Covid Vaccine Distribution

[sengsational]

but we don't know if the results over time would be diminished from one dose, and thus wasted. So you might get quickly to 75%, but if you had to wait a year for your 2nd, does that fade? I'm sure there's a reason that the makers propose the 3-4 week spacing, and not longer.

Correct. Because of the way the trials were done, there's no way to accurately model the one shot idea; the data isn't there. And without a solid model, the one shot approach is a crap shoot. The powers that control the policy aren't going to go with the crap shoot approach.

 

[gerntz]

That article is about the USA. My quoted post is about the UK announced sequence. I would expect the USA and other countries to have different priorities. 2/3rds of all UK Covid related deaths have been in the over 80 group, hospitals and care homes hence the focus on those groups. After that they are going for simplicity and speed of rollout.

Missed UK. Thanks.

 

[gerntz]

but we don't know if the results over time would be diminished from one dose, and thus wasted. So you might get quickly to 75%, but if you had to wait a year for your 2nd, does that fade? I'm sure there's a reason that the makers propose the 3-4 week spacing, and not longer.

We're due to have 90M doses by end of Jan. So give 40M one dose in Dec & second in Jan., covering 40M partially in Dec. My view is that the 2nd 20M people group is about as needy of vaccine as first 20M. But both groups would still be vaccinated with two shots by end of Jan. It's probably a moot point now since I think the 20M two shots plan is fixed. So I give.

 

[gerntz]

Correct. Because of the way the trials were done, there's no way to accurately model the one shot idea; the data isn't there. And without a solid model, the one shot approach is a crap shoot. The powers that control the policy aren't going to go with the crap shoot approach.

I didn't intend to imply those folks would only get one shot, just more people one shot quickly.

 

[REWahoo]

On the topic of vaccine distribution, thought this was an interesting state-by-state look at the number of initial doses vs. the needs of each state (scroll down), broken out by CDC recommended priorities.

Tracking vaccine distribution, state by state

 

[harllee]

On the day it happened the report was that it wasn’t serious and they were recovering well from the reaction it produced.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55244122

Thanks for this. My mother, my sisters and I have serious allergy problems. My mother is the worst--twice she unknowingly at something with a nut she is very allergic to and had to be rushed to the hospital. In the before EpiPen days I was with her when she went into shock--doctor in hospital said she might have died had I not gotten her to the hospital so fast. However, she has been able to take vaccines like Shingrix, flu and pneumonia with no problem. So her severe allergy problem is definitely linked to a specific food.

I, on the other hand, have an allergy to aspirin. I have never gone into shock but break out in a rash and have had my lips swell from aspirin (it has been years since I touched aspirin or anything related). I do carry an epipen (but the one I have is expired--need to get another, they are expensive).

So I need to learn more about the Covid vaccine and allergies. If anyone sees anything more on this topic please let me know.

 

[harllee]

Who's decision is that - your mentally competent mother's or the doctor's? I.e., can she choose to take it anyway? I'd think it's her choice whatever the reco.

I don't know if people with severe allergies will be allowed to take the vaccine at all. Or maybe they will be allowed to take the vaccine if they sign a waiver. Or maybe some places will refuse to give the vaccine to allergy people but other places will allow it. Mother has to take the flu shot in her doctor's office--the pharmacy refused to give it to her because she had a history of severe allergic reactions (she had a form to fill out and this was a question on the form).

For my mother and I both (we both have to carry an EpiPen) for sure we will want to take the vaccine somewhere we can get medical attention if we have a reaction--like in a hospital setting, not in a pharmacy.

I expect it will be a while before people with severe allergies will be able to get the vaccine.

 

[Amethyst]

I ididn't get his name, but a U.S. doctor was discussing this on CNN. He said there was a big difference between "having allergies," which most people do to something, and serious allergies which evidently caused a reaction in those two UK people.

According to medical tests, I'm allergic to ragweed pollen, maple pollen, and poison ivy, which I suspect are not components of this vaccine.

On the day it happened the report was that it wasn’t serious and they were recovering well from the reaction it produced.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55244122

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

Post i read written by an epidemiologist recommended checking with your Dr ulif you have allergies of any type, or are on blood thinners.

