VACCINE AVAILABILITY

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, KirkNC said:

Yes but what I aim saying is taking the double Moderna vaccination after also taking the J&J.

With so many not being able to get any vaccine, it does seem a bit over the top for someone to be able to get an additional vaccine of a different type.

[Mary229]

13 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

With so many not being able to get any vaccine, it does seem a bit over the top for someone to be able to get an additional vaccine of a different type.

I agree, and probably a waste of resource.  There is no additive property.   This is likely not a one and done.  Like the flu vaccines we will receive another vaccination on an annual basis for a few years.  It will go into rotation based on the CDC predictive model that is currently in use 

[KirkNC]

51 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

With so many not being able to get any vaccine, it does seem a bit over the top for someone to be able to get an additional vaccine of a different type.

Understood, it would be later in the process when vaccines are readily available.  Right now it’s hard to imagine but in probably 4-6 months the vaccines should be easy to get.

[mcrcruiser]

5 hours ago, KirkNC said:

Understood, it would be later in the process when vaccines are readily available.  Right now it’s hard to imagine but in probably 4-6 months the vaccines should be easy to get.

We are hoping for March or April vaccine availability here in our city in SD county 

[mcrcruiser]

Here is more information on the highly infectious new variant strains & all of them are now in the USA :

 

 https://www.wired.com/story/worrisome-new-coronavirus-strains-are-emerging-why-now/

 

 We wear masks & shield over the mask for added protection . These shields are available on amazon

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, KirkNC said:

Understood, it would be later in the process when vaccines are readily available.  Right now it’s hard to imagine but in probably 4-6 months the vaccines should be easy to get.

Are there any studies that show taking one vaccine and then another would piggy back the efficacy?

 

As an aside there are people who not only do not want to get the vaccine, but wish to prevent others from getting the vaccine.

 

Dodger Stadium's COVID-19 vaccination site temporarily shut down after protesters gather at entrance (msn.com)

[KirkNC]

56 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Are there any studies that show taking one vaccine and then another would piggy back the efficacy?

 

As an aside there are people who not only do not want to get the vaccine, but wish to prevent others from getting the vaccine.

 

Dodger Stadium's COVID-19 vaccination site temporarily shut down after protesters gather at entrance (msn.com)

Unbelievable what happened in LA.  There is a segment in this country that has lost its mind.

 

I am not aware of any studies on doing two vaccine regimen.  Dr Fauci actually brought it up in a discussion on J&J I watched on TV.  They seem concerned that people won’t want to take the J&J given its lower effectiveness so he said you could do what I described.   

[mcrcruiser]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Are there any studies that show taking one vaccine and then another would piggy back the efficacy?

 

As an aside there are people who not only do not want to get the vaccine, but wish to prevent others from getting the vaccine.

 

Dodger Stadium's COVID-19 vaccination site temporarily shut down after protesters gather at entrance (msn.com)

Read that protest at Dodger Stadium in LA   .Very sad that there are people who would do what that anti vaccine group did to block people from getting vaccinated  .As the cases & death  tolls rise these people should look at themselves in their mirrors 

[mcrcruiser]

We are especially concerned about these new variant strains now in the USA . Thus ,we can't do enough to protect ourselves & one another . Wearing 2 masks or wearing mask plus a shield seems very logical to us 

 

 We just had a close friend pass away of this virus after being in a hospital for a lung problem for 2 months in a NJ hospital  .Although he was 86 he should still had some years left in his life if it weren't for this deadly disease

Edited January 31, 2021 by mcrcruiser

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, KirkNC said:

Unbelievable what happened in LA.  There is a segment in this country that has lost its mind.

 

That started with the Autism caused by vaccine idiots.  That is not a political protest, it is a lack of understanding of medical statistics, scientific method and peer reviewed studies

Edited January 31, 2021 by Mary229

[Cruising-along]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

As an aside there are people who not only do not want to get the vaccine, but wish to prevent others from getting the vaccine.

 

Dodger Stadium's COVID-19 vaccination site temporarily shut down after protesters gather at entrance (msn.com)

I need a "mad emoji" here. 😞  

Last night I had a discussion with a friend who said she will never get the vaccine, yadda yadda.  Her remarks would fit right in with these protesters.  Sadly she is a retired nurse....blows my mind. 

[Cailey53]

1 minute ago, Cruising-along said:

I need a "mad emoji" here. 😞  

Last night I had a discussion with a friend who said she will never get the vaccine, yadda yadda.  Her remarks would fit right in with these protesters.  Sadly she is a retired nurse....blows my mind. 

It is amazing the amount of health care workers both active and retired that for whatever reason are refusing the vaccine. Here in Georgia the original 1A group was for healthcare workers and they were finding that there were too few ppl getting vaccinated, hence the reason the Governor increased the 1A+ group to include those of us 65 and over on January 11th.  Perhaps they will change their minds once they see the vaccines are safe and effective. 

