Are vaccines the light at the end of the tunnel?

[eas2225]

14 hours ago, TeeRick said:

OK drum roll...........................

 

I am very happy to say that both TeeRick and Mrs. TeeRick have now received dose 1 of the Moderna vaccine.  It was a long time coming but finally accomplished.  I feel a great weight off my shoulders.  In another month (plus 2 weeks)  we will be ready to go!  Where I have no idea but we will be ready!😀

Good for you!  Where and how?

 

Friends went to the mass site in the Convention Center and said it was very well organized.

[TeeRick]

5 minutes ago, eas2225 said:

Good for you!  Where and how?

 

Friends went to the mass site in the Convention Center and said it was very well organized.

See my post #3551.  My local Wegmans Market.

[terrydtx]

3 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Congratulations 😀  Let's know where you decide to go.  Just out of curiosity, How did you manage to get an appointment in PA?   WAs it your local hospital, pharmacy, Dr.'s office, etc?  Did they call you or did you need to be proactive by calling every location around?

I do not know if this works in Michigan but in Texas we have availability with CVS Pharmacies. They are the only San Antonio provider allowing online appointments for getting the vaccine. You can check everyday with CVS.com for local availability between 8 and 9am then register for location and time that works for you. I did this Tuesday last week and we got the first shot yesterday. When you get the first appointment you automatically sign up for date and time of second shot. It took about 30 minutes when we got to the CVS and there were about 4 people ahead of us, so you do not have any long lines or waiting. CVS seems to be the best local provider who has their act together.

[cantstopingcruising]

47 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

We all have interesting stories about this.  Because in many (most?) states unfortunately to this day  getting the vaccine is random luck, serendipity, advanced computer skills, who you know, persistence, rising early, staying up late, or some combination of those things.  Not well organized or planned at the federal, state and county level.  Frustrating and outrageous.  In my state of PA, all of the above applies.  I have been on my county's waiting list since early January.  And on many other waiting lists too like local hospitals and my physicians' practices.  Our state has primarily relied on Rite Aid as the pharmacy partner.  And just recently CVS in limited locations.  Impossible to bag appointments with either of these.  So on to Federal. Through Biden's Federal Pharmacy Program there is a list of additional pharmacy partners.   I kept checking these daily.  Finally right place right time.  Our local supermarket chain Wegmans one day a week ago showed availability.  Grabbed two appointments for myself and dw.   Not on the same day but got them.  The availability was gone from their website in less than 5 minutes.  No availability since.  We were persistent and extremely lucky.  Is this any way to deliver critical, life-saving vaccines in the world's richest country?

Would you mind sharing what age group is having such difficulty?

Here 70 and up is going like clockwork. Our complaint is that the 2nd vaccine is scheduled 4 months later.

[cangelmd]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:  Not on the same day but got them.  The availability was gone from their website in less than 5 minutes.  No availability since.  We were persistent and extremely lucky.  Is this any way to deliver critical, life-saving vaccines in the world's richest country?

It is when the supply is low and varies in amount from week to week. Watch and see, at some point between now and about April 30, the supply will suddenly switch and the narrative will be about encouraging people to get take those appts.

[cangelmd]

Hindsight is 20-20, but after hospitals, nursing homes and first responders, we should have followed the British model and distributed purely by age. Just my opinion. With the supply so short and the demand so high, there is no truly ‘fair” way to do it.

[TeeRick]

46 minutes ago, cangelmd said:

Hindsight is 20-20, but after hospitals, nursing homes and first responders, we should have followed the British model and distributed purely by age. Just my opinion. With the supply so short and the demand so high, there is no truly ‘fair” way to do it.

I would add teachers to the first group.  Then the British model by age group.

[mimbecky]

I know this is a little off task but with the medical knowledge here and not finding a google explanation, I thought I'd go forward.

If I had a strong immune response when my immune system saw the spike a second time (second Moderna vaccine), won't I have another strong reaction (headache, fever, chills etc) when/if it encounters Covid naturally in the future?  This as opposed to my spouse who when vaccinated a second time had a minimal immune response?  

In other words, if my husband and I are vaccinated but encounter Covid, won't I get all that response again with my immune system while he will just be a little tired?  Doesn't seem like a good thing.

M

[ipeeinthepool]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

...  We were persistent and extremely lucky.  Is this any way to deliver critical, life-saving vaccines in the world's richest country?

 

 

I think this is the key.  I got on a couple lists early but it wasn't until they added a new supplier and I happened to be in the right place at the right time to get an appointment.  Otherwise it has extremely frustrating if not impossible to go online and get an appointment.  The Federal program also does seem to help.  Many Michiganders have been going to the pharmacies in Ohio to get appointments.

 

Glad you found a place that worked for you.

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, cantstopingcruising said:

Would you mind sharing what age group is having such difficulty?

Here 70 and up is going like clockwork. Our complaint is that the 2nd vaccine is scheduled 4 months later.

