COVID VACCINE - The Megathread

[FiremanMike]

Where are folks at with masks at work? We’re still in surgical masks for all calls, and the ED requires everyone be in a mask. N95 for respiratory calls.

Many of the crews are “done” with masks so we look kinda dumb sometimes. Having half the guys in surgical masks kind of defeats the point of reducing transmission by healthcare providers.

To be honest we’re hardly ever wearing masks. All the local ERs still require them, but only 2 of them actually say anything if we don’t, so those are pretty much the only places we wear masks..

 

[Jim37F]

Where are folks at with masks at work? We’re still in surgical masks for all calls, and the ED requires everyone be in a mask. N95 for respiratory calls.

Many of the crews are “done” with masks so we look kinda dumb sometimes. Having half the guys in surgical masks kind of defeats the point of reducing transmission by healthcare providers.

We're still wearing N95s or at keast surgical masks (mostly N95) to every medical call regardless.

When you see an engine company on a scene with everyone wearing masks and then in the grocery store buying dinner with no one wearing masks it does beg the question....

I'm in this and don't like it^ 😅 I guess there's a perceived higher risk going to a sick person versus just out in a store, although we probably should since we're still a high risk state.

 

[Tigger]

I think there is probably still an argument to be made that we are pretty excellent vectors for disease and frequently enter into high risk people's homes. How much of an argument there is to be made...well I have no idea and seek other's thoughts.

Department policy says we wear masks. Our medical director wants us to wear masks...forever. I doubt this will happen.

I do struggle with our crews that blatantly disregard our local facilities (SNF, urgent care, etc) that all have clear "masks required" signage and a basket of masks out front. Most people aren't going to speak up to us, we need to maintain the implicit trust placed in us, even if we don't like it.

 

[Mike Hammer]

The vast majority of all vaccine adverse reactions for any vaccine ever are seen immediately or short term. Pfizer and Moderna have immediate and short term data showing that adverse effects are almost entirely mild to moderate.

Couldn't this in part due to the fact that we haven't had time/don't continue to study a lot of things on a true long term (decades) basis?

 

[Summit]

Couldn't this in part due to the fact that we haven't had time/don't continue to study a lot of things on a true long term (decades) basis?

We have good data across many vaccines long-term studies and nothing had safety signal for development of complications long term. Same deal here. It's just the same as asking well if you took ibuprofen for a week might you develop some complication from that in twenty years? Bloody unlikely! These are short duration of action.

 

[Kevinf]

Just for the sake of debate, I was vaccinated in January of 21, had Covid also in January of 21, boosted in December of 21, and last month caught Covid again.

This second time around with Covid has had a lingering nasty cough and generalized malaise and lack of energy for nearly a month now.

As the saying goes..."But did you die?"

I've also got all the booster shots and contracted Covid in April 2022. I felt a little under the weather and tested positive on a Friday, had a cough, runny nose, and congestion Saturday, and was recovering by Sunday, and pretty much felt fine on Monday. It wasn't any worse than any other cold I've had in the past. Studies seem to indicate that despite the vaccine resistance of the latest variants, they still help to reduce the severity and duration of the disease significantly.

For a disease that is this absurdly contagious and has a high potential to be life-threatening, getting vaccinated is the smart choice when you are both going to be routinely exposed to sick people and also be exposing yourself to sick or unhealthy people. People on this forum are out there acting like we have universal healthcare. I sure don't want to be budgeting a stay in the ICU thank you very much... or a funeral.

 

[FiremanMike]

I will say that this round has been worse than the other. The first time I was sick for 12 hours, this time I still go on coughing fits and it’s been 5 weeks.

 

[ffemt8978]

COVID-19 Vaccination

COVID-19 vaccines protect against COVID-19. Get safety info and more.

www.cdc.gov

CDC is now looking into reports that Pfizer vaccine may increase stroke risk. This is what I meant when I kept saying we didn't have enough long term risk data on the vaccines.

 

[mgr22]

COVID-19 Vaccination

COVID-19 vaccines protect against COVID-19. Get safety info and more.

www.cdc.gov

CDC is now looking into reports that Pfizer vaccine may increase stroke risk. This is what I meant when I kept saying we didn't have enough long term risk data on the vaccines.

If I'm understanding the article you posted, here's what prompted its publication:

"Rapid-response investigation of the signal in the VSD raised a question of whether people 65 and older who have received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent were more likely to have an ischemic stroke in the 21 days following vaccination compared with days 22-42 following vaccination."

I'm over 65. It wouldn't matter to me if it turned out I had a greater risk of stroke during the first three weeks after getting vaccinated, than during the second three weeks. My unhappiness would be the same pretty much whenever I stroked out.

