What to do if I have been vaccinated in an unorthodox way?
May 31, 2021 2:00 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for answers on how my unusual covid vaccination might be received.
I'm a US citizen who was abroad when the pandemic broke out, in a country without any vaccine supply. A nearby country opened the doors for anyone to come get vaccinated, and I grabbed the opportunity and got my first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in March.
I then had a chance to return to the US and get one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, which I did at the correct interval (three months).
I'm totally comfortable with this choice from a medical and public health standpoint. Lots of European countries (Germany, France, Denmark) as well as Canada are offering the same heterologous protocol to younger citizens who received a first dose of AZ, and the issue has been written about extensively. There are several big studies ongoing to look at the efficacy of the AZ + Pfizer combo, and preliminary results from both the Spanish Combivacs and Oxford ComCov studies look good.
However, I'm looking for solid information or sources on how this will be received if I try to board an airplane, visit Europe, or do other things that require proof of vaccination.
I could either:
(1) Get a second dose of the Pfizer, which is a logistical possibility for me and would enable me to fill in my vaccine card. The problem here is that it's medically unnecessary and an untested protocol, so I'd prefer not to. If anyone is aware of any studies on this, I'd be very interested to see them.
The US vaccine card is also so flimsy and easily faked that I hate the idea of getting an unnecessary shot just for the sake of having a pharmacist scrawl a few lines on a piece of cardboard.
(2) Present my certification of AZ vaccination and my certification of Pfizer vaccination together and try to explain the situation. This would be my preferred solution. However, AstraZeneca is not really on people's radar in the US and I've gotten a lot of blank faces and confused replies when I've tried to ask about this. Some people have implied it's a dangerous foreign vaccine, not realizing, I think, that it's totally standard and approved in most of the world. This makes me worry that I'll have trouble.
My certificates are also from two different countries. The one I received in a foreign country is totally official -- it links back to a government website and actually looks quite a bit better than the American one. But I realize this might also create confusion.
On the other hand, maybe I'm being too pessimistic and it will be fine since more and more people are bound to be in my situation as time goes on.
I'd be interested to hear evidence-backed advice on how to handle the logistics of this situation.
Thank you very much!
I'm a US citizen who was abroad when the pandemic broke out, in a country without any vaccine supply. A nearby country opened the doors for anyone to come get vaccinated, and I grabbed the opportunity and got my first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine in March.
I then had a chance to return to the US and get one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, which I did at the correct interval (three months).
I'm totally comfortable with this choice from a medical and public health standpoint. Lots of European countries (Germany, France, Denmark) as well as Canada are offering the same heterologous protocol to younger citizens who received a first dose of AZ, and the issue has been written about extensively. There are several big studies ongoing to look at the efficacy of the AZ + Pfizer combo, and preliminary results from both the Spanish Combivacs and Oxford ComCov studies look good.
However, I'm looking for solid information or sources on how this will be received if I try to board an airplane, visit Europe, or do other things that require proof of vaccination.
I could either:
(1) Get a second dose of the Pfizer, which is a logistical possibility for me and would enable me to fill in my vaccine card. The problem here is that it's medically unnecessary and an untested protocol, so I'd prefer not to. If anyone is aware of any studies on this, I'd be very interested to see them.
The US vaccine card is also so flimsy and easily faked that I hate the idea of getting an unnecessary shot just for the sake of having a pharmacist scrawl a few lines on a piece of cardboard.
(2) Present my certification of AZ vaccination and my certification of Pfizer vaccination together and try to explain the situation. This would be my preferred solution. However, AstraZeneca is not really on people's radar in the US and I've gotten a lot of blank faces and confused replies when I've tried to ask about this. Some people have implied it's a dangerous foreign vaccine, not realizing, I think, that it's totally standard and approved in most of the world. This makes me worry that I'll have trouble.
My certificates are also from two different countries. The one I received in a foreign country is totally official -- it links back to a government website and actually looks quite a bit better than the American one. But I realize this might also create confusion.
