Covid Vaccine Distribution

[audreyh1]

My neighbor is 90 and got contacted by the VA about getting a vaccine. He is supposed to contact them today for further details. I’ll try to post any further info.

Some much older friends too, whom we visited briefly today to drop something off. Turned out they had already been contacted by the local hospital last week where they have volunteered, to come in for the Pfizer vaccine. So they got the first shot, and have an appointment next week for the second. We were so happy to hear that as they are in their late 80s.

 

[Sunset]

Some much older friends too, whom we visited briefly today to drop something off. Turned out they had already been contacted by the local hospital last week where they have volunteered, to come in for the Pfizer vaccine. So they got the first shot, and have an appointment next week for the second. We were so happy to hear that as they are in their late 80s.

It pays to volunteer

 

[iloveyoga]

I live in Iowa and I can't find any information on when and how we will get vaccines. My Mom is 80 and I would sure like to know.

 

[JoeWras]

It is easy to do logistical planning from my retirement room here, with a nice warm heater running as I sip coffee.

Who is going to do all the work of injecting, preparing, paperwork, etc.? It is not a trivial task to get the workers. There are only so many to go around, unless perhaps we come out of retirement and lend a hand and be real boots on the ground.

With that in mind, one NC county (Cumberland) announced they are suspending testing so that they can put their limited resources to vaccination.

Logistical problems indeed.

 

[harllee]

I was able to get my 89 year old mother a vaccination appointment for this Friday. The vaccinations will be given by her county health department at the local community college. On the radio this morning the county health dept spokesman said:

They had 1100 doses available that had to to be given to those over 75
All 1100 appointments were given out in 45 minutes (mainly online because the phone was jammed--The health dept person said this was a problem because many over 75 in the county do not have internet access)
In the county there is less than 5,000 people over age 75 (and some of those are in nursing homes and have already got the vaccine)
The health dept plans to do another over 75 vaccine as soon as they receive more vaccine.

On the sign up page there was no requirement that the person receiving the vaccine live in the county. I bet some of the 1100 sign ups were from larger neighboring counties that have not started the over 75 vaccinations yet.

 

[JoeWras]

On the sign up page there was no requirement that the person receiving the vaccine live in the county. I bet some of the 1100 sign ups were from larger neighboring counties that have not started the over 75 vaccinations yet.

This is why I think Bezos and his billions could help. He has all the infrastructure in place. It is very easy to limit sign ups to a county. Amazon can limit it to a neighborhood.

Raleigh knows where you are when you sign up for parks stuff. There's no reason a county can't limit it to residents.

 

[Rex]

Covid Vaccine Experience in Florida

Just passing along our fantastic experience getting Mother (age 79) vaccinated in Florida.

We filled out the online form from the County Health Dept 1/3 (Sunday), got a call 1/4 (Monday) and told appointment at 8:30am today (Tuesday).

Got her in and out and now back home (9:30am). No lines, very organized.....And she's got her appointment for shot #2 in 28 days!

I'm very impressed with how Florida is/has prioritized the elderly and how efficient government worked....

Goodbye Covid!

 

[braumeister]

Threads merged.

 

[harllee]

When I signed my mother up for her over age 75 vaccine appointment they were using sign up software called "EventBrit" which I have seen used to party invitations. SMH--but at least it was better than pictures I have seen of elderly people in line all night waiting for the vaccine in "first come fist serve" free for alls.

 

[harllee]

Just passing along our fantastic experience getting Mother (age 79) vaccinated in Florida.

We filled out the online form from the County Health Dept 1/3 (Sunday), got a call 1/4 (Monday) and told appointment at 8:30am today (Tuesday).

Got her in and out and now back home (9:30am). No lines, very organized.....And she's got her appointment for shot #2 in 28 days!

I'm very impressed with how Florida is/has prioritized the elderly and how efficient government worked....

Goodbye Covid!

Glad it went so smoothly for your mother., sounds very organized. I guess it must be different in different parts of Florida--I have seen pictures from Florida of elderly people in long lines waiting for "first come first serve" vaccines.

 

[Badger]

Glad it went so smoothly for your mother., sounds very organized. I guess it must be different in different parts of Florida--I have seen pictures from Florida of elderly people in long lines waiting for "first come first serve" vaccines.

It sure is different in different parts of Florida. Those pictures are more indicative of the reality in Florida. In the major city where I live it is extremely screwed up. Jammed phone lines to get an appointment, people getting injections that are not in the qualified groups, long lines exceeding the limited availability, improperly stored vaccine, etc. Our local news stations are kept busy reporting the daily vaccine stories while trying to put a positive spin on the problems.


