Covid Vaccine Distribution

[MrsHaloFIRE]

I had emergency dental work done at an office with one of those huge air sucky things right by me. I texted a pic to my bestie an orthodontist and she wrote back "oh sh#t every germ and particle in the building is getting sucked right by your face." My happiness was dimmed... Alas I did not contract covid.

 

[Chuckanut]

My dentist is new. My old dentist sold the business to this new person. My last exam all they used was a surgical type mask that was obviously not a good seal.

I will be finding another dentist.

 

[SecondCor521]

Laying on your back, unmasked, with your mouth wide open in a fairly small office seems unnecessarily risky at current rates of COVID infection. I'm hoping that the dentist, the hygienist, the other patients and I will all be vaccinated by July. I can afford to wait a few extra months for a cleaning.

Ah, OK. I *think* the dentists and dental hygienists in my state are part of the 1A priority wave of folks who are mostly all vaccinated now. But the other patients and the close quarters is understandably a potential issue.

I had a cleaning a few months ago, and they took what I felt were pretty good precautions, but maybe not full-on bulletproof.

My sister is a family practice doctor, and I know that she and her fellow practitioners are very carefully weighing the cost/benefit of all patient interactions both from the patient point of view, public health point of view, and their own safety point of view, as well as considering resource constraints such as PPE, vaccines, and doctors and nurses themselves. Managing ongoing conditions such as diabetes or well-baby checkups or pregnancy care is full of tradeoffs. It's a careful and difficult balancing act that changes with new information regularly. I think they're working very hard to give people the best care possible under challenging circumstances and I think in most cases they're doing really well.

 

[simple girl]

My biggest concern regarding a dental visit is aerosols left in the room from other patients, not the dental staff or fomites on surfaces. The latter can be easily controlled via proper PPE and surface cleaning procedures.

However, aerosolized COVID can last in the air for several hours if there is not good air ventilation. Several dental procedures are known to cause aerosols.

Dental handpieces, ultrasonic scalers, and the air-water syringes used in common dental practice are capable of producing aerosols, which are usually a mix of air and water derived from these devices and the patient’s saliva.
Article source

Because of the ability of aerosols to remain suspended in the air and travel further than splash and splatter, and distant contamination may occur, and there is potential for disease transmission, even after the infected person has left the vicinity.34,38-40


So, I have delayed any non-urgent dental services since the pandemic started.

Of course if I develop an issue I would go, but I would question the dental office about their procedures in detail, and would hopefully be able to find a practice that has HEPA air purifiers in each patient room, placed appropriately (there are articles out there that detail this).

Also, I would ideally choose the first patient appointment of the day (preferably on a Monday morning) to reduce the risk of aerosols still being present in the air from a prior patient.

Hoping I get vaccinated before any issues arise...I have a history of needing emergent dental care for cracked teeth/root canals.

 

[ivinsfan]

Well the state of MN has finished the nursing home and assisted living vaccines. All first dose and most second dose have been provided.

The bad news is only 81% of residents have agreed to take the vaccine. This really gives me pause about what the rate the public in general will get vaccinated. Another bad news/good news issue is that our infection rate has dropped like a rock and we are back to our June numbers and still failing. I feel like since it's such a hassle to actually get a vaccine that people are going to think it's over and even less will opt for vaccination.

On a personal note, finally managed to sign up at a pharmacy about 12 miles from here. Our state and the Feds FINALLY allowed some doses to get to our local stores. Spent half the day online trying but the two of us will get jabbed on Monday.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Getting my 2nd. Moderna Tomorrow....

 

[audreyh1]

Well, until that vaccine supply opens up, I’m not going to worry about the folks refusing the vaccine. When the vaccines are much easier to get, and I think they will be, I bet more folks will be willing, and the PSAs can persuade more of the reluctant. 81% is not bad, really.

DH confirmed his appointment for his 2nd Pfizer dose on Friday.

I’m still 4 years too young to be eligible.

 

[ivinsfan]

Well, until that vaccine supply opens up, I’m not going to worry about the folks refusing the vaccine. When the vaccines are much easier to get, and I think they will be, I bet more folks will be willing, and the PSAs can persuade more of the reluctant. 81% is not bad, really.

Well if only 81% of people locked up a nursing home for a year take it, I'm just curious about what the general public will do.

You are right though we won't know until we have much more vaccine available.