On the other hand, maybe I'm being too pessimistic and it will be fine since more and more people are bound to be in my situation as time goes on.
I'd be interested to hear evidence-backed advice on how to handle the logistics of this situation.
Thank you very much!
I'm in Australia and our vaccine rollout is going pretty terribly. It wouldn't sit right with me to recommend that someone get a third dose of a vaccine unless it was truly necessary, because it could potentially take a dose away from someone else. I hope you can find some evidence to help guide your decision
posted by kinddieserzeit at 3:58 AM on May 31, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by kinddieserzeit at 3:58 AM on May 31, 2021 [4 favorites]
Are there situations you expect to encounter that will demand proof of vaccination? If yes, get another Pfizer. If no, you don't have anything to worry about.
posted by metasarah at 4:37 AM on May 31, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by metasarah at 4:37 AM on May 31, 2021 [4 favorites]
I’m on mobile and can’t find the link right now from the CDC but you would not be considered fully vaccinated in the USA (approved administration and both doses as advised of Pfizer, Moderna, J&J and AstraZeneca only.). If you were exposed to someone who is COVID positive in the USA you would be required to quarantine. I would consider similar implications for travel elsewhere and if you can still get a Pfizer shot with 42 days of your first shot, would strongly encourage you to do so. The USA vaccine registration system is state specific but it it still very much possible to look up (for health care workers and public health, not just anyone).
posted by raccoon409 at 6:09 AM on May 31, 2021
posted by raccoon409 at 6:09 AM on May 31, 2021
CDC's official guidance, as far as I know, is to *not* give a third dose if you accidentally get a mix of Pfizer and Moderna doses: COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Errors and Deviations (PDF). And a footnote in When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated says that "This guidance can also be applied to COVID-19 vaccines that have been authorized for emergency use by the World Health Organization (e.g. AstraZeneca/Oxford)." So my best reading is that under US guidance, you *are* fully vaccinated. I'm not sure that helps if some other country/private company disagrees.
You say you've asked about this, but have you ever actually been rejected? Does the Pfizer card mention it's a second dose? If you can have the provider give you a vaccine card with an annotation like that, it'd probably be accepted everywhere.
posted by skynxnex at 8:19 AM on May 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
You say you've asked about this, but have you ever actually been rejected? Does the Pfizer card mention it's a second dose? If you can have the provider give you a vaccine card with an annotation like that, it'd probably be accepted everywhere.
posted by skynxnex at 8:19 AM on May 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
The CDC guidance about not getting a third dose if you mix Pfizer and Moderna makes sense, because they are very similar vaccines that utilize the same mechanism. I don't see anything on these pages about mixing AZ and Pfizer (or J&J and Pfizer) which use different mechanisms and thus will either be more effective or less effective (or about the same) when combined (probably).
This is a "talk with your doctor" situation, but I would expect that any place that wants proof of vaccination is not going to accept the AZ/Pfizer combination, because the person checking the vaccination status doesn't know squat about AZ and has no idea what's acceptable. They want to see a filled in card and that's that.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 11:08 AM on May 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
This is a "talk with your doctor" situation, but I would expect that any place that wants proof of vaccination is not going to accept the AZ/Pfizer combination, because the person checking the vaccination status doesn't know squat about AZ and has no idea what's acceptable. They want to see a filled in card and that's that.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 11:08 AM on May 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
I would talk with my doctor and simultaneously reach out to my US-based county public health department for guidance. If anyone can give you a hall pass, it's more likely to to be a government-official epidemiologist who knows the laws concerning travel and the research on unusual vaccine situations, rather than a primary-care provider.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 1:32 PM on May 31, 2021
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 1:32 PM on May 31, 2021
You're in the US now? Get the second Pfizer shot, or expect to spend many hours in the future negotiating requirements and having a shadow of uncertainty over everything.
If you're in a country where there are supply shortages, wait.
posted by praemunire at 2:02 PM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
If you're in a country where there are supply shortages, wait.
posted by praemunire at 2:02 PM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
There are going to be plenty of people in the US who had been vaccinated in Canada (e.g.), Mexico, or Europe. It's essentially inevitable, therefore, that there will be some sort of accommodations made for recognizing various foreign vaccination protocols that aren't exactly within US standards.
