Booster shots are scheduling: EssexCOVID.org

8/23, most reservation spots are open.


Shots being scheduled now are for those with severely compromised immune systems.  The rest of us are instructed to wait until 8 months after our second shot to schedule a booster shot.


I was a little envious that my brother in Pennsylvania was able to get a booster shot and then I remembered that he has diabetes, an autoimmune disorder, skin cancer, high blood pressure, recently had his prostate removed and is overweight. Sooooo, I'll wait my turn.

On the plus side, -he has a nice laugh.


Scheduling for 8 month boosters begin on 9/20.


steel said:

I was a little envious that my brother in Pennsylvania was able to get a booster shot and then I remembered that he has diabetes, an autoimmune disorder, skin cancer, high blood pressure, recently had his prostate removed and is overweight. Sooooo, I'll wait my turn.

On the plus side, -he has a nice laugh.

 your brother and I might be twins.


I am scheduled for 9/27, Livingston.


cubby said:

Scheduling for 8 month boosters begin on 9/20.

 The scheduling has already begun. 9/20 is 9 months after Essex County began the first shots of Moderna...the first day of the Essex clinics. So 1/21 was when the first people got their second shot. 


Sometime soon this may change to 6 months out and not 8 months out, which frankly I'm very glad about. See https://news.yahoo.com/u-reportedly-approve-booster-shots-104158849.html


Formerlyjerseyjack said:

cubby said:

Scheduling for 8 month boosters begin on 9/20.

 The scheduling has already begun. 9/20 is 9 months after Essex County began the first shots of Moderna...the first day of the Essex clinics. So 1/21 was when the first people got their second shot. 

 I believe scheduling now is only for immunocompromised with 9/20 being the kickoff for scheduling all 8 month boosters. Is that right? 


cubby said:

 I believe scheduling now is only for immunocompromised with 9/20 being the kickoff for scheduling all 8 month boosters. Is that right? 

 Not correct. Immunocomps + all people that got their second vaccine in January. 

People who got their second shot in February will have slots opened in October.


Any reason why we can't do five months like Israel is doing? 

Fresh data from Israel is providing encouraging news about the effectiveness of coronavirus boosters in seniors. A study by the Israeli Health Ministry found that a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine provided four times as much protection against infection as two doses in people 60 and older.

The level of protection was five to six times higher against serious illness and hospitalization, according to the study published Sunday, which looked at protection provided 10 days after a third dose.

They are now allowing 12 years and older to get the booster.


From State of NJ email blast:

Vaccines: Third Doses and Booster Shots

VaccinePeople with moderate to severe immune-system deficiencies are eligible for a third COVID-19 shot. Any eligible person who has received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines can get a third shot at any existing vaccination location. If you have your Vaccination Card, you should bring it with you so that the third dose can be added to your card. This third dose is a necessary additional dose of vaccines for individuals living with an immune system deficiency. It is intended to make sure that immunocompromised individuals have enough protection against COVID-19 as they may not build the same level of immunity from the two-dose vaccine series as people who are not immunocompromised.

This "third dose" is different from a booster shot. A booster is an additional dose that will allow the immune system to boost up its defenses against the coronavirus, given when the immune response weakens over time. New Jersey is preparing to make booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine available for the general public, pending federal recommendation.

Learn More


Do the feds get to veto the state booster program?  They are now wavering, at least about a Moderna booster.


It’s not so much, I think, that they’re wavering, but are saying more details and results are needed. (Good story in the NYT today that might be outside the paywall?) Some experts are saying it was basically the head of Pfizer who announced boosters would be needed, and that perhaps he was a bit biased. I think we are back to waiting and wondering.  


Heynj said:

It’s not so much, I think, that they’re wavering, but are saying more details and results are needed. (Good story in the NYT today that might be outside the paywall?) Some experts are saying it was basically the head of Pfizer who announced boosters would be needed, and that perhaps he was a bit biased. I think we are back to waiting and wondering.  

