Covid Vaccine Distribution

[MichaelB]

Good idea-- I will see if I am allowed to open a new thread about Covid Recovery Clinics

It’s here https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...nics-for-long-haulers-108629.html#post2584009

 

[24601NoMore]

No, seriously speaking, I noticed this and asked the pharmacist giving the injection. This unusual round bandage that looks like it's made of concentric circles, and almost looks like the logo of the Target chain, serves two purposes.

The first is that it actually IS a target. The Covid vaccine needs to be given deep into the muscle instead of subcutaneously like other vaccines

..snip..

one has to make sure that it's really in an area of abundant muscle, and doesn't hit bone or the shoulder joint. This is a serious complication from vaccination, I never knew about it until DW who has a very slender build got a frozen shoulder, three months of pain, and the need for physical therapy from it a few years back. To do this reliably, the nurse first touches around to clearly identify the muscle, and then puts this little sticker where it's safest to inject so she doesn't forget in between.

I've had shoulder pain since getting shot #1 three weeks ago..did some Googling, and you're spot on - the shot has to be given in a very specific area..and if the person giving it "misses" that area even slightly, it can indeed be a serious complication. There's an acronym for it: SIRVA - Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration. Whether this is what I have or not is TBD, but it's been mild to moderate pain for 3 weeks now that hasn't fully gone away.

With the number of people giving COVID shots that don't "usually" give lots of shots, this is a bit of legit concern..I'd personally feel a LOT better if I was able to get the shot from someone who does shots frequently - like, a Nurse or Dr. But we're getting our shots at a Rite Aid Pharmacy, and in all likelihood it will be a Pharmacist doing the shots. I realize Pharmacists are technically trained to do shots, have the education and background, etc..but let's face it..most do medication dispensing all day long. Not shots like they are now. And there's legitimately higher risk from having someone who doesn't do a lot of shots in their job usually doing them now.

Second shot for DW and me is tomorrow, and I'm not only apprehensive about potential serious side effects but also about now messing up my other shoulder. SIRVA CAN be permanent but if it occurs, at a minimum needs physical therapy to "try" to resolve it.

Hoping for the best and sure will be relieved once we get the final shot and are still OK a few days after..

 

[audreyh1]

OK! I can now do the happy dance!

Got jabbed. First dose, Pfizer. CVS Pharmacy.

With the number of people giving COVID shots that don't "usually" give lots of shots, this is a bit of legit concern..I'd personally feel a LOT better if I was able to get the shot from someone who does shots frequently - like, a Nurse or Dr. But we're getting our shots at a Rite Aid Pharmacy, and in all likelihood it will be a Pharmacist doing the shots. I realize Pharmacists are technically trained to do shots, have the education and background, etc..but let's face it..most do medication dispensing all day long. Not shots like they are now. And there's legitimately higher risk from having someone who doesn't do a lot of shots in their job usually doing them now.

Pharmacists give out plenty of vaccine injections all year long. I’ve had over a half dozen vaccine injections in the last 5 years, and all but one have been given by pharmacists.

 

[Another Reader]

OK! I can now do the happy dance!

Got jabbed. First dose, Pfizer.

P.S. Pharmacists give out plenty of vaccine injections. I’ve had over a half dozen injections in the last 5 years, and all but one have been given by pharmacists.

Congratulations!

 

[Gumby]

OK! I can now do the happy dance!

Got jabbed. First dose, Pfizer. CVS Pharmacy.

P.S. Pharmacists give out plenty of vaccine injections. I’ve had over a half dozen vaccine injections in the last 5 years, and all but one have been given by pharmacists.

Congratulations, Audrey. Welcome to the other club.

I got my two Shingrx vaccinations last year from the CVS pharmacist. I never thought there would be a problem with a pharmacist vaccinating me. I got my two Pfizer COVID vaccinations at the nearby Yale vaccine clinic. I presume the people who vaccinated me were nurses, but I don't know for sure. My second was just this past Saturday.

 

[audreyh1]

I had to wait 3 months. DH who is 65 got his first dose 2 months ago.

 

[Leo1277]

...
But in this case, one has to make sure that it's really in an area of abundant muscle, and doesn't hit bone or the shoulder joint. This is a serious complication from vaccination, I never knew about it until DW who has a very slender build got a frozen shoulder, three months of pain, and the need for physical therapy from it a few years back.
...

I've had shoulder pain since getting shot #1 three weeks ago..did some Googling, and you're spot on - the shot has to be given in a very specific area..and if the person giving it "misses" that area even slightly, it can indeed be a serious complication. There's an acronym for it: SIRVA - Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration. Whether this is what I have or not is TBD, but it's been mild to moderate pain for 3 weeks now that hasn't fully gone away.
...

