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Medicine

FDA Approves Mixing COVID Vaccines (apnews.com) 303

U.S. regulators on Wednesday signed off on extending COVID-19 boosters to Americans who got the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine and said anyone eligible for an extra dose can get a brand different from the one they received initially. The Associated Press reports: The Food and Drug Administration's decisions mark a big step toward expanding the U.S. booster campaign, which began with extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine last month. But before more people roll up their sleeves, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will consult an expert panel later this week before finalizing official recommendations for who should get boosters and when.

The latest moves would expand by tens of millions the number of Americans eligible for boosters and formally allow "mixing and matching" of shots -- making it simpler to get another dose, especially for people who had a side effect from one brand but still want the proven protection of vaccination. Specifically, the FDA authorized a third Moderna shot for seniors and others at high risk from COVID-19 because of their health problems, jobs or living conditions -- six months after their last shot. One big change: Moderna's booster will be half the dose that's used for the first two shots, based on company data showing that was plenty to rev up immunity again. For J&J's single-shot vaccine, the FDA said all U.S. recipients should get a second dose at least two months following their initial vaccination.

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FDA Approves Mixing COVID Vaccines

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  • by mark-t ( 151149 )

    I'm up in Canada, and the government here approved mixing of vaccines months ago primarily to expedite the rate at which people could get double vaxed, so I know quite a few people who got Astrazeneca first, and then either Pfizer or Moderna for their second. Only to learn about a month or two later that it wasn't going to be recognized as fully vaccinated in our neighbor to the south.

    Glad to see that this issue didn't last terribly long.

    • Oh, yeah. That was the one thing keeping me from going to the US.
      • by mark-t ( 151149 )
        Really? The mandatory PCR test required to return wasn't a factor for you?
        • It's so fucking stupid.

          If you're gone for less than 72 hours you can take the test before you leave to meet the requirement.

          What the hell is the point of that?

        • Really? The mandatory PCR test required to return wasn't a factor for you?

          Whoosh! I guess the user you're responding to should have added a "/sarc" tag.

    • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      I'm up in Canada, and the government here approved mixing of vaccines months ago primarily to expedite the rate at which people could get double vaxed, so I know quite a few people who got Astrazeneca first, and then either Pfizer or Moderna for their second. Only to learn about a month or two later that it wasn't going to be recognized as fully vaccinated in our neighbor to the south.

      Glad to see that this issue didn't last terribly long.

      Actually, the US government approved the mixed doses about a week befo

    • by Mal-2 ( 675116 )

      It might still be a problem, the U.S. never approved the Astra-Zeneca vaccine because AZ never finished the paperwork. So it's possible that a dose of AZ may not count for the U.S. requirements of being vaccinated. Depends who is making and enforcing all the small details I guess.

  • by LatencyKills ( 1213908 ) on Wednesday October 20, 2021 @04:35PM (#61911461)

    How do the different tracking chips configure themselves? Are the drivers cross compatible? Finally, just what would be the color of thus screen of death?

    • Well since Bill Gates made the tracking chips that means they all run Windows. That also means to drivers are completely incompatible so you better save that OEM disc that comes with your vaccine. As for the color of the BSOD I think they've gone to plaid.
    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      I mixed vaccines and can report that my 5g reception is excellent. Also Windows 95 is a great operating system.

      • Great, you got the shot with 5G. Personally, I was hoping for the shot with magnetism. I've been stuck three times now! Thrice! Am I Magneto yet? Nope. I'm not even fucking Xaviar. Wake me up when we actually get something out of these shots. I mean, I'm still alive in the middle of a pandemic. I guess that something, but still.
  • I am vaccinated, but the vaccines I had to get when I was a child apparently last me a lifetime. What gives? Why not this? Why do we need boosting?

    Are these vaccines simply not really that good like the many ones required when you are a child?

