ApoE4.Info

Hi to all! I'm curious if there are any known "problems" with getting the Covid 19 vaccine if you are an E4E4. Also have MTHFR Heterogenous. I read somewhere that because of the status I have, I may have more complications related to "getting" the Covid 19 vaccine... (side effects possibly long term)....any thoughts are appreciated.

In the past 6 months I've also had two random outbreaks of hives/eczema that I can't find the cause to that have been really painful and covered over my entire chest/ arms/ back and neck. I'm nervous about getting any vaccine for fear of a severe reaction. I'm 62 and seem to more susceptible to allergies. To date I've never had a flu or shingles shot.

Kathy wrote:Hi to all! I'm curious if there are any known "problems" with getting the Covid 19 vaccine if you are an E4E4. Also have MTHFR Heterogenous. I read somewhere that because of the status I have, I may have more complications related to "getting" the Covid 19 vaccine... (side effects possibly long term)....any thoughts are appreciated.

In the past 6 months I've also had two random outbreaks of hives/eczema that I can't find the cause to that have been really painful and covered over my entire chest/ arms/ back and neck. I'm nervous about getting any vaccine for fear of a severe reaction. I'm 62 and seem to more susceptible to allergies. To date I've never had a flu or shingles shot.

Hi Kathy,

Below is a link to topic with lots of replies to the same question--most of them positive experiences!
COVID Safety for 4/4?

I'm ApoE 4/4 and age 69. As a kid I tested allergic to almost anything that's not a rock, had years of weekly allergy shots, still need prednisone after poison ivy and OTC allergy pills in some settings. I got the Pfizer vaccine shots in February and March and had only minor side effects of fatigue and achy muscles for about 10 hours after the second shot.

My adult daughter carries an epipen for a severe shellfish allergy and, like you, sometimes has random rashes that baffle her doctor. She got the Moderna vaccine this month with no ill effects. My oldest son, also APOE 3/4, had years of allergy shots after allergy-induced pneumonia 8 times in 8 months when he was 5. In his 20's he spent a week in hospitalized isolation 10 years ago with H1N1 flu-caused pneumonia. He also had the Pfizer vaccine with no problems.

In my non-medical view, the risk of neurological side effects, which appear to stem from inflammation, sometimes even with a mild case of COVID-19, is far worse than any risk of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. I have known several people my age who either got COVID-19 themselves, or worried when a loved one did--and they described often debilitating symptoms that lasted for weeks and kept them out of work for months in a few cases.

I'd go further and recommend you consider the flu shot next fall. I had 24 hours of feeling slightly feverish and achy after the quadrivalent flu shot last December (designed for 65+ folks to boost our lowered immune response) but I've had acute bronchitis enough times to know what it feels like to struggle to breathe.

If you decide to go ahead, let us know how it goes!

That is such helpful information and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I too, am afraid of the "long hauler" effects of getting Covid 19. My sister has a friend who is young (40ish) and she is still suffering terribly from getting the virus.

I will report back after I get the vaccine.

Great!! Hope the process and the results are both easy!

I just found this site today. I just received my 2nd shot of Moderna 5 days ago. Sore arm both times, but no other symptoms so far. I was SO worried about it. I had been very unsure of a mrna vaccine and was hoping to get J & J but now we know that there are some rare complications with that one, too. My concern was that I have autoimmune thyroid (hashimoto's with goiter) and undiagnosed but most certainly rheumatoid arthritis and asthma. Of course, the fear of Covid with APOE4/4 was more frightening. I'd taken a lot of immune boosting supplements but my research showed that this genetic variant means that due to stickier secretions in sinuses and lungs that I may acquire any virus more easily and have a more severe case of this corona virus if infected. (A greater than normal chance of hospitalization and my body attacking my organs) For this reason the vaccine seemed in order. I hadn't had any vax in 40 years until in the fall when it was recommended that I get a tetanus after a dog bite. After that shot I had severe knee pain that turned out to be arthritis. The inflammation may have been vax related, so I was worried about this same issue with C-19 vax. My husband is an essential worker, so 12 mos of being worried that he may bring it home warranted the vaccine in our mind. I commend the Nat'l Guardsman that gave me the vaccine as he was skilled and I felt nothing at all with the 2nd one. I had no headaches, nausea, lethargy that friends and family had experienced. BTW I turned 60 just before the 2nd shot. I may have a flare up of inflammation in the near future, but so far all is well.

NYNative wrote:I just found this site today. I just received my 2nd shot of Moderna 5 days ago. Sore arm both times, but no other symptoms so far...

Greetings fellow NYNative and welcome to the apoe4.info site. Glad you found us! You seem to be very self aware, particularly regarding your health and on top of all the latest vaccine news. I am happy for you that you made it through the first and second vaccinations without any major complications to date - maybe due to your use of immune boosting supplements and overall good self care. Stay healthy!