What groups are NOT recommended to take the vaccine? So far I have heard these people are not recommended to take the Pfizer vaccinate at this time:

1. People with severe allergic reactions (FDA is researching this)
2. Pregnant women (the vaccine was not tested on pregnant women)
3. Children under age 16 (the vaccine was not tested on children)
4. Women breastfeeding (the vaccine was not tested on these women)
5. People undergoing chemotherapy that significantly reduces immune response (not sure I have heard correctly on this one)

Any others?

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

If I was in charge of administering I would have 110 ppl queued up fir every batch of 100 i planned on administering to allow to absentee and changed minds. Zero waste tolerance on this

I was talking to DW about it this morning. Wonder if they will overbook like airlines or other businesses or offer a standby slot to people in next tier of access ? Say they are on Tier2 and want to vaccinate 100 people at a facility today, would they offer 10 standby slots to those under 65 ? I'd be up for that. I'm 64 1/2 and will end up at end of our priority list, unless I can get it through military tricare ?

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

I posted the VA brochure. They have their own vaccine allocations. Sounded like providers first, then by age/underlying with emphasis on minorities. Search my name to see the link on this thread

Anyone have any up to date information on where veterans with underlying conditions fall on the priority list?

 

[Chuckanut]

I posted the VA brochure. They have their own vaccine allocations. Sounded like providers first, then by age/underlying with emphasis on minorities. Search my name to see the link on this thread

Since the VA is a Federal institution will it have to wait for the local governor to approve use of the vaccine? I ask because in my state the guv wants his experts to approve the vaccine first.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Since the VA is a Federal institution will it have to wait for the local governor to approve use of the vaccine? I ask because in my state the guv wants his experts to approve the vaccine first.

My educated guess is no; the approval is not a legal requirement, as the FDA has jurisdiction over drug approvals. That governor is likely using their role in the logistical distribution of the drug to insert themselves as an approver. And the VA does set its policies as a unit, not state by state, if I remember correctly, so they would not likely change their procedures in one state unless it involved a difference in state criminal law, which this probably isn't.

 

[MuirWannabe]

However it’s distributed, I’m just so grateful we are talking about an approved, safe, effective and soon to be available vaccine! It’s so much nicer a discussion than mask wearing fights, case and death counts, and concerns over social distancing perspectives.

These last 9 months I’ve tried not to be gripped by fear, nor have I been completely free wheeling it out in public. But it’s a balance I’m happy to admit I’m sick of making. I remember not that long ago reading threads with speculation that a vaccine might not even be possible, much less this quickly. Now here it is, with more closely following.

Without a vaccine, there simply was no path to really getting rid of this thing. So, IMHO, a vaccine was all that ultimately really mattered. Thank goodness it’s here. If there were no vaccine on the horizon, I suspect I’d have made the decision shortly to just reopen my life and take my chances. Again, I’m grateful that’s not necessary. In my book, operation warp speed was a success even Captain Kirk would be proud of. YMMV

 

[GravitySucks]

That would be great, and if they did it on their own, it would help offset a lot of the bad publicity they've had. It is going to matter most at that time when wide distribution is available.

It is just my theory... but I am thinking this trail balloon was hatched by some powerful people connected with team ownership. The owners want to stop the game shutdown/reschedule chaos going on now in the NFL. The NBA and NHL see that same chaos in their future. I think they want a backdoor way to get to the front.

Just my theory though.

Not to be cynical, but I'm willing to water that the University students will be offered it before this 62 year-old will be.

 

[SecondCor521]

I sent my primary care Dr. an email asking about what the process is going to be? His nurse responded that they have no clue. She said they will NOT be giving shots at the office. I guess we'll all just be standing outside CVS or Walgreens...waiting.

Since up to 50% say they aren't going to get the vaccine, I wonder how they will be able to tell when one group is "done" and the next group can start?

I expect to get the COVID vaccine at my local pharmacy, as that is where I get my flu shots and also got the Shingrix vaccine.

I think the process will be:

1. Call local pharmacy.
2. "Can I get the COVID vaccine today?"
3. If yes, drive to pharmacy and get shot.
4. Otherwise, wait one day and go to step 1.