The results are in from Israel. They and some other countries are giving that third shot. Or do you think the Israelites are incapable, that they are stupid?

Fresh data from Israel is providing encouraging news about the effectiveness of coronavirus boosters in seniors. A study by the Israeli Health Ministry found that a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine provided four times as much protection against infection as two doses in people 60 and older.

The level of protection was five to six times higher against serious illness and hospitalization, according to the study published Sunday, which looked at protection provided 10 days after a third dose. Israel approved booster shots for people 60 and older late last month, and lowered the age of eligibility to 40 last week. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, 49, received his third Pfizer shot on Friday.

My opinion is that our government is too CYA bureaucratic. I heard Fauci say that the third shot has to get FDA approval after looking at trial data. Then it has to go before the immunization committee for further review and approval. Following that it has to be approved by the CDC.

Why are we not using the data from Israel? Are they afraid that by using foreign data there are liability issues? That anyone who has a serious side effect can sue and collect because l approval as gotten by using foreign data? Or is it that only American data is acceptable because we are so wonderfully exceptional?

I had high hopes for Biden. But I'm starting to wonder.


I already have an appointment but I guess it may be cancelled.  The recent reports indicate that Moderna is the strongest of the vacs but it has waned from some combination of Delta and the passage of time.

I pay a lot of attention to what happens in Israel and what their studies show but it should be remembered that their initial vac program used Pfizer.  Thy are only now switching to Moderna for their booster program  so their data re waning effect of vacs is really about the Pfizer vac.



Note that the third shot for those who are imunocompromised is not considered a "booster" but rather that those people benefit from a third shot as part of their initial series. 

And it does seem that there is a lot of wavering about the 8-month boosters for everyone so I guess we will all just need to wait and see what guidance they settle on.


The mRNA vaccines are the new generation of vaccines and they will be used more and more in the future.  So, once we all as a people get used to this new generation of vaccines, they will be more readily accepted.  Some really good news is that mRNA vaccines can be made much more quickly than the older methods.  But of course, they need to be thoroughly tested for efficacy and safety and I am glad that US scientists are not taking shortcuts on this.  I only vaguely recall learning about mRNA in college biology fifty years ago and their role in making proteins.  


RobertRoe said:

But of course, they need to be thoroughly tested for efficacy and safety and I am glad that US scientists are not taking shortcuts on this. 

Do you believe Israel has taken shortcuts? Not tested thoroughly? And if they did test thoroughly then why isn't their data sufficient for us? Why delay to repeat was has been done?

ps - Cuba claims all adults will have their third shot by end of Sept. They also will giving two doses to children aged 2 to 18.

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/cuba-prepares-vaccinate-its-children-entire-population-2021-09-01/

pps - I has my third Pfizer nine days ago. I felt blah with a small headache the day after. My S.O. had hers five day ago. She had a 103 fever the day after with an annoying headache. We're both fine now.


RTrent said:

RobertRoe said:

But of course, they need to be thoroughly tested for efficacy and safety and I am glad that US scientists are not taking shortcuts on this. 

Do you believe Israel has taken shortcuts? Not tested thoroughly? And if they did test thoroughly then why isn't their data sufficient for us? Why delay to repeat was has been done?

Did you miss my question? I'm hoping for your answer. If you don't know its OK to say so.

Anyway, in Israel, they got worried when cases went from 20/day early June (driven down by their successful vaccination drive) to 10,000/day late August due to weakening of vaccine protection and the Delta variant.

That is why they are giving the third shot.

The results are in. The third shot is extremely effective. People who have gotten their third shot show a 11.3 times reduction for confirmed illness and 19.5 times reduction for serious illness.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2114255


RTrent said:

RTrent said:

RobertRoe said:

But of course, they need to be thoroughly tested for efficacy and safety and I am glad that US scientists are not taking shortcuts on this. 

Do you believe Israel has taken shortcuts? Not tested thoroughly? And if they did test thoroughly then why isn't their data sufficient for us? Why delay to repeat was has been done?

