1. < Transplants

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? That is the question.

Posted by silverwoman @silverwoman, Jan 4, 2021

<p>I know I am not the only post-transplant patient who is thinking about getting the coVID vaccination. My nurse coordinator has told me that the transplant team at Jacksonville has not approved vaccination yet because of the lack of experience with it for our group. One of the Infectious Disease doctors has indicated in a Mayo communication that transplants should be getting vaccinated. The nurse coordinator has said that if we choose to get vaccinated then we should do our laboratories once a week. I'm frustrated and confused by the lack of clear guidance and seemingly conflicting opinions. Is anybody else feeling like this? Have you made any decisions about when and if you will get vaccinated?</p>

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Transplants Support Group.

Mentor
Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | May 21, 2021
In reply to @johnymac "Well I received my first shot yesterday. I weighed the pros and cons and the pros..." + (show)
@johnymac

Well I received my first shot yesterday. I weighed the pros and cons and the pros made more sense for me. Like I was previously advised by a lung cancer survivor....if I do not get the vaccine and get Covid I probably would not survive with two lobes missing. If I do get it the vaccine I will have a fighting chance. And it is better for everyone else as well.

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My daughter, a nurse who regularly works on telemed with Covid patients, is applauding too!

Her office is in my home, and many days she is nearly in tears after having to call 911 for a person severely ill with Covid. She will come upstairs saying "I have such a bad feeling about this person. Tell everyone to get vaccinated!!!"

Please remember, especially with restrictions ending and people gathering, that if you don't get vaccinated, you NEED to stay masked, keep your distance and be extremely careful. Especially, you need to stay away from unvaccinated kids, they are great carriers, and not eligible for the vaccine.
Sue

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2 replies
johnymac | @johnymac | May 21, 2021
In reply to @sueinmn "My daughter, a nurse who regularly works on telemed with Covid patients, is applauding too! Her..." + (show)
@sueinmn

My daughter, a nurse who regularly works on telemed with Covid patients, is applauding too!

Her office is in my home, and many days she is nearly in tears after having to call 911 for a person severely ill with Covid. She will come upstairs saying "I have such a bad feeling about this person. Tell everyone to get vaccinated!!!"

Please remember, especially with restrictions ending and people gathering, that if you don't get vaccinated, you NEED to stay masked, keep your distance and be extremely careful. Especially, you need to stay away from unvaccinated kids, they are great carriers, and not eligible for the vaccine.
Sue

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Thanks Sue, and thank your daughter for me. She is most appreciated. Like they say doctors fix, but nurses heal

REPLY
jayhawk57 | @jayhawk57 | May 22, 2021

Hi- I have Fibromuscular Dysplasia in renal kidney and corotid artery with MALS. I take blood thinner. I have had some anxiety taking the vaccine. I want to take the Pfitzer. I know it is challenging to get feedback because everyone has different reactions. Thanks and have a blessed weekend.

REPLY
1 reply
JK | @contentandwell | May 22, 2021
In reply to @sueinmn "My daughter, a nurse who regularly works on telemed with Covid patients, is applauding too! Her..." + (show)
@sueinmn

My daughter, a nurse who regularly works on telemed with Covid patients, is applauding too!

Her office is in my home, and many days she is nearly in tears after having to call 911 for a person severely ill with Covid. She will come upstairs saying "I have such a bad feeling about this person. Tell everyone to get vaccinated!!!"

Please remember, especially with restrictions ending and people gathering, that if you don't get vaccinated, you NEED to stay masked, keep your distance and be extremely careful. Especially, you need to stay away from unvaccinated kids, they are great carriers, and not eligible for the vaccine.
Sue

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@sueinmn This is so true. One of my friends did catch Covid from one of her grandsons. Then his siblings also tested positive, but their mother did not!
I'm truly not sure why so many are still opposed to the vaccine, I hope when it gets CDC approval that more will choose to get vaccinated. Right now I am being very cautious and not coming in contact with unvaccinated people which means I need a new manicurist and a new house cleaner. 🥺
I realize there was a political divide for some people but even Trump got vaccinated prior to leaving the White House. Another reason I have heard has to do with aborted fetuses but the only vaccine that is true of is the J&J vaccine.
There was a wild rumor about them implanting something in people but really? Every nation in the world is advocating for its citizens to get vaccinated. I really don't think there is a grand conspiracy.
My very conservative transplant department actually set up for any transplant recipients to come there for the vaccination very early on. I had my second shot on February 14th. They want us protected as much as possible even though the vaccine is proving to not be as great a benefit to transplant recipients as hoped.
I just read an article yesterday, written by a doctor who also happens to be a heart transplant recipient. He showed little or no response initially to the two Pfizer shots and then had the J&J shot for a booster and developed a robust immunity. Hopefully our transplant teams will advocate for us to have a third vaccine.
JK

REPLY
2 replies
Mentor
Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | May 22, 2021
In reply to @contentandwell "@sueinmn This is so true. One of my friends did catch Covid from one of her..." + (show)
@contentandwell

