Sunday House Call, #813, October 31, 2021: Break on Through to the Other Side


A vaccinated person who develops a breakthrough COVID infection by far has less risk of severe disease, hospitalization and death compared to the unvaccinated. This is not anything we did not already know. The vaccines work to prevent severe outcomes of infection.

Ref: COVID-19 vaccines reducing spread, severity despite breakthrough cases, experts say

Your calls about:

  • A sore red arm two days after a second dose of shingles vaccine. Is this a local vaccine reaction or a secondary bacterial infection from the needle puncture?
  • A woman mistakenly receives a two-hour expired dose of Pfizer vaccine when she was to have received a flu shot. We discuss her questions about receiving the flu shot immediately thereafter. There is no contraindication to receive a mRNA vaccine and flu shot despite the error. She may still have to get a third official dose of mRNA in the future depending on public health guidelines.
  • A husband want to know how he can help his wife after she found out she had had a stroke. She had developed a headache and loss of balance.
  • An explanation that 95% vaccine efficacy does not mean 95% of vaccinated people will not get sick and 5% will.

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