Covid Vaccine Distribution

[GoBears]

Received my second Pfizer vaccine this morning at the John Muir Hospital in Concord. I completed my registration early on-line so my check in was only about 3 minutes. I was vaccinated, waited the allotted 15 minutes, and was out the door within 35 minutes after arriving. John Muir emailed my 24 year old son last week and told him he could book his appointment, which is now set for Wednesday. DW will get her second Moderna shot at a Contra Costa County drive through site in Brentwood on the 24th. Once everyone is fully vaccinated, I suspect we will celebrate with our first dine-in restaurant meal in over a year.

 

[Dtail]

My DGF and I received our 2nd shots, but can't find any openings for my brother yet.

 

[Amethyst]

Two local anecdotes (southeast Florida):

1) At the gym, overheard two men telling each other they'd gotten their vaccine. Second man said "And my kid got an appointment for the day after he called!" Judging by the dad, I assume the "kid" would be between 18 and 30.

2) An infectious-disease doctor, whom we saw for vaccines when we were traveling, sent an email to all patients saying to call for a Pfizer vaccine at her office. And here I thought, Pfizer storage requirements were too tough for regular doctor's offices?

 

[Amethyst]

Great! I was relieved to see that the sushi place, where we normally go for celebrations, is still in business. That's where we are headed, once I've had my 2 shots + 2 weeks.

Once everyone is fully vaccinated, I suspect we will celebrate with our first dine-in restaurant meal in over a year.

 

[Amethyst]

There seems to be some latitude, at least with Pfizer.
When we got our first Pfizer shots, the county health department told us they will schedule the 2nd one three weeks out.
But, that we are free to get our 2nd shot anywhere we wish, as long as it is no more than 7 weeks from the first shot.
I was surprised to learn we could wait that long (not that we'd want to! Gitter done!)

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.

 

[disneysteve]

Two local anecdotes (southeast Florida):

1) At the gym, overheard two men telling each other they'd gotten their vaccine. Second man said "And my kid got an appointment for the day after he called!" Judging by the dad, I assume the "kid" would be between 18 and 30.

2) An infectious-disease doctor, whom we saw for vaccines when we were traveling, sent an email to all patients saying to call for a Pfizer vaccine at her office. And here I thought, Pfizer storage requirements were too tough for regular doctor's offices?

Regarding #1, I'm glad people are getting in. I have many friends and relatives in Florida and they really struggled to get appointments. I hope that's eased up.


Regarding #2, there are offices that have the low temp freezers needed to store the Pfizer vaccine. Being an ID practice, they may have decided it was worth getting one if they didn't already have it. I do think it's more likely that the J&J vaccine will be the one that finds its way into many doctors' offices.

 

[audreyh1]

I believe Pfizer has lifted some of the more onerous freezer conditions. For example, the vaccine is good up to one week under less stringent freezer conditions. CVS told me someone brings them dry ice every day.

Plenty of pharmacies are carrying Pfizer, so they clearly figured this particular puzzle out.

 

[braumeister]

Regarding #2, there are offices that have the low temp freezers needed to store the Pfizer vaccine. Being an ID practice, they may have decided it was worth getting one if they didn't already have it. I do think it's more likely that the J&J vaccine will be the one that finds its way into many doctors' offices.

I suspect the capability is more widespread than we thought. One of our local ice cream makers not only ships their product all over the country but will even sell you small quantities of dry ice, so they obviously have a good internal source of it.

 

[explanade]

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.

Who said they didn't deserve it?

But do they deserve to jump the line?


I'm about 25 hours after my Pfizer first shot. Sore at the injection site. But it was worse last night.

No fever though maybe feeling a bit groggy at night.

Compared to Shingrix, maybe about the same arm pain at the worst point but it's gone down more quickly.

 

[Aerides]

Who said they didn't deserve it?

But do they deserve to jump the line?

I decided a while back I can either drive myself nuts sizing up "line-skippers", or just assume that many of them might have very real reasons that aren't obvious to me.

HC workers, Teachers, cancer patients, immuno-suppressed, any one of a dozen legit reasons to be ahead of me according to state guidelines. Might not agree with the order, but not my job to decide. My only job was to find my spot and slide right in and go when it was my turn. So I did.

At this point, for anyone under 65 at least, the priority order has meant a difference of only a matter of weeks.