My local pharmacy person was not even aware of the FDA EUA going on. While mildly surprising, I think we may need to be ready to be more informed than some of the frontline people we talk to, at least for a short while.

 

[RetireBy90]

However it’s distributed, I’m just so grateful we are talking about an approved, safe, effective and soon to be available vaccine! It’s so much nicer a discussion than mask wearing fights, case and death counts, and concerns over social distancing perspectives.

I completely agree.
These last 9 months I’ve tried not to be gripped by fear, nor have I been completely free wheeling it out in public. But it’s a balance I’m happy to admit I’m sick of making. I remember not that long ago reading threads with speculation that a vaccine might not even be possible, much less this quickly. Now here it is, with more closely following.

Without a vaccine, there simply was no path to really getting rid of this thing. So, IMHO, a vaccine was all that ultimately really mattered. Thank goodness it’s here. If there were no vaccine on the horizon, I suspect I’d have made the decision shortly to just reopen my life and take my chances. Again, I’m grateful that’s not necessary. In my book, operation warp speed was a success even Captain Kirk would be proud of. YMMV

I think if it were not for the vaccine(s) we would reach herd immunity sometime in 2021, but couldn’t agree more with being grateful for the vaccines.

 

[harllee]

I just got an email from my local county health department which said they would be working with the state health department coordinating the distribution of the vaccine. I expect we will be told when and where we can get the vaccine by our county health department.

I just hope the distribution (especially the distribution oof the second shot) works better than the Shingrix shots did, that was a mess, I was on the waiting list for months.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

I pulled this from reddit tonight, its dated 2 days ago and says it was the message sent out to employees at Veterans Affairs Med Ctrs
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Full Message:

“Today I want to spend a little more time talking about the vaccine that we hope will be approved in the next few days.

We have been working closely with the Centers for Disease Control vaccine approval group, as well as the Food and Drug Administration. We have also participated in research on the vaccine and are hoping to get final direction about its distribution over the weekend. There will be many logistics and details to consider as we move towards vaccinations.

We have 37 sites, and more than 80 of the extreme cold freezers, ready for the Pfizer vaccine. Two freezers are currently in each VISN and one is in Puerto Rico to receive and store it at the required -70 degree refrigeration. This vaccine is more difficult to transport and store because it requires such a low temperature and presents additional challenges to distribution as it is boxed in 1,000-dose lots. You can read more about our initial distribution plans here.

The second vaccine we anticipate is from Moderna, and only requires -20 degree refrigeration. We have almost 200 freezers across the network that can accept these. As we continue to discuss these over the coming weeks, I want you to understand some of the challenges we will face in getting the vaccines to remote and lower-population areas that need it.

Once the vaccine arrives at the 37 selected VA Medical Centers, we will start vaccinating our Veteran patients and health care personnel in Community Living Centers and Spinal Cord Injury and Disorder Centers. In that same wave, we will also vaccinate ICU and ER personnel, and will vaccinate additional Veterans at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 after health care personnel have been offered vaccine.

Your facility will notify you when the vaccine is available for you and provide information on how to schedule a vaccination. As we learn more, I will continue to communicate with you about how we distribute the vaccine. We are building a central hub for Veterans with vaccine-specific information, including a tool to help them stay informed about VA’s vaccine distribution efforts. More information will be shared with you in the coming weeks on these resources.

These vaccines are different from previous ones in that instead of being a non-infectious version of the virus, they use messenger RNA to activate your immune system to combat COVID-19. The testing has shown the vaccines are extraordinarily safe and I look forward to discussing this with you more.

I encourage you to research and continue gathering information as you make your decision. I hope that we are approaching the end of this pandemic, thanks to these extraordinary new vaccines, but appreciate that we have several months of continued hard work ahead of us.

I am eager to continue a dialogue with each of you as these vaccines become available, so please let me know what you think. Thank you. Have a great day."

 

[harllee]

I understand the FDA issued guidance yesterday on who should not take the Pfizer vaccine (regarding people with allergies, pregnant and breastfeeding women, teenagers, etc) but I have not been able to find the guidance. Has anyone seen this?

 

[Amethyst]

That is an exceptionally well-written message.

