Covid Vaccine Distribution

[Chuckanut]

A bit of good news regarding those previously infected by corona virus to go with the other good news of record and near record daily vaccinations in the USA.

@EricTopol

47m
Protection from natural immunity in follow-up of over 25,000 healthcare workers:
If you've had covid, there's an 84% lower risk of (re)infection for at least 7 months.
93% reduction in symptomatic infections.
No effect of B.1.1.7.
All good!

 

[Ready]

Don't know if anyone's posted this previously - the Washington Post provides COVID-related information for free (no paywall). There is a lot of information, and they update it as new info comes in:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/health/covid-vaccine-states-distribution-doses/

Good article. That’s the first article I’ve read that explains the breakdown of how many people have received at least one shot versus both shots. So 114 million people have received at least one shot.

Another 31 million people in the US have been confirmed to have been infected with COVID. But I recall hearing somewhere that it is estimated that as many as 100 million people in the US have been exposed to COVID even though only 31 million cases have been documented. This probably assumes that a lot of people had symptoms and recovered but never got tested for it.

If the 100 million is correct, that would suggest that as many as 214 million people have some immunity now. Not quite herd immunity but seems like it should be getting close.

 

[audreyh1]

Michigan is struggling with vaccine supply due to their horrendous outbreak. Yet they have 360,000 doses allocated that they haven’t yet ordered? Obviously some fine tuning needed.

 

[audreyh1]

Good article. That’s the first article I’ve read that explains the breakdown of how many people have received at least one shot versus both shots. So 114 million people have received at least one shot.

Another 31 million people in the US have been confirmed to have been infected with COVID. But I recall hearing somewhere that it is estimated that as many as 100 million people in the US have been exposed to COVID even though only 31 million cases have been documented. This probably assumes that a lot of people had symptoms and recovered but never got tested for it.

If the 100 million is correct, that would suggest that as many as 214 million people have some immunity now. Not quite herd immunity but seems like it should be getting close.

You can’t add those numbers together as there is likely considerable overlap. People who know that they have been infected are still encouraged to get vaccinated, and those that don’t know they had it - some of those are going to get vaccinated - hopefully most of them.

Research indicates that the vaccines provides better immunity protection than the disease itself, probably including from variants, so it’s critical for as many people to get vaccinated as possible to shut this thing down.

 

[Koolau]

Michigan is struggling with vaccine supply due to their horrendous outbreak. Yet they have 360,000 doses allocated that they haven’t yet ordered? Obviously some fine tuning needed.

We rarely get the "whole truth" here from our State gummint, but the State is essentially saying, (in my best whiney voice) "Well, 'they' just aren't sending us enough to meet the demand." I guess I'd demand a bit louder - especially since we have the oldest people in the country. I don't know what is a "fair" amount, but I don't think we're getting it. In defense of whoever "THEY" is, we have some of the very lowest numbers in the nation, though we're moving up somewhat. We also have very restrictive travel requirements - to the point, I'm a bit frightened to leave as it can be problematic to get back - especially without a smart phone to show a "valid" (ever changing as near as I can see) 72 hour or less COVID test - at your expense - even for residents. I've now had both Moderna shots, but the State is dragging its feet on a travel passport - because it can be "faked." Well, guess what, anything can be faked - the Covid info is nearly rock solid because they can track your shot down to the BOTTLE that was used on you. Naturally, YMMV.

 

[lucky penny]

Good article. That’s the first article I’ve read that explains the breakdown of how many people have received at least one shot versus both shots. So 114 million people have received at least one shot.

Another 31 million people in the US have been confirmed to have been infected with COVID. But I recall hearing somewhere that it is estimated that as many as 100 million people in the US have been exposed to COVID even though only 31 million cases have been documented. This probably assumes that a lot of people had symptoms and recovered but never got tested for it.

If the 100 million is correct, that would suggest that as many as 214 million people have some immunity now. Not quite herd immunity but seems like it should be getting close.

Probably nowhere near 214 million (yet) since a significant number of vaccinated people are very likely among the estimated 100 million who may have been exposed to COVID.

 

[Ready]

You can’t add those numbers together as there is likely considerable overlap. People who know that they have been infected are still encouraged to get vaccinated, and those that don’t know they had it - some of those are going to get vaccinated - hopefully most of them.

Research indicates that the vaccines provides better immunity protection than the disease itself, probably including from variants, so it’s critical for as many people to get vaccinated as possible to shut this thing down.

Probably nowhere near 214 million (yet) since a significant number of vaccinated people are very likely among the estimated 100 million who may have been exposed to COVID.

Yes, I did not factor in the overlap. So it’s likely not anywhere near 214 million. I don’t know if anyone is tracking any of the overlap, if that’s even possible.

I also wonder how the under 16 segment fits in here, since we are not vaccinating anyone under 16 yet and they represent a sizable portion of the population. The article says that 267 million people are eligible to receive the vaccine out of a total population of 332 million. Is the difference the under 16 population?

 

[Koolau]

Good article. That’s the first article I’ve read that explains the breakdown of how many people have received at least one shot versus both shots. So 114 million people have received at least one shot.