Did you miss my question? I'm hoping for your answer. If you don't know its OK to say so.

Anyway, in Israel, they got worried when cases went from 20/day early June (driven down by their successful vaccination drive) to 10,000/day late August due to weakening of vaccine protection and the Delta variant.

That is why they are giving the third shot.

The results are in. The third shot is extremely effective. People who have gotten their third shot show a 11.3 times reduction for confirmed illness and 19.5 times reduction for serious illness.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2114255

 What you write makes sense except for the Biden blaming you suggested above. He doesn't control the agencies and is not trying to unlike our last sociopath president. 

 


We can not and must not outsource our medical decisions to another country.   Normal protocols must be followed here which requires going through the approval process.   Biden is doing a great job on the covid front.  And I am thrilled that companies are now laying down the vaccine law.  


wendy said:

 What you write makes sense except for the Biden blaming you suggested above. He doesn't control the agencies and is not trying to unlike our last sociopath president. 

 

Sorry, but Biden is in charge. He our his HHS secretary need to get the bureaucratic lead out of the CDC and FDA. Too many career bureaucrats where the best have left over the years. Stagnant organizations. Someone needs to shake their lead out.

Its a matter of numbers. The Israeli study shows that many vaccinated are now at risk. We have 180,000,000 million vaccinated. Everyday some of them will get sick. Some of those will need hospital care. And some of them will die.

Its nice to say lets wait for more studies but the vaccinated are getting hospitalized and are also dying.

Fauci is not happy -

"If they say, 'We don't think there's enough data to do a booster,' then so be it," Fauci said. "I think that would be a mistake, to be honest with you."

The support for an extra dose of covid vaccine clearly emerged, at least in part, from an NIH research dynamo, built by Fauci, that for months has been getting intricate real-time data about covid variants and how they respond to vaccine-produced immunity. 


sbenois said:

We can not and must not outsource our medical decisions to another country.   Normal protocols must be followed here which requires going through the approval process.   Biden is doing a great job on the covid front.  And I am thrilled that companies are now laying down the vaccine law. 

Yes, of course, our hubris of exceptionalism and we're number 1.

Don't learn from others. Don't use other countries healthcare systems or procedures as a template for us.

Suppose the polio vaccine was invented in France. Having given it they report kids who got it are not getting polio. They offer it to us. 

In that day we would have quickly accepted and used it. In our day it would go through a lengthy cumbersome FDA/CDC approval process delaying administration by many months. 

Would you still want them to delay because "we must not outsource or decisions to other countries?"


to RTrent:  I think Israel has an excellent medical system and Israel is often a worldwide leader in health care.  So, any information Israel has should be taken seriously and I think that the info from Israel is one reason that the US is moving ahead as fast as possible to examine the third dose of covid vaccine.  But the US still has to follow all our careful safety and efficacy procedures.  Some of these backup procedures came about from bitter experiences. 

I have friends who are usually very smart and sensible.  But they are still wary of getting the covid vaccine.  I still do not understand this thinking.  So, I am hoping that the very thorough systematic review and backups to the reviews will finally change their minds.  Also, I am very glad that the well-publicized but untested covid cures, (think snake oil salesmen) are not approved by the NIH, FDA or CDC, or other medical scientists and medical organizations.  I am not an MD or PhD or other medical scientist, so as a "regular" person, I put my trust in covid vaccine in the real scientists and careful procedures.  (Stopping here before I start to wax too philosophical.)   

I am thinking about the measles outbreak in Samoa in 2019.   You may recall that two children died when they were mistakenly given the wrong injection and not the measles vaccine they should have gotten.  (A flat-out human medical error.) This led to local mistrust of the health care system and measles vaccine and then Robert Kennedy's anti-vax team moved in to further cause more mistrust.  Vaccination levels plummeted. The last report I saw online from the NIH was that about 5,707 cases were reported with 83 deaths, mostly children.  This event is a tragedy made worse by anti-vaxers.  The last report is that measles vaccine levels in Samoa are now back to much more effective levels. 