Cheers!

 

[explanade]

It is easy to do logistical planning from my retirement room here, with a nice warm heater running as I sip coffee.

Who is going to do all the work of injecting, preparing, paperwork, etc.? It is not a trivial task to get the workers. There are only so many to go around, unless perhaps we come out of retirement and lend a hand and be real boots on the ground.

With that in mind, one NC county (Cumberland) announced they are suspending testing so that they can put their limited resources to vaccination.

Logistical problems indeed.

Just saw an interview with the CEO of a company called Color. He used to work at Google and Twitter.

His company works out logistics so they've expanded and set up things like drive in covid testing.

He talked about software to identify how best to deliver public health services to communities, the last mile.

He noted some populations like migrant farm workers, who are unable to travel beyond a certain number of miles to get tested or get vaccinated.

He said while people would have to go drive whatever distance required to get to a hospital for things like surgery, for very minor procedures like vaccination, they could roll out services to the community.

So maybe his company can help some communities but unless it's a big company, they probably can't help everyone.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

When I signed my mother up for her over age 75 vaccine appointment they were using sign up software called "EventBrit" which I have seen used to party invitations. SMH--but at least it was better than pictures I have seen of elderly people in line all night waiting for the vaccine in "first come fist serve" free for alls.

An article describing some of the issues with using the Eventbrite software to schedule vaccine delivery -

Yes, a platform best known for selling and distributing concert, party, and meetup tickets is now being used to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to some of the most vulnerable people in society. It is not going particularly well. People who want to get a vaccine are sitting on Eventbrite’s pages waiting for vaccine slots to become available, refreshing the page, and trying to get a spot as though it were a Playstation 5 or a hot concert ticket.

Through Eventbrite, Florida’s state health department has partnered with health departments in the counties of Collier, Brevard, Manatee, Monroe, Volusia, Pasco, Sarasota, and Seminole to organize COVID-19 testing as well as priority vaccination of individuals 65 years or older. Healthcare providers such as Baycare, one of the largest healthcare systems in the state, have also used Eventbrite to organize vaccination programs and are now offering drive-thru programs in the state.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkd...covid-19-vaccine-slots-and-its-not-going-well

 

[Gumby]

I spy an opportunity for ticket scalping.

 

[timo2]

We could do better: an example

Freezer broke, doses given out in less than 2 hours.

"At 11:35 on Monday morning, senior staff at Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Medical Center in Mendocino County were holding their first 2021 executive meeting when the hospital pharmacist interrupted: The compressor on a freezer storing 830 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine had stopped working hours earlier, and the alarm meant to guard against such failure had failed.

The Moderna vaccine is shipped and stored at frozen temperatures, and stays stable up to 8 degrees Celsius in a regular refrigerator for up to 30 days. But once it reaches room temperature, as it did in the Adventist freezer, it must be used within 12 hours. By the time the freezer problem was discovered, the vials had been creeping towards warm for some time.

By noon, within 15 minutes after learning of the freezer failure, shots were being administered at all four sites. Lines began to form as word spread and some staff was siphoned off for crowd control, which Winiger said was “insane.”

At the site Winiger ran, about 30 people were turned away after the doses ran out. At the main site near the hospital, she estimates about 120 people left without the shot.

But by the two-hour deadline, every dose had found a patient, said Winiger.


https://www.latimes.com/california/...ifornia-town-had-to-use-or-lose-vaccine-shots

 

[travelover]

I just wish we'd had time to plan for this. Who had any idea we'd need a local distribution plan?

 

[harllee]

I just wish we'd had time to plan for this. Who had any idea we'd need a local distribution plan?

And what we constantly heard was that there was going to be 50% of the people who did not want the vaccine when in reality it appears more likely 90% want the vaccine and are frustrated they cannot get it any time soon. What a mess.

 

[Rex]

It sure is different in different parts of Florida. Those pictures are more indicative of the reality in Florida. In the major city where I live it is extremely screwed up. Jammed phone lines to get an appointment, people getting injections that are not in the qualified groups, long lines exceeding the limited availability, improperly stored vaccine, etc. Our local news stations are kept busy reporting the daily vaccine stories while trying to put a positive spin on the problems.


Cheers!

Well, she is a Floridian and that's our first hand experience in Florida today....I hope other Floridians chime in with their personal experience vs what the media may be hyping today. Bottom line, it worked for her, was slick as silk and we are grateful Floridians.

