Pfizer booster safe if originally had Oxford AZ?

kuepper

kuepper

Well-known member
Just got a text invitation for a booster 6 months after 2nd dose. Apparently (in my area at least) all booster doses are Pfizer for some reason but I had Oxford AZ previously. Wouldn't hesitate to accept Pfizer booster if I'd had Pfizer doses in first place but as they work in different ways I don't feel comfortable with this mix and match and can't find anything reassuring anywhere about this.
 
I think you'll be fine, its more a case of teaching your immune system to battle the virus, that's what the vaccines do. I don't think a mix and match would change that. However, its my opinion, I'm not a doctor or any kind of medical person.
 
Most people will be offered a booster dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine or Moderna vaccine.

This means your booster dose may be different from the vaccines you had for your 1st and 2nd doses.

Some people may be offered a booster dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine if they cannot have the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine.
 
I'm sure I read they were mixing the boosters. people who had the Oxford one would be getting Pfizer, and the people who originally got the Pfizer would get the Moderna.
 
kuepper said:
Just got a text invitation for a booster 6 months after 2nd dose. Apparently (in my area at least) all booster doses are Pfizer for some reason but I had Oxford AZ previously. Wouldn't hesitate to accept Pfizer booster if I'd had Pfizer doses in first place but as they work in different ways I don't feel comfortable with this mix and match and can't find anything reassuring anywhere about this.
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Pfizer and AZ
 
I've spent over a month trying to get a booster arranged, as the NHS seems unable to get our CDC issued proof into the system. Just as I was about to book the whole thing over again, my GP's surgery finally gave me the number to call. I'll take whatever they have - I had Pfizer/BioNtech and my wife had Moderna, so one of us will be getting something different.
 
kuepper said:
Just got a text invitation for a booster 6 months after 2nd dose. Apparently (in my area at least) all booster doses are Pfizer for some reason but I had Oxford AZ previously. Wouldn't hesitate to accept Pfizer booster if I'd had Pfizer doses in first place but as they work in different ways I don't feel comfortable with this mix and match and can't find anything reassuring anywhere about this.
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There's been quite a lot of reports saying mixing vaccines increases the effectiveness. Quite a few countries are doing it and the UK apparently authorised it last January when vaccine supplies were restricted. The link below has some interesting titbits.

Link

Mine's due in a month and I'm happy about Pfizer following AZ.
 
kuepper said:
Just got a text invitation for a booster 6 months after 2nd dose. Apparently (in my area at least) all booster doses are Pfizer for some reason but I had Oxford AZ previously. Wouldn't hesitate to accept Pfizer booster if I'd had Pfizer doses in first place but as they work in different ways I don't feel comfortable with this mix and match and can't find anything reassuring anywhere about this.
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I've had the Pfizer booster a few weeks back after the AZ double jab earlier in the year. No problems for me. A bit of a sore arm where the needle went in but thats fairly common with the flu jab as well.

I think they're only offering Pfizer or Moderna for booster jabs. So, as said, they will have been tested.
 
kuepper said:
Just got a text invitation for a booster 6 months after 2nd dose. Apparently (in my area at least) all booster doses are Pfizer for some reason but I had Oxford AZ previously. Wouldn't hesitate to accept Pfizer booster if I'd had Pfizer doses in first place but as they work in different ways I don't feel comfortable with this mix and match and can't find anything reassuring anywhere about this.
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It's safe. Don't worry.
 
asredastheycome said:
See "Which vaccine you will be offered" section

www.gov.uk

COVID-19 vaccination: booster dose resources

Information on the booster dose for eligible individuals.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
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"You will be offered the right vaccine for YOU which may be the same or different from the vaccines that you had before". So the right vaccine for EVERYONE in Glossop is Pfizer irrespective of which vaccine they had previously, doesn't ring true does it?
 
They had a tent and van on one of the main streets in Exeter today offering walk in 1st, 2nd or booster jabs of Pfizer, I was going to get my booster but when I looked at the board giving dates of when the 2nd jab needed to have been done and it was before the 8th April so I would have a 6 month gap, I don't make it for another couple of weeks. I had AZ has my 1st and 2nd jab and I'm quite sure they did extensive trial this year from May/June onwards on giving different boosters to the 1st or 2nd jabs.
 
exeterboro said:
They had a tent and van on one of the main streets in Exeter today offering walk in 1st, 2nd or booster jabs of Pfizer, I was going to get my booster but when I looked at the board giving dates of when the 2nd jab needed to have been done and it was before the 8th April so I would have a 6 month gap, I don't make it for another couple of weeks. I had AZ has my 1st and 2nd jab and I'm quite sure they did extensive trial this year from May/June onwards on giving different boosters to the 1st or 2nd jabs.
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I've had 3 Pfizer jabs.
 
kuepper said:
Just got a text invitation for a booster 6 months after 2nd dose. Apparently (in my area at least) all booster doses are Pfizer for some reason but I had Oxford AZ previously. Wouldn't hesitate to accept Pfizer booster if I'd had Pfizer doses in first place but as they work in different ways I don't feel comfortable with this mix and match and can't find anything reassuring anywhere about this.
Click to expand...
A number of different countries around the world have been "mixing and matching" vaccines for some time now. There's no evidence of any safety risks that has emerged yet.

