Third COVID-19 Vaccine and Myasthenia Gravis

[ChrisM]

I had it.  No problems other than a bit of a sore arm.  (Less sore than when I had to get a tetanus jab a few weeks later due to a dog bite!)

[Norm]

The reported lack of response to the vaccine in immunosurpressed people made me anxious to get my third Moderna shot, which I did 4 months after my second shot. Just minimal side effects.

I still wear a face mask and “social distance” in public. It seems that even three vaccinations won’t necessarily trigger a robust immune response to COVID-19. Is there a test?

[John Stormer]

I  had my third (full dose) shot 3 weeks ago.  Arm was a little sore.  The next few days felt like I was “coming down with a cold”.  But, did not really limit me in any way.  I did not feel sick or have any significant pain.  No exacerbation of myasthenia symptoms.
I am 80 and have been diagnosed with general myasthenia gravis for 14 years.  I take prednisone.  Dose used to be much higher but is now down to 10mg/48hrs.  Pyridostigmine 2-3 60mg tab/day.
Wearing mask in stores, etc. or crowds seems to be a prudent choice with Delta around.

 

[Neil Cowan]

I’ll ask here- does plasmapheresis remove the Covid-19’s antibodies as well as the MG antibodies?

[Jack Stayton]

Despite my neurologist’s recommendation to NOT get the booster, I got it just over two weeks ago. I had no reaction to it other than a sore arm for a couple of days and tiredness the following day. I still don’t know why my neurologist said not to get the shot, he did not offer an explanation nor justification for his remarks. You might figure I don’t trust him! I learn more from those of this forum than I’ve leaned from him in 3 years. Thank you all.

[Charles]

I was diagnosed with MG in 2016 and in 2020 I was taking 20 mg of prednisone to manage a recurrence of MG symptoms with a taper to 10 and then 5mg in early and mid 2021.

After reading a report about prednisone causing a reduced response to the covid vaccine I took a blood test that I purchased through Qwest Diagnostics to check for spike antibodies to covid (evidence of vaccine reaction).

The test was taken several months after my second vaccination shot with Pfizer (late Jan 2021). Result was “<1.00 Negative” “A test result that is less than 1.00 (Negative) means that antibodies were not detected in the blood sample by the test.”

Meanwhile a local health group in Austin started offering free antigen blood tests as part of a project to see how the vaccine was working. I signed up and got a second antigen test from a different company with a result of “80” which was very low on their scale.

So the result as shown by two blood tests was that even low levels of prednisone (I was at 10 mg when I had the Pfizer shot) caused a low vaccine response for me.

I got a third booster shot of Pfizer in mid-July, 2021. On Sept 23 I got another blood test from the Austin health group and the result was “>2500” which was beyond the maximum positive range of the response they could measure. In other words, lots of antigens were detected. I was down to 5 mg prednisone when I got the Pfizer booster, and it appears that the third shot made a major difference in my spike antigen response.

I had no side effects to the third Pfizer shot other than a slightly sore shoulder as usual, and it made a big difference for me as shown in my blood tests. Having that antigen level seems like a good thing for someone like me (male, age 71, with “co-morbidities”)

[Norm]

Thanks for the information, Charles. I’m going to try to get an antigen test to see if my 3rd shot had a similar effect.

[DAVID BOLES]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>I received my Pfister booster after having the first two Pfizer shots. On the first two I had slight shoulder soreness only. The booster however was a very painful situation. I felt like I’ve been hit with a shovel in my arm and that lasted 36 hours. I took every painkiller I had to deal with it. I would be very reluctant to take another.</p>