New Covid vaccines are on the way as 'Eris' variant rises
reuters.com
Some public health experts hope that Americans will welcome the new shot as they would a flu jab. But demand for the vaccine has dropped sharply since 2021 when it first became available and more than 240 million people in the U.S., or 73% of the population, received at least one shot.
In the fall of 2022, by which time most people had either had the COVID virus or the vaccine, fewer than 50 million people got the shots.
Inject that shit straight into my veins. It’s time for a booster especially now where nobody wears a mask anymore.
I've gotten Covid twice. Once early pandemic, and once when vaccinated.
I do not want to get covid without the vaccine again. 0/10, would not recommend.
Yep. I'm on immunosuppressive medication so gimme gimme - I've managed to only get one very mild case of covid so far and even that was fucking miserable. Do not want, please give more vaccine.
The vaccine goes intramuscularly, but I get your enthusiasm
Of course duh, I was just using the popular quote. Inject that shit straight into my muscles doesn’t sound as good.
You can still get long-covid symptoms that lasts months (or forever) while boosted, so I really wish people still masked whether they are boosted or not.
Really you should wear a mask indoors in public if you're sick at all, just for the sake of not getting everyone else sick
Is anyone else super annoyed by the use of the word "jab" in news articles/headlines? It just sounds so unprofessional.
Isn't "jab" what people from the UK call it? In the US, we just call them "shots." That's not necessarily any better. Or worse, for that matter.
I've seen US publications use it, too. But knowing it's a UK thing makes me feel better about it for some reason...
“Jab” got adopted in the US when the disinformation memes and stuff started flooding into social media. The creators of the memes learned British English, so they used British slang.
Absolutely. I don't understand why headlines try so hard to use slang.
It's just the word for it in the UK. Not the formal medical one, but I'd hardly call it slang either.
Probably to get in on that sweet sweet clickbait money
It would be nice if they could package an annual booster with the flu shot, though I'm not sure of there are interaction issues. I got them both at the same time last year though and just had a mild cramp in my arm which is pretty typical for a flu shot on its own.
Eris fortunately doesn't appear to be more virulent than omicron was, but also doesn't seem to be weaking further as was the trend for the last few varients. It seems mutation with increased transmission over time seems to be the trend.
Just add it to the annual flu list and make your choice as to whether you want to get your shot every year or not. Not a big deal.
Next year. Should have combo shots next year. The hope was to have them ready this year, but we’ll be in the middle of flu season this year when they’re expected to be approved.
Of course with anything, unexpected things can derail that plan, but everything stay the course, one shot should be next year.
Various factors can play on if the place you go to will have the combo shot though, so there’s that too.
Last year I go them both at the same time, though in 2 separate shots.
If I can get a covid and flu shot at the same time, by just walking into my local Walgreens and asking for it, then sure
I am very happy and ready to get another formulation once available. I'm up to date currently.
And I would like a new vaccine sooner rather than later. People at work are already starting to contract the new variant. I'm trying to limit my own exposure, but it's difficult.
Now how the heck do I get the booster without having to sign up on a website and agree to an arbitration clause? Because hell no, I'm not going to agree to that.
I've usually just walked into a local pharmacy and asked if they have the booster. My local pharmacy just has a standard paper form for all vaccination (flu, shingles, covid, etc) walk ins, there is no website or arbitration clause or even specific covid form. You might want to try a different pharmacy if that has been your experience.
I just hope they don't cost an exorbitant price now that the national health emergency has ended here. It was really nice being able to get them for free because I am poor.
I bet it'll be the same as flu shots. It's not like those are actually "free." Someone is paying for them, whether it's insurance, the hospital/clinic itself, or more typically a governmental agency (usually state or local). I've paid a small co-pay for a flu shot before, but most times it's "free" because my insurance covers it.
Only time I've really paid for a vaccination was right before I travelled overseas. Needed a couple specialized immunizations and think that was like $75 total.
And that's also after the companies that made them got billions of dollars to make them in the first place
I haven't gotten a booster in awhile and no one I know wear a mask anymore where I live. Plus kids are back in school and my eldest niece and nephew live with me; they are walking plague carriers.
So I will happily get this one.
I’ve had 5 shots and would take more if offered. Make it an annual thing!!
Yeah I'm kinda prepared for that life. I got a second booster about year ago. Along with my annual flu shot. I have no problem with getting two shots instead of one each year.
I wonder if I should start getting the flu shot too. I've never gotten the shot (it hasn't been that much of a thing here in Finland), but the last time I had the flu I had one of those swine flu variants that was going around at that time (like, uh, 15 years ago? 13?) and jesus fuck I was so sick I literally thought I was going to die, and I've sort of been antsy about "regular" flus after that too. Been a good while though, before the oink flu.
🤖 I'm a bot that provides automatic summaries for articles: ::: spoiler Click here to see the summary NEW YORK, Aug 14 (Reuters) - A new COVID vaccine is due out next month, but health experts and analysts say it is likely to be coolly received even as hospitalizations from "Eris", a variant of the Omicron form of the coronavirus, rise around the country.
Healthcare providers and pharmacies such as CVS Health (CVS.N) will start next month to offer the shot, updated to fight the Omicron version of the virus that has been dominant since last year.
They will be fighting declining concern about the virus, as well as fatigue and skepticism about the merits of this vaccine, Kaiser Family Foundation Director of Survey Methodology Ashley Kirzinger said.
As with the flu, Pfizer (PFE.N)/BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE), Moderna (MRNA.O) and Novavax (NVAX.O), have created versions of the COVID vaccine to try to match the variant they believe will be circulating this fall.
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University and a liaison to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization practices, said it is possible that the ACIP could make a weaker recommendation for younger, healthier people.
Dr. David Boulware, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Minnesota, said that according to research he has published, people who are boosted have less severe symptoms for a shorter duration. :::
Does this mean I should start wearing a mask again?
If you are sick with anything contagious throw on a mask if you go out in public. Common courtesy.
If your immune system is compromised, you are already wearing a mask in public anyway.
If you are visiting people in fragile health, you are already wearing a mask anyway.
Yes.
With the current wave very quickly picking up steam, chances are we will be through the worst of it by the time vaccines are available / taken by those still willing to go through with it.
I think I am 4-5 shots deep at this point, and have had a natural infection once. It was horrible where I fully lose my taste for a number of weeks.
Then as taste / smell began to return some things were “wrong.”
It took months for coffee to return to normal.
If I had to live like that… well, let’s say those months had very unwelcome new dark thoughts that took me by surprise.