Covid Vaccine Distribution

[explanade]

I finally found a bunch of openings at various Walgreens stores today. Not the one nearest me, but I found one almost two miles away that I'll be walking to and probably from. I made the appointments for both shots five minutes ago. My first one is tomorrow. No choice on the date for the pharmacy I chose.

And now I'm wondering if this is part of the new expanded pharmacy availability that I heard was coming this month. Maybe I should have checked other drug stores first, for something a mile away instead of two.

Depending on the store, you have to see how organized they are or not.

My first shot was an hour later than the appointment.

They had a couple dozen people waiting in the store, with little sense of when you'd get your shot.

I walked outside a couple of times, rather than stay inside waiting all that time.

 

[Boho]

I cancelled my appointment. It would have been about 6 months after the second shot when I'd be travelling over two hours on public transportation for Thanksgiving (or in a relative's car) and spending Thanksgiving with relatives. If I knew I'd have a booster shot before then, then I'd have kept the appointment. I'll wait at least another month.

 

[Amethyst]

It is so strange! For weeks and weeks, the local paper referred to "angry" and "desperate" "seniors" trying all sorts of tricks to get vaccines.

All of a sudden, health organizations and pharmacies are crying "low demand."

It's as if the major source of vaccine demand has been smart Old people (and those who want to get back to traveling, which has a distinct overlap with smart Old people), and everyone else just doesn't give a darn.

My best friend is a nurse in Erie, PA. PA just opened up vaccination to ALL ages. He's doing his normal job in the hospital and also volunteering for overtime to work in the vaccination location. He said there are many, many free appointment times for vaccination. The demand is not happening. It will be interesting to see if we even reach 50% vaccinated in my area.

 

[Amethyst]

I've said all along that there will be some people who will hold out to be paid to get vaccinated. They know it's the Administration's top priority, so "show me the money!"

Look, people have heard about the nightmares many of us have had and have thrown up their hands and said, "enough." They are waiting for easy vaccination scheduling, or walk in.
.

 

[harllee]

I've said all along that there will be some people who will hold out to be paid to get vaccinated. They know it's the Administration's top priority, so "show me the money!"

I think you may be on to something. I predict at some point a person getting a shot will get a $100 or so gift card. That's what it took at my mother's CCRC for some of the staff to finally get their shots.

 

[CaptTom]

My first shot was an hour later than the appointment.

They had a couple dozen people waiting in the store, with little sense of when you'd get your shot.

I had a similar thing happen at our Walgreens, pre-pandemic, for a different shot.

When I called, they said to schedule an appointment on their web site. I did. When my time came, they couldn't find me on their hand-written appointment scheduling sheet. They were able to look it up on line, but the appointment time meant nothing to them. The person ahead of me had been waiting 45 minutes past her appointment time, while they were attending to walk-ins who had no appointment. I left.

It sounds like they haven't improved their system for COVID shots. Oddly enough, the three clinics I've been to for the COVID vaccine (mine, my wife's and my son's) have all been very well organized, with virtually no waiting at all. Two were state-run, the other run by a hospital but held in a large hall off the hospital grounds.

 

[JoeWras]

It is so strange! For weeks and weeks, the local paper referred to "angry" and "desperate" "seniors" trying all sorts of tricks to get vaccines.

All of a sudden, health organizations and pharmacies are crying "low demand."

It's as if the major source of vaccine demand has been smart Old people (and those who want to get back to traveling, which has a distinct overlap with smart Old people), and everyone else just doesn't give a darn.

Every day that goes by (which adds time on my life), I become more and more aware of ageism. But that's probably not a good topic to expand on. So, anyhow, your other point about people waiting for "kick-backs" is becoming more and more real. Perhaps they'll make it retroactive.

I know what I'm going to do today: find my free donut and six pack.

 

[Amethyst]

We've also experienced kind, competent front-office staff, which is why I'm so disappointed with the one we have now.

The local "MD Now" urgent care place has very nice people manning the front desk, taking blood pressure, etc.

This is an interesting perception. We seem to have a a competent and effective front-office staff at our local clinic. The nursing staff is cordial (knows our histories too!) and also kind and caring. The doctors we have now seem to rally care and know their stuff. I'd say our current medical ohana is the best we've ever had. I'm sure it varies within the Islands but we are quite satisfied though YMMV.

 

[ivinsfan]

I think you may be on to something. I predict at some point a person getting a shot will get a $100 or so gift card. That's what it took at my mother's CCRC for some of the staff to finally get their shots.

What does this mean, I wonder. That people wanted it but just didn't get around to it? That people were scared of reactions but decided they'd risk it for a 100 bucks? That people massively anti-vac decided that their principles could be sold for a hundred bucks? People are strange.