    -Add ingredients, stir pot. Boo.
    • by mark-t ( 151149 ) <markt AT nerdflat DOT com> on Wednesday October 20, 2021 @04:50PM (#61911509) Journal
      Some vaccines last a lifetime, many do not. This is not remotely unusual. What is unusual is that this concept is foreign to someone who was vaccinated as a child.
    • I'm not a doctor or even a medical student, but I think it has to do with the evolution rate of the particular disease. Maybe polio doesn't mutate at the same rate as covid. Can you give anyone polio? If not, I suspect it's a very slow changing disease where the developed vaccine works forever.

      Covid has mutated numerous times and will probably continue to do so. Much like the flu, we will likely continue to see varies strains of covid for the foreseeable future and the vaccines will be constantly updated to

    • by Stolovaya ( 1019922 ) <skingiii.gmail@com> on Wednesday October 20, 2021 @05:47PM (#61911763)
      Not every vaccine is "one and done". Consider tetanus vaccine shots. As an adult, it's recommended to get one every 10 years. We also have flu shots, though that's due to different strains of flu.
      • Tetanus is a bad example. It is not a vaccine against the infection, but against the poison the bacteria produces.
        But generally only a few vaccines last for a lifetime - usually live vaccines do.
        The reason for covid boosters is to make sure the antibody count stays high in order to let the immune system react to the infection really fast, since the coronavirus can do a lot of damage in a very short time.

      • by gweihir ( 88907 )

        Not every vaccine is "one and done". Consider tetanus vaccine shots. As an adult, it's recommended to get one every 10 years. We also have flu shots, though that's due to different strains of flu.

        It is a bit more complicated: Tetanus vaccination without boosters gives you some protection for life. But you can still get terribly sick without the boosters so it is a good idea to get them.

    • by RichMan ( 8097 )

      It is not about the vaccine's lasting. The vaccine disappears from the body pretty quickly. It is about your body's immune system learning the virus structure and being able to respond to it.

      People get the flu many times over their life and are not immune to more cases. Your body is just not that good at fighting respiratory tract infections. At least the upper respiratory tract kind.
      The vaccine is very good at protecting people from severe cases that get into the lower respiratory tract.

    • When was the last time you got your tetanus booster?

      You mean you didn't know you should get one at least every decade?

    • by mysidia ( 191772 )

      the vaccines I had to get when I was a child apparently last me a lifetime. What gives? Why not this?

      Even those aren't necessarily providing lifetime protection, unless you are referring specifically to the measles vaccine -
      most of the vaccines they give kids will have protection for a limited number of years on their own, but also some of the diseases they vacc against are childhood diseases mainly.

      It depends on the virus and the course of infection, anyway - Look at influenza... They need a n

    • That have zero to do with the vaccine and everything to do with how your immune system reacts to certain viruses and bacteria. When it encounters some viruses your body builds a life time immunity and of others its a limited time only. If you would get infected by covid you would also not have lifetime immunity and there are no magic any vaccine can apply to improve this aspect much.
    • by Mal-2 ( 675116 )

      No, you were lied to. Adults need booster shots too.

      • by gweihir ( 88907 )

        No, you were lied to. Adults need booster shots too.

        Depends. For some things you do not and some things are only dangerous for children. Example: The Mumps vaccination is usually for life. A few years back, I was unsure of whether I ever had gotten one. They can do a test and it nicely showed good protection over 40 years later. (Mumps does not kill you, but there are a few unpleasant possible side-effects.)

        So you really need to look at each pathogen and each vaccine separately. They are all different. Sorry about that, I agree it would be nice if things wer

    • Your memory cells live about 10 years. As an adult, some of the diseases that would be dangerous to a child are not going to put you down before whatever small handful of memory cells survived longer than 10 years manage to proliferate. You can get boosted for things if you'll be around small children and would like to be less of a risk factor for them or protect yourself better.
    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Mutation. Immune response tapering off. For example, I just got a booster shot for Tetanus. Once base-vaccinated, it does not kill you anymore for life, but it can still make you terribly sick unless you get those booster shots about every 10 years. Also, some of those shots you got as a child are protection against something that is fatal or lethal only for children.