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, so don't act solely based on this advice. But my wife was instructed to treat this like a "frozen shoulder". There are some very specific exercises of movement, stretching and strengthening that you can find online or that your doctor can point you to, and you have to do them meticulously over an extended period of time. Part of the problem is that one unknowingly starts to "protect" the damaged area and moves it less, which strangely enough often makes things even worse. In the beginning it feels like not much is happening, and then often suddenly it starts to show an effect.

In some cases, there is actually severe enough physical damage, especially if it occurs in the shoulder, that it may require cortisone injections directly into the joint, or as the last resort, surgery. And another thing, you may want to tell every healthcare provider giving you a new jab about your earlier problem. My wife does that, and since then they try to be extra careful to get it right. Good luck!

 

[Ronstar]

DW and MIL are going for Moderna dose 2 next week on MIL’s 92nd birthday. DW is concerned about side effects so she is spending a couple of days with her mom following the vaccination. But MIL will probably get through it better than DW.

 

[harllee]

DW and MIL are going for Moderna dose 2 next week on MIL’s 92nd birthday. DW is concerned about side effects so she is spending a couple of days with her mom following the vaccination. But MIL will probably get through it better than DW.

My 90 year old mother had no side effects to either of the Pfizer doses, not even a sore arm.

 

[zinger1457]

I've had shoulder pain since getting shot #1 three weeks ago..did some Googling, and you're spot on - the shot has to be given in a very specific area..and if the person giving it "misses" that area even slightly, it can indeed be a serious complication. There's an acronym for it: SIRVA - Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration. Whether this is what I have or not is TBD, but it's been mild to moderate pain for 3 weeks now that hasn't fully gone away.

I had shoulder problems after getting my second Shingrix shot (Walgreens pharmacy), very sharp pain when twisting the shoulder, especially when golfing. Took a couple months for it to go away, talked to my family doctor about it and he thought they might have nicked a tendon when given the shot.

 

[Leo1277]

My 90 year old mother had no side effects to either of the Pfizer doses, not even a sore arm.

Anecdotally I have heard of several seniors of 90 and beyond who had very little reaction, which is good about the discomfort. It probably has been discussed here, but this is usually a sign that the immune system isn't reacting very strongly, and along these lines, younger folks are sometimes more knocked down. I was quite out of it with serious fatigue for several days after my first shot, so I take it as a sign that my immune system is still young

 

[Gearhead Jim]

One of our adult daughters lives in Chicago and probably wouldn't get the vaccine for another month or more. There was an article in the local paper about Adams County, around Quincy, having so much vaccine that they would jab anyone was over 16/18 and an Illinois resident. She called to confirm and made an appointment for Saturday noon, drove 4 hrs down there and got the J&J which she's happy with because no return visit required and quicker immunity. Spent the night visiting a friend (vaccinated) nearby and drove back to Chicago on Sunday. Slightly sore arm, slight headache, nothing more.
One and Done.

Of course, within a year we'll all probably need some kind of booster, but not so urgent now.

 

[Amethyst]

I had four shots at one time (two in each arm) back in my 40's (work related) and didn't react to any of them, so I'm not sure how much there is to the theory that feeling bad means your immune system is young. But hey, if it makes people feel better about feeling lousy!

Anecdotally I have heard of several seniors of 90 and beyond who had very little reaction, which is good about the discomfort. It probably has been discussed here, but this is usually a sign that the immune system isn't reacting very strongly, and along these lines, younger folks are sometimes more knocked down. I was quite out of it with serious fatigue for several days after my first shot, so I take it as a sign that my immune system is still young

 

[Ronstar]

My 90 year old mother had no side effects to either of the Pfizer doses, not even a sore arm.

Anecdotally I have heard of several seniors of 90 and beyond who had very little reaction, which is good about the discomfort. It probably has been discussed here, but this is usually a sign that the immune system isn't reacting very strongly, and along these lines, younger folks are sometimes more knocked down. I was quite out of it with serious fatigue for several days after my first shot, so I take it as a sign that my immune system is still young

I’ve read that older people have less reaction also. BIL (62) was knocked down for a couple of days after his first shot and I (65) was seriously fatigued, chills for about 18 hours after dose 2.
BIL had Covid, so it will be interesting fo see what side effects he has after dose 2. MIL probably will make out ok.