 

[Amethyst]

All of these reasons; but more, I'd say, simple shrewdness.

"I don't think I really need that vaccine, but since the government wants everyone to get it, I'll just wait till they make it worth my while."

What does this mean, I wonder. That people wanted it but just didn't get around to it? That people were scared of reactions but decided they'd risk it for a 100 bucks? That people massively anti-vac decided that their principles could be sold for a hundred bucks? People are strange.

 

[disneysteve]

For weeks and weeks, the local paper referred to "angry" and "desperate" "seniors" trying all sorts of tricks to get vaccines.

All of a sudden, health organizations and pharmacies are crying "low demand."

It's as if the major source of vaccine demand has been smart Old people

It's true. So much of the vaccine sign up has been online only. That's great, but what about all of the older folks who aren't online or aren't tech savvy enough to navigate that system? A lot of them had children or grandchildren who were able to do the work for them but many didn't so they simply weren't able to schedule appointments.


Transportation is another issue. If you don't drive and don't have family nearby to take you to the vaccination site, you're out of luck. You could call a cab but that's expensive. Yes, Uber is cheaper but you need a smartphone for that which many seniors don't have.


The only way my mom got her vaccine was my wife doing all of the online work for her and driving her to the mega-site.


Now that the "easy" ones have been vaccinated, we need to figure out how to get to the rest of the population, the folks who live alone, aren't online, and don't drive or are home-bound for physical reasons. There needs to be a mobile task force that can go door to door to people who can't get to the mega-sites.

 

[audreyh1]

Agreed. Most states just opened vax to half of the adult population this week. The half that has been told for months that they are not vulnerable or important. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a lot of procrastination in that group due to the crappy messaging.

It will likely also get more urgent as people see the B.1.1.7 variant causing worse disease and more spreading in the younger folks including teenagers and college students. More may decide their risks aren’t so low after all.

 

[audreyh1]

What does this mean, I wonder. That people wanted it but just didn't get around to it? That people were scared of reactions but decided they'd risk it for a 100 bucks? That people massively anti-vac decided that their principles could be sold for a hundred bucks? People are strange.

It could very well be that way for many folks.

Certainly many procrastinators could suddenly get motivated.

 

[harllee]

Could just be apathy--"I am young so if I get Covid, no big deal." or "I am just too busy to get the vaccine now so I will get it later" But as they start offering incentives--free Krispy Kreme donuts, free 6 pack of beer, gift certificates, I predict more young people will get the shot. One of the local colleges (Duke) is going to to require all students to be vaccinated before they can return to college next fall. Another local college (UNC-G) is having a lottery. Students who are vaccinated can enter a lottery for a free semester's housing, free meal plan, free text books, etc. I am fine with whatever it takes to get everyone vaccinated. All the young people in my family have been vaccinated (except for the 15 year old who is not eligible yet). But I had decided that if any of the young people in my family were hesitant to be vaccinated I was going to offer them an incentive (had not decided whether is was going to be a carrot or a stick).

 

[tmm99]

Could just be apathy--"I am young so if I get Covid, no big deal." or "I am just too busy to get the vaccine now so I will get it later" But as they start offering incentives--free Krispy Kreme donuts, free 6 pack of beer, gift certificates, I predict more young people will get the shot. One of the local colleges (Duke) is going to to require all students to be vaccinated before they can return to college next fall. Another local college (UNC-G) is having a lottery. Students who are vaccinated can enter a lottery for a free semester's housing, free meal plan, free text books, etc. I am fine with whatever it takes to get everyone vaccinated. All the young people in my family have been vaccinated (except for the 15 year old who is not eligible yet). But I had decided that if any of the young people in my family were hesitant to be vaccinated I was going to offer them an incentive (had not decided whether is was going to be a carrot or a stick).

I think all these are good ideas/incentives.

 

[Boho]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-booster-shots-moderna-fall/

"COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna will make a third booster shot for its two-dose vaccine available to Americans by the fall, CEO Stéphane Bancel said this week...There will be likely a need for a third dose, somewhere between six and 12 months."

Moderna sounds like the best vaccine choice for people wanting to gather at Thanksgiving, like me. I'm glad I canceled Pfizer.

 

[Chuckanut]

It is so strange! For weeks and weeks, the local paper referred to "angry" and "desperate" "seniors" trying all sorts of tricks to get vaccines.

All of a sudden, health organizations and pharmacies are crying "low demand."

The problem is that there is a decided negative slant to most Covid related reporting. We can't hear good news and celebrate, not even for one day. All good news must be taken with huge doses of warnings about variants, the inferiority of certain vaccines, long lists of things people still can't do even if vaccinated, and now stories about the very very few people who got sick and died after being vaccinated. Let's add in the head of the CDC's recent comment about 'impending DOOM'. Why comply if there is little benefit, you might die, and we are doomed anyway?

