Has anyone else gotten the newest Covid Bivalent Booster? And did you realize this is a full-dose shot, not the half dose of the previous boosters?

My husband and I hadn’t had a Covid booster since November of last year. We’d been waiting for this shot that is supposed to be more effective against the current strains of Covid. We’d been reading and hearing something like this information from a Moderna website:

“A bivalent is recommended because it’s the only type of vaccine that can protect against the most dominant Omicron strains of COVID-19 in the US.
With the rise of more contagious variants, people need more protection, even with prior vaccination or immunity from COVID-19 infection.”

We’re also getting ready for a bus tour of New England, and one health requirement is “full vaccination against COVID-19” with a warning to “Check validity dates of your vaccination as booster shots may be required to keep your vaccination valid.”

To sum up: A. We were due for a booster, and B. We might need to show a recent shot on our vaccination card as a requirement for our trip.

Arriving to get the booster, we had two surprises: the fact that we were getting a full dose (as I mentioned above), and the form below.

Don’t read the whole thing unless you feel compelled to do so. Instead, zero in on the second bulleted item, the one that says, “Enter and report how you feel after first, second, additional, and booster doses.” And the sentence above the bulleted items that ends with “your participation in v-safe helps us monitor the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for everyone.”

I know all these Covid shots have “emergency” approval, but I now feel I’m part of some experimental group.

I thought the drug companies had already vetted how people reacted to these shots. Is the vaccine a little more experimental than what I have been led to believe?

For the record, I felt lousy after my second shot, but okay after all the others, including this one. My husband, tough nut that he is, has been fine after all four of his shots. And to our knowledge, neither of us has had Covid.

We’re old folks, so if there proves to be some long-term negative effect(s) from these shots, I might’ve already clocked out anyway.

For better or worse, my Covid card is now completely full and up-to-date.