ya, so many people I know have had it, even had it twice and they have been triple vaxed. Maybe 4th will be upcoming they are talking about it in the news today. Totally glad to have got that out of the way.

Mom and I got our boost the same day. About a week before Christmas. I have been staying with her since early November when she was poisoned by some UTI meds, then she fell, it took until January and she was doing better, but then she had a stroke. I wondered if the shot had anything to do with the stroke, I think there was a good three weeks or so since the boost. Hard to say since when she was in the hosp in Nov they removed her daily aspirin because her platelets and sodium were off the charts low. We were waiting till a cardio appt to see if they were going to add the aspirin back and then she's back in the hospital... thankfully my daughter was with her and noticed what was going on and called 911. I had gone home for the first in a long while and was home 3 days when this happened, so I went back. She was in the icu for two days. There was at least 5 people on ventilators in this small town hosp with warnings all over the doors, one could only presume they had covid. Anyway, it's been a hard recovery but she was lucky to not have been paralyzed. Her speach and memory are the most affected, and she has had terrible angry outbursts, so I worry there may be some dementia setting in.

I'm home now trying to take care of all my dr. appointments in ten days I'm here. I drove back last Wed. and had to go straight to the lab and an ultrasound for my appointment with the hepatologist tomorrow. 2 eye dr.s, cardio dr., foot dr., and hepatologist plus those 2 tests! I'm cramming for a health exam, LoL Kinda worried about the ultra-sound, seems like she spent an awful long time doing the test. So I'll know more tomorrow. I have the disk, but I have no Idea what I'm looking at.

My daughter is with my Mom right now, she's going to set up some auto banking as Mom has been bouncing checks like crazy. She got her a Life Alert system too and mom accidentally set that thing off at 3am one night and WOW that thing is loud! Anyhoo, it's been a trying 4 months. She lives three hours away, and it would be nice to keep her in her own home considering all the trouble with covid at the assisted living homes, but it has been hard living away from home. Husband having way too much Spam while I'm gone, I'm sure of it.

Saw those crazy people on the border there, looks like they were moving them out today? Seems like people just want to have something to scream about anymore. Not like they are in this by them freaking selves. I suppose it is a typical reaction to feeling out of control, but there just making it worse!

blessings to you all!, Iris

Got the second dart 4 weeks? later and it made me super sick, got 102 fever and the worst chills I can ever remember and body aches that made me cry and prevented sleep, I could hardly move. And I was exhausted. Food sounded terrible and then hubs cooked Spam, I could've killed him, the smell was vomitous. But after 2 days I was good, took some time for the brain fog to lift though.

I was so excited to be able to get back to the world, that I took my daughter to Disneyland since they were still at 25 % capacity, it was freaking fantastic! No waiting for almost everything and I think a couple of the longest line waits was only about 25 minutes. Sleeping Beauties castle was the longest because they had just redone it to make it "less scary" at about 45 min. I'll probably never go again so it was a real special trip, mother/daughter time.

Got 3rd dose just before Christmas,  late in the day. Woke up next day ok but by noon I was exhausted, and by afternoon I had a fever of 100 and some body aches, no appetite, but took Tylenol and went to bed early. The next day I was fine.

So when do you suppose a 4th dose will be needed?

This is a messed up horrible plague that has already killed my mother in law And my husband's sisters husband. So 2 in one family is too much. I feel like screaming at the people who felt they didn't need to mask since it is our best defense besides the vax. I mean...I get not wanting to put things in your body you don't want to, people should always have autonomy with their own bodies, but Freaking wear a mask then!!! Gah! We all live on this planet, have a little common courtesy for the freaking life of another. When your  "faith and freedom" is more important than the lives of your fellow human we are in a world of hurt. I want to slap these people.

Now it looks like the mask mandate (which few followed anyway) (this attitude, by the way, was in rural America, when back in the big city if LA, I was astounded at the amount of folks who DID follow the rules.) Is going to be lifted, hope there is not another surge.

Bb, Iris

Tig wrote:

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Hi Mike,

I saw the data you posted, but I wasn't clear on all of it. So your Ab test came back >250? That positive must've been a bit concerning for you! Did you experience any Covid like symptoms during that period, other than the sore arm? I know the vax has that effect on some patients. Hopefully you're not dealing with any of that. When will you repeat your blood work? I'm curious how the antibodies affect your HIV numbers going forward.

---

 The vaccine's purpose is to initiate production of antibody's that target the spike protein of the virus. Since this test is measuring antibodies against the spike protein then the higher the quantity (U/ml) the better my immune response. Anything greater than 0.79 U/ml shows the immune system has produced these antibody's. The test upper limit is 250 U/ml. So my antibody response exceeded the limit of the test, which is good. Based on my results, I suspect most anyone's response to the vaccine, with a healthy immune system, would also test above the upper limit.
 Note: The vaccines available in the United States all induce production of antibody's that target the spike (S) protein but not the nucleocapsid (N) protein of the virus. There are other test to determine levels of antibody's to the nucleocapsid protein which indicate a prior infection of the virus itself. So if you've had Covid-19 already you will likely test positive for both spike and nucleocapsid antibody's. The vaccines target the spike protein because, theoretically, that is the binding point of the infection.
 I had no noticeable side effects from the vaccine. But evidentially, side effects are not necessarily an indicator of robust vs weak immune response resulting from the vaccine. More time and data are needed to understand these vaccine Sx's, which is true of many things about this novel virus.
 Yes I'll likely repeat this Ab test in the future. Based on what we know about immune durability so far based on trial data and 4 months of extensive real world application, I could be good for at least 6-10 months, although there are caveats with this.
 One thing is very likely. SARS-CoV-2 is with us to stay to some extent. Whether we will need continued boosters (like with influenza) or not depends on the durability of our immune system's continued ability to respond to this virus. These data also remain to be determined over time.
 The main thing is that if I do get exposed to the virus, I know that, for now, I already have some level of protection which greatly increases my chances of fighting off infection, or at least severe disease or even death.
 As far as my HIV, my CD4 T-cell level is higher, post-vaccination, than it's been in a long time. I don't know if that's a result of the vaccine or something else, but I'm happy about it.

