Looking at the way the neutralising antibodies are boosted, max level at 2 -4 weeks and then rapidly drop I guess it’s only going to be effective at protecting from infection for a few months. So it’s a bit of gamble as to when is the optimum timing. Sure it should help with improving the T cell response too.
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That’s fast. Maybe they should try to formulate the booster shots as a breakfast cereal. 
Personally I think booster shots once or twice a year wouldn’t be a big deal at all if they were cheap. Could even double them up with influenza . Something like that .
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Fascinating to see how thoughtful people on this forum suddenly have become anti-capitalist keyboard warriors when they discover some companies actually profit from their business and from years of R&D.
AZ as we know has resisted this model, so this option should remain for the newly minted socialists among us. 
Guy
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As the Columbia University conversation I linked above indicates, they’ve found out that administering multiple vaccines at the same time does not interfere with their effectiveness or compound side effects. Plus, as they say, it’s more convenient! 
Guy
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Thanks for the ad hominem over an obvious joke. 
I wouldn’t say I’m an “anti-capitalist keyboard warrior”, but I’ve felt a similar fascination at times with your bizarre vaccine cheerleading “100,000 doses today, woo woo wooh!” posts, which I often find quite cringey. Especially the ones that reveal a lack of understanding of the topic. 
Basically a full dose of BNT gives double the neutralising antibodies at peak from the studies I checked .It’s dose dependent. 37x at peak versus 83x at peak for the full dose.
They both show a fairly rapid drop off , I doubt it matters a whole lot if half dose or double dose. Maybe a week or two difference in terms of effectiveness of resisting infection. Just my own estimate. It makes sense to halve the dose.
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It’s similar to what I read too, with the rationale for the lower dose being reducing the expected risk of side effects. Again though, the issue there is that this was determined for people fully vaccinated with two doses of Moderna. Extrapolating those data to immune systems not yet primed with that particular vaccine seems tentative at best.
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Well consider me surprised that you are surprised that companies in capitalist economies actually some times make a profit.
I don’t think it’s an especially impressive point, other than as part of a larger debate on how public funds should be utilized. If you think they should be utilized in other ways, I am happy to read your thread on this topic.
But this thread is about boosters, and if you a more substantial point to make about them, I am all ears.
Guy
Well fair enough. But I doubt it’s a big issue in the grander scheme if things. The mRNA vaccines seem to give a bigger response in terms of neutralising antibodies .And they are the go to vaccines for developed countries now.
You’ve clearly misread or misunderstood something else there, once again. I didn’t say anything to the effect of being surprised - you can go back and check.
I’ve already made my points, namely, that (i) the efficacy of the half dose for people vaccinated with other vaccines hasn’t been demonstrated and (ii) that the antibody dropoff Brian referred to is surprisingly fast.
If you’ve got anything meaningful to say to address either of these, as opposed to whatever the hell it is you’re trying to achieve at the moment by being obnoxious because I don’t fully subscribe to your bizarre vaccine cheerleading club, feel free to post it. Thanks.
My last post here for now.
I will readily admit that not each post I put up on forumosa will be worthy of a Nobel Prize. Humility is not a bad thing, and I am more than happy to learn.
But I do remain unapologetic about “cheerleading” vaccination drives. This is not because I believe the vaccines available are without risk; it is also not because I believe they perform perfectly, because of course they do not. My position is simply that mass vaccination, on the broadest possible scale, is a social good. If it prevents some people from getting infected, good. It those people are not infected, they will not be infecting others—good. If vaccinated people who do get infected stay out of the hospital, good for our public health system. If it prevents some suffering among the infected or the people around them, good. And if boosters can play a part in slowing down infections and suffering, then good.
It’s quite astonishing to me that such positions need to be stated, but there you have it: I am for vaccination, and yes I think public funds should help support it.
Bye for now!
Guy
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Hmpf I’m trying to get the booster at Tri-Services in neihu, but no luck. Only few dates where they do 3rd shots (Moderna) but all booked - while 1st and 2nd shots (also Moderna) seem readily available.
https://www2.ndmctsgh.edu.tw/newwebreg/en/Register/Doctors?pos=B&DeptCode=11A&DeptGroup=5
I also checked there in person yesterday, and it seems to simply be this way.
Well, off to find a different place then to get my Christmas present 
Any suggestions near Nangang?
I guess the issue is the epitope similarity for the various vaccines, i.e., whether the initial immunity would really be boosted as intended when using a different vaccine (I saw the same values of 37x/83x as you mentioned, but that’s with prior exposure to two Moderna shots). I’m not sure - again, because it hasn’t been tested.
Keep checking? The MacKay Danshui shots were all booked a week ahead of time. Then I checked two days before the slot and a ton of spaces had opened up.
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But I thought that there had been studies. Don’t know how reliable this is below but I’m sure I’ve read about more studies. My ears perk up since I’ve had two AZ shots. (Two AZ followed by a Moderna booster will be my situation.)
Overall, the mRNA vaccines - Moderna and Pfizer - gave the best boost to antibodies and T-cells, which are known to be important factors in how well vaccines work, particularly after two initial doses of AZ.
The vaccines were equally effective in the over-70s and under-70s.
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Thanks for posting that - I didn’t know about the Lancet one mentioned in the BBC article, and it didn’t come up yesterday when I was searching based on the US recommendations.
About to rush out to see if I can buy unsalted butter from Costco, but will take a closer look later. 
It does seem that this article doesn’t specifically consider half doses of Moderna (“m1273” below) after AZ, though:
Of note, m1273 is now approved at 50% dose (50 μg) when used as a homologous third dose.
It was also not possible to test half m1273 (currently now recommended as third dose of this vaccine) or other approved vaccines due to logistical reasons at the timepoint of the decision to include fractional doses.
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Update on how I’m feeling after booster. Overall actually felt mostly fine. Arm started getting sore about a half a day after the shot and was a little worse today but not too bad. Day after mostly feel fine besides the sore arm and just taking it easy. First 2 shots were AZ.
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Yeah, same for me. I don’t think I had much in the way of side-effects apart from a slightly sore arm.
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Hi guys! Do you know if it’s possible to get the booster shot in Taipei if I was vaccinated with 2 doses of Sinopharm 6 months ago in another country?
I have the vaccination certificate legalised by the Mainland China office.