Covid Vaccine Distribution

[Lagniappe]

I just look at the vaccination card I got from Walgreens. It is actually a piece of paper that has been copied many times. In the upper right corner where all the cards I see online have the CDC logo, it just has a Walgreens logo. It looks like someone intentionally pasted a Walgreens logo over the CDC one, then coped the card onto a half sheet of paper. There is no reference to the CDC at all. It does have the lines for the dates and names of the 1st and second shots.

Is this a valid vaccine "card"? I am concerned because I'd like to start travelling again soon, and I'm not sure this piece of paper will get me very far.

 

[braumeister]

I believe that will get you into any Walgreens in the country.

 

[explanade]

I thought you were getting J&J

Around here, the Bay Area, most of it seems to be Pfizer that's available.

I checked up to 50 miles from my zip code.

 

[disneysteve]

I saw a lot of people well under 50 at this WG in CA. Not overweight or unhealthy-looking people, thin, dark-haired people under 40.


A couple of them drove off in Teslas.

What significance is there to what color hair they have or what kind of car they drive?


For that matter, how healthy they appear doesn't really tell you anything either. You can't see asthma or diabetes or heart disease or any number of other conditions that would qualify you for a vaccine.


New Jersey just announced that everyone can get a vaccine beginning 4/19. Pennsylvania made the same announcement last week. So the whole tier thing is going away soon regardless.

 

[MissMolly]

Just got back from my first shot at Walgreens.

What a mess. They have you check in and then you wait. I got mine about an hour after it was scheduled and since I got there early, I waited about 75-80 minutes.

There were probably at least 2 dozen people waiting to check in or waiting to get the shot. One person giving shots behind a makeshift little booth.

People were hanging around and there were regular store and pharmacy customers.

It took 3-5 minutes each time someone went into the booth before they came out. Apparently he verifies some of the details you entered in the form.

So I saw a lot of people well under 50 at this WG in CA. Not overweight or unhealthy-looking people, thin, dark-haired people under 40.

I guess they either were in essential jobs or had health conditions. A couple of them drove off in Teslas -- I went outside a couple of times while waiting.

I'm trying to change my second appt. but the WG website now shows no availability and they probably won't let you schedule more than a week out.

Some websites like Albertson's (Safeway and Luckys) don't let you schedule anything but first dose.

That was not my experience at Walgreens at all. Not either time and at two different stores. I checked in, handed the pharmacist the form I had filled out at home and printed out. She checked in a couple of more people and handed them a clipboard since they had not filled out their forms ahead of time. 5 minutes later I was getting my shot. Waited my 15 minutes and left. Was in and out within 30 minutes.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Wisconsin opened up to everyone 16 years and older today.

 

[ivinsfan]

I can't figure out how Tesla got dragged into this thread.

 

[harllee]

Here in NC the vaccines open up for anyone tomorrow

 

[tulak]

I had my 2nd shot of Pfizer this morning. There was a long line before they opened, but then things moved quickly. Took about 30 minutes plus a 15 min wait after. Feel fine, maybe a little tired. Good reason to take a nap.

 

[gayl]

Around here, the Bay Area, most of it seems to be Pfizer that's available.

I checked up to 50 miles from my zip code.

I had a hard time finding J&J. Mine still says J&J. [emoji1696]

 

[explanade]

They’re only suppose to be over 50 or have critical conditions or essential workers.

IOW, a couple of young, healthy people probably working for one of the tech companies, not a supermarket or restaurant worker. Not too many of them drive Tesla’s.

 

[Calico]

What significance is there to what color hair they have or what kind of car they drive?


For that matter, how healthy they appear doesn't really tell you anything either. You can't see asthma or diabetes or heart disease or any number of other conditions that would qualify you for a vaccine. <snip>

+100

 

[ABQ2015]

That was not my experience at Walgreens at all. Not either time and at two different stores. I checked in, handed the pharmacist the form I had filled out at home and printed out. She checked in a couple of more people and handed them a clipboard since they had not filled out their forms ahead of time. 5 minutes later I was getting my shot. Waited my 15 minutes and left. Was in and out within 30 minutes.

My first vaccine dose at Walgreens was similar to explanade. Took about 60 minutes to get vaccine and 15 minute wait. Had to fill out long form at Walgreens as not available online. The second vaccine took much less time similar to your experience although still had to fill out the same form.