[KroozNut]

45 minutes ago, Cailey53 said:

It is amazing the amount of health care workers both active and retired that for whatever reason are refusing the vaccine. Here in Georgia the original 1A group was for healthcare workers and they were finding that there were too few ppl getting vaccinated, hence the reason the Governor increased the 1A+ group to include those of us 65 and over on January 11th.  Perhaps they will change their minds once they see the vaccines are safe and effective. 

 

Our daughter and niece are front line healthcare workers, and had no hesitation at all. They have been vaccinated for weeks now.

[KirkNC]

1 hour ago, Cailey53 said:

It is amazing the amount of health care workers both active and retired that for whatever reason are refusing the vaccine. Here in Georgia the original 1A group was for healthcare workers and they were finding that there were too few ppl getting vaccinated, hence the reason the Governor increased the 1A+ group to include those of us 65 and over on January 11th.  Perhaps they will change their minds once they see the vaccines are safe and effective. 

It baffles me, its like a health care worker smoking.

[Roz]

46 minutes ago, KirkNC said:

It baffles me, its like a health care worker smoking.

 

Smoking can be an addiction.  My dear departed mother was an RN and smoked like a chimney until emphysema and 24-hr. oxygen forced her to quit.  She started smoking as a teenager in WWII when she stood in line with ration coupons to buy cigarettes.  She knew intellectually it was bad for her,  but nicotine had a hold on her.  

 

Health care workers not wanting the vaccine is a different situation, IMO.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Cruising-along said:

I need a "mad emoji" here. 😞  

Last night I had a discussion with a friend who said she will never get the vaccine, yadda yadda.  Her remarks would fit right in with these protesters.  Sadly she is a retired nurse....blows my mind. 

And reading the article I posted that you (and others) have reacted to, these people are not only against vaccines, but also masks and anything else to combat Covid. Or as they say, the CNN hoax. 

 

It truly boggles the mind that any front line health care worker could see this as a hoax!

[Cruising-along]

3 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

And reading the article I posted that you (and others) have reacted to, these people are not only against vaccines, but also masks and anything else to combat Covid. Or as they say, the CNN hoax. 

 

It truly boggles the mind that any front line health care worker could see this as a hoax!

I agree.  I had a brief conversation about this at my last physical with my doctor.  (she wasn't referring to medical workers, but those who believe this in general).  We have several family members in the medical profession, thank goodness they all listen to the science.  Also my neighbor, a retired nurse who has several severe allergies will be getting her vaccine under her doctor's supervision.

[iceman93]

That protest in L.A. was unacceptable--it's one thing for people to choose not to get the vaccine themselves, but there is no call for preventing others from getting it.

 

As to healthcare workers choosing not to get vaccinated, it's really quite understandable to me (and I'm someone who will get the vaccine for me and my family once we're eligible).  I think the reasoning is that these vaccines were REALLY rushed through the normal process; yes, they seem safe, but we won't really know for years if there are lingering after-effects.  Since COVID-19 itself is not much of a risk to otherwise healthy individuals, they likely judge the risk of having COVID-19 problems as less than the unknown risk of having vaccine problems.  I get it.

[Mary229]

4 minutes ago, iceman93 said:

That protest in L.A. was unacceptable--it's one thing for people to choose not to get the vaccine themselves, but there is no call for preventing others from getting it.

Yes, violating other’s civil liberties is a crime and should be dealt with as such. 

[KroozNut]

4 hours ago, KirkNC said:

It baffles me, its like a health care worker smoking.

 

I worked in the healthcare industry for many years, and I was surprised and amazed at how many doctors and nurses were chain smokers.

[KroozNut]

3 hours ago, Roz said:

 

Smoking can be an addiction. 

 

 

Not 'can be', it definitely IS an addiction and one of the strongest. Trust me, I was addicted to nicotine for 25 years before kicking the habit about 10 years ago... it was not easy.

[mcrcruiser]

4 hours ago, KroozNut said:

 

Not 'can be', it definitely IS an addiction and one of the strongest. Trust me, I was addicted to nicotine for 25 years before kicking the habit about 10 years ago... it was not easy.

Yes smoking  is a horrible health habit .After smoking for many years I quit 28 years ago & to this day wish I had never started in the first place 

 Taking the vaccine will not be a problem doe us once availability  becomes easier  in our local area /city    So far the county of SD is using large distribution centers   . We could sit in a car but not  stand for long   periods of time

[mcrcruiser]

 imo the way these variant covid strains  are popping up   all over the globe it seems to me that taking a cruise is way far in the distance . We definitely would not consider cruising with mandatory masks wearing because how do you enjoy dining as a example with out fear of disease 

[KirkNC]

I have posted my doubts about taking the J&J vaccines.  Here is a brief from the NYT about why I maybe wrong.  Certainly gives an interesting perspective.