-- Edited by wmlj1960 on Saturday 1st of May 2021 10:35:11 AM

Tig wrote:

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So Mike, what's your status? Did you achieve the response desired, or did that quantification score show a false positive? My mind fails me this afternoon.  I'm curious how your Sars CV2 antibodies and your HIV scores relate? I don't know how you stay on top of all that!

---

 I posted the results on April 25. Look down 2 post in this thread. The result was positive and surprised me.

SARS-CoV-2 Semi-Quant Total Ab (Spike)
>250.00 U/mL

Interpretation:
Negative <0.80
Positive >0.79

Test range 0.40 - 250.00

I just read this

KEY POINTS

    Pfizers experimental oral drug to treat Covid-19 at the first sign of illness could be available by the end of the year, CEO Albert Bourla told CNBC on Tuesday.

    The drug is part of a class of medicines called protease inhibitors and works by inhibiting an enzyme that the virus needs to replicate in human cells.

    Protease inhibitors are used to treat other viral pathogens such as HIV and hepatitis C.

-- Edited by wmlj1960 on Friday 30th of April 2021 02:19:47 PM

Image edited to fit forum width limits.

Iris Dragonfly wrote:

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Mike, how are you dong now? it's the 10th, you should be out and about and enjoying re-intergration. Did you have any other side effects after your second dose?

---

 Hello Iris. I'm doing fine and had very little side effects from either Pfizer dose. I'm not re-intergrating yet though. I had routine lab work done by my HIV doctor on March 12 and results were just posted yesterday on the patient portal, although some important info was left out, CD4 (T-helper) cell count in particular. But it does give an absolute lymphocytes value of 1384. Based on my last results 6 months ago, absolute lymphocytes 1058 yielding a CD4 value of 221, I can calculate my latest CD4 to possibly be in the neighborhood of 289, which is a substantial positive increase. This does not particularly indicate any value concerning SARS-CoV-2 antibodies although the Pfizer vaccine likely had a positive effect on these results. So I'll be having blood drawn in the morning for Labcorp test: 164090 (SARS-CoV-2 Semi-Quantitative Total Antibody, Spike). This should give an indication of how robust of a benefit I received from the Pfizer vaccine. Also it will give a baseline to calculate antibody waning in the future, which is normally expected - it's really the memory T cells that need to stick around for lasting durability. I'll post the antibody test result when I receive it.

Tig wrote:

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Here's some information, pre Covid, but still explains the theory of vaccines.

Vaccine Dosing Safety

---

 Thanks Tig, I read most of it and will go back and read the whole thing but it's so interesting so far.

Hello 5,

No, the vaccines aren't based on height and weight. Here are a couple of websites that will help answer several questions.

Mayo Clinic Guidance

Covid Questions

There are complaints of arm discomfort, nausea and flu like symptoms following these vaccines. It's an immune system response to the vaccine, but still, it's got to be uncomfortable. There are a lot of reports of lymph node enlargement, especially on the side of the injection. Armpits and neck nodes seem to be most affected. There was a recent report advising women to wait two or three months (post vaccine) to get their mammograms, because breast lymph nodes inflame as well. If it's something that can't be put off temporarily, be absolutely certain to tell the doctor and mammo tech to notate that on your chart. I hope you get to feeling better soon, Iris.

Mike, how are you dong now? it's the 10th, you should be out and about and enjoying re-intergration. Did you have any other side effects after your second dose? 

I'm still getting weird brain fog that feels like buzzing in my head. Really agitating and I just feel yuk. I don't feel bad really, I just don't feel well. 

I also heard women are having more side effects than men, something to do with estrogen. One thing I have also noticed is a spike in hot flashes, although they say chills are a side effect.

Stomach ache too like... bleh, I don't want to eat. But once I do it's ok.

oi, hope this passes soon, it's scaring me for the second dose.

bb, Iris

Thanks for the information, Mike. I'm glad you have the protocol completed and are now waiting on full protection. It'll be soon   Keep safe and stay healthy!

Hey Mike,

You should've had the second dose by now (3/26). Did you have any side effects from it? My friend's Mother got the first dose of the Moderna vaccine and ended up in the hospital. She got ill the second day, and we had to call 911 and get her to the hospital. She couldn't walk, high fever, and total loss of balance, couldn't hold anything down, not even water. She ended up in the ICU and then the cardiac floor. They indicated that it was likely a vaccine reaction, because they couldn't attribute it to anything else. She came home after a week and was home for two days and is back in the hospital. She's 80 years old, so this is concerning. She's insistent on getting the second dose, but the doctors are hesitant to administer it. You get partial protection from the first shot, so she might have to settle for that.

I hope you're doing well!

Congratulations Mike all the best for the future our country has decided to focus on buying the pfizer vaccine because of its high success rate 95% 

I'm glad you got in, Mike. A warm, moist compress will help that discomfort. You should've been qualified for immediate vaccination. You've got co-morbidities that should have been recognized to begin with. Whatever the case, I'm happy you got that first dose. Big thumbs up, Bro!