#1

Are people having their COVID-19 and flu vaccines this season? If so why/why not? What’s the best science on the topic? Discuss.

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https://x.com/RichardHanania/status/1969173150416949579#m

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#2

My wife and I plan on getting both, but my usual pharmacy only has the Pfizer. I have to find a pharmacy with Moderna, hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

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#3

Absolutely getting them. Indeed I’m scheduled this afternoon for both.

From what I can tell, Moderna has shown (so far) slightly better efficacy, so I’m going with that one.

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#4

I’m unsure if I can get the COVID-19 vaccine at my age but I’ll at least get the flu vaccine and ask if I can have the COVID one as well while I’m getting it.

I’m due to get the shingles and pneumococcal vaccines as well. RSV might be important for some iirc.

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#5

I got both as soon as they were available.

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#6

Can I ask why the preference?

#7

Just got the flu shot yesterday… I have been skipping Covid vaccine since it is no longer required for travel.

When I finally had Covid… couldn’t even tell… had little sniffles like an allergy for 3 days and done. Only tested myself because my wife obviously had Covid and was wiped out for 10 days.

Definitely had been on rapamycin for 2 years prior to… probably helped!

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#8

No huge reason, but I’ve always taken Moderna, except for Janssen the first time around. Some research seemed to indicate the Moderna version was slightly more effective and had slightly fewer side effects than the Pfizer one.That may no longer apply to this newest edition, but I figure that since I’ve always done exceptionally well with the Moderna I’ll stick with it - never had any negative effect like being tired or sore or whatnot, it’s always been as if I got an injection of saline. More akin to superstition :sweat_smile: than anything rational.

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#9

I wouldn’t even think of it. It might give you cancer:

This is a preprint out this week.

That’s Jessica Rose.

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#10

Re: cancer. I’m somewhat relaxed about getting cancer, because of my age - 67. Cancer takes time to develop. Depending on the kind of cancer, that might be 20, even 30 years. Admittedly, your immune system might not be as robust in old age, but on the other hand if you are 67, and 20 years later you get cancer from something you are doing today, you get cancer at 87, then it’ll take time to croak, another, say 5 years, which takes you to 92, cutting your life short by what, 3, 3, 5 years? And that’s assuming the cancer cannot be controlled or cured. Color me unimpressed.

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#11

Flu shot is a no-brainer for me. I get one at my workplace in November. I’m considering the COVID vaccine as I always get COVID every spring when I’m not vaccinated. Which is worse, the vaccine or the disease? Probably the disease.

Last year I had COVID, and it was pretty mild. Each time I get it, is gets less problematic.

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#12

No brainer. Getting both tomorrow. If you’ve ever met someone with long Covid, you might not risk it.

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#13

If you guys want to get a Covid shot, fine, but to call it a “no-brainer” makes you a bit ignorant. I’d consider a “no-brainer” to be something with high benefits and little to no risk.
Myocarditis is absolutely a risk. The vaccines never underwent thorough testing. The value in health people is minimal if any.

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#14

The published paper is pretty interesting:

Quantification of residual plasmid DNA and SV40 promoter-enhancer sequences in Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna modRNA COVID-19 vaccines from Ontario, Canada

These data demonstrate the presence of 1.23 × 108 to 1.60 × 1011 plasmid DNA fragments per dose encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles. Using fluorometry, total DNA in all vials tested exceeded the regulatory limit for residual DNA set by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) by 36–153-fold for Pfizer and 112–627-fold for Moderna after accounting for nonspecific binding to modRNA. When tested by qPCR, all Moderna vials were within the regulatory limit, but 2/6 Pfizer lots (3 vials) exceeded the regulatory limit for the SV40 promoter-enhancer-ori by 2-fold. The presence of the SV40 promoter-enhancer element in Pfizer vials raises significant safety concerns. This study emphasizes the importance of methodological considerations when quantifying residual plasmid DNA in modRNA products, considering increased LNP transfection efficiency, and cumulative dosing presents significant and unquantified risks to human health.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08916934.2025.2551517#abstract

It’s an ok journal. She mentions in the blog they had trouble getting it published. Whether that’s to do with the study quality or fear from editors/publishers, I don’t know. My molecular biology isn’t strong enough to fact check this. I hate the way the paper is written, with an obvious strong bias and quite a few statements which aren’t supported by the facts IMO.

