What the Actual

[smokingboot]

No no no no.

R's responded pretty badly to the booster. It probably isn't just the booster but the flu jab too, or the fact that he's had a bit too much of the dose, or all of the above. When he came to bed last night, he had shivers the like of which I've never seen. His body was extremely cold, and the temperature didn't rise with me rubbing his hands and feet. I held him for ages before he seemed to return to normal, all under a combination of duvet, and blankets. It was very strange.

I am not used to cold people not warming up, not used to such extreme shivers. I have bad circulation, cold hands and feet, but this was different.

All I could think was something's not right. This is not OK. I couldn't have been more freaked out if a ghost had walked through the wall.

He seems fine now though it has been a very uncomfortable night for both of us. But it has left me with a sense of worry. Exactly what are we putting in our bodies? Are we going to have a booster every time a new variant appears? What's in it? What does the booster do that the original shots didn't? The vaccine wears out bloody quickly doesn't it? This whole thing puts me in mind of Brigg's book 'When The Wind Blows,' with people being dimly faithful to the instructions (Protect and Survive as I recall), expecting that the powers that be will sort it all out...

I hated that book.

I am reassured by the Principal Scientist. She's exhausted but brutally lucid; it works. It needs to be done. It saves lives. I get that but...

It usually behoves me well to pay attention when my body backs up, like a horse that shies at a jump. Animal Boot is often a lot smarter than Head Boot.

Huh. My conclusion: I am never going to take a bunch of vaccines together. I am always going to take one, leave it, take another, leave it. I'm going to be kind to my body and not shock it.

Comments

[mallorys_camera]

Poor R!!!!!!

On the plus side—the conventional wisdom is that the stronger your immune system, the more likely you are to have a reaction to The Jab. So, R probably has an awesome immune system!

Over on LJ where my Dear-Diary entries repost, I am having an argument with several pals who are tsk-tsking me for my waning enthusiasm about COVID-19 protocols.

I'm trying to make the point: What we're doing now is not sustainable.

But I guess I'm not being particularly articulate about it.

Except—it is not sustainable.

[smokingboot]

Thanks for your concern! He sends you his best :-) He feels better today, no weird shivers or crazy temperature drops, just a bloody sore arm which, alongside an impressive headache, is all the hassle I've had from the Moderna booster.

I just popped over to your LJ to see. Goodness, there's some vehemence! You are very polite and patient.

Now prepare for a moment's woo!

Pagan mates with appropriate background discussing it from a folklore/magical/superstitious point of view mentioned the timing of the revelations about Covid back in 2020.

Chinese Astrology often suggests that circumstances surrounding any given New Year influence the rest of it, so they posited, it was not hard to understand why, apart from political reasons, the Chinese government would be hesitant about giving much emphasis to the Newcomer until after the birth of the Year of the Rat (Jan 25th 2020) * not just because it covers the entire year, but because Rat is the first in the sequence of 12 years before it starts again. The implication would be that a power that gains ascendancy in that time would therefore around for at least 12 years. They then started talking about the 60 year cycle, but this is where my brain had to tap out. One of them said something that gave me a little chill though;

'Rat,' he said, 'very affectionate and clever. But in Western history, he spreads disease, doesn't he? And you can't keep him out of any place...'

But be it 12 years or 2, or 200, I agree what we're doing now is not sustainable. There are good changes we can make; people can work from home, become more attached to their local community if they want. But of course that has knock on effects on other people's livelihoods. And masks and boosters can't become a permanent fixture can they?

*Principal Scientist friend says that the Chinese Government does not need a special year to give little or no information regarding the rise of flus, viruses etc.

[mallorys_camera]

Oh, Woo R Us, bay-bee! 😊

I actually had enough presentiments about Something Awful Ahead that I cast a horary astrological chart in January 2020 (first time in 30 years!), asking the question, What the hell is going on?

You can see the results here:

https://mallorys-camera.dreamwidth.org/818565.html

I didn't see COVID, but I did see the authoritarian crackdown around COVID.

So, you know...

(And I know you've been warned off astrology, but I figure every once in a while, it can't hurt, right? 😊)

The Moderna side-effects you guys are experiencing sound a lot like the Moderna side effects I experienced with my very first Moderna vaccination. I think maybe Moderna just has worst side effects than the other two popular vaccines. Or maybe it's the mix and match with AstraZeneca? Over here, the CDC told us we could mix and match Pfizer and Moderna, and I thought to myself, Bullshit on that. I am not mixing, and tracked down a Moderna booster.

[smokingboot]

Alas, I cannot look at the chart yet, but there will be a time to talk about such things! Thanks for the link :-)

Yes, a lot of people are experiencing variations on the theme of dread. Given circumstances it's understandable, one could argue it's been like this since the 50s. Sometimes it's harsher, sometimes it seems to almost disappear. Now I guess is unique in terms of methods of transmission, the internet, social media etc. Every idea finds a place to flourish, reality is consensual and consistency doesn't matter at all. It's like the whole planet's been covered in tin-foil. No wonder it's baking.

At the centre I was told that the mix and match was intentional, and seems to provide better protection. This moderna booster has given me the fewest symptoms of all, though the ones I had were pointed in painfulness. But they were easily paracetamoled into oblivion.

AZ Jabs 1 and 2 finished me off for weeks!

[mallorys_camera]

At the centre I was told that the mix and match was intentional

Maybe it was intentional given that AZ only has about a 63% effectiveness against the disease.

[smokingboot]

Interesting. I had no idea it was under 70%.

[westernind]

Glad R is better.

Re mix and match - I’ve had three different ones. The only side effect I got from the recent Moderna booster was a bit of a sore arm. I guess you just roll on that table of effects… And the stats suggest that mixing could give you better immunity, presumably because slightly different antibodies are generated.

As it happens, I’ve had five jabs so far. Because I was on the Janssen double-jab human trial in late 2020. Then they didn’t un-blind me in time for my AZ first jab, despite lots of notice! - and after consulting public health researcher friends I decided to go ahead anyway rather than miss my slot. It turned out afterwards I’d had the real Janssen, not saline.

(No superpowers yet!)

I do think we’re going to be taking boosters at least annually until we’re into the endemic stage.

[smokingboot]

Thanks! He's fine today, just the sore arm you would expect.

We were both AZ-AZ-Moderna, at the centre I was told that this was because mixing seems to be the way to better immunity. I have had a couple of painful symptoms from this booster (arm, headache, scratchy throat) but distinctly lacking in the kick-in-the-bonce qualities of the AZ shots.

It'll be interesting to see how regular boosters become. My feeling is that people's interest will 'fade out' until the next time the press terrifies everyone, and then they'll all stampede centres, desperate to be helped straight away. But then, I have lost a lot of faith in the average punter over the past six years.

To preparing in good time... And your forthcoming superpowers!