Covid-19 Vaccine
 

Hello All,

I would like to know if anyone has received advice about the incoming coronavirus vaccines, if your neuro has recommended to take it, or to avoid it...?

I just had the flu vaccine this month and all run ok , but I understand that covid vaccines are much more experimental.
The main risk I suppose it's the vaccine generating a cold/influenza with fever that may trigger a flare-up.

If someone knows of any official statement about the vaccine to MS patients, whether its from the Mayo clinic, the NHS, MS Society, etc..please post it here!

Good question! I haven't spoken with my neuro yet about the vaccine, partly because I've been waiting for more specific details about what vaccine it will be and when it will become available. It might be quite a while before that happens, particularly since it will probably be available only in limited quantities at first and given to the front-line health workers and others who are especially vulnerable.

But I did find this on the National MS Society Website--see the brief section called "COVID-19 Vaccine for People Living with MS":

Suspected Covid-19 & Multiple Sclerosis | National MS Society | National Multiple Sclerosis Society

It looks as if it will be important for us to have the vaccine but those who are on DMDs might need to be careful about the timing of the doses.

I hope there will be more information coming along soon, and I'll be on the lookout for it.

All these vaccines are being put together in such warp speeds and I hear so many negatives on them and all vaccines for that matter, but I'm not a fan of vaccines anyway...keeping my Immune System strong and healthy one can't go wrong. Shooting more toxins into one's body is not my way for sure. Good luck with them whatever you all do.

Caroline, talking with your GP would be a good way of making an informed choice about one of the Covid-19 vaccines.

Learning about the immunology of vaccines which are used for viruses like Covid-19 is also a good plan.

Bumping OP's post asking about any official statement about the vaccine to MS patients.

Thank you agate! You're always at the front!

Yes first people getting the vaccine will be health staff and older>60, but then the next would be us...people with chronic diseases.

I will ask my neuro on my next appointment on 2-December to see what he says and if he has any idea on this topic.

This local information may help people with MS who are thinking about getting vaccinated against Covid-19.

COVID-19 information for people with MS | MS Australia

I usually get vaccines if a doctor OK's them for me but this time I might hesitate to try a vaccine that has been rushed through in the way this one will be.

As a phd-student, knowing how research work functions from the inside, I'm specially doubtfull about the covid vaccine too, a process that usually takes 4-5 years done in less than a year..under pressure and haste...I don't know..

And I say this because when you discover a vaccine, you discover a "click" with the pathogen, it works 100% of the time, not 90% or 95%..., it is not a quantitative study. Actually I would be surprised if any of them reach 80% of real efectiveness.

That's why I'm asking for any advice from official institutions and is important that info about the vaccine should be cristal clear.

You sound like a smart thinking it thru person. So much to think about with this speeded bunch of vaccines, and how we keep hearing how effective t hey are, how does anyone know that in this short time period. I had heard early on that it can take years to develop vaccine(s)....

Jesxes, I hope that your PhD work goes well :).

The data for the Oxford/Zeneca Covid-19 vaccine is complicated. It is based on a modified form of a chimp common cold virus and its protective effect ranges of 70% to 90% depending on the details of the dose.

The Moderna vaccine, based on mRNA, is more complicated.

I found this:

It is part of this article from Multiple Sclerosis Journal (November 18, 2020), "COVID-19 in patients with multiple sclerosis undergoing disease-modifying treatments":

SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class journal research

National MS Society guidance on COVID-19 vaccine for people with MS
 

The National MS Society has published "COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance for People Living with MS" (January 13, 2021):

COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance for People Living with MS | National MS Society | National Multiple Sclerosis Society

This part of the article discusses the specific MS drugs that may need some adjustment in dosage scheduling in connection with the administration of the vaccine:

I am likely to be offered the vaccine in the next week or so, as I work in front line healthcare. I've got a history of peripheral neuropathy and genuinely fear those symptoms coming back permanently as a result of a vaccine.

I appreciate the following is anecdotal evidence and not scientific evidence but in the real world that's what helps inform decisions.

Four close friends have had covid 19. Two of them are clinically obese and diabetic but described the symptoms as "bad flu." All 4 have made full recoveries. Several other locals I know of have had covid. None of them went to hospital. All, as far as I know, are well. The survival rate of covid is 99%

So is Covid more dangerous than the vaccine? Does PN or whatever draws you to this site count as an underlying condition?

I'd be interested in your thoughts.

I'm sure that COVID-19 is more dangerous than the vaccine. Like any new vaccine this one has its risks but great strides seem to have been made in the world of vaccines in recent years, and the medical profession is really favoring the COVID-19 vaccines even though they are new and approved faster than usual due to the COVID situation.

COVID-19 is very risky for older people and for those at high risk for other reasons.

A neighbor down the hall has a chronic neurological disorder that is very disabling. She is bed-ridden. She got COVID from one of her helpers but so far hasn't been feeling very badly and hasn't been hospitalized. She's in her 60s or 70s too.

Yes, lucky people get milder cases of it. But there are all too many very unlucky people who can die of it. More than for flu, for instance. This article is from WebMD:

COVID Far More Lethal Than Flu, Data Shows



I'm drawn to this site because I have MS--as well as PN due to Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is considered an "underlying condition" that puts a person at greater risk of severe COVID-19 though MS isn't one of those conditions so far as I can figure out.