However, it seems like a fairly simple study for somebody to replicate. All they did was test vials using pretty simple assays that most research labs would have on hand. So it’s good that it gets attention because either a relatively serious problem will be highlighted, or this is BS and will be quickly shown as wrong.

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#15

Yes to both. Flu in Oct, covid in Nov, timed for anticipated disease peaks. Covid as novavax, because it has mildest side effects for me, and I usually have strong effects.

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#16

I’ll be getting both the COVID and flu shots in a couple of weeks when they’re offered. I do it every year. I haven’t had the flu in over 20 years, and I’ve only had COVID once, during the big Omicron wave back in late 2021.

I didn’t realize you can also get vaccines for shingles and pneumococcal disease in Europe if you’re not in a high-risk group.

#17

I planed on getting both later in October. However after reading what @Bicep posted I may skip the Covid one. I received 2 first Pfizer vaccines and no boosters when it all started.

#18

I got the covid vax a week ago wed, and after it went so well (almost no side effects), I went back for the flu shot on that Friday. I oddly never got a sore arm from the flu shot… normally it feels like Mike Tyson punched me.

I regretfully took a baby aspirin the day of my covid vax, so I hope I didn’t make it much less effective… ARGH!

Also, I’m not old enough for the covid vax either, but I just said I was immunocompromised on the online form. I showed up with my rapa bottle in hand prepared to prove it, but no one asked. My husband had no issues doing the same. Perhaps this is because we are in CA?

I got it because I have heart disease and don’t want to take any chances of anything under the hood happening that has more risk than the vax. I’ve heard too many stories to want to take chances. Granted, to the best of my knowledge, I have never had covid, so I also don’t have any natural immunity.

It had been one year since my prior vax, normally I get one every 6 months.

I did get the shingles vax (holy moly!) but have not gotten the pneumococcal vaccine yet… no reason but just has not been on my mind and had no looked into it.

@relaxedmeatball, I’ll second that in the olden days, moderna was shown to be slightly more effective, so I always chose that one. But oddly @CronosTempi, I always heard the side effects of moderna were significantly worse for most people than Pfizer, so the exact opposite of what you learned. I got Pfizer once a few years back only because some were saying to get a different type at least once (no idea if that is still a thing) and it was significantly better for me. My first several moderna affected me much worse than almost any story you’ve probably heard! Also, my friends who are friends with some connected healthcare people said it’s suggested to keep getting the one you’ve been getting. Having said that, times and info change, and I have not checked in with those sources in several months. Those same people say to keep getting the vax every 6 months… my friends are much older though.

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#19

I think there might be a slight misunderstanding. I didn’t mean “side effects” as in how it affects you in the moment, i.e. arm soreness, exhaustion etc., I meant medical side effects, rate of heart issues and the like longer term or acutely from the vaccine. Regarding how it impacts you in the moment, I have had no effects (like - zero), whereas my wife feels run down for a day or two following the shot. I also have not had covid that I know of - it’s possible to have it asymptomatically, so you never know. I’ve had a few antibody tests and they showed no exposure, but it’s been awhile (back two years or so). Then again, the epidemiologists say there are only those who haven’t had covid yet, as it’s so commonly around us that eventually everyone gets it. We’ll see.

I don’t get the vaccine to have a milder covid (I’d rather not get covid at all, because it’s a pretty nasty virus with worrisome long term effects even if you don’t feel sick), so that aspect of the vaccine is not encouraging. Rather, I am hoping for other effects associated with better longer term neurological health similar to shingrix and hepatitis A. That’s my #1 reason for getting the flu shot too. YMMV.

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#20

No touching the COVID mRNA vaccine. I’m healthy, low risk and the COVID vaccine presents a higher risk for serious side effects than if I were to get COVID.

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