Covid Vaccine Distribution

[sengsational]

Back in the days of having a modem on my computer, I once wrote an application that did redials. It wasn't too much help, though. Although it silently dialed, it required a mouse click if I recognized the busy signal vs ringing. If I wrote it now, I'd have the capability to discern the busy signal from the ringing. Hmmm. Too bad the modems are all long gone (and wouldn't fit on the new computer bus anyway).

 

[SecondCor521]

Nor am I. Essential or not, we all benefit individually with every vaccine administered.

I like this visual example. It's a part of a Christmas lecture series by Dr. Hannah Fry who is a British mathematician with a guest epidemiologist. It shows two examples; one with no vaccinations and one with partial vaccinations.

Interestingly these videos were done just before the virus really started spreading. It's just coincidence that it became applicable shortly afterward.

(Mods, thanks for the heads up that the link wasn't working and that I forgot to add a description.)

 

[cbo111]

In my day, calling 1510 times meant pressing 7 numbers then pressing redial 1509 times. How do the kids redial these days with their apps and whatnot? REWahoo was probably turning his face into a cat and playing Minecraft the whole time, until his phone alerted him with his favorite song.

Ha, you funny. Kids don't make voice phone calls nowadays!

 

[Linney]

So far, it appears that Washington State is sticking with its original criteria list.

Online app is here: findyourphasewa.org

Washington State Governor Inslee is giving an update right now:

"The governor also announced that effective immediately, the state is moving to Phase 1B of its COVID-19 vaccination plan.

He changed who qualifies for vaccines under the first tier of Phase 1B to include people 65 and older, previously it was people over 70. This tier will also include people over 50 years old who live in multigenerational households."

 

[Linney]

Washington State Governor Inslee is giving an update right now:

Wow, there's some really interesting stuff in this announcement today [Jan 18]:

"Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced changes Monday to COVID-19 vaccine administration, a new statewide public-private partnership for vaccine distribution..... It will be led by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), business partners and local health care and labor leaders...... Microsoft will assist with technology expertise and support, Starbucks will handle vaccine to customer logistics and communication, and Costco will assist with vaccine delivery to pharmacies, according to Inslee’s office...... Inslee said it is part of a goal to get to 45,000 COVID-19 vaccinations every day in Washington state."

Having those companies involved will surely lead to quite a few jokes, but all the while it's exciting to see big action being taken to address the significant logistical challenges.

Link to full story: LIVE: Inslee announcing plan for mass covid-19 vaccination sites

 

[Boho]

Back in the days of having a modem on my computer, I once wrote an application that did redials. It wasn't too much help, though. Although it silently dialed, it required a mouse click if I recognized the busy signal vs ringing. If I wrote it now, I'd have the capability to discern the busy signal from the ringing. Hmmm. Too bad the modems are all long gone (and wouldn't fit on the new computer bus anyway).

Me too. I probably kept mine on this disk. I made the notch on the left side so I could use the back of the disk.

 

[ivinsfan]

MN version of how to start a rebellion. Open up vaccinations to people 65 and over..select 9 sites statewide. go online or call one single number.. total number of shots available 12 thousand that's for this weeks sign up.

One site is rural and about 75 minutes from here..the other close one is pretty metro at least 75K, about an hour from here. Provided they book by location I wonder which location I should try for...(of course that is if I by some miracle I actually get connected....

Do you think each site will the same number of shots or they distribute according to population densify? WWYD..

 

[Philliefan33]

MN version of how to start a rebellion. Open up vaccinations to people 65 and over..select 9 sites statewide. go online or call one single number.. total number of shots available 12 thousand that's for this weeks sign up.



One site is rural and about 75 minutes from here..the other close one is pretty metro at least 75K, about an hour from here. Provided they book by location I wonder which location I should try for...(of course that is if I by some miracle I actually get connected....



Do you think each site will the same number of shots or they distribute according to population densify? WWYD..

I would try for the more rural site.

 

[Chuckanut]

Washinton's guv lowered the age in 1B to 65. And to his credit resisted the pressure from various groups to put them ahead of the older folks who are most vulnerable to CV.