@sueinmn This is so true. One of my friends did catch Covid from one of her grandsons. Then his siblings also tested positive, but their mother did not!
I'm truly not sure why so many are still opposed to the vaccine, I hope when it gets CDC approval that more will choose to get vaccinated. Right now I am being very cautious and not coming in contact with unvaccinated people which means I need a new manicurist and a new house cleaner. 🥺
I realize there was a political divide for some people but even Trump got vaccinated prior to leaving the White House. Another reason I have heard has to do with aborted fetuses but the only vaccine that is true of is the J&J vaccine.
There was a wild rumor about them implanting something in people but really? Every nation in the world is advocating for its citizens to get vaccinated. I really don't think there is a grand conspiracy.
My very conservative transplant department actually set up for any transplant recipients to come there for the vaccination very early on. I had my second shot on February 14th. They want us protected as much as possible even though the vaccine is proving to not be as great a benefit to transplant recipients as hoped.
I just read an article yesterday, written by a doctor who also happens to be a heart transplant recipient. He showed little or no response initially to the two Pfizer shots and then had the J&J shot for a booster and developed a robust immunity. Hopefully our transplant teams will advocate for us to have a third vaccine.
JK

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Thank you for your positive email. It is one thing for me to say it, quite another for transplant patients to hear it from another.
My brother has many autoimmune issues, and was initially reluctant to get vaccinated, until his son told him "If you and Mom get the vaccine, the kids and I will come for 6 weeks this summer, but I won't expose you if you're not immunized." Magic bullet! They're both vaccinated now - with no side effects. I can't wait - we last saw the kids in Feb 2020, just before they went back to NYC and got locked down. (We pretty much share our grandkids.)
Sue

REPLY
terry14 | @terry14 | May 22, 2021
In reply to @contentandwell "@sueinmn This is so true. One of my friends did catch Covid from one of her..." + (show)
@contentandwell

@sueinmn This is so true. One of my friends did catch Covid from one of her grandsons. Then his siblings also tested positive, but their mother did not!
I'm truly not sure why so many are still opposed to the vaccine, I hope when it gets CDC approval that more will choose to get vaccinated. Right now I am being very cautious and not coming in contact with unvaccinated people which means I need a new manicurist and a new house cleaner. 🥺
I realize there was a political divide for some people but even Trump got vaccinated prior to leaving the White House. Another reason I have heard has to do with aborted fetuses but the only vaccine that is true of is the J&J vaccine.
There was a wild rumor about them implanting something in people but really? Every nation in the world is advocating for its citizens to get vaccinated. I really don't think there is a grand conspiracy.
My very conservative transplant department actually set up for any transplant recipients to come there for the vaccination very early on. I had my second shot on February 14th. They want us protected as much as possible even though the vaccine is proving to not be as great a benefit to transplant recipients as hoped.
I just read an article yesterday, written by a doctor who also happens to be a heart transplant recipient. He showed little or no response initially to the two Pfizer shots and then had the J&J shot for a booster and developed a robust immunity. Hopefully our transplant teams will advocate for us to have a third vaccine.
JK

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JK could I please have a link to the article written by the heart transplant recipient doctor that you mention. If you don't have a link to provide do you remember the title of the article? I'd really like to hear more about this. I know in France a 3rd dose for immunosuppressed was approved in March. I haven't heard of the efficacy for those patients yet.

REPLY
2 replies
JK | @contentandwell | May 22, 2021
In reply to @terry14 "JK could I please have a link to the article written by the heart transplant recipient..." + (show)
@terry14

JK could I please have a link to the article written by the heart transplant recipient doctor that you mention. If you don't have a link to provide do you remember the title of the article? I'd really like to hear more about this. I know in France a 3rd dose for immunosuppressed was approved in March. I haven't heard of the efficacy for those patients yet.

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@terry14 I'm sorry, I spent a great deal of time tonight looking for it myself. I believe it was in an email I received. I get many emails that are news related and also health related. I am so annoyed at myself that I didn't put that one aside or bookmark it. I will look more tomorrow.
JK

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kohlgryl079 | @kohlgryl079 | May 23, 2021

I have tested positive twice for covid. I have had no symptoms. I cannot take flu shots, have been told by medical persons to get a blood test. My primary refused to do that. The vaccine is less effective on us… anyone please… HELP!

REPLY
1 reply
suzanne2 | @suzanne2 | May 23, 2021

I teach kindergarten and have been vaccinated, with some side effects. But my point in writing is that last weekend one of my students experienced a tragedy. He lost his mom to COVID! She was 32 years old and never had a chance to be vaccinated. Just something to think about.

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1 reply
Mentor
Rosemary, Volunteer Mentor | @rosemarya | May 23, 2021
In reply to @kohlgryl079 "I have tested positive twice for covid. I have had no symptoms. I cannot take flu..." + (show)
@kohlgryl079

I have tested positive twice for covid. I have had no symptoms. I cannot take flu shots, have been told by medical persons to get a blood test. My primary refused to do that. The vaccine is less effective on us… anyone please… HELP!

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@kohlgryl079, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect.
I am a transplant recipient. My husband got COVID in November, but I did not get it. These are indeed complicated times for all of us. I have had both doses of the vaccine, and according to research, I may not be protected either. In my recent post transplant appointment, I learned that the antibody test is not being given routinely as it was in the beginning of the pandemic. As a transplant patient, I was told that it is a measurement of a specific time, and 'Real World' observation/research is ongoing to learn what that can mean for transplant patients.
Transplant patients are instructed to follow the CDC guidelines for unvaccinated population and that means continuing to wear masks.

Are you a transplant patient?
What kind of blood test is this medical person telling you to get?

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