All the studies done so far, indicate that mixing a viral vector vaccine (like AZ) with an mRNA vaccine produces a better overall immune response than just sticking to the one kind. No one vaccine can stimulate all the various parts of the immune system equally, so by using vaccines that stimulate the different parts of the immune system slightly differently, you can get a better all-round effect.

This is explained in the article below, with one part of it pointing out that:

[Viral vector vaccines] have a good track record of inducing strong T-cell responses, says Sander, whereas vaccines using messenger RNA, such as Pfizer’s, have proved “exceptionally good” at inducing high levels of antibodies.

Mixing an mRNA vaccine and an adenovirus-based one could therefore provide “the best of two worlds”, Sander explains.
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https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01805-2

On the other hand, there is some evidence that with the mRNA vaccines, the slight risks of myocarditis and pericarditis increase with each subsequent shot, so some scientists are actually saying it's safer to get a viral vector vaccine for your third dose, rather than another mRNA jab.

As stated in the link below:
David Juurlink, the head of the division of clinical pharmacology at the University of Toronto, has concerns that if it’s the immune response that’s triggering the inflammation, then it might occur at higher rates after the third dose.
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How the risk of side effects could change with Covid-19 vaccine boosters
 
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Liamo said:
A number of different countries around the world have been "mixing and matching" vaccines for some time now. There's no evidence of any safety risks that has emerged yet.

All the studies done so far, indicate that mixing a viral vector vaccine (like AZ) with an mRNA vaccine produces a better overall immune response than just sticking to the one kind. No one vaccine can stimulate all the various parts of the immune system equally, so by using vaccines that stimulate the different parts of the immune system slightly differently, you can get a better all-round effect.

This is explained in the article below, with one part of it pointing out that:


https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01805-2

On the other hand, there is some evidence that with the mRNA vaccines, the slight risks of myocarditis and pericarditis increase with each subsequent shot, so some scientists are actually saying it's safer to get a viral vector vaccine for your third dose, rather than another mRNA jab.

As stated in the link below:


How the risk of side effects could change with Covid-19 vaccine boosters
Click to expand...

Interesting
 
Found this on BBC which still manages to avoid answering my question (and the one asked), and how do they know who is allergic to mRNA vaccines?

Why is the AstraZeneca vaccine not being used as a booster? - by Fergus Walsh BBC Medical editor
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been deemed safe and effective to use as a booster, but is only being recommended for people who are allergic to the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna).

I understand that concern about a rare blood clotting side effect is the reason why the AZ vaccine is not being used as a booster. For this reason it is already limited in the UK to those over 40.

All the vaccines used in the UK provide significant defences against severe Covid. But it remains unclear which will offer the most lasting protection. Pfizer and Moderna score best in the initial weeks after immunisation, but their immunity wanes more quickly than the AstraZeneca vaccine, which uses a disabled virus.

So it would be wrong to completely write off the Oxford-AZ jab as a booster. If the vaccine is shown to give more durable immunity, it may yet have a continuing role here.​

 
kuepper said:
Found this on BBC which still manages to avoid answering my question (and the one asked), and how do they know who is allergic to mRNA vaccines?

Why is the AstraZeneca vaccine not being used as a booster? - by Fergus Walsh BBC Medical editor​

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been deemed safe and effective to use as a booster, but is only being recommended for people who are allergic to the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna).​

​

I understand that concern about a rare blood clotting side effect is the reason why the AZ vaccine is not being used as a booster. For this reason it is already limited in the UK to those over 40.​

​

All the vaccines used in the UK provide significant defences against severe Covid. But it remains unclear which will offer the most lasting protection. Pfizer and Moderna score best in the initial weeks after immunisation, but their immunity wanes more quickly than the AstraZeneca vaccine, which uses a disabled virus.​

​

So it would be wrong to completely write off the Oxford-AZ jab as a booster. If the vaccine is shown to give more durable immunity, it may yet have a continuing role here.​

Click to expand...
If you had a previous allergic reaction to an mRNA vaccine, it wouldn't be given again.
 
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