Third vaccine to boost antibodies against COVID infection?

You’re making some unfair assumptions based on my comments. I’m not reluctant to wear a mask and I’m also extremely grateful for the gift I’ve received. There have been viruses around for many years that could be deadly to transplant recipients. I received my transplant in February of 2020. When I left the hospital I was only advised to wash my hands regularly and stay away from sick people. Not to wear a mask everywhere and stay away from asymptotic people. Now, I’m being advised by my transplant team to avoid large crowds, wear a mask in public and practice social distancing from anyone other than my vaccinated family members.
Im a person who will question things that don’t make sense. If you aren’t that’s fine too.

@ladydidehart Feb 2020 it seems there was a lot less information out about protection/avoidance of Covid. Things were still in the developing stages for how we ultimately have changed our lives.

My husband is a kidney recipient, and I have kidney disease and cancer. We both practice social distancing, avoid large gatherings, and mask up/sanitize hand when out in public. We both take our current health conditions seriously, and know we are doing this more to protect where we currently are at, rather than risk exposure to infection. For me, it's a personal choice, one that others might question, but sits well for me.
Ginger

I believe we’re all taking our health very seriously and taking the precautions advised by our medical providers. I know I am. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t question the advice while we’re doing it. I guess I don’t understand your point as it relates to the original post.

I’m not a confrontational person at all and sincerely sorry if what I wrote was taken the wrong way. I absolutely meant nothing judgmental, disparaging or negative in my reply to you. That’s the challenging part of online communication when we can’t hear a voice inflection or chat face to face.

My comments were solely based on the excerpt from your posting: “However, they’re still recommending that transplant patients continue to mask and practice social distancing while in public. So, we’re still basically being told to live in fear and isolation. That is discouraging.”

I still just honestly don’t believe we’re being told to live in fear and isolation. We’re being educated. Knowledge is power! With the knowledge of this completely new virus, garnered from this past year’s scientific studies, data and experiences, our health professionals have given us the latest information to help immunocompromised people avoid potential infection from Covid. And so, we can now use this latest information to continue to keep us safe while we enjoy life with our new transplants.

This virus doesn’t play by the rule book. It’s dangerous, aggressive, unpredictable, and extremely communicable. It now requires a more aggressive stance in protection, superseding previous standards for transplant patients. That is why your transplant team has done an about-face in your post transplant protocol.

You received a liver transplant which didn’t directly affect your immune system but the anti-rejection meds you will take for the ‘rest of your life’ reduces your immune system’s ability to function at a full strength making you vulnerable to more aggressive diseases. Pre-Covid, you were able to maintain safety by washing hands and avoiding sick people. Covid, is a game changer.

So for that reason, because this Covid virus can be so deadly and transmitted so easily, your team is now advising you, for your health and safety, to wear a mask and practice a level of social distancing when in public. It’s not living in fear and isolation. But living with an educated respect for the potential of infection.

Does this help make sense of the information given by your transplant team?

I do not need to be educated about my KIDNEY transplant, the effects of the medications I am taking or the virus itself. I’m doing wonderful and follow my protocol exactly as I was taught by my transplant team. I have also done many hours of my own research, about the virus which is why I’m questioning the advice of the CDC, that is then passed on to me by my transplant team.
I have never said I’m ungrateful or that I’m not going to follow the advise of my medical providers. I’m saying we as a group should be asking questions and getting better answers than we are. If you don’t want to question the advice you’re given then don’t. If you don’t feel like you’re being given information that makes you fearful and social isolated from your loved ones, I’m happy for you. I don’t feel that way. I ask you this; If you’re not fearful why are you wearing a mask? Are you not social distancing either? I’m doing both. To me, wearing a mask and social distancing means not being able to spend time with people in a meaningful way and that’s upsetting.
So I question why there is different protocol for this than any other virus we have to be concerned about. I wish I could move as blissfully through this as you are but I can’t. And I’ll say again, I feel truly blessed and eternally grateful for this gift. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t question things that don’t add up.

I don’t know where you got your transplant, but my transplant team told me when I got my new liver last August to always be masked except within your own family pod. That message has not changed, and in fact I continue to receive reminders that even if we are fully vaccinated, we need to continue to be masked as if we were not vaccinated.

I’m sorry you feel you have received mixed messages. I do feel that the initial messages from the CDC could have been clearer in stating that immunocompromised people should remain fully masked. Along with kids and unvaccinated adults.

I live in Vermont and that has always been stated. In our state we also have more than 80% of residents over 18 vaccinated. Although, we have a lot of tourists who visit. I seldom wear a mask outside, unless in a large crowd. I do not go into indoor restaurant seating. And, when I go inside a store or some other establishment I am always masked.

Yes, I am fearful of getting Covid, but wearing a mask provides security. Even if Covid goes away, I will continue this practice during flu season as my transplant team recommends it.

You’re completely missing my point. I’m speaking about the differences between protocols pre Covid and during Covid. Viruses have been around for ages and all of them are potentially life threatening to transplant patients, yet the protocols are different. I’m glad you’re enjoying life. Blessings to you.

Here is a great article explaining the unique quality of Covid and why the new measures of prevention for immunocompromised people are important. The rules changed…Covid changed everything!

I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree. Have a great day.

Dr. Poland, Mayo Clinic infectious diseases expert addresses the question of a booster shot and organ transplant recipients in the latest Q&A podcast here:
- Summer travel and people not in your bubble during COVID-19 pandemic https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/podcasts/newsfeed-post/poland-2/

Start at 16:00 minutes.
From the transcript:
“So, let's take the case of solid organ transplant patients. They're among the most immunosuppressed. So, how do we protect them? Well, the studies have shown and I'm going to simplify because there are a number of studies. But after one dose, you maybe get protection in the low teens. After two doses about 30 to 40% of transplant patients can be protected. After three doses, and I'm talking about mRNA vaccines now, they've been able to demonstrate protection up to about the 70% level. So, I was on a phone call last week with senior decision makers in the US about this. And you know, we talked very freely about the fact that we need more data. We are keeping an eye on these variants. It is likely to be the variants over anything else that might push us toward a booster. So, again, we're seeing an effect we need never have worried about had we been able to get people to wear masks and get vaccines. So, I think we'll first see recommendations in people who are highly immunosuppressed. I think it's very much an open question at this point as to whether otherwise healthy people will need vaccines, possibly we'll see a recommendation in the elderly. But again, we don't have a full measure of what's called a correlative protection. And even those correlates of protection, for the most part, ignore cellular immunity, which is an arm equally as important as antibody. So, a lot of work and research to be done. I think where we'll make that decision is if we start seeing breakthrough infections occur at greater rates over time in certain subpopulations, like organ transplants or immunosuppressed, or the elderly. But at this point, I think we're doing the right thing and preparing for the idea, but I think any recommendation at this point would be premature.“