  • by RitchCraft ( 6454710 ) on Wednesday October 20, 2021 @04:51PM (#61911515)
    Whenever stories about the Covid vaccine appear the comments truly frighten me. Exploding hearts, tracking devices, conspiracy theories?? Holy cow people, it's a vaccine to save your life and the loved ones around you. Yes, all vaccines ever created have had side effects in a very, very, very small minority of people. But spreading this other nonsense is just wrong. Stop believing the crap you see on Facebook and go get the damn vaccine.
    • /. has always been libertarian leaning, and full of armchair experts "poking holes" at work of actual experts. All far too intelligent to be manipulated by Facebook or Tucker Carlson, of course -- they "do their own research".

      Yeah I'm disappointed too, but it's not much of a stretch when you think about it.

      • by gweihir ( 88907 )

        I don't think "libertarian" means being in denial about reality and rejecting Science. It is possible that people in denial about reality and rejecting Science have a tendency to mistake themselves as being libertarian.

      • /. may have been economically libertarian but politically it's pretty much mainstream.

    • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      Whenever stories about the Covid vaccine appear the comments truly frighten me. Exploding hearts, tracking devices, conspiracy theories?? Holy cow people, it's a vaccine to save your life and the loved ones around you. Yes, all vaccines ever created have had side effects in a very, very, very small minority of people. But spreading this other nonsense is just wrong. Stop believing the crap you see on Facebook and go get the damn vaccine.

      The comments are written sarcastically, basically mocking the various C

    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Whenever stories about the Covid vaccine appear the comments truly frighten me. Exploding hearts, tracking devices, conspiracy theories?? Holy cow people, it's a vaccine to save your life and the loved ones around you. Yes, all vaccines ever created have had side effects in a very, very, very small minority of people. But spreading this other nonsense is just wrong. Stop believing the crap you see on Facebook and go get the damn vaccine.

      Well said. It is truly sad that in this time and age when good information is available to anybody and everybody has at least a reasonable base-education, some people just refuse to use this access to actual facts and go for complete fabrications and fantasies instead.

  • See which one works the best.
  • When I had my first Pfizer vaccination it was nothing, at first. Gradually I had intermittent chest pains, fever, thick saliva, confusion and legs so sore I could not sit down. I went to get the second dose and the hospital suggested I wait.

    Two days later I was back in the hospital, in the ER as the side effects got more intense, it wasn't fun. Two weeks later (six weeks after my first dose) I'm still waiting to be cleared by the doctor for the second injection.

    If there was accurate information about

    • by quonset ( 4839537 ) on Wednesday October 20, 2021 @05:02PM (#61911569)

      If there was accurate information about the seriousness of the side effects I probably would have remained a part of the control group until alternative vaccinations arrived.

      I know what you mean. There is no accurate information [cdc.gov] available on possible side effects [mayoclinic.org] from getting any of the covid vaccines [cdc.gov]. None whatsoever [yalemedicine.org]. It's a virtual desert of information [hopkinsmedicine.org].

      • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

        by MrKaos ( 858439 )

        If there was accurate information about the seriousness of the side effects I probably would have remained a part of the control group until alternative vaccinations arrived.

        I know what you mean. There is no accurate information [cdc.gov] available on possible side effects [mayoclinic.org] from getting any of the covid vaccines [cdc.gov]. None whatsoever [yalemedicine.org]. It's a virtual desert of information [hopkinsmedicine.org].

        All of the references you sent me weren't available when I had my first vaccination almost two months ago, let alone back in June when I first booked for my vaccination.

        Whatever retrospective dopamine hit you are getting from the sensation of being "right", these are my experiences. I thoroughly researched to the limit of my understanding of these vaccinations as much as I could. In doing so I found the original FDA approvals for Pfizer vaccination was based on a cohort of 1542 individuals and that the

        • You're a fucking liar.

          -The Pfizer Phase III trials [nejm.org] (published December 2020) approval was based on enrolled 21,720 people who received the vaccine (and 21,728 who received placebo).