 

[Koolau]

We got our 2nd Moderna shot Sunday (Easter!). Arm was sore and warm for 24 hours but no other issues. We've been told, full immunity could be as long as 4 more weeks. We'll maintain our Covid Vigil (masks and distancing) in any case - belt and suspenders plus elastic waist band. :cool smiley: YMMV

 

[braumeister]

We got our 2nd Moderna shot Sunday (Easter!). Arm was sore and warm for 24 hours but no other issues. We've been told, full immunity could be as long as 4 more weeks.

Three weeks after my second Moderna shot I suddenly felt far better, completely back to normal. No more fatigue, no worries at all. They always say that two weeks is the standard, so maybe it took me an extra week but that's hardly significant. It has been six weeks now and I've never felt better. My state and the neighboring state still have mask mandates so that helps me psychologically as well.

 

[Chuckanut]

Great! I was relieved to see that the sushi place, where we normally go for celebrations, is still in business. That's where we are headed, once I've had my 2 shots + 2 weeks.

My stimulus money came via a Debit Card this time. I gave most to my two children as I have done in the past. But this time, I left a bit for myself. That last bit I put on my account at the local coffee-house/watering-hole near me which has somehow managed to survive and is now in the process of reopening their inside service. And with the weather warming up their piazza like outdoor area is as tempting as ever.

 

[Amethyst]

Stimulus money? What's that?

My stimulus money came via a Debit Card this time.

 

[steelyman]

I got the Moderna shot today. UNC had a nice setup at the Friday Center, a conference venue not far from campus. Very orderly and no wait except for the 15 minutes post-jab.

 

[Alan]

DD got her first Pfizer shot today. She lives in Mid City LA and said it was just 10 minutes away at the Expo near USC. She called yesterday lunchtime for the appointment today and wasn’t even on hold. She has her second shot booked for April 27.

She turned 40 end of February so was very pleased indeed to get it so soon.

 

[explanade]

Well in CA she's not suppose to get her shot yet unless she has some specific health conditions or work in certain jobs.


Not as egregious as say a month or two ago when you heard about some cases of jumping lines.

In a week it will all be moot.

 

[TrvlBug]

Well in CA she's not suppose to get her shot yet unless she has some specific health conditions or work in certain jobs.


Not as egregious as say a month or two ago when you heard about some cases of jumping lines.

In a week it will all be moot.

Depends. The state says no, however, some counties have opened it up to 16+.

 

[Chuckanut]

Stimulus money? What's that?

It's a secret we of the peasant class know about. The rich folks are like the baffled Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey when she asks her working class relative, "What's a weekend?"

 

[disneysteve]

Depends. The state says no, however, some counties have opened it up to 16+.

Yep. Not all cities and counties follow the same rules as the state. I know Philadelphia is on a different schedule than the PA rules.

 

[gayl]

Well in CA she's not suppose to get her shot yet unless she has some specific health conditions or work in certain jobs.


Not as egregious as say a month or two ago when you heard about some cases of jumping lines.

In a week it will all be moot.

Its been 16+ for well over a week. On the news today they said 50% of those between 16-50 are done. It will go just as fast in other regions

 

[orchid55]

Yes, my daughter age 38 and grandson age 16 were able to get their shots last week in Tennessee even though the state wasn't opening up for those ages until yesterday. They found an individual county that was open to 16 and up and got the shots there.

 

[Amethyst]

We of the "pension class," who pay all the taxes, know not of this "have lots of money, but little income" which fooleth the tax authorities into sending checks to rich people.

Anyway, good for you for putting the stimulus money back into the economy, as was intended.

It's a secret we of the peasant class know about. The rich folks are like the baffled Dowager Countess in in Downton Abbey when she asks her working class relative, "What's a weekend?"

 

[cathy63]

Its been 16+ for well over a week. On the news today they said 50% of those between 16-50 are done. It will go just as fast in other regions

That's true in Contra Costa County, which is moving faster than the rest of the state. Los Angeles County is still only open to 50+. They will go to 16+ on April 15 when everyone else does.

 

[tmm99]

Three weeks after my second Moderna shot I suddenly felt far better, completely back to normal. No more fatigue, no worries at all. They always say that two weeks is the standard, so maybe it took me an extra week but that's hardly significant. It has been six weeks now and I've never felt better. My state and the neighboring state still have mask mandates so that helps me psychologically as well.

Wow, it took three weeks? I'll remember this, and not worry if it takes me weeks to feel better.