Reading this again and I don't have MS but due to my sister's condition and MS, I know enough about it. Personally and I still believe it's been so rushed and the distribution of it is a big MESS and the Covid virus, I've read and heard from so many on the many degrees of this virus, from no issues and death...and of course we need to remember that so many that we're told have died did have a lot of other chronic health issues....

And again keeping one's immune system strong regardless of health issues, Vit C, D, Zinc, Quercetin and as I've said plenty times here I believe the Grape Seed Extract I take for decades keep me healthy and proud to say 82 yrs young...

My 50cents today...

Caroline which parts of the immune system do you mean?

The cells of the immune system include memory T cells, effector T cells, memory B cells, effector B cells, among others.

All are important in vaccines for Covid-19.

I know of no immunologist who recommends supplements for a strong (whatever that means) immune system

I mean primarily the Respiratory system mostly and for me my Vit C, D, Zinc, Quercetin and Grape Seed Extract keep this SYSTEM of my body in tip top condition. I have NO respiratory issues and at 82 I'm a happy person. And I know MANY MD's who preach the above for their strong good health and I could post many of them here but I don't think they are wanted here. But maybe I'll post a list of Alternative MD's in the Vitamin/Supplement section that some members may appreciate. **

The two things that seem to stand out with this Covid is respiratory and the smell/taste and I have both as I sit here and eat a great reuben sandwich.

And Kiwi I know you and I come from opposite ways of healing and I'll embrace pharma and I take a couple meds but very little. And I've been in the ER from a pharma drug back in the 80's, so this was my
beginning of where I am now.

Please stay on topic vaccine relating to MS , neuro recommended or not..

Hi Agate,

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I have decided to go ahead with the vaccine. I havent been offered one yet but have responded to a request for details. No medical history has been requested. I will report back my experience.
Thanks again,
Atty.

Just out of San Diego a batch of Moderna vaccines have been pulled due to many getting "severe" allergic reactions from the batch.... You can find the info if you do a search...

Recalled Batch of Moderna Vaccine
 

Here is actual information on this single batch of Moderna that had approx 10 people needing attention for allergic reactions. It was quickly reported and that batch has been recalled.

Moderna says possible allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccine under investigation | Reuters

I had the Pfizer vaccine 10 days ago and have had no side effects apart from a sore shoulder for an evening. My girlfriend also had the jab. She said she felt a small prick but she's got used to that.

Great news, Atticus! Hope the second one will go just as well.:)

Now the real evidence is in the long run, how long it will last, there is so much controversary here in the U.S. on these. Many are now waiting for the Johnson and Johnson one, not on ice and a one shot deal. And the distribution of the first 2 here in CA for sure has been terrible. Good luck.

There is strong evidence that the immunologists and virologists who have made Covid-19 specific vaccines have done a good job.

Thanks very much Agate. Take care.

NZ has a population of 5 million.

When Covid-19 arrived there from outside the NZ PM introduced by saying "We are now the whanau of 5 million. Your whanau is your kinship group.

You always have a special duty of care towards other members of your whanau.

All NZ folk got the message.

no way will I allow an experimental jab - it's all to panic us into using something that can't be undone

K.M. I so agree and I posted a link in the General Area here on the trillions of viruses we have in our bodies. It's out of sight so isn't read unless one goes searching. It's all so Dark what our world is going thru.

We are just filled with bugs of all kinds, and some of the bugs do turn out to be fatal.

I just received another notice from the management of the building I live in, announcing yet another case of COVID here in the building. That makes case #5. Actually probably not a bad record for a building with 58 units, all senior citizens.

The chances are that everyone here had to have a smallpox vaccination and other vaccines just to get into first grade. This is a new disease, and a new vaccine was needed.

We're very lucky that the people who know how to develop vaccines were able to come up with one. It's the only way to stop the serious illness and (often) death that this virus brings.

Agate, wonder if the people lost in your bldg had pre existing health issues? This seems to be a big issue and with many seniors, and were they up on the Vit D, and were they taking Vit C...that's what I go to first. This experimental drug isn't working as I see it going into 3 yrs of a continual load of viruses hitting the people every month or so, ummmm.

I'm not sure what experimental drug you mean, but only one person in my building was lost to COVID. The other people who had it recovered. The woman who died was 89 and did have other health issues.

Even though a person in good health who has stocked up on vitamins as needed can probably survive COVID, a person doesn't want to take that chance.

I'll keep beating this drum because vaccinations have been proven to be effective for over 100 years now, and we're lucky to have the COVID vaccines. The only way to cut down on the vast numbers of cases still occurring worldwide is to reach that herd immunity goal.

so far I know of three personally who got the shot and the booster who know have full blown Covid

Oh you said "cases" and I thought you meant deaths...sorry my bad.

** Admin Edit for Covid Misinformation **

The vaccine is not 100% effective, and its effectiveness wanes with time. This is from the Centers for Disease Control, which is a US government's highly respected organization:

Vaccine Breakthrough Infections: The Possibility of Getting COVID-19 after Getting Vaccinated

Nothing is perfect. You can wait around until a more nearly perfect vaccine comes along if you want, or until these vaccines that we have seem less experimental to you, but I'm in favor of going with whatever is available because this is a worldwide problem and it's very apt to kill many more people than it already has unless we do whatever we can to stop it.

The COVID-19 vaccines are not experimental drugs except that they haven't been around as long as other vaccines we're familiar with. In a way anything aimed at COVID-19 is going to be "experimental"--if you want to call it that--just because this is a new virus, and nobody on earth knew anything about it until it happened into our midst. Viruses are known to do that.