← Return to Transplant: Vaccines: Covid, Flu, RSV

Discussion

Transplant: Vaccines: Covid, Flu, RSV

Transplants | Last Active: Oct 14, 2023 | Replies (44)

Comment receiving replies
@johnnoregon

I'm 2 years post-transplant. 67M. My transplant hospital wants all the mentioned shots performed. But I also had monoclonal antibodies injections twice, at their orders, then CDC decided it didn't work. Hmmm. 2-400 mile round trips to my hospital, with lodging, for shots that didn't work. I've had 3 COVID boosters, the last being April 2022. The first 2 were Pfizer, the 3rd was Moderna. 7 days after the Moderna shot, I had a Type II myocardial infarction. That's any heart attack not caused by a clot, I was told in ICU. Nobody mentioned a connection from my heart attack to the COVID shot, but I sure thought about it because that sort of thing was on the news at the time. Right now, I'm refusing the new booster. I've read it has little to no human testing before approval. From Microsoft's website: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/new-covid-boosters-not-widely-tested-in-humans-how-do-we-know-they-work/ar-AA1h0Gjy. Far as I know, Microsoft supports the vax, and they aren't anti-vaxxers. Do I really want a vaccine that hasn't been properly tested? BTW, 3 months after the Moderna shot/heart attack, I caught COVID. It wasn't much, sniffles, really. That could be due to the vax or not. Could be due to natural immunization. I don't know. I know I respect the opinions of the people on the board, the volunteers, and the Mayo people standing up this forum. No other transplant forums exist better than Mayo. I may be pummeled at bit with this since I'm not on the "give me all the shots" team.

Jump to this post


Replies to "I'm 2 years post-transplant. 67M. My transplant hospital wants all the mentioned shots performed. But I..."

Hi @johnnoregon 😊
I am so happy you joined into this discussion! You are correct. Trying to vaccinate against a coronavirus is unbelievably challenging. I think it is why we never had a vaccine for the common cold.
The mutations and variants of the flu and covid are so difficult to predict and protect against.
The vaccines and monoclonal antibodies that work beautifully one week, quickly become ineffective and obsolete the following week against the new variants.
When I caught covid, I went to the ER and was given an infusion of monoclonal antibodies that worked beautifully. Then 60 days later, a good friend caught covid and I suggested she go to the ER for the same infusion.
But only 60 days later, the virus had mutated and the new variant caused the antibodies that I received to be ineffective and unavailable to her.
We are very lucky that the virus is mutating to be more highly contagious, but less life-threatening when you get it.
I was always scared that the covid virus may mutate to a more lethal variant.
I hope the virus continues to be on the mild side if we catch it.
Thank you again for sharing your excellent thoughts and experience on this topic John. I love to hear different viewpoints so keep it up!