trials.
        SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
        > The schedule we used for vaccines is just what was done for their trials. There is a reason for that - what's being deployed is what has been tested. You could work out an optimal schedule, but that might take years of trials, and meanwhile people are dying.
        astrange 5y ago
        Other countries stretched them out and saw positive results.
  - xchaotic 5y ago
    Given how quickly the virus mutates, giving it less frequently makes even less sense.
    - eightysixfour 5y ago
      My response was with respect to maximizing immuno response following vaccination. There is some evidence that larger spacing between doses increases response.

SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago

> Maybe is ... about how recently you received your last shot .. not because it is really any different than my 2nd shot. No. That appears not be the situation. Immunity shortly after the thirds shot is substantially higher than shortly after the second https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1460191035531878405 https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1460191035531878405 https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1458026852249919490 https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1458026852249919490

eightysixfour 5y ago
I have seen speculation that the second dose was given too quickly.
- wlesieutre 5y ago
  I wonder if that's a factor in the Pfizer/BioNTech vs Moderna performance. Moderna had a higher dosage, but it was also 4 weeks between doses instead of 3.
  - SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
    > but it was also 4 weeks between doses instead of 3. YMMV. The UK gave out AZ and Pfizer. First at a 12 week interval, then shortened to 8 weeks.
- SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
  Firstly, YMMV, different people got different separations of different vaccines. The US doing Pfizer 3 weeks apart was the fastest. The UK gave out AZ and Pfizer. First at a 12 week interval, then shortened to 8 weeks The question is: too quickly for what? My understanding is that a) If the goal was optimal immunity in the longer term then yes, it might be overly quick. b) But if the goal was fighting the raging pandemic that needed urgent actions right now as "the house is on fire", and you have a lot of vaccine doses, then no, maybe not too fast. Finally, a lot of vaccine courses require more than 2 doses, separated by more than a couple of months. UK standard childhood vaccination schedule for instance. "Polio" is in there 5 times. Polio is a memory, but only because because to this day they don't mess around with vaccinating against it
  - eightysixfour 5y ago
    Agreed, I was only referencing a.
- Symmetry 5y ago
  If you assume an unlimited supply of vaccine then the shorter dose interval gets everybody to good level of sterilizing immunity as quickly as possible.
  - SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
    Yep. if you need to fight against a raging pandemic, then quickly as possible (as quickly as is tested to be safe, quickly as makes a significant difference) is the over-riding concern.
    - astrange 5y ago
      That implies we thought about it in the US, but we didn't really, and our public health people seem to be completely inflexible about everything. The schedule we used for vaccines is just what was done for their trials.
      - SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
        > The schedule we used for vaccines is just what was done for their trials. There is a reason for that - what's being deployed is what has been tested. You could work out an optimal schedule, but that might take years of trials, and meanwhile people are dying.
        astrange 5y ago
        Other countries stretched them out and saw positive results.
- xchaotic 5y ago
  Given how quickly the virus mutates, giving it less frequently makes even less sense.
  - eightysixfour 5y ago
    My response was with respect to maximizing immuno response following vaccination. There is some evidence that larger spacing between doses increases response.