I'm not seeing grounds in that article for substantial new concerns about the vaccine, nor validation of previous concerns.

 

[DesertMedic66]

COVID-19 Vaccination

COVID-19 vaccines protect against COVID-19. Get safety info and more.

www.cdc.gov

CDC is now looking into reports that Pfizer vaccine may increase stroke risk. This is what I meant when I kept saying we didn't have enough long term risk data on the vaccines.

“There also may be other confounding factors contributing to the signal identified in the VSD that merit further investigation. Furthermore, it is important to note that, to date, no other safety systems have shown a similar signal and multiple subsequent analyses have not validated this signal”.

This isn’t even related to long term risk of the vaccinations as it is only concerned with 21-42 days following the vaccination.

Out of the billions of people worldwide who have received the vaccinations, how many are actually having major side effects directly related to them?

 

[ffemt8978]

I may have misspoke when I said long term effects...what I meant to say was side effects we didn't know about till a long way down the road. The same side effects that although unknown at the time, were being outright dismissed by some by saying they were minimal or non-existent risks that were far outweighed by the risks of Covid.

And given that Covid has become a fact of life now, are we going to continue to turn a blind eye to these possible risks from the vaccines?

 

[DesertMedic66]

I may have misspoke when I said long term effects...what I meant to say was side effects we didn't know about till a long way down the road. The same side effects that although unknown at the time, were being outright dismissed by some by saying they were minimal or non-existent risks that were far outweighed by the risks of Covid.

And given that Covid has become a fact of life now, are we going to continue to turn a blind eye to these possible risks from the vaccines?

As the article states “no other safety systems have shown a similar signal and multiple subsequent analyses have not validated this signal”. So as of right now it is way to early to tell anything and based on the wording of their statement, it for now appears as if it is nothing at all.

 

[Carlos Danger]

And given that Covid has become a fact of life now, are we going to continue to turn a blind eye to these possible risks from the vaccines?

bUt eWE haF to gEt VaxiNAted seW Ewe dONt sPRED iT twO OthUR pEEpUhl!!

 

[ffemt8978]

Moderna CEO says private investors funded COVID vaccine—not billions from gov’t

Bancel claimed billions in federal funding merely accelerated development.

arstechnica.com

"The platform was funded by private investors. The platform was not funded by the government," Bancel argued. "What the government did—and we're very grateful for it and I think they got a lot of value out of it—is to accelerate the development of a vaccine. We would have funded the vaccine, it would just have taken longer," he said. The company also "didn't get a penny" from the government to help with manufacturing, he added.

Amid the pandemic, Moderna received nearly $10 billion in federal funding to develop, test, and provide vaccine doses for the US population.

I guess that is one way to look at it, but there may be some unforseen consequences of drug companies going this route.

 

[ffemt8978]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes Changes to Simplify Use of Bivalent mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines

The FDA amended the EUAs of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 bivalent mRNA vaccines to simplify the vaccination schedule for most individuals.

www.fda.gov

The FDA recommendations for COVID vaccines is waiting on CDC approval.

 

[VentMonkey]

I just got over my 3rd round of Covid. The jury is still out for me on how deep I want to dive into these boosters.

I’ve had one, but also felt like the Fam and I all did better at fighting it off without a recent vaxx.

 

[mgr22]

Long COVID worries me more than just plain COVID or the vaccine itself. I think I'll get booster #5 when it's available.

 

[FiremanMike]

I stopped after the first booster and won’t get another.

Between having Covid twice and three shots on top of a fairly strong immune system, I’m comfortable that I’m covered..

 

[BobBarker]

I got the first vaccine but nothing since. Never got covid and we transported many confirmed covid patients every shift.
Something didn't sit right with me.
A lot of people I knew got covid after getting their second shot, some female friends had menstrual issues for months after getting the J+J shot and I had more people than I can count in the back of my ambulance going to cath lab and having heart issues 3-6 months after getting the vaccine when they had no prior health issues.
Not saying it's from the vaccine, but not saying it's not either. I just didn't like forcing people to get the vaccine or losing their house, job, etc.

 

[Carlos Danger]

I stopped after the first booster and won’t get another.

Between having Covid twice and three shots on top of a fairly strong immune system, I’m comfortable that I’m covered..

Same here. After seeing so many examples of people acquiring and transmitting COVID repeatedly even after being vaccinated multiple times, and in some cases having more severe cases of it AFTER being vaccinated, I am more skeptical than ever of the necessity of the vaccination.

My wife and I are still pretty much the only people I know who have never tested positive for COVID. Though to be fair, we never went through the phase of testing ourselves obsessively like a lot of people did, so clearly we may have had it at some point and not known it.