I remember one local health authority criticizing grand parents about hugging the grand-kids if they only had the first shot and the 2nd shot was delayed. Really? The first shot is 80% effective. Let people make that decision for themselves without being scolded.

Then toss in the modern [-]merchants of fear[/-] news media, which exaggerates any problem or issue with near hysterical reporting.

No wonder people are confused.

 

[gayl]

The problem is that there is a decided negative slant to most [Covid] related reporting.

true for all reporting. IE: massive food lines with very little coverage on Food Fresh Federal program inc how approval is faster than ever. So instead of saying
>"hey people, apply for federal food program and shop at your local grocers on the taxpayers dime" they say "long food lines / people going hungry."
"online appointments open at MN" it's "you can't get an appointment. "
>"6 high BMI people out of 6.8m get blood clots whereas it's 2 in a million in the general population with those (weight) factors" it's "BLOOD CLOTS!"

 

[Koolau]

Yeah, I used to blame the "media" but I quit it. It's like blaming a tiger for biting little kids who stick their hands in the cage or like blaming a politician for being "whatever." It's pointless. You ARE what you make your living at. Media now are in the click-bait business - not real news. If anyone is surprised that they emphasize bad news or slant things toward the sensational - keep in mind they've been getting here over the past 40 or 50 years (primarily when TV became our news source - now, it's social media which requires even less thought or commitment.)

So, I have adopted the philosophy that I will look out for myself, do as much of my own research as possible, lean on my own internal BS meter, laugh instead of cry when I see folks "reacting" to the latest Covid dis-information and "Believe half of what I see and none of what I hear." YMMV

 

[Chuckanut]

Well, here's something that was probably predictable:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/expat-...accination-shots-11618651800?mod=hp_lead_pos4

Reverse medical tourism is occurring as US Expats are returning to the USA to get their vaccine shot(s).

“They’re getting vaccinated right and left,” said Cheryl Walling, a 61-year-old retiree in Spain, speaking of her compatriots back in Arizona. “I’m jealous. I’m so jealous.”

In suburban Tokyo, Kat Callahan was fed up with the glacial vaccination pace in Japan, where about 1% of the population has gotten a dose. The 37-year-old civics teacher and union organizer has underlying health conditions and felt increasingly uncomfortable about taking progressively crowded trains into the city for meetings that had to be held in person. “I don’t feel comfortable going out,” she said.

In Berlin, Lucas Mathis booked a flight next month to see his parents in Oklahoma City. He plans to get fully vaccinated while he’s there. Germany, which has given at least one dose to 18% of its population, shows no signs of easing lockdown measures. His daily routine of isolation and meandering walks was driving him bananas.
“The idea of going out to eat on a restaurant’s patio and having tacos with my parents sounds like a trip to Disneyland at this point,”

 

[explanade]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-booster-shots-moderna-fall/

"COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna will make a third booster shot for its two-dose vaccine available to Americans by the fall, CEO Stéphane Bancel said this week...There will be likely a need for a third dose, somewhere between six and 12 months."

Moderna sounds like the best vaccine choice for people wanting to gather at Thanksgiving, like me. I'm glad I canceled Pfizer.

Some people dispute the need for booster shots. Or don't believe the need has been established yet.

T-Cell response to all variants are good.

So whether or not additional shots are needed is to be determined.

All vaccine makers are preparing booster though just in case.

 

[RobbieB]

I don't worry about this stuff. Kaiser will inform me of anything I need to do.

Looking forward to a road trip next month. I'm vacc'd, wife is vacc'd. Vegas, Phoenix and LA on the flip side.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

I've said all along that there will be some people who will hold out to be paid to get vaccinated. They know it's the Administration's top priority, so "show me the money!"

They may or may not get to see the money, but there's lots of dead bodies to see already. Anyone who can get vaccinated but doesn't, gets no sympathy from me.

 

[audreyh1]

Some people dispute the need for booster shots. Or don't believe the need has been established yet.

T-Cell response to all variants are good.

So whether or not additional shots are needed is to be determined.

All vaccine makers are preparing booster though just in case.

Israel study determined that a disproportionate number of breakthrough infections with Pfizer were the South Africa variant, so the vaccine is not as effective against st it and Pfizer is working on a booster for handling variants like that.

 

[tmm99]

Israel study determined that a disproportionate number of breakthrough infections with Pfizer were the South Africa variant, so the vaccine is not as effective against st it and Pfizer is working on a booster for handling variants like that.

Do you happen to know if the current Pfizer vaccine gives SOME protection against the S. Africa variant?