It depends on the state here and in some cases the local municipality.  You would think that with 60 million vaccine doses in the US to date that it would be an easy question to answer.  All states seem to have somewhat different priority groups.  And they change. Everybody has initially prioritized health care workers and direct responders and residents of assisted living/nursing homes.  OK no problem.  Then what? Age? Medical conditions? Essential workers? Take age - In my state (PA) alone, there is a different priority for Philadelphia (75+) vs the surrounding counties (65+).  And then there is a medical priority (age 16-64) with certain conditions.  But these medical priorities are not consistent at all across states.  Just this week my state put the teachers and supporting staff in the highest priority now - and is gearing up to give them the J&J vaccine.  But there are still plenty of people over 65 and over 75 still not being "lucky" in getting appointments.

 

VACCINE UPDATE: 60 million Americans have received their first dose.

https://news.yahoo.com/1-4-u-adults-gotten-051400061.html

24% of adults

60% of 65+

70% of 75+

Close to 32 million Americans have received their second doses.

12% of adults

30% of 65+

39% of 75+

Alaska opened up today to all adults (16-64) who wants a vaccine.

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/alaska-becomes-1st-state-open-033208375.html

 

NY state and CA are lowering the vaccine eligibility age to 60+.

https://news.yahoo.com/york-florida-lower-vaccination-age-182105985.html

 

[markeb]

9 minutes ago, mimbecky said:

In other words, if my husband and I are vaccinated but encounter Covid, won't I get all that response again with my immune system while he will just be a little tired?  Doesn't seem like a good thing.

 

 

That's hard to say. It's probably not likely. The vaccine is delivering a single dose with a moderately high dose of the SPIKE antigen all at once, into the muscle, with other "stuff". The actual virus is probably a lower dose exposure (it replicates), generally through the respiratory system, and it doesn't need that other "stuff". The high level trial results don't seem to show that either. Yes, you'll have a stronger immune response than if you hadn't been vaccinated, and if you're one of those who has particularly strong immune responses to things like the cold, you may have a day or two of unpleasantness.

 

As with a lot of this, we'll know more in the coming months and years. If it's even a small group, it will scare some people and lead to testing and monitoring, But I don't know that you can predict your response to exposure to the virus to your response to the second dose of vaccine.

[TeeRick]

12 minutes ago, mimbecky said:

I know this is a little off task but with the medical knowledge here and not finding a google explanation, I thought I'd go forward.

If I had a strong immune response when my immune system saw the spike a second time (second Moderna vaccine), won't I have another strong reaction (headache, fever, chills etc) when/if it encounters Covid naturally in the future?  This as opposed to my spouse who when vaccinated a second time had a minimal immune response?  

In other words, if my husband and I are vaccinated but encounter Covid, won't I get all that response again with my immune system while he will just be a little tired?  Doesn't seem like a good thing.

M

Hard to answer but maybe one of the MD's here can give an opinion.  Your initial immune reaction might have been to one of the components of the vaccine formulation (not SPIKE) or local inflammation from the shot (which became a bit more systemic to you).  I'm not referring to an allergic reaction.  It could have been to the mRNA + lipid complex after injection for example.  Any foreign substance will trigger an immune response to some degree.  The other thought is to go to the clinical trial data and note that the 5% of those fully vaccinated (2 doses mRNA) that became virus positive report only very mild COVID symptoms.

[K.T.B.]

I'm incredibly frustrated and pissed right now.  Walgreens by me (actually 3 within a few miles) all have appointments available, BUT since I live in Cook County (Illinois) I'm not eligible.  Illinois has move to phase 1b+, but not Cook, noooooo....  They're still stuck at 1b. The one pharmacy that is ignoring the county and going with the state doesn't have appointments.   {insert a few choice 4 letter words}

 

This is ridiculous.

[docsneeze]

1 hour ago, mimbecky said:

I know this is a little off task but with the medical knowledge here and not finding a google explanation, I thought I'd go forward.

If I had a strong immune response when my immune system saw the spike a second time (second Moderna vaccine), won't I have another strong reaction (headache, fever, chills etc) when/if it encounters Covid naturally in the future?  This as opposed to my spouse who when vaccinated a second time had a minimal immune response?  

In other words, if my husband and I are vaccinated but encounter Covid, won't I get all that response again with my immune system while he will just be a little tired?  Doesn't seem like a good thing.

M

No.  I am an allergist/immunologist.  Your immune response generally means that your body is responding appropriately with an immune response.  In most cases, it is encouraging to have that reaction so that if you should encounter Covid-19, your body is primed and ready to fight it off with relatively mild symptoms, if any.  Nothing guaranteed with complexity of this infection and variants but you should have some peace of mind going forward.  Getting vaccine is now like being able to play football WITH a helmet.