I pulled this from reddit tonight, its dated 2 days ago and says it was the message sent out to employees at Veterans Affairs Med Ctrs
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Full Message:

“Today I want to spend a little more time talking about the vaccine that we hope will be approved in the next few days.

We have been working closely with the Centers for Disease Control vaccine approval group, as well as the Food and Drug Administration. We have also participated in research on the vaccine and are hoping to get final direction about its distribution over the weekend. There will be many logistics and details to consider as we move towards vaccinations.

We have 37 sites, and more than 80 of the extreme cold freezers, ready for the Pfizer vaccine. Two freezers are currently in each VISN and one is in Puerto Rico to receive and store it at the required -70 degree refrigeration. This vaccine is more difficult to transport and store because it requires such a low temperature and presents additional challenges to distribution as it is boxed in 1,000-dose lots. You can read more about our initial distribution plans here.

The second vaccine we anticipate is from Moderna, and only requires -20 degree refrigeration. We have almost 200 freezers across the network that can accept these. As we continue to discuss these over the coming weeks, I want you to understand some of the challenges we will face in getting the vaccines to remote and lower-population areas that need it.

Once the vaccine arrives at the 37 selected VA Medical Centers, we will start vaccinating our Veteran patients and health care personnel in Community Living Centers and Spinal Cord Injury and Disorder Centers. In that same wave, we will also vaccinate ICU and ER personnel, and will vaccinate additional Veterans at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 after health care personnel have been offered vaccine.

Your facility will notify you when the vaccine is available for you and provide information on how to schedule a vaccination. As we learn more, I will continue to communicate with you about how we distribute the vaccine. We are building a central hub for Veterans with vaccine-specific information, including a tool to help them stay informed about VA’s vaccine distribution efforts. More information will be shared with you in the coming weeks on these resources.

These vaccines are different from previous ones in that instead of being a non-infectious version of the virus, they use messenger RNA to activate your immune system to combat COVID-19. The testing has shown the vaccines are extraordinarily safe and I look forward to discussing this with you more.

I encourage you to research and continue gathering information as you make your decision. I hope that we are approaching the end of this pandemic, thanks to these extraordinary new vaccines, but appreciate that we have several months of continued hard work ahead of us.

I am eager to continue a dialogue with each of you as these vaccines become available, so please let me know what you think. Thank you. Have a great day."

 

[MichaelB]

I understand the FDA issued guidance yesterday on who should not take the Pfizer vaccine (regarding people with allergies, pregnant and breastfeeding women, teenagers, etc) but I have not been able to find the guidance. Has anyone seen this?

Is there FDA or CDC guidance on this? Here’s an article by Statnews discussing the vaccine and allergies. https://www.statnews.com/2020/12/12/covid19-vaccine-allergic-reaction-history/

 

[Time2]

Here's an article that discusses problems with the vaccines. More people problems than actual vaccine problems. It lists 9 possible problem points.


https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/22169428/fda-approval-covid-19-vaccine-side-effects-two-doses

 

[gerntz]

If I was in charge of administering I would have 110 ppl queued up fir every batch of 100 i planned on administering to allow to absentee and changed minds. Zero waste tolerance on this

Good thought imo but I'd tell 101-110 of the risk of not getting.

 

[gerntz]

However it’s distributed, I’m just so grateful we are talking about an approved, safe, effective and soon to be available vaccine! It’s so much nicer a discussion than mask wearing fights, case and death counts, and concerns over social distancing perspectives.

These last 9 months I’ve tried not to be gripped by fear, nor have I been completely free wheeling it out in public. But it’s a balance I’m happy to admit I’m sick of making. I remember not that long ago reading threads with speculation that a vaccine might not even be possible, much less this quickly. Now here it is, with more closely following.

Without a vaccine, there simply was no path to really getting rid of this thing. So, IMHO, a vaccine was all that ultimately really mattered. Thank goodness it’s here. If there were no vaccine on the horizon, I suspect I’d have made the decision shortly to just reopen my life and take my chances. Again, I’m grateful that’s not necessary. In my book, operation warp speed was a success even Captain Kirk would be proud of. YMMV

I doubt the vaccine gets "rid" of it due to those who won't take it.