This is what is recommended in Australia if it helps unlike USA we are heading into autumn and winter.
some excerpts from the article
ATAGI recommends an additional booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine to increase vaccine protection before winter for selected population groups (see Table 1) who are at greatest risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and who have received their primary vaccination and first booster dose. These groups are:
- Adults aged 65 years and older
- Residents of aged care or disability care facilities
- People aged 16 years and older with severe immunocompromise (as defined in the ATAGI statement on the use of a 3rd primary dose of COVID-19 vaccine in individuals who are severely immunocompromised)
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years and older.
ATAGI recommends that the rollout of the additional booster dose for these groups starts from April 2022, coinciding with the rollout of the 2022 influenza vaccination program.
Influenza vaccine can be co-administered with the additional booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine. However, if a person is not yet eligible for their additional booster dose, influenza vaccine could be given ahead of the additional booster dose.
Comirnaty (Pfizer) or Spikevax (Moderna) are the preferred vaccines for COVID-19 booster doses including the additional winter booster dose. Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) can be used when an mRNA vaccine is contraindicated or a person declines vaccination with an mRNA vaccine. Nuvaxovid (Novavax) can be used if no other COVID-19 vaccine is considered suitable for that person.
For other groups not listed above, there is insufficient evidence of the benefits of an additional booster dose to make recommendations at this time. This includes people younger than 65 years with medical conditions that may increase their risk of COVID-19, individuals with disability and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) recipients who are not in residential disability care, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 16 to 49, workers at health care or residential care facilities, or younger healthy adults. ATAGI will continue to monitor emerging evidence and may recommend an additional dose for these groups in the future.
Hope that helps
Regards to all
Agreed, the whole Omicron booster thing is an experiment in progress. This is such an intuitive group, folks can assess their own risk tolerance and follow their instincts. I will boost again to avoid long Covid, which can happen in mild cases although I do not know anyone who has it. Also, there is some evidence of Covid's effects on the brain but I would guess that it isn't clear if, or when people recover from those effects.
@lovendures It is confusing. I think most of the second booster research is from Israel, and it seems to be positive.
I'm planning to wait 8 months after my first booster to get the second. I'm over 50 but don't have any health conditions. I'm also masking indoors. Luckily that's not an issue where I live. Everyone is still masking here, even though it's now optional. People are even masking outdoors, and there's no stigma, whether you choose to keep it on or take it off.
I'm staying out of the gym for now. It the infection rate stays low through summer I may go back.
A timely article in the New York Times this very morning discussing BA.2's arrival:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/30/well/live/ba2-omicron-covid.html
And another regarding the booster, again, nothing is crystal clear but it lays out information for readers to consider:
https://www.nytimes.com/explain/2022/03/29/health/second-booster-shots-covid
Like, Iridium, I crave exercise but I go to a small gym where vaccination is required and wear a mask. I also keep an eye on my county's infection rate and stay away during spikes. The risk:reward ratio isn't always easy to compute and in my case varies day to day. At least dying from Covid now seems unlikely, thank goodness.
I had covid-19 in February 2020. I got the J & J vaccine and booster. I still stay away from crowds and interaction with others (which suits me introvert that I am) for the most part. Living where I live? most here followed Trumpian lines.. not wearing masks and harassing those that do, wanting to take hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin all the while spreading lies and misinformation.
Covid19 forced me in to retirement. It also severely exacerbated my psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and I tend to enjoy staying home and moving with life at my own pace now instead of punching a clock and working well beyond the state of exhaustion.
I did get an antibody test done at the Minute Clinic and it shows a robust response.
The J & J has more recently been found to provide long lasting protection : https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/jj-covid-vaccine-promising-long-term-durability-rcna20714
J & J excels in the T-Cell's persisting whether or not antibodies are decreasing so that offers another layer of protection.
I have until the end of May to decide if I will get a 3rd J & J vaccine. I would be due in June. It appears the funding for vaccines is drying up as well as any funds for help for the general populace with covid issues.
The studies seem to indicate that there will be a surge of Omicron BA2 in the Fall which is why they are "pushing" for another booster of any variety.
I guess bottom line is to trust your intuition about what is right for you and your body, your family.
I am satisfied with the choices I have made for myself.
@lovendures Am soon traveling abroad to a country that has lifted all mandates. Got the 2nd booster on 4/30 and plan to stay masked as the US still is requiring a negative test to return home. Locally no one is wearing masks. Am inclined to continue wearing mine in confined spaces. It's been really nice to not have a cold for flu for the past few years.
Got my second booster Thursday and decided to mix it up by getting Moderna for the first time. I had more side effects this time but maybe that’s good. Andy Slavitt says the Omicron we previously had here in the States was more like 1.1 version.
I still wear masks indoors. I will continue to do so, as I work with a vulnerable population
My goal still is to never get covid if I can help it. I'm still masking when going to stores even though I'm in the minority, and I will get a second booster next month, ahead of a social engagement I can't skip. One really has to dig for information on what appears to be another serious wave that is hurting the most vulnerable, children and elderly.
I've been reading comments from various doctors on twitter, leading me to believe that even a "minor" infection can have serious consequences.
@RuhoyMD mentions: congested blood vessels and microhemorrhages seen in brain; macrophages leading to neuronophagia; endothelial injury; vasculitis; cranial nerve and spinal root involvement; T cell exhaustion; mood, sleep, and cognitive disorders.
other doctors:
@maggieci I have the same goal of not ever, ever getting Covid. On Friday, I received my second Pfizer booster since it had been six months since the first one. I’m still wearing a mask when going into stores, museums, any place where people congregate inside. We’ve relaxed about dining out, but choose restaurants with outdoor seating. Here’s an article in the NYT about preparing for the wave of Omicron BA 2 and one recommendation is keeping an eye on current data with corresponding links to the CDC.
We have the KN95 masks, can social distance and avoid certain congested situations if it comes to that again. We know how to maneuver in society safely and when to self-isolate. We can do this!
I got my second booster too. I am glad. I have too many friends who've gotten covid even after they had the first booster and wore masks, although these friends also travel a lot. One friend got sick after attending a wake in which half the people there were without masks. Another friend got sick after spending an hour in a small therapy room with an unmasked asymptomatic client who later reported she had in fact had covid. Both friends had worn masks and one booster. They reported getting bad colds. A bad cold isn't the end of the world. but covid is creepy, with reported long term health conditions that I don't want to get. I had a mild reaction to the second booster.