 

[Chuckanut]

At the site Winiger ran, about 30 people were turned away after the doses ran out. At the main site near the hospital, she estimates about 120 people left without the shot.

But by the two-hour deadline, every dose had found a patient, said Winiger.

Obviously, that county needs to run more Public Service ads telling people how safe the vaccine is, and encouraging them to get vaccinated.

Am I the only person thinking our leaders are worrying too much about small groups of people who may refuse to be vaccinated and not enough about getting the vast majority vaccinated? After all only about 2500 Americans a day are dying of this disease. Foolish me for thinking that every day the vaccine is delayed is costing a a dozen or more lives.

https://eminetra.com/transcript-sco...-in-face-the-nation-on-january-3-2021/285016/

DR. GOTTLIEB: Well, I’m not vaccinated fast enough to create a backstop against the epidemic of this new variant. Currently, there are some estimates that new variants probably account for about 1% of all infectious diseases in the country. By March, it will be the majority of infections. It will grow rapidly. Therefore, one of the real keys to controlling this new variant is to control the epidemic. That means what we have done, wearing masks, and keeping a social distance, but it also means getting more people vaccinated quickly. I think the presence of this new variant, which spreads more easily, even in the more general population, creates more urgency in getting this vaccine faster and trying to vaccinate more people. I will. Currently, there is a lot of excess demand for vaccines, especially in the elderly. I think we need to consider quickly going through these stages we have envisioned and quickly transitioning to a general vaccination program for people aged 65 and over.

 

[MichaelB]

Well, she is a Floridian and that's our first hand experience in Florida today....I hope other Floridians chime in with their personal experience vs what the media may be hyping today. Bottom line, it worked for her, was slick as silk and we are grateful Floridians.

My 92 year old mother is in an assisted living facility in Broward County in South Florida. Her facility has communicated well during the pandemic, informed us the vaccines will be administered by CVS, but have no information regarding date. From their last communication (dated 12/30)

The pharmacy will administer COVID-19 vaccinations through an on-site clinic model, making it easy and convenient for our residents and team members to get vaccinated. The timing of these clinics is based upon the Governor’s orders, in which senior living communities have yet to be addressed.

 

[foxfirev5]

You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they've tried everything else. - Churchill

 

[Popeye]

We could do better: an example

Freezer broke, doses given out in less than 2 hours.

"At 11:35 on Monday morning, senior staff at Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Medical Center in Mendocino County were holding their first 2021 executive meeting when the hospital pharmacist interrupted: The compressor on a freezer storing 830 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine had stopped working hours earlier, and the alarm meant to guard against such failure had failed.

The Moderna vaccine is shipped and stored at frozen temperatures, and stays stable up to 8 degrees Celsius in a regular refrigerator for up to 30 days. But once it reaches room temperature, as it did in the Adventist freezer, it must be used within 12 hours. By the time the freezer problem was discovered, the vials had been creeping towards warm for some time.

By noon, within 15 minutes after learning of the freezer failure, shots were being administered at all four sites. Lines began to form as word spread and some staff was siphoned off for crowd control, which Winiger said was “insane.”

At the site Winiger ran, about 30 people were turned away after the doses ran out. At the main site near the hospital, she estimates about 120 people left without the shot.

But by the two-hour deadline, every dose had found a patient, said Winiger.


https://www.latimes.com/california/...ifornia-town-had-to-use-or-lose-vaccine-shots

This story makes me think that it’s the bureaucracy that’s the bottleneck. Maybe it’s time to reward states that are doing better with additional doses. Take the next shipments from the 10 worst states in percents of doses used and redirect them to the 10 states with the highest percents used. When I looked this morning, California had 1.4 million unused doses. Why should they get any more until they put a dent in that backlog? If the states can’t get it done, ship direct to the pharmacy chains.

 

[statsman]

When I looked this morning, California had 1.4 million unused doses. Why should they get any more until they put a dent in that backlog? If the states can’t get it done, ship direct to the pharmacy chains.

This +1000

 

[Ronstar]

Uh oh - drinking alcohol night before before or immediately after vaccination reduces effectiveness of the vaccine.

https://nypost.com/2021/01/04/alcohol-can-reduce-effectiveness-of-covid-vaccine-experts/

 

[foxfirev5]

Uh oh - drinking alcohol night before before or immediately after vaccination reduces effectiveness of the vaccine.

https://nypost.com/2021/01/04/alcohol-can-reduce-effectiveness-of-covid-vaccine-experts/

If those are the only parameters I can work with it.