I would select your option #2 - perhaps I would also have available copies of regulations from Canada or another western jurisdiction stating that this is an approved protocol there.
posted by kickingtheground at 3:17 PM on May 31, 2021
I would select your option #2 - perhaps I would also have available copies of regulations from Canada or another western jurisdiction stating that this is an approved protocol there.
posted by kickingtheground at 3:17 PM on May 31, 2021
No offense, folks, but it strikes me as irresponsible in the extreme to recommend the OP get two shots of Pfizer since the OP has already had a mixture of shots.
If the OP is outside the U.S., I would contact the U.S. Embassy. If the OP is within the U.S., the OP might try contacting the embassy of the European country they were in, to see if they can offer local advice for where to seek approval in the U.S. Some of the Embassy staff may have had this problem too.
If that's not viable, the OP might consider contacting their own doctor here if s/he has one. If not, the other route is to contact a big city hospital, maybe even one that has a tropical medicine or global epidemiology department. What the OP needs is someone with knowledge of medicine and protocols in foreign countries to okay what's been done and help arrange for the second signature.
posted by Violet Blue at 7:18 PM on May 31, 2021
If the OP is outside the U.S., I would contact the U.S. Embassy. If the OP is within the U.S., the OP might try contacting the embassy of the European country they were in, to see if they can offer local advice for where to seek approval in the U.S. Some of the Embassy staff may have had this problem too.
If that's not viable, the OP might consider contacting their own doctor here if s/he has one. If not, the other route is to contact a big city hospital, maybe even one that has a tropical medicine or global epidemiology department. What the OP needs is someone with knowledge of medicine and protocols in foreign countries to okay what's been done and help arrange for the second signature.
posted by Violet Blue at 7:18 PM on May 31, 2021
As far as we know, there most likely isn't any kind of bad thing that'll happen if you get 2 Pfizer + 1 AZ. I mean, it's not like you're going to be WORSE or LESS protected from it.
"Medically unnecessary" it may be, but seriously, I think you're setting yourself up for a year or two of arguments wherever you go if you go back to the US with the combination of shots you have and you have to explain to everyone and the poor schmuck just trying to prove that you're safe to go back to work, to a concert, to get your free donut, whatever. The other party is going to be more in control and really, I don't think it's worth that level of drama and confusion. You want to have to keep telling this story to everyone? Everyone's already confused at your special situation as is. Explaining your specialness isn't going well already. You can just END IT by getting the second shot.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:05 PM on May 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
"Medically unnecessary" it may be, but seriously, I think you're setting yourself up for a year or two of arguments wherever you go if you go back to the US with the combination of shots you have and you have to explain to everyone and the poor schmuck just trying to prove that you're safe to go back to work, to a concert, to get your free donut, whatever. The other party is going to be more in control and really, I don't think it's worth that level of drama and confusion. You want to have to keep telling this story to everyone? Everyone's already confused at your special situation as is. Explaining your specialness isn't going well already. You can just END IT by getting the second shot.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:05 PM on May 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
My kid is in a similar situation of having had one AZ and is coming to the US. I just asked my doctor about her getting the Pfizer/Moderna while she's here, and his response was "Regarding mixing vaccines, the U.S. has not made this recommendation yet that I am aware of." So there's that.
posted by Runes at 4:11 PM on June 1, 2021
posted by Runes at 4:11 PM on June 1, 2021
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Just because a few countries are registering two different shots as vaccinated does not mean that other countries will. The person checking your vaccination status at a concert, airport boarding gate, immigration, etc. is also less likely to be aware (or care) about another countries' vaccination protocol.
In most US states, your vaccine shots are registered by the state in a database. It is likely in the near future that the registered information will replace vaccine cards through some kind of app or official document.
posted by meowzilla at 2:22 AM on May 31, 2021 [10 favorites]