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, K.T.B. said:

I'm incredibly frustrated and pissed right now.  Walgreens by me (actually 3 within a few miles) all have appointments available, BUT since I live in Cook County (Illinois) I'm not eligible.  Illinois has move to phase 1b+, but not Cook, noooooo....  They're still stuck at 1b. The one pharmacy that is ignoring the county and going with the state doesn't have appointments.   {insert a few choice 4 letter words}

 

This is ridiculous.

Calm down.  Pour some bourbon.  Try again later.

[nocl]

2 hours ago, K.T.B. said:

I'm incredibly frustrated and pissed right now.  Walgreens by me (actually 3 within a few miles) all have appointments available, BUT since I live in Cook County (Illinois) I'm not eligible.  Illinois has move to phase 1b+, but not Cook, noooooo....  They're still stuck at 1b. The one pharmacy that is ignoring the county and going with the state doesn't have appointments.   {insert a few choice 4 letter words}

 

This is ridiculous.

In California the pharmacies like CVS are not requiring you to be resident in the counties in which they are located have you tried to get an appointment at one in Kane, McHenry, or Dekalb county for example.

 

 

[mayleeman]

1 hour ago, nocl said:

In California the pharmacies like CVS are not requiring you to be resident in the counties in which they are located have you tried to get an appointment at one in Kane, McHenry, or Dekalb county for example.

 

 

That's what we did yesterday.  Drove to a CVS 50 miles away in another county in SCarolina.

[kearney]

I have just recently started back up on cruise critic.... too depressed to think about cruising...until recently. Anyway.... I wonder.... do you think the CDC would allow cruise ships to follow the CDC guidance for those fully vaccinated? In other words... once all passengers and crew are vaccinated... we can essentially go back to normal... except perhaps in port...where masks etc. might still be required in different countries.... I am attaching a link to their guidance. It seems to me that if friends and family who are fully vaccinated can get together mask free... cruise ships should be able to do so as well..so long as everyone...including crew have been vaccinated.... Hopefully, cruise lines can vaccinate their people the way some companies are....CDC guidance for those fully vaccinated. My apologies  if this has been fully discussed before...

[LGW59]

21 minutes ago, kearney said:

I have just recently started back up on cruise critic.... too depressed to think about cruising...until recently. Anyway.... I wonder.... do you think the CDC would allow cruise ships to follow the CDC guidance for those fully vaccinated? In other words... once all passengers and crew are vaccinated... we can essentially go back to normal... except perhaps in port...where masks etc. might still be required in different countries.... I am attaching a link to their guidance. It seems to me that if friends and family who are fully vaccinated can get together mask free... cruise ships should be able to do so as well..so long as everyone...including crew have been vaccinated.... Hopefully, cruise lines can vaccinate their people the way some companies are....CDC guidance for those fully vaccinated. My apologies  if this has been fully discussed before...

Nope the topic has never once come up 😂

[Ken the cruiser]

32 minutes ago, kearney said:

I have just recently started back up on cruise critic.... too depressed to think about cruising...until recently. Anyway.... I wonder.... do you think the CDC would allow cruise ships to follow the CDC guidance for those fully vaccinated? In other words... once all passengers and crew are vaccinated... we can essentially go back to normal... except perhaps in port...where masks etc. might still be required in different countries.... I am attaching a link to their guidance. It seems to me that if friends and family who are fully vaccinated can get together mask free... cruise ships should be able to do so as well..so long as everyone...including crew have been vaccinated.... Hopefully, cruise lines can vaccinate their people the way some companies are....CDC guidance for those fully vaccinated. My apologies  if this has been fully discussed before...

My thoughts exactly! But then again I’m over here in the peanut gallery where our opinions are just that. But you would think in the next month or two as long as the vaccines continue to increase in flow and the curve continues to flatten, we would start to see some positive movement towards at least getting the no revenue cruises going. But, again, that’s just speculation on my part. 

[kearney]

2 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Nope the topic has never once come up 😂

So the CDC guidance had been posted before...sorry I overlooked it

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, kearney said:

So the CDC guidance had been posted before...sorry I overlooked it

Unfortunately, the CDC Conditional Sailing Order was issued before there were any vaccines available and a lot has changed since Oct 31, 2020.

[nocl]

5 minutes ago, kearney said:

So the CDC guidance had been posted before...sorry I overlooked it

No it has not been posted, but lots of discussions in different streams under different cruise lines.

 

All subjective.  No clear answer from either the cruise lines or CDC.  

 

However, there seems to be movement towards vaccination when looking at other places cruising looks to be making progress (UK, Israel, etc)

[Von & John]

C-19 Vaccine now available to ALL Alaskans 16 & Up

https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2021/03/10/watch-live-covid-19-vaccine-available-to-all-alaskans/

[Ken the cruiser]

43 minutes ago, Von & John said:

C-19 Vaccine now available to ALL Alaskans 16 & Up

https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2021/03/10/watch-live-covid-19-vaccine-available-to-all-alaskans/

That's great news! Hopefully one day soon all states will be able to offer the same to their residents.