My Personal COVID-19 Vaccination Decision
When COVID-19 vaccines first became available, I made a deliberate choice for my family: we would not take the mRNA vaccines. In my opinion, these newer vaccines had insufficient research and clinical trial data behind them at the time.
However, there was a third option—the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine, which used viral vector technology that had been employed for decades in flu vaccine production. This established technology felt more familiar and trustworthy to me. We made sure to receive both doses of the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.
What puzzled me later was something I rarely saw discussed publicly: when booster shots were rolled out, no J&J/Janssen boosters were made available. Only the two mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) were offered as boosters. This left us in a difficult position, and ultimately, we decided not to get any additional COVID-19 vaccinations.
Fortunately, neither my spouse nor I contracted COVID-19—or if we did, our symptoms were so mild that we didn’t notice them.
Looking back, I didn’t have concrete scientific evidence against the mRNA vaccines at that time. What guided my decision was something more intangible: my instincts, combined with over 50 years of clinical experience as a pharmacist, were telling me to “just say no” to the mRNA vaccine boosters.
Since then, I’ve encountered numerous reports of adverse reactions to these vaccines, ranging from unwelcome side effects to more serious complications. While I can’t definitively say my caution was justified, I remain comfortable with the decision we made based on the information available to us at the time
Urticaria Risk Associated With mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines
https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/urticaria-risk-associated-with-mrna-covid19-vaccines
In a nationwide observational cohort study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, researchers sought to examine the correlation between mRNA vaccinations for COVID-19 and the risk of developing urticaria.
The study focused on Danish residents who had received at least one dose of an mRNA vaccine between December 2020 and July 2023, comparing this group with the general population from the prepandemic years (2017–2019). Patients received either one dose of Comirnaty (Pfizer-BioNTech; BNT) or the other FDA-approved COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (Moderna; MOD).
Participants without urticaria were observed from the vaccination date until one of the following occurred: a diagnosis of chronic or other types of urticaria; a COVID-19 infection; the end of the 90-day outcome risk period; death; emigration; or October 2023. The expected number of urticaria cases was estimated by indirectly standardizing the incidence rates of urticaria prior to the pandemic. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) along with their 95% CIs were calculated overall and within specific categories based on gender, age, and vaccine sequence.
The study encompassed 4,700,301 vaccinated individuals and 5,480,146 comparators from before the pandemic.
The results indicated that following vaccine product sequences, the SIRs (95% CI) were reported as 0.83 (0.71-0.96) for chronic urticaria and 1.14 (95% CI, 1.03-1.25) for other forms of urticaria.
Individuals following the recommended vaccine schedule for the MOD mRNA vaccine faced a three- to fourfold increase in the risk of chronic urticaria (SIR, 3.00; 95% CI, 2.27-3.88) and other urticaria types (SIR, 3.65; 95% CI, 3.06-4.31). Sensitivity analyses for dose-specific effects indicated a fourfold higher risk following the MOD vaccine sequence, while no increased risk was observed after the BNT vaccination.
The authors concluded, “Following the most recent mRNA vaccination dose, MOD vaccine schedule adherers had a higher than expected incidence of chronic and other types of urticaria. We found no association between BNT vaccination schedule and increased risk of urticaria.”
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Filed under: General Problems
My husband and I were the only ones who got the J&J vaccine as well. We were the only two people please that didn’t get sick at a family dinner. Makes me wonder why everyone I know that got the J&J vaccine never got sick, or it was so mild, they didn’t know they were sick
In my professional opinion, there had to be some $$$ crossing hands… when new meds typically takes 10+ yrs of clinically trials.. and the mRNA version was generated in a matter of weeks. The mRNA mass evacuation was probably the largest ever clinical trial and the vast majority of the people did not know what they were participating in a clinical trial. The fact that there was no J&J/Jansen booster available – just mRNA versions… to me… it SMELLED like a fish left laying out in the sun too long. I lot of people did not realized that Congress indemnified everyone dealing with the mass vaccination could not be sued.