Community Chat

[morganjen]

My second Pfizer shot was scheduled back in February, three weeks after the first. I never went, because of the bad weather.

[Jersey Born]

@Mmsfoxxie - You need to do what makes you feel most comfortable regarding the scheduling for your 2nd dose.  That said, I wonder if there is now an issue bringing the quicker timeframe for the 2nd dose in your geographical location. We all know that many thousands of people are scheduling their shots at multiple locations, all in the hopes of getting the quickest possible appointment for their first dose.  Perhaps once people finally get notice of their first dose appointment, they are not cancelling their name from all the other sites where they registered at other locations, and then they become "no-shows" when the other sites finally select their names and schedule their appointments elsewhere, freeing up more shots to the public, on any given day.  Maybe registering at multiple locations is what is is shortening the expected time from 21 days to 17 days? Or, perhaps your area was notified they are getting in many more shots than they previously expected. I cannot imagine how difficult it is to manage so many people in so many different locations with so many shots.  This has never been attempted before on this enormous scale. 

Only the people working at the site where you got your first dose know the reason, and I hope that you are able to get a satisfactory answer.  

I hope you feel 100% back to normal immediately, too.  

[LindaSal]

My hubby was told not to take ibuprofen and to take Tylenol if needed and stay away from aspirin related products.  Not sure why as I googled it and the answer was you could take aspirin??   Who knows, but I went with the Tylenol as his vaccine was administered by a physician.  

As far as the 4 day thing, I wouldn't be too concerned about that.  It's not that much off schedule and I'd rather get it done and over with, can't see how that would change the effectiveness.  My hubby was scheduled the 21 days, he had the Pfizer one.

[Meowingkitty]

We had our second Pfizer 24 days apart. About 18 hours after the second shot I had chills and had to use a heating pad to finally get warm. That only lasted about 90 minutes. Husband only had some minor aches. If you don't feel comfortable with 17 day try to reschedule but don't cancel the first one until you have scheduled a replacement. 

[Mmsfoxxie]

@LindaSal , when I got up in the middle of the night, I did google to see what to take.  Most sites said OTC pain meds were ok but there were a couple of sites that said check with your doctor to advice.  My discomfort level overrode my patience to wait to call my doctor knowing that on a Saturday, he might be unavailable.  He's an every other Saturday doctor.

[KatieB]

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@Mmsfoxxie wrote:

I had my first vaccination yesterday and things went fine until I was given an appointment for March 22nd for the second dose.  I said to the scheduler that I thought it was supposed to be 21 days later.  She said the vaccination could be valid four days earlier as well as a week or so later than 21 days.  So I accepted the appointment but after googling, I only saw this said about twice so I'm not feeling comfortable about 17 days....four days early.

Anybody get their second dose after 17 days or know anyone that did?

By the way, I had a bad headache all night and still feel weird this morning.  Maybe I shouldn't have but I took ibuprofen after trying to ignore it but gave in.

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@Mmsfoxxie    Yes, 17 days is fine.  For Pfizer vaccine, the CDC states "Second doses administered up to 4 days before the recommended date (17 or more days after first dose) are considered valid. "

BTW, you could have found this online yourself,  if you were/are really that worried.

[FranandZoe]

Don't worry about it.  They wouldn't have scheduled you 17 days from the first if they shouldn't have.  I wouldn't reschedule - you might have a hard time and end up with a date that's too long from the first.

My second is scheduled 20 days from the first.  A few days sooner or later isn't going to matter.  

[Mmsfoxxie]

@KatieB , I forgot to mention it but I did find it myself, several times but predominantly, I found the 21 day standard with no mention of 17 days.  For me, the more people I see verifying 17 days, the more it legitimizes it being ok to do the 17 day interval.  I live on the Google site...I'm an over thinker sometimes, I guess.

[Mmsfoxxie]

@FranandZoe, you're so right about the possibility of having to wait longer for a rescheduled appointment.  After 'hearing' from you guys, I feel better about keeping the appointment; prior to yesterday, I'd never heard of less than 21 days and wondered why.  

Another place canceled on me twice and one in the hand is worth two in the bush, as the saying goes so I'll probably leave things as they are.

Thank you!

[NJ QVC Fan]

I am in NJ.  My husband and I are scheduled to take our second Pfizer shot 21 days after the first dose.