Asking for a friend, we are wondering if the cocktail is different to fight off variants

A friend of mine got his booster today at a pharmacy, no questions asked. He's at the 6 month point since his second.

My 6 month point is mid October; here's hoping for more clarity on the whole issue by then!

The stuff I saw out of the EU showed that mixing the different vaccine technologies was best option.

They were doing AstraZeneca and Pfizer I believe.

I'm at 6 months the first part of September. Does anyone know if HEB or any other pharmacy will give boosters at this time. If no one knows I'll give them a call, just thought I'd try here first.

fightingfarmer09 said:

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The stuff I saw out of the EU showed that mixing the different vaccine technologies was best option.

They were doing AstraZeneca and Pfizer I believe.

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Any reasoning they gave for that being better than staying with the same vaccine?

So now it's 6 months? I heard 8

they are hoping this helps but no one knows if it will

we really need a vaccine update (which this tech should be able to handle but I don't know why it's not being unleashed in that way)

cone said:

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they are hoping this helps but no one knows if it will

we really need a vaccine update (which this tech should be able to handle but I don't know why it's not being unleashed in that way)

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Maybe they have to do/are doing trials on the updates?

I'm sure they have to

but I hadn't seen that announced

Nor I.

I got my booster on Friday and they told me it was exactly the same as the first 2 shots.

Dad said:

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Is the problem with the vaccine that its effects have wore off or that the virus has changed enough since March of last year that it just doesn't work as well. If its the second one then I don't see what good a booster of the old shot will do.

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A little bit of both. Antibody levels do decline slowly over time (which is normal, and to be expected for any vaccine or infectious illness), however the variants are also slightly different. The combination makes it easier for variants to get a small foothold/breakthrough infection.

Personally, I would also hold off on getting a booster at this point, unless you're high risk/immunosuppressed, or in close contact with someone else who is high risk/immunosuppressed. The data just isn't there to support a booster at either 6 or 8 months, in my opinion. There's probably no harm if you choose to, but I would rather personally wait until the data shows it to be necessary, or till a new vaccine tailored to a newer variant is out.

On a side note, I wonder if the part of difference in long lasting efficacy between Pfizer and Moderna is due to Pfizers's 3 week difference between doses and Moderna's 4 week difference. If you're getting the vaccine for the first time, my personal recommendation to friends and family has been to wait 4-5 weeks between doses regardless of which one you get.

Got my first two shots will not be getting any more.

Also, Pfizer shot contains less MRNA - or so I've read.