 

[Koolau]

For sure. I just delayed an appointment with my dentist and hygienist for two and a half months, hoping I can get my covid vaccinations by then.

When Megacorp took away our retiree dental insurance benefit ($18/month for the family!) we spread out our 6 month cleanings to 1 year. We each asked our hygienist how we were doing with our home care and she assured us we were in good shape. So one year between cleanings was fine. Well, so far, we've missed our 1 year (due to Covid) and are hoping to get to the dentist by the end of year 2. I wonder what the hygienist will say THIS time. YMMV

 

[NateW]

....Just wanted to encourage anyone who happens to have a good dentist that they trust a lot, to go ahead and make an appointment if they are having dental problems and really think they need it soon. Otherwise waiting until you can get vaccinated might be a good alternative if it provides you with some degree of protection.

I've been holding off going to the dentist. Last time I went was December 2019 due to what I view as increased risk of contracting Covid if I go. Before that I went pretty much every 6 months for dental cleanings/exams. I've also been flossing a little more regularly since it's been so long since I've had a check-up. About two months ago I began to notice what I thought was a small chip in one of my teeth. I could feel the roughness with my tongue. Didn't think much of it because I have other teeth with small chips. Well, a few days ago I decided to take a look at that tooth, using a good light and mirror. It's not a chip, but a little hole in the center of the tooth. Ut oh, cavity, I thought. I Googled "what does a cavity look like" and what I read described what I saw.

I'm waiting for a call back from the dentist's office DW went to recently (we moved to a new location 2 years ago), so I guess I have to go in.

I also should scheduled a physical; I've been holding out on that too.

 

[harllee]

Getting my 2nd. Moderna Tomorrow....

Me too!

 

[harllee]

Well if only 81% of people locked up a nursing home for a year take it, I'm just curious about what the general public will do.

You are right though we won't know until we have much more vaccine available.

Part of the problem with giving the vaccine to nursing home residents is that many of the residents are not competent to give consent so their attorney in fact or guardian had to give the consent. The nursing home at my mother's CCRC had a very hard time getting consents for the residents who were not competent. They had to track down family members, etc. I wonder if that could be part of the problem?

 

[braumeister]

I've been holding off going to the dentist. Last time I went was December 2019 due to what I view as increased risk of contracting Covid if I go.

In case it might help, here's my experience.
We have a wonderful long time dentist so that's a factor.

Last summer when our regular appointments came up we decided that everyone in the dentist's office was probably at least as nervous as we were, because they get to come in contact with a bunch of people every day. So we went ahead.

Arriving on time, we were the only ones in the waiting room, so that was a good sign. We were immediately given the forehead temperature scan and asked to fill out a short questionnaire about our health. Everyone was masked.

On entering the exam room, everything appeared to be utterly sanitized, and when I sat down in the chair I was shown a tray with a fresh napkin on it where I could set my mask.

The whole staff was great, showing real concern for conditions, and I certainly would never hesitate again to show up there.

My guess is that most dentists operate much like this these days, so I encourage you to go ahead and make an appointment to get examined.

 

[MichaelB]

Part of the problem with giving the vaccine to nursing home residents is that many of the residents are not competent to give consent so their attorney in fact or guardian had to give the consent. The nursing home at my mother's CCRC had a very hard time getting consents for the residents who were not competent. They had to track down family members, etc. I wonder if that could be part of the problem?

Same problem at my mother's ALF. A fair number of residents suffer from cognitive decline and if the ALF wasn't given medical POA someone else needs to authorize.

 

[harllee]

Regarding Covid risks at the dentist's office. Awhile back I did some research and found that there had not been any outbreaks of Covid at any dentist offices in my area (unlike restaurants where there have been many outbreaks). So I decided to go for my dental cleaning. Most everyone I know has gone back to their dentist for their regular appointments. To me going to the dentist is important for my health.

 

[Sue J]

On Tuesday 2/9, our county (Summit County, Ohio) opened up the appointment signup for age 65 and over. DH told me that he was going to try to get an appointment when the website went live at noon. I thought I'd give it a try, too. Right away we both kept getting "Gateway Timeout" errors and I tried on a few tabs and got nowhere. I went to close the tabs and move on and one of them finally had connected and I went through the steps and got a confirmed appointment! I clicked "make another appointment" to get one for DH and never could connect again! Turns out the website crashed at 12:09pm and was down the rest of the day.

