An increasing number of “multi-vaccines” are receiving unauthorized booster injections. Most mix and match.

• The FDA has yet to clear the booster shots, but a growing number of people are getting them anyway.

• Insider spoke to three people who received booster shots in the United States and one in Israel.

• All four “multi-vaxxers” said they wanted more protection from the Delta variant.

• See more stories on the Insider business page.

Katie Bent and her three roommates all received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in April at Oakland Coliseum in California – the first vaccine offered to them after a year of relative isolation.

“If the Pfizer had been the first option available to me, I would have chosen it over J&J,” Bent, a 30-year-old technician, told Insider. “My priority was to get it earlier rather than getting the preferred option.”

Clinical trials from Pfizer and Moderna found that these vaccines reduced the risk of contracting COVID-19 by approximately 95%, while the single-dose injection of J&J reduced the risk of moderate and severe COVID-19 by 66% . Bent was comfortable with it. Any vaccine, she thought, would eliminate the sense of panic when someone gets too close to the grocery store.

But earlier this summer, Bent saw research suggesting that the Delta variant made vaccines slightly less effective. A recent, non-peer-reviewed study found that antibodies produced in response to J & J’s shooting were less effective at neutralizing Delta about 80 days later, although a preprint on Friday indicated that J & J’s vaccine reduced the risk. Delta hospitalization up to 71%. , and deaths up to 95%.

Yet Bent began to doubt the protection she had. So last month, she received a Pfizer injection at her local pharmacy. The booster injections have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and are still being investigated in clinical trials. Bent therefore did not mention that she had already obtained J&J.

“They never asked, so I never said,” she said.

A growing number of US residents are doing the same thing: receiving booster shots under the table to reduce their chances of getting sick or infecting others. Two other “multi-vaxxers” told Insider that they also recently received an extra dose to protect against the Delta variant.

The story continues

Andy Sparks, a 32-year-old executive trainer, was shot two weeks ago at Walmart. He initially opted for J & J’s because he was moving from San Francisco to Denver and didn’t want to coordinate doses between two states.

But Delta was “an extra kick in the pants” to get a callback, he said.

“I felt like a bastard coming in because everyone thinks I’m getting my first shot in August,” he said of his recent trip to Walmart. “But there was no one else in there. I was literally the only person to receive a vaccine.”

Thomas, a New York City resident in his early 30s, also decided to “upgrade” his vaccine, although he requested that his name be changed in this story to avoid the potential repercussions of the getting an unauthorized callback. Because he had recently spent a year in the UK, Thomas had received two doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine. But once back in the United States, he got the one from Pfizer.

“I feel well armed now,” he added. “It feels good, actually – I’m mega-vaxxed!”

“I feel a bit like a science experiment”

Before Bent got her extra shot, she made sure she wouldn’t deny someone else the chance to get the shot. San Francisco’s vaccination rates have fallen since April, and 78% of residents over the age of 12 are fully vaccinated. Bent had even seen reports that clinics were throwing doses away – so she decided boosting her immunity was the right thing to do.

“I went to Catholic school so there is always an element of guilt,” she said.

She was not worried about unwanted side effects, she said, as booster shots have already been approved in other countries. Israel is offering reminders to older, immunocompromised citizens, and Germany and France plan to do the same starting next month.

The United States may also soon begin giving boosters to vulnerable groups: In the next week, the FDA is expected to assess whether it will allow the boosters for people with compromised immunity, the Washington Post reported. The agency also plans to create a strategy to deploy boosters by early September, according to the Wall Street Journal. In California, the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital has already started allowing people who have received the J&J vaccine to receive a second injection of Pfizer or Moderna.

Several public health experts have also already chosen to get an extra dose of mRNA – and have discussed it publicly. Angela Rasmussen, virologist at the University of Saskatchewan, tweeted in june that she received a Pfizer injection to “supplement” the J&J vaccine she received in April. That same month, Jason Gallagher, an infectious disease expert at Temple University, told Reuters he received an extra dose of Pfizer after participating in J & J’s vaccine trial in November.

“It seems like a relatively safe thing, or at least something that we have no reason to believe is dangerous,” Bent said. “And not protecting myself from the Delta variant seemed like a very dangerous thing to do.”

Thomas said he was also convinced by preliminary studies that showed how a third dose increases antibody levels compared to a second dose.

“I feel a bit like a science experiment, but it seems like a science experiment that shows positive results in trials, so I don’t feel nervous,” he said. “It’s not like I’m injecting myself with alien blood.”

Multi-vaccines wanted to feel safer in restaurants and on planes

Steve Walz, head of international relations at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center, is over 60, so he is cleared for a recall in Israel. His antibody test came back negative last month, suggesting his immunity had weakened since he received his two Pfizer injections in the winter.

But he worried about the effects of getting vaccinated three times in a year.

“You don’t want to keep getting vaccinated every six or seven months unless you are absolutely sure that in the long term you will be fine,” Walz said.

However, he didn’t feel comfortable flying overseas to work until his antibody levels were restored. So he had a callback on Friday.

Sparks, meanwhile, said he was more worried about getting sick in his local community.

“When we moved to Denver from San Francisco, it felt like I was stepping into a COVID time machine,” he said. “We were wearing our masks in a restaurant and people were like, ‘If you’re vaccinated you know you don’t have to wear this.'”

Thomas’ dilemma was different: AstraZeneca shooting is not allowed in the United States, and New York City will soon require proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, fitness centers, and other indoor locations.

“I don’t think I could do anything in the United States with this [AstraZeneca] jab, ”he said.

Getting his shot at Pfizer required a bit of lying.

“They asked, ‘Have you had any vaccines not approved by the FDA?’ Thomas said. “I lied and said ‘no’.”

The side effects of the boosters were mild

All “multi-vaccines” told Insider that they experienced mild side effects after their booster shots. Walz said he was tired for about 24 hours, and both Thomas and Sparks said their arms were tender.

“My girlfriend was laughing at me because I was complaining when I got the J&J vaccine and then I was like, ‘Oh my god, this one is so much worse,’” Sparks said.

Bent said she slept 15 hours after receiving her second dose of Pfizer. She likened the feeling to “when you’re sick for a while, then the fever goes down and you know you’re fine.”

But she added, jokingly, “I’m usually a pretty sleep deprived person so I don’t know how it was just my other bad choices catching up with me.”

She is happy with her decision to get boosted.

“I’m not at all worried that people are doubling down,” she said. “I’m very worried about people who don’t even want to have one.”

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