On Sunday, I received an invitation from the provincial government to get my second booster vaccination shot. I was lucky enough to get an appointment the next day at a local and independent pharmacy. I received my first booster in January, so it’s been quite a while since my last shot.
When I arrived at the pharmacy, I was given the choice of two types of boosters. The first was the Pfizer booster, which is exactly the same one I received about nine months ago. This one does not target any variants and is not the same bivalent booster that is currently available in the United States. The second option is Moderna’s bivalent booster which targets the Omnicron (BA.1) variant, plus the original strain. For Canada, this is the only available bivalent vaccine at the time of this writing.
I’m not sure who would willingly choose the Pfizer booster if they understood what each booster does. The Moderna booster offers better protection against the variants that are the ones who are making the majority of the people ill who do wind up catching COVID-19. Without hesitation, I chose the Moderna booster.
I encountered very little side effects to the shot, which was administered around noon. For the rest of the day, my arm was slightly sore. During the evening, I felt more tired than usual, which made me go to bed a bit early. I woke up this morning with a very faint headache which went away as the morning progressed.
I’m happy I got the booster now but I am aware that some people are playing a waiting game. Health Canada is currently reviewing bivalent boosters that target the BA.4 and BA.5 strains, which are the ones causing the most chaos right now. It’s possible that in two months those updated boosters will be available instead. Could I have waited for the latest and greatest? Yes, I could have but there’s nothing to stop me from getting those boosters six months from now.
In the meantime, I remain diligent in trying to prevent myself from being sick.