I managed to get an appointment for my 1st vaccine shot before the authorization site started giving the blank screen response to those who try to connect. Yea!! I am scheduled for March. It's better than a kick in the pants.

 

[explanade]

It will be interesting if they approve vaccines which have lower efficacy and supplies of those are distributed.

The AZ vaccine in particular, they've bought a large quantity of it.

So if you can't get either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines over the first couple of months, you may have to settle for the AZ or the J&J vaccine.

 

[timo2]

It's great that some States are moving along. My 95 year old mother is in Missouri, and Missouri does seem not to be up to speed. She lives independently in a rural Ozark county, and my brother just checked on her vaccine status. Here was the reply (1/14/21):

"YES, SHE WILL MEET THE CRITERIA FOR THE COVID VACCINATION. RIGHT NOW WE ARE NOT TAKING ANY APPOINTMENTS. WE ARE CURRENTLY WAITING ON VACCINE TO DO THE HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN OUR AREA. ONCE WE ARE PREPARED TO MOVE TO THE PHASE YOU ARE IN WE WILL PUT IT IN THE NEWSPAPER, ON THE RADIO STATIONS, AND ON THE ST. FRANCOIS COUNTY HEALTH CENTER WEBSITE, AS WELL AS, FACEBOOK . AT THAT TIME, WE WILL BEGIN TAKING APPOINTMENTS. "

The fact that they have not even started their health care workers is alarming, when compared to most other States. Also, I'm wondering if, like others have mentioned, 95 year olds will be at a disadvantage in their planned scheduling free-for-all. Obviously my brother will do it for her, but he's over 70 himself and not the most tech savvy person.

My 95 year old mom's county in the Ozarks got the vaccines in finally, and my brother is reporting that only half of the medical staff in the phase 1 there wants to get vaccinated. So she might move up on the list fairly quickly.

 

[W2R]

I just found out my lucky number is 1,410.

That's the number of times I tried calling to get an appointment for the vaccine over the past three days. Call #1,410 was the first time I actually got through. I got a recording confirming I'd reached the vaccination reservation number, and then immediately placed on hold. After holding a little more than an hour and a half, I was connected to a live person who took our names, addresses, DOB and phone number, then given an appointment for DW and I to get the Moderna vaccine on Saturday morning.

I feel extremely fortunate that I was able to get through through as the site is reporting literally millions of phone call attempts each day. Also, they have scheduled to give out the 9,000 doses they received over a 6 day period, with Saturday being the final day, so it looks like we also managed to get through just before all the slots were filled.

We never buy lottery tickets, but I'm tempted...

Woo-hoo!!!! CONGRATULATIONS! So happy for you two.

 

[GravitySucks]

This:

I find it disturbing governments around the world are choosing to rank their populations based on their essentiality. I've taken ethics courses in college that warn of such things. Perhaps if the ranking was based solely on mortality risk, and not how essential one is to society, I would feel better about where I rank.

Wasn't lock down rationalized to protect the most vulnerable, the most likely to die, not just catch the disease? Then wouldn't it make sense the vaccine be administered under the same basis?

Not sure how true it is, but it looks like the British did hospital employees then by age. Much fairer.
Edit: posted before seeing Alan's post #1312
Also, the lists of who is essential is looking pretty arbitrary to me.

 

[harllee]

MN version of how to start a rebellion. Open up vaccinations to people 65 and over..select 9 sites statewide. go online or call one single number.. total number of shots available 12 thousand that's for this weeks sign up.

One site is rural and about 75 minutes from here..the other close one is pretty metro at least 75K, about an hour from here. Provided they book by location I wonder which location I should try for...(of course that is if I by some miracle I actually get connected....

Do you think each site will the same number of shots or they distribute according to population densify? WWYD..

Where I live it is better to get the vaccine in a rural area--that is what I did and many of my friends. Much easier to get an appt, lines move faster, etc in the rural counties. My theory is that there are more people in the rural area who are refusing the vaccine so it is easier to get an appt.