I was in the age 16-74 group with underlying conditions and got my first dose 5 weeks after that group became eligible. When you have more than an hour to stand in line, you start to make observations. Most of the people there were middle class, middle aged or younger seniors with a few 75+. Some were obese but otherwise hard to tell their medical condition as they looked healthy. Also could have been older healthcare workers. I was surprised there were only a few minorities in line as my city is about half Hispanic/half Anglo.

My state has a central vaccine registration system that selects from qualified groups at random and provides a list of available appointments in your city. No proof of medical condition is required. Not that I suspect that the people at Walgreens that day lied but I am sure that lying is common and some people have admitted as much to me.

 

[gayl]

They’re only suppose to be over 50 or have critical conditions or essential workers.

IOW, a couple of young, healthy people probably working for one of the tech companies, not a supermarket or restaurant worker. Not too many of them drive Tesla’s.

Contra Costa County changed to 16+ last week

 

[rodi]

I have become somewhat of an expert in getting vaccine appointments.

DH had his first shot 2 months ago when they first opened up to over 65. Appt's were very hard to get... I figured out the county website for supercenters updated randomly with more appts and put in the time/effort to checking it throughout the day. Found an appt for him at a supercenter site 10 miles east of us.

Then they opened up for people over 50 with various pre-existing conditions. I qualified under the "fat" category. No appts to be found. Discovered that sometimes the supercenter county website would say "no appointments available" but have a few appts available... Unfortunately, when I'd click, they'd already be taken... But I upped my game of clicking on the links even when it said no appts available. Got lucky and got an appointment for later the same day about 3 weeks ago. That was for a supercenter site about 20 miles north of us.

Then older son finished his training for his new job at a grocery store... I started looking for an appointment for him - since he now qualified as an essential food worker. And - they'd opened up a statewide website (myturn.ca.gov) that included some different super sites than the county, as well as vons and CVS. My third time logging on to the site showed a wide open block of appointments at the UCSD supersite about 3 miles from our house.

Younger son then pointed out that he worked at a food concessioner in a tourist area - which makes him a food worker... So I worked to get him an appt. That was the most challenging since he has high school classes in the morning, swim team in the afternoon, and work on the weekends.... But last week was spring break and I was able to snag him a morning appointment through the state website at another supersite about 8 miles north. His was a drive through.

His friends/coworkers were so impressed that he'd gotten a vaccine appointment - so he shared the multiple websites I'd been hitting. Two more of his coworkers spent the time/effort to get an appointment. His boss hears about this and tries - gives up after one attempt to get an appointment... apparently he doesn't want it bad enough.

It definitely takes some effort to get an appointment... but it's doable here in San Diego. 4 people in the system... all at supersites... but all at different supersites. LOL

 

[Major Tom]

A couple of them drove off in Teslas -- I went outside a couple of times while waiting.

Even people who drive Teslas are deserving of good healthcare

I got the J&J one-shot vaccine here in Oakland (SF East Bay), on Saturday. Developed a mild fever 12 hours later, which lasted for about 24 hours. As of this morning, I feel back to normal. My whole experience has been very positive. The Berkeley clinic of which I am a member, does a very good job of reaching out to, and communicating with it's patients. They texted me with the number to call, to set up an appointment with a local pop-up vaccination site. I called, and was able to set up an appointment for 2 days later. In contrast, I have a neighbor who is a senior with health issues. He is insured with Kaiser. They seem to have done nothing to help him get the vaccine. Over a month after he became eligible, he is still not quite sure how he is going to get his shot. He is not the savviest when it comes to using the internet. I know several seniors like this, who are not being helped by the health insurers they are signed up with, to get their COVID shots. Some folk really need help, and not all are getting it.

 

[tulak]

It’s interesting how appointment availability varies throughout the US. I would think that in my state (WA) it might be more difficult, but I’ve looked at appointment availability over the last few weeks and there are always appointments available. Sometimes you might have to drive a bit further or wait a few days, but I don’t see any scarcity of vaccines/appointments.

I have noticed that there appears to be more Moderna vs Pfizer over the last couple of weeks. And I don’t think J&J is readily available, even though I overheard they’ll have J&J tomorrow at the clinic I went to this morning.

 

[Leo1277]

I had earlier reported some problems scheduling our Pfizer second dose at Walgreens, and had to resort to a trick to get the right date:

...
A word of caution: we asked for a round 2 Pfizer appointment exactly 3 weeks after the first Pfizer shot, and it claimed we can't get an appointment and will be eligible only one week later; so it seems it is programmed to wait 4 weeks also for Pfizer. Since I (like everyone else here) know this is incorrect, we tricked the system by claiming that we got the first shot 1 week earlier, and it could book us. It's strange and I don't like it, but I think under the circumstances what I did was appropriate.
...