 

[Leo1277]

I had four shots at one time (two in each arm) back in my 40's (work related) and didn't react to any of them, so I'm not sure how much there is to the theory that feeling bad means your immune system is young. But hey, if it makes people feel better about feeling lousy!

Yep, nowadays with the world as it is, we grasp for every straw that gives us a reason to feel better!

 

[harllee]

DH and I, both age 70, only had sore arms after the Moderna vaccines.

 

[6miths]

I had four shots at one time (two in each arm) back in my 40's (work related) and didn't react to any of them, so I'm not sure how much there is to the theory that feeling bad means your immune system is young. But hey, if it makes people feel better about feeling lousy!

And of course everyone with kids remembers how miserable their children (with the most robust immune systems imaginable) were for days after getting any one of countless vaccinations. Oh wait, sorry forget it.

 

[Telly]

So far, I haven’t started singing Jolene. I got Moderna aka the Dolly Dose.

I got the Pfizer,
now I'm twice wiser

 

[harllee]

And of course everyone with kids remembers how miserable their children (with the most robust immune systems imaginable) were for days after getting any one of countless vaccinations. Oh wait, sorry forget it.

I don't remember about the polio vaccine but all my life I have felt awful after a Tetanus shot for days.

 

[audreyh1]

The only shot besides Shingrx that got to me was some mix for travel years ago, injected in upper butt, that had several lymph nodes swell and go hard for days. Freaky.

Got shots as a kid but I don’t remember side effects.

 

[dixonge]

Not sure where to post this info--there is a UNC Covid Recovery Clinic which has opened in my town at the University of North at Chapel Hill. It is for people who have had Covid and have long haul symptoms, which I understand is common.

I've read it affects up to 10% of those who were infected. I'm surprised it's that high, too high to call it 'rare' -- but that doesn't really make it 'common' I don't think...

 

[Amethyst]

I think it is a crap shoot. You get one, feel awful; guy next door gets one, never notices; he gets something else, is down for a day, while you walk away wondering if you even got a shot!

I don't remember about the polio vaccine but all my life I have felt awful after a Tetanus shot for days.

 

[harllee]

I've read it affects up to 10% of those who were infected. I'm surprised it's that high, too high to call it 'rare' -- but that doesn't really make it 'common' I don't think...

If 30 million in the US have had Covid and 10% of those have long term symptoms that is 3 million people --a lot of people. I have actually read that 30-40% of Covid patients have long term symptoms. That would be around 9,000,000 people. In any event there are a lot of people with continuing Covid symptoms. Certainly there are enough that special medical clinics are being opened to help those people.

 

[USGrant1962]

For those advocating for a bunch of Fed mass vaccination sites, the administration has come to the conclusion that they are horribly expensive and don't work as well as local distribution.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/29/covid-vaccine-sites-478233

Despite the money the federal government has spent on the mass-vaccination pilot sites, they are administering just a fraction of the shots given across the country each day. Federal data show the retail pharmacy program — which has signed up 21 chains and 17,000 stores — can reach far more Americans in a shorter time, according to four senior officials with direct knowledge of the matter. The bottom line, those sources said, is that more Americans seem to be willing to walk to their local pharmacist to get the vaccine than to travel to a federal vaccination site for the shot.

That represents a shift in strategy for the Biden administration, which touted the hubs as a powerful tool to rapidly accelerate the nation’s vaccine rollout and a symbol of the president’s push to give the federal government a larger role in the pandemic response. But FEMA data obtained by POLITICO make clear that the pharmacy sites are far outpacing the stadiums, arenas and convention centers enlisted as mass vaccination sites.

The whole idea of mass sites never made much sense to me. To staff them you have to draw licensed "shooters" from existing hospitals, clinics, Dr. offices and pharmacies; and on average they are much farther away from a person than the local pharmacy or hospital. Mass sites seem like an OK idea for some extremely dense urban areas but otherwise - see the article.

 

[JoeWras]

For those advocating for a bunch of Fed mass vaccination sites, the administration has come to the conclusion that they are horribly expensive and don't work as well as local distribution.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/29/covid-vaccine-sites-478233



The whole idea of mass sites never made much sense to me. To staff them you have to draw licensed "shooters" from existing hospitals, clinics, Dr. offices and pharmacies; and on average they are much farther away from a person than the local pharmacy or hospital. Mass sites seem like an OK idea for some extremely dense urban areas but otherwise - see the article.

And it also goes with why some of us still want state and local control of things COVID. We're a big, diverse country. One size does not fit all.

I was vaccinated by a tiny neighborhood pharmacy I didn't even know existed. It works.