Thank you all for chiming in on kids side effects!
It stinks that it is still just 2-5 year olds, and not 6 mo - 5 year olds.
3 Likes
Actually I might be wrong. Everything Iām seeing just mentions 2-5 year olds, but the facebook post on NPR for this exact article says 6mo - 5 years. But the article itself doesnāt.Pfizer COVID vaccine for kids under 5 could be ready this month : NPR
ETA - Or Iām an idiot and not reading slowly/carefully enough. This article does say 6month - 5 years. Yay!
9 Likes
This is what Iām trying to figure out as well. We have a chance at getting our <2 year d into the Moderna trial. If Pfizer is going to be approved in the next few weeks then selfishly weād probably skip the trial and be assured she got an actual vaccine jab, but if itās just 2-5 then weād probably keep moving forward with the trial process? 
3 Likes
They said 6 months-5 years on the actual radio broadcast this afternoon.
1 Like
Yeah, I saw it in the article too. I just missed it the first time around. Iām very glad!!
2 Likes
YāAll, Iām conflicted on this Pfizer vaccine, even if it does get approved by the FDA.
Their preliminary results indicated an insufficient antibody response in 2 - 5 year olds, and are banking on a third dose to be sufficient. What if the 3rd dose is not sufficient? And in the meantime moderna comes out with something that works better? Even if my child gets vaccinated right away, the third dose wouldnāt be for another 3 months! What does that mean in the meantime?
I have no medical training and am frustrated.
What are you all thinking?
4 Likes
The vaccineās name is Spikevax. I feel so metal for having gotten it. SPIKEVAXXXXX! 
11 Likes
Thereās a lot we donāt know yet, but will very soon, because theyāve been closed lipped about particulars up til now. My suspicion from what Iāve been reading though is that there is a small reduction in transmission and a good reduction in hospitalizations, but not in mild illness, or to the degree they had hoped. But since omicron moved the goal posts, that could be enough now.
Weāll know more as their data is analyzed by the very smart people who do this sort of stuff, but in the meantime I think part of it is going to come down to how much exposure your kid has. Is it better for them to get vaccinated immediately to have that protection against serious disease, or are they so isolated that itās worth the gamble that they can wait longer, maybe being exposed during that time, but maybe having a more fully protected vaccine when they get to the goal posts.
As someone who is experienced firsthand just how transmissible omicron is, as a stay at home mom no daycare work from home family, with minimal exposures and we all still just got sick, I tend to lean towards the camp of āanything you can get now is better than waiting for laterā.
11 Likes
Iām of the same mind as Bracken_joy, first available shot is best shot. First, because Iām not sure Moderna will be approved anytime soon. They are still waiting on their teenage approval. Second, because if they do get approved in the mean time and they are a lot more effective, I donāt see any reason why you wouldnāt be allowed to get your kid a moderna shot instead of a third Pfizer. Much like adults mixed and matched their boosters.
The FDA has announced that theyāre going to meet 2/15 to decide on Pfizer! Thatās shorter than the timeline for the other age groups. I hope they can roll out the new dosing vials quickly after that.
4 Likes
Happy Valentineās Day (nearly), lol! Yay!
4 Likes
Dr Raven Science Maven on Twitter is reporting that she is having GI symptoms after having COVID, I think @Rural was also reporting gut symptoms after probably COVID?
8 Likes
Oh boy. I need to keep an eye on this. SirB usually has a gut of steel, but itās been unhappy this week. I hope this isnāt a Covid thing for him, and/or it doesnāt stick around at all. He got off the easiest of the 3 of us with active infection, although we know that doesnāt really matter with post Covid syndrome stuff.
2 Likes
Boy, I hope this is not my thing. I do have a history of issues, but this round started up right after what I think was Covid/while I was surely still infected (didnāt have many symptoms). I donāt know if Iāve yet lost 25 pounds, but my pants are falling off.
I have tests mid-March (endoscopy and biopsy) so there will be more information. Also, my doc said if I have a history of H. pylori and ulcers (which I do), infection with any other virus could give the H. pylori in my system a kick so that it starts causing problems again.
10 Likes
Personal/TMI/tldr
I have also had GI issues since around the time I had covid back in March 2020. In my case, the situation is complicated by the fact that I went on antibiotics for bronchitis in February 2020. I do tend to have a finicky stomach, but antibiotics are usually okay. This time, they made me constipated. Right around the time that was improving, my covid symptoms started. I think it was just too much for my body all at once and itās been out of whack ever since. I already eat a ton of fiber (like 50g a day) and drink a ton of water (around 3 liters a day) but I couldnāt shake the constipation.
I saw a gastroenterologist and got a colonoscopy, but it was totally normal. The doctor said that itās relatively common to have GI symptoms after an infection (though he noted itās usually diarrhea over constipation). Thereās even a defined post-infection IBS thatās possible after some bacterial infections. He didnāt think it was necessarily covid specific. Luckily in my case taking miralax every day does the trick. But itās annoying that almost two years later I have to be so vigilant about fiber, water, and the miralax just to keep everything working.
5 Likes
This is an embarrassing problem to have, but does anyone else have a bit of a āhorse faceā? Pointy chin and all that? N 95s really donāt fit me well. Iāve been wearing Happy Masks, because they test out as similar protection and they fit to my face way better (and that matters as much as the filtering, N95 doesnāt work if the air goes around it). But I also havenāt had the opportunity try that many different N 95s. Does anyone else with a long lean face have any advice on what specific type or fit youāre using? I donāt think just sizing down will work, because itās not that I have a small head overall, itās just longer than it is wide you know?
4 Likes
Have you been using the traditional bowl-shaped N95, or have you also not had luck with the āsofterā/folded style?
1 Like
Iām curious if anyone with GI symptoms has tried probiotics and if theyāve been helpful or not. For me I never found the pills or capsules to be helpful. I make my own yogurt and kefir for probiotics. (I donāt want to offer unsolicited advice, Iām genuinely curious if they make a difference or not.)
I tried basically everything, including probiotics, and nothing really helped until the daily miralax. I do still take the probiotic pill because I figure it canāt hurt, but it didnāt solve the problem. Yogurt made things worse because dairy is a trigger for me. Admittedly I didnāt try eating non-dairy yogurt for a sustained period of time because the good ones are $$$ and I donāt have the time or energy to make my own.
3 Likes
I have not, but I am eating yogurt. Hasnāt seemed to make a difference, or at least hasnāt solved it - it is better than when it started, worse than last week.
1 Like