 

[ivinsfan]

Where I live it is better to get the vaccine in a rural area--that is what I did and many of my friends. Much easier to get an appt, lines move faster, etc in the rural counties. My theory is that there are more people in the rural area who are refusing the vaccine so it is easier to get an appt.

Or perhaps less people with high speed internet or just don't do much internet. For example they announced this sometime Monday afternoon and gave less then 24 hours notice for the hotline. I actually have a few oldsters at church that never got internet and have to be called in person.

Also we don't know how they do the numbers.. do to send by county or by population? My county skews older and most people I know want the vaccine.

It's going to be interesting to see how many people we can get vaccinated nationally in the next six months... that's is will we end up with more vaccine then people willing to get vaccinated?

 

[Ian S]

Here in Arizona, today at 9:00 AM was first time for 65+ to sign up for a vaccine appointment in February. After several attempts and error messages ("Too Many Requests"), I was able to schedule an appointment for two weeks tomorrow in Glendale Arizona. That's 100 miles from where I live but our rural county is still struggling to even provide any information so I'll gladly make the drive.

 

[REWahoo]

^ Congratulations on getting a shot slot.

 

[Gumby]

^ Congratulations on getting a shot slot.

I'm inspired to propose a new tongue twister. "She sought shot slots down by the seashore."

 

[braumeister]

I'm inspired to propose a new tongue twister. "She sought shot slots down by the seashore."

Silently and stealthily

 

[W2R]

One of our biggest hospitals didn't get their expected vaccine shipment this week. Then later they got a few doses but only a very small percentage of what they were promised.

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_r...cle_2a4f8b2c-577b-11eb-8e83-1b125c6c3ca6.html

Ochsner Health System, Louisiana's largest, said it will delay vaccine appointments for thousands of patients after receiving zero new doses in its regular shipment this week, complicating the health system’s mass vaccination plan that has more than 100,000 appointments on the books.

After receiving tens of thousands of doses through the first four weeks of the state’s vaccination effort, Ochsner didn’t get any new doses for patients earlier this week, when shipments typically come in, the Louisiana Department of Health and top officials at Ochsner confirmed Friday. Second doses are still flowing in, meaning patients will still be able to get the required second shot, officials said.

Further down in the article it says they are having to cancel appointments starting tomorrow, not just delay them. What a mix-up! I can't imagine the emotional rollercoaster those who originally got one of those rare appointments, are dealing with.

 

[ivinsfan]

MN Dept of Health website already crashing 10 minutes before live signup, also no signup link available.

 

[Nick12]

I registered with state websites for our family to get the vaccine. So far no appts. When I took my mother to her treatment visit at the hospital I noticed a line of seniors for the vaccine that had appts . After talking with some of the RNs they helped me out tremendously and gave my mom an appt for February!!

 

[REWahoo]

One of our biggest hospitals didn't get their expected vaccine shipment this week....

Further down in the article it says they are having to cancel appointments starting tomorrow, not just delay them. What a mix-up! I can't imagine the emotional rollercoaster those who originally got one of those rare appointments, are dealing with.

Something similar happened here and rather than cancel appointments they delayed them, moving everyone who had a Monday appointment to the same time on Wednesday, after they hope to receive the shipment. Haven't heard if it made it yet.

 

[ivinsfan]

I made it to the waiting room where I have been waiting for around 45 minutes..

 

[Sojourner]

Around here, Kroger and Publix recently started to offer signups for anyone 65 and older (plus anyone else eligible from phase 1a). When I heard about this a few days ago, I clicked on the link to the Publix signup page for Georgia, and saw that every single location in every city where it was available was already listed as "fully booked". I've visited that link several times a day since, and every time it continues to show "fully booked" across the board. Same goes for Kroger, although their signup page makes it MUCH harder to determine which sites are fully booked.

Still early days, of course, but I'm thinking that I'll probably have better luck getting access to the vaccine through my PCP than from a mass/public provider like a big grocery store or drug store. My PCP has been pretty good so far about sending emails to his patients letting us know the latest updates on their approach to vaccinations. I'm hopeful that my long-standing relationship with my doc—including annual physicals and flu shots—keeps me in good standing and near the top of the list for when I become eligible.