RobertRoe said:

to RTrent:  I think Israel has an excellent medical system and Israel is often a worldwide leader in health care.  So, any information Israel has should be taken seriously and I think that the info from Israel is one reason that the US is moving ahead as fast as possible to examine the third dose of covid vaccine.  But the US still has to follow all our careful safety and efficacy procedures.  Some of these backup procedures came about from bitter experiences. 

I see your point. But at times of need exceptions are needed. Just as the vaccines were given emergency use authorizations in an exceptional case it may be best to use others countries knowledge and data instead of reinventing the wheel.

I lost some faith in the CDC and FDA. They were running under an administration which causes a lot of the bright, honest and ethical to run out. Miracle that Fauci held on. Is it possible they are now loaded with the mediocre, too many slackers, too many CYA's and too many lead pants? Mediocrity and **** kissing was the golden path of success under Trump.


RTrent said:

sbenois said:

We can not and must not outsource our medical decisions to another country.   Normal protocols must be followed here which requires going through the approval process.   Biden is doing a great job on the covid front.  And I am thrilled that companies are now laying down the vaccine law. 

Yes, of course, our hubris of exceptionalism and we're number 1.

Don't learn from others. Don't use other countries healthcare systems or procedures as a template for us.

Suppose the polio vaccine was invented in France. Having given it they report kids who got it are not getting polio. They offer it to us. 

In that day we would have quickly accepted and used it. In our day it would go through a lengthy cumbersome FDA/CDC approval process delaying administration by many months. 

Would you still want them to delay because "we must not outsource or decisions to other countries?

Sheesh.


We are in a health, economic, and mental health crisis because of this disease, made all the worse by the disappointing turn around of events caused by Delta (and perhaps the waning effect of the vaccines over time).  IMO, the default setting on policy at this point should be decisive and aggressive. 

Israel has administered millions of booster shots already and the results seem to be uniformly fantastic so far.

I respect the scientists but I take issue with those who question whether the boosters are necessary.  One false note they hit is about "mild" cases.  You know, don't worry, because a symptomatic breakthrough case will only be "mild."  But in the world of the pandemic, "mild" just means you didn't go to the hospital.  I've read a number of anecdotal stories about people having "mild" cases that were in fact the sickest they've ever been in their lives.  No thanks.  I'm also not so sure how rare breakthrough cases are because I'm personally know of double digit cases (including whole families that experienced breakthrough cases).

As for the concern about the supply available to less fortunate countries, the pharma suppliers say that they will have enough supply by the end of the year to vaccinate the entire world.  Something like 12 billion  doses. The lag, if any, is going to be logistics and vaccine hesitancy, not supply.


bub said:

I respect the scientists but I take issue with those who question whether the boosters are necessary.  One false note they hit is about "mild" cases.

So, you think, in this case Fauci is wrong?

Above, I posted his comment and one reason he supports them now (in case you missed it):

"If they say, 'We don't think there's enough data to do a booster,' then so be it," Fauci said. "I think that would be a mistake, to be honest with you."
The support for an extra dose of covid vaccine clearly emerged, at least in part, from an NIH research dynamo, built by Fauci, that for months has been getting intricate real-time data about covid variants and how they respond to vaccine-produced immunity.

Fauci also said there is less disagreement and conflict than show by the media, implying most support his position. The resistance seems centered on FDA and CDA bureaucracy:

Fauci said, "there is less disagreement and conflicts than seem to get out into the tweetosphere." He ticked off a number of prominent scientists in the field — including Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock and covid vaccine inventor Barney Graham — who were on board with his position. All but Graham are members of the White House covid task force.

Fauci is also using as Israel as an example which he will help present at the meeting. To publicly say his peer (FDA/CDA) organizations are wrong shows the depth of his feeling. But its not political for him to publicly say of them what I did here.


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