 

Infections aren’t what matters

The news about the vaccines continues to be excellent — and the public discussion of it continues to be more negative than the facts warrant.

Here’s the key fact: All five vaccines with public results have eliminated Covid-19 deaths. They have also drastically reduced hospitalizations. “They’re all good trial results,” Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University, told me. “It’s great news.”

Many people are instead focusing on relatively minor differences among the vaccine results and wrongly assuming that those differences mean that some vaccines won’t prevent serious illnesses. It’s still too early to be sure, because a few of the vaccine makers have released only a small amount of data. But the available data is very encouraging — including about the vaccines’ effect on the virus’s variants.

“The vaccines are poised to deliver what people so desperately want: an end, however protracted, to this pandemic,” as Julia Marcus of Harvard Medical School recently wrote in The Atlantic.

Why is the public understanding more negative than it should be? Much of the confusion revolves around the meaning of the word “effective.”

What do we care about?

In the official language of research science, a vaccine is typically considered effective only if it prevents people from coming down with any degree of illness. With a disease that’s always or usually horrible, like ebola or rabies, that definition is also the most meaningful one.

But it’s not the most meaningful definition for most coronavirus infections.

Whether you realize it or not, you have almost certainly had a coronavirus. Coronaviruses have been circulating for decades if not centuries, and they’re often mild. The common cold can be a coronavirus. The world isn’t going to eliminate coronaviruses — or this particular one, known as SARS-CoV-2 — anytime soon.

Yet we don’t need to eliminate it for life to return to normal. We instead need to downgrade it from a deadly pandemic to a normal virus. Once that happens, adults can go back to work, and children back to school. Grandparents can nuzzle their grandchildren, and you can meet your friends at a restaurant.

As Dr. Ashish Jha, the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told me this weekend: “I don’t actually care about infections. I care about hospitalizations and deaths and long-term complications.”

The data

By those measures, all five of the vaccines — from Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Novavax and Johnson & Johnson — look extremely good. Of the roughly 75,000 people who have received one of the five in a research trial, not a single person has died from Covid, and only a few people appear to have been hospitalized. None have remained hospitalized 28 days after receiving a shot.

To put that in perspective, it helps to think about what Covid has done so far to a representative group of 75,000 American adults: It has killed roughly 150 of them and sent several hundred more to the hospital. The vaccines reduce those numbers to zero and nearly zero, based on the research trials.

Zero isn’t even the most relevant benchmark. A typical U.S. flu season kills between five and 15 out of every 75,000 adults and hospitalizes more than 100 of them.

I assume you would agree that any vaccine that transforms Covid into something much milder than a typical flu deserves to be called effective. But that is not the scientific definition. When you read that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was 66 percent effective or that the Novavax vaccine was 89 percent effective, those numbers are referring to the prevention of all illness. They count mild symptoms as a failure.

“In terms of the severe outcomes, which is what we really care about, the news is fantastic,” Dr. Aaron Richterman, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of Pennsylvania, said.

The variants

What about the highly contagious new virus variants that have emerged in Britain, Brazil and South Africa? The South African variant does appear to make the vaccines less effective at eliminating infections.

Fortunately, there is no evidence yet that it increases deaths among vaccinated people. Two of the five vaccines — from Johnson & Johnson and Novavax — have reported some results from South Africa, and none of the people there who received a vaccine died of Covid. “People are still not getting serious illness. They’re still not dying,” Dr. Rebecca Wurtz of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health told me.

The most likely reason, epidemiologists say, is that the vaccines still provide considerable protection against the variant, albeit not quite as much as against the original version. Some protection appears to be enough to turn this coronavirus into a fairly normal disease in the vast majority of cases.

“This variant is clearly making it a little tougher to get the most vigorous response that you would want to have,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said. “But still, for severe disease, it’s looking really good.”

What would an expert do?

The biggest caveat is the possibility that future data will be less heartening. Johnson & Johnson and Novavax, for example, have issued press releases about their data, but no independent group has yet released an analysis. It will also be important to see much more data about how the vaccines interact with the variants.

But don’t confuse uncertainty with bad news. The available vaccine evidence is nearly as positive as it could conceivably be. And our overly negative interpretation of it is causing real problems.

Some people worry that schools cannot reopen even after teachers are vaccinated. Others are left with the mistaken impression that only the two vaccines with the highest official effectiveness rates — from Moderna and Pfizer — are worth getting.

In truth, so long as the data holds up, any of the five vaccines can save your life.

Last week, Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University told my colleague Denise Grady about a conversation he had with other experts. During it, they imagined that a close relative had to choose between getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine now or waiting three weeks to get the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. “All of us said, ‘Get the one tomorrow,’” Schaffner said. “The virus is bad. You’re risking three more weeks of exposure as opposed to getting protection tomorrow.”

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Thanks for posting that summary, Kirk. It is the best explanation of the vaccine situation that I have seen.