Apparently I was not the only one with this trouble, as reported now in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/business/covid-vaccine-pfizer-walgreens-three-weeks.html

Walgreens Not Following U.S. Guidance on Pfizer Vaccine Spacing
After complaints from customers and the C.D.C., the pharmacy chain will start scheduling doses three weeks apart.
...
Walgreens has inoculated hundreds of thousands of Americans against Covid-19 this year using the vaccine developed by Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. But the pharmacy chain has not been following guidance from federal health officials about the timing of [FONT=&quot]second doses.[/FONT] People are supposed to get two doses, three weeks apart. Walgreens, however, separated them by four weeks because that made it faster and simpler for the company to schedule appointments.
...
The company’s vaccine-scheduling system by default schedules all second doses four weeks after the first. Doses of Moderna’s vaccine, which Walgreens is also administering, are supposed to be spaced four weeks apart. Using the same gap for both vaccines was “the easiest way to stand up the process based on our capabilities at the time,” Dr. Kevin Ban, Walgreens’ chief medical officer, said in an interview. Now Walgreens is changing its system. Starting as soon as the end of the week, the pharmacy will automatically schedule people for Pfizer doses three weeks apart, Dr. Ban said.
...
Experts said they were troubled. “It is not the role of a private, for-profit company to make public health decisions that should be determined by guidelines issued by a public health authority,” said Lawrence Gostin, a global health law professor at Georgetown University. Dima Qato, a pharmacist and associate professor at the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy, said she was concerned about how the public perceived inconsistent messages about spacing doses of the same vaccine. “As we’re trying to build trust in this pandemic, I think this may push us back,” Dr. Qato said.

So until this fix is implemented, you can use the same trick we used on the Walgreens site. I think this is overall quite disappointing and reflects poorly on Walgreens. Scheduling appointments properly is one of the most basic things a healthcare provider should be able to do.

 

[Calico]

<snip>So until this fix is implemented, you can use the same trick we used on the Walgreens site. I think this is overall quite disappointing and reflects poorly on Walgreens. Scheduling appointments properly is one of the most basic things a healthcare provider should be able to do.

From the article:

"Walgreens has been administering the second dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine a week after federal guidelines say it is ideally delivered, but the chain will change its policy to come into line with the government's recommendations."

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/walgreens-switch-second-dose-pfizer-192951125.html

Problem solved.

 

[Leo1277]

From the article:
"Walgreens has been administering the second dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine a week after federal guidelines say it is ideally delivered, but the chain will change its policy to come into line with the government's recommendations."
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/walgreens-switch-second-dose-pfizer-192951125.html
Problem solved.

From the New York Times article, in the text I pasted:

Starting as soon as the end of the week, the pharmacy will automatically schedule people for Pfizer doses three weeks apart, Dr. Ban said.

So not before the end of the week, and possibly later, and there are all those who got dose 1 in the last 4 weeks and are already incorrectly scheduled. Until it really works you can try the workaround.

 

[RobbieB]

Kaiser here has been top notch. As soon as your tier is available they email you that you can schedule your appointment. Fast and orderly when you arrive. Certificate when you leave.

I'm sure they will be spot on for boosters too.

 

[Major Tom]

Kaiser here has been top notch. As soon as your tier is available they email you that you can schedule your appointment. Fast and orderly when you arrive. Certificate when you leave.

I'm sure they will be spot on for boosters too.

That's good to know.

 

[RobbieB]

Maybe you should talk to your neighbor about checking email, setting texting up?

If he's not getting a stream of mail or texts from Kaiser something is wrong.

They are on me constantly;
You need a shingles shot
You need a pneumonia shot
You need a tetnus shot
Did you get your flu shot
You are now able to schedule your covid shot

If he's not getting this stream something is amiss.

 

[ivinsfan]

From the New York Times article, in the text I pasted:
So not before the end of the week, and possibly later, and there are all those who got dose 1 in the last 4 weeks and are already incorrectly scheduled. Until it really works you can try the workaround.

You are trying to get people worked up over nothing here.

 

[Major Tom]

Maybe you should talk to your neighbor about checking email, setting texting up?

If he's not getting a stream of mail or texts from Kaiser something is wrong.

They are on me constantly;
You need a shingles shot
You need a pneumonia shot
You need a tetnus shot
Did you get your flu shot
You are now able to schedule your covid shot

If he's not getting this stream something is amiss.

Will do. Thanks Robbie.