All the appointments were for today, Thursday, Feb.11th. My appointment was for noon and I got there a few minutes early, waited in line about 10 minutes with 8-10 other cars in a well managed line. Someone came to my car and took my drivers license, scanned it and brought it back. Proceeded forward to another checkpoint and then a line of 3-5 cars until someone came to my car to give me the vaccine. I got the official Vaccine Card (Pfizer) and a note about how to make an appointment for the second dose. Then we had to pull around to the back parking lot to sit and wait 15 minutes in case of a reaction. There were attendants back there if you had questions or any kind of reaction. I was fine and stayed only about 10 minutes.

This was well run and not a hassle at all. The toughest part was getting my arm back into my coat sleeve while sitting in my car!

I'm so glad to have been able to get this. I just wish DH had gotten an appointment, he's really quite jealous. I'm hoping that if I get a response from other places that I've registered that he can take my slot since I won't be using it.

We have both been registered at a local drug store chain and a grocery that both are taking names but have no vaccine yet. Also, as a former patient of the Cleveland Clinic they told me that they would let me know when they have a vaccine supply. So far, no one has it except our county health department and they only had 500 doses for today!

 

[harllee]

Sue J, could your DH try other nearby counties? I could never get an appointment in my county but I was able to get vaccinated in an adjacent less populated county. Where I live, the county health departments post vaccine information on their Facebook pages.

 

[MichaelB]

Trying to help a family member secure an appointment. Walgreen is one of the pharmacies. They make you sign up for an online account and provide some personal info before checking to see if there is availability. Unsurprisingly, once all that is done, there’s nothing available. But they do have one more online account and I’m sure someone is closer to annual target.

 

[explanade]

Got our mother vaccinated this afternoon, Moderna with a return appointment.

Got it from Stanford, with online appointment, as someone posted in this thread.

Very useful!

 

[Sanstar]

DH and I just got #2 Moderna. In line for 2 hours. So cold when we got to the entrance, the temp check device wouldn’t register.

 

[RobbieB]

I signed up on the ca.gov site for appointment notification. We'll see if Kaiser or CA comes in first.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

I got lucky and got my first Moderna vaccine last night. I don't qualify for the current phase but just happened to be in the right place at the right time at a doctors office that was vaccinating those who qualified. At the end of the day they will offer any remaining vaccines from an open vial to anyone since they will have to be tossed if not used. After I got mine she asked if I knew anyone else who could get there immediately so I was able to call my daughter, her husband and my son and we all got it. This was about 8.00 o'clock last night. The shot was painless to all of us however they are whining about a sore arm today. Mine is fine unless I rub the arm then I feel a tiny pain around the injection site but not enough to complain about. I'm very thankful.

 

[deserat]

I live in Germany and work for US Army supporting Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and Europe region. I received my first vaccine dose (Moderna) 5 Jan. My arm was sore for a few days. I received my second vaccine dose 9 Feb. My arm is still sore; the night after the vaccine I had a slight fever, mild soreness in all of my body, a very sore arm and exhaustion. That persisted the next day until I took Motrin. I am now 2 days after and feel fine except small residual soreness in my shot arm.

As for my behavior, I will wear my mask while shopping. I don't and am not required to by German government to wear it while outside or in small gatherings of people I know. I am hoping to begin traveling again soon.

 

[eytonxav]

DW and I received our 2nd vaccinations today, and experienced another very smooth and fast process in Tarrant County. We arrived in the car line a little before 10:00 AM and made into the convention center and back home around 11:00. We got the Moderna vaccine. No reactions thus far, although my shoulder stiffened up a little sooner than with the first shot.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I got lucky and got my first Moderna vaccine last night. I don't qualify for the current phase but just happened to be in the right place at the right time at a doctors office that was vaccinating those who qualified. At the end of the day they will offer any remaining vaccines from an open vial to anyone since they will have to be tossed if not used. After I got mine she asked if I knew anyone else who could get there immediately so I was able to call my daughter, her husband and my son and we all got it. This was about 8.00 o'clock last night. The shot was painless to all of us however they are whining about a sore arm today. Mine is fine unless I rub the arm then I feel a tiny pain around the injection site but not enough to complain about. I'm very thankful.

I’m curious about this situation. Have they also committed to giving you your second dose at the right time?