My Extreme Experience Having A Mixed Pfizer-Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Jab (3rd-Dose)

I'm writing this to share my experience with those who have the intention of getting a mixed-vaccination jab (3rd-Dose / Booster Jab) with a Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty + Moderna combination.

This was reported in the news quite recently in late-2021 (here, here and here) to have higher efficacies as compared to a Pfizer-Only / Moderna-Only dosage.

The Experience

I would like to strongly stress that this is #notmedicaladvice as I'm #notamedicalprofessional and I'm #justsharingmypersonalexperience.

Remember that everyone's body reacts differently to the vaccines and my own experience may be totally different from your own experience. Please use my story more as a "preparatory reference" rather than a yardstick for your judgment on your booster vaccination decision.

Here are some summarised snippets of what happened:

A. Pre-Jab Booking

• Originally booked for a Pfizer shot, my booked Pfizer-centre had apparently converted to a Moderna-centre.
• The staff assured that it was common to have a mixed Pfizer-Moderna (PPM) shot & most of the current medical teams at the vaccination centers had taken that combination.
• My Moderna (Booster) jab happened on the 10 January 2022 (Monday) at about 10:00am.

B. Day 1—Post-Jab Afternoon

• First 1-2 Hours—Felt "Heavy in the head".
• 6-8 Hours In—Experienced some mixed soreness in my joint areas, like my neck, wrists, and elbows when they're flexed or bent, as well as my back.
• 10-12 Hours In—Ate lesser than my normal serving for my dinner, due to not having much of an appetite for the evening.

Overall, my entire body "heated up" every now and then. So, I drank up lots of water and stayed in an aircon room to help level off the body heat.

C. Day 1—Night

• It was an Absolutely Horrible Nightmare for me!
• The body reactions went on continuously from 9:30pm to roughly 4:30am.
• Attempted to sleep but my body was twitching uncomfortably between a mix of Extreme Hot Fevers + Cold Childs—My body was shivering uncontrollably despite being under a thick blanket and having the aircon switched off
• Experienced an unknown acute pain in the neck area, which turned worst when I slept on my side.
• Besides the usual injection-site hurting and being unable to raise my arm above my head like most people, there were numerous other points on the body that had random soreness, prickly pains, and bone-squeezing experiences. These revolve around key places such as the neck, joints, and bones in my back.

Overall, I was feeling really weak, with random "needle pricks" on the palms and soles of the feet. Due to the high temperatures all over my body, plus the lack of sleep through the night, I seemed to have also hallucinated, making the night even harder to rest well.

There were also some mixed bouts of breathing difficulties throughout this late-night experience.

D. Day 2—Morning

• Thankfully my mind had cleared up and I had really thought that the worst was already over as I felt refreshed, despite having roughly a total of about 2-3 hours of sleep.

Despite my One Unforgettable Night of Suffering, I did realize that the following helped:

1. Having a huge cup/bottle of water ready is helpful to tide through the night—I hastily grabbed water from the tap to quench the water loss due to the constant fever + cold sweats.
2. Ready some Panadol pills and consume them when necessary will help—I took some immediately after breakfast, and it really helped soothe the headaches + body pains till the 6-hour period was over.

E. Day 2—Afternoon

• Right after sitting through a video call, I was unexpectedly struck with a Second Round of mixed Hot Fever + Cold Chills in the middle of the hot afternoon.
• Had some challenge trying to squeeze some lunch food in as I was still shivering. I quickly took a second round of Panadol pills after the 6-hour difference.
• Struggled through the afternoon while attempting to catch up on some recovery-sleep but was constantly kept awake by the hot, the cold and the pains all over my body.
• Things seemed to be improving as time rolled past 4:00pm - 5:00pm, as I believe the ending of this Second Round would represent the last of my ordeals.

F. Day 2—Night

• I rarely get sick. So either my body has decent viral defences or I'm really just really down on my luck as I was struck with a Third Round of similar symptoms.
• Woke up shivering-cold at 9pm after trying to rest earlier. Taking dinner and having food in the body did help ease the shivering, but the overall pains and aches all over the body still persists.
• Upgraded the standard Panadol pills to Panadol Extra right after dinner. There was a slight improvement in terms of headaches and bodily pain relief.

By now, I'm just praying and hoping that tonight will be a better night, as going through another similar night of ordeal will really be unimaginable!

G. Day 3

Thankfully, my body seemed to have "cleared the storms", by Day 3 morning. Just to be safe, I took a one-pill round of Panadol Extra right after breakfast.

The rest of the day went on smoothly.

Lessons Learnt For The Next Booster Round

Shared Experiences From Friends

• Moderna seemed to offer a slightly-stronger dosage as compared to Pfizer as most individuals who took either (a) Moderna-only, or (b) Pfizer-Moderna-mix dosages do report a higher occurrence of falling ill after their jab(s).
• My case seemed to have been one of the "more-extreme" cases, but definitely not a unique, outlier case, when it comes to embarking on a Pfizer-Moderna (PPM) jab. There are 1-2 instances who do experience more prolonged discomfort that extended a few more days than mine.
• Do consult your personal doctor on your medical history before attempting to mix as well, as different individuals will have different experiences and side effects.

Future Preparations

1. Prepare some Panadol / Panadol Extra for pain relief from headaches and bodily pains.
2. Ready & Drink lots of water to quench thirst & replenish water loss from cold sweats & fever.
3. Having some coconut water around does help with recovery faster.

I hope the above will serve as a useful reference sampling in making your own decision on whether to embark on a mixed vaccination dosage.

Thank you for reading & do stay safe! ;)