          -The results were published last year. Even more followup was available by June. The tracked *all* side effects, not hospital admission: refer to the linked study.

          -All vaccines receive the same liability protection and have for decades. It's standard, not something unique for covid vaccines.

          If it's "your experience" you
    • For the sake of conversation, lets say I believe you. If so, wow man youre incredibly unlucky. 200 mil vaccinated in the us, 2-5 million had a reaction bad enough to be documented, and most of those werent hospital cases. Sorry it happened to you. But this not about a perfect vaccine experience, its about not dying slowly by drowning in your own lungs, which is how covid kills you. And the lethality of covid is somewhere around 2% last time I checked. The death rate for flu is around 10 in 100,000 meaning 0
      • by MrKaos ( 858439 )

        For the sake of conversation, lets say I believe you.

        I spent the day in hospital hooked up to a EEG, blood tests and a bunch of other tests, I'm still waiting for the ESG results for final clearance to have the second vaccination. These are my experiences of the vaccine, I don't care what you believe.

        For the sake of conversation, lets say I believe you. And youre protected quite well now. Unless you're immunocompromised.

        I'm fit, my immune system is fine and I rarely get sick. I made my risk vs impact assessment based on the risk of load viral loads penetrating the blood brain barrier and damaging grey matter. That was the key impact I was not prepared to risk, so yeah I hope

    • Yes, when I got my vaccine, I was not handed a huge pamphlet on the side effects of the vaccine—oh wait—I was handed one. I take it you did not read yours or looked it up online.
      • by MrKaos ( 858439 )

        Yes, when I got my vaccine, I was not handed a huge pamphlet on the side effects of the vaccine I was handed one.

        Yes, *when* I got my vaccine I was informed *after* what side effects I might encounter.

        I take it you did not read yours or looked it up online.

        Of course I read it, that's why I went to the hospital, it is what that pamphlet advised. How is that even relevant when compared to what I actually experienced. I consulted my doctor *before* I had the vaccine and was assured it was safe, yet this is what happened to me after a *single* dose.

        If you are looking for re-assurance, I have none for you. I've had multiple blood tests to confirm if I can proceed with the s

        • Dose 1 of Pfizer was an experience fraught with side effects for me, I accepted the risk, those were my experiences. What did you expect - the whole thing was going to be benign. You want to complain that my experiences make you feel uncomfortable?

          I expected there might be side effects. You were presented with the side effects and took the risk; now you want to complain just to complain that you experienced side effects.

          • by MrKaos ( 858439 )

            Dose 1 of Pfizer was an experience fraught with side effects for me, I accepted the risk, those were my experiences. What did you expect - the whole thing was going to be benign. You want to complain that my experiences make you feel uncomfortable?

            I expected there might be side effects. You were presented with the side effects and took the risk; now you want to complain just to complain that you experienced side effects.

            What you didn't expect was to experience those side effects. Now that you've encountered someone who has experienced them it challenges you that I offered my experiences as a counterpoint to all those who say the vaccine is a benign experience. It is not.

    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      And how exactly do you know these are side effects and not some other pre-existing condition that could have been triggered by, say, a COVID infection as well and then likely would have been much, much worse? The vaccine may well have saved your live, no matter how crappy you feel at the moment. And yes, I was down 3 times for a day after 2 Moderna shots as well. The young, fit lady that vaccinated me was down 3 days after the first shot. Still a _very_ worthwhile trade-off.

      In risk-management, you can accep

      • by MrKaos ( 858439 )

        And how exactly do you know these are side effects and not some other pre-existing condition that could have been triggered by, say, a COVID infection as well and then likely would have been much, much worse?

        The hospitals recommendation was if you experience these symptoms go to the ER which I did and I have subsequently been refused the second dose twice - what am I to think if the doctors themselves are exercising caution? That is why the doctors have put me through a battery of tests to figure out what is going on. In any case what is the difference? Shortness of breath combined with chest pain and legs so sore I could not sit down. The symptoms weren't there before the vaccination and then they were. Th

  • I'll take a J&J with a splash of Moderna

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