Another 31 million people in the US have been confirmed to have been infected with COVID. But I recall hearing somewhere that it is estimated that as many as 100 million people in the US have been exposed to COVID even though only 31 million cases have been documented. This probably assumes that a lot of people had symptoms and recovered but never got tested for it.

If the 100 million is correct, that would suggest that as many as 214 million people have some immunity now. Not quite herd immunity but seems like it should be getting close.

I do wonder just how many (we'll never know) folks are simply immune - for no "knowable" reason. I've NEVER had ANY flu and this dates to well before flu shots (which I get) became ubiquitous. Back in '57 when a third of my class was out for several weeks (the faces changed, but the % was fairly constant) I never had sniffle. In' 68, my university class was devastated by (was it Hong Kong flu?) Not a sniffle and I was as vulnerable as I'd ever been with the stress of Sr. year, overdue deadlines, problematic grades, money problems, etc. etc.) I'm not one who rubs poison ivy on my arms because I've never had it and I took flu shots from when they became available. I just think there must be some folks less prone to catching some diseases (maybe THEY get other diseases more easily.) IF we could ever identify such folks (maybe me??) we could find out why. We know why some folks don't get malaria - due to sickle'd blood cells, for instance. What is it about naturally immune folks we could learn from? Could we use their plasma to treat folks? The questions continue, but I suppose the subject is simply too defuse to really earn grant money so (sigh) YMMV.

 

[bada bing]

I completed the second dose (Moderna) 10 days ago, but it was rather convoluted getting it done. I had the first dose at a "shooting gallery" in a high school gym in Cooper Landing, Alaska. I had to travel for a family health issue and had to find the second dose in Arizona. I found an open appointment online (momentarily available at 3:00am) at a Walgreens outside of Tucson. I was 3 days late for the 28 day schedule, but no big deal. I spent some legwork to get mine as early as eligible, but really it wasn't too bad. I was eligible in Alaska by virtue of being a first responder volunteer and Arizona was 55+ by the time I got the second dose. My extended family members have all gotten at least their first dose within the last week, a mix of Pfizer and J&J is what they are finding available in Washington state and Alaska.

Or make Krispy Kreme stores vaccination sites as they're already giving away a free donut with your vaccination shot!

Funny enough, my brother said that the local Krispy Kreme shops in Wasington State were advertising a free donut for showing a fresh CDC Covid card. He and his wife stopping in for the freebie on the way home from their J&J shots.

 

[Dash man]

We had our second Pfizer shot yesterday and there really weren’t any lines. We both have been very tired and have a sore arm. Other than that it wasn’t bad at all.

 

[lucky penny]

Funny enough, my brother said that the local Krispy Kreme shops in Wasington State were advertising a free donut for showing a fresh CDC Covid card. He and his wife stopping in for the freebie on the way home from their J&J shots.

I'd heard about the donut promotion, which I imagine would appeal to many, but was astounded to learn that it's not just one donut, but A FREE DONUT EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR* just by showing your vaccination card.

Holy-moley. That's a lotta donuts.

(*At participating providers only)

https://krispykreme.com/promos/vaccineoffer

 

[Koolau]

I'd heard about the donut promotion, which I imagine would appeal to many, but was astounded to learn that it's not just one donut, but A FREE DONUT EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR* just by showing your vaccination card.

Holy-moley. That's a lotta donuts.

(*At participating providers only)

https://krispykreme.com/promos/vaccineoffer

I really like KK doughnuts, but I think about 4 days in row would be my limit. I'd have to skip the next 3 days at least. There may be no such thing as too much money or a car too fast or a girl too pretty or too much fun, but (for me) too many KK doughnuts IS possible. YMMV

 

[Ready]

I'd heard about the donut promotion, which I imagine would appeal to many, but was astounded to learn that it's not just one donut, but A FREE DONUT EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR* just by showing your vaccination card.

Holy-moley. That's a lotta donuts.

(*At participating providers only)

https://krispykreme.com/promos/vaccineoffer

That is crazy. And of course there is no way they can keep track of any of this so you could just drive around from one Krispy Kreme location to another and dine on free doughnuts all day long. Very odd.

 

[Koolau]

That is crazy. And of course there is no way they can keep track of any of this so you could just drive around from one Krispy Kreme location to another and dine on free doughnuts all day long. Very odd.

I'm betting they've already done that "calculation." One guy in 273 would get past day 3 of eating a KK doughnut at 6 different locations in a day. Maybe I'm wrong, but see my post above. Still, YMMV.

 

[Calico]

I'm betting they've already done that "calculation." One guy in 273 would get past day 3 of eating a KK doughnut at 6 different locations in a day. Maybe I'm wrong, but see my post above. Still, YMMV.

Yup, and that one guy would be dead from diabetes before too long, so the Krispy empire is safe from being bankrupted by him!

I live in NC, and I had never heard of Krispy Kreme before I moved here decades ago. While not a fan of them myself, I don't know a single person who is a fan of them who can stop at just one. Krispy & Co know exactly what they are doing - the freebie is just to get the donut fans in the door. They will most likely walk out with a box for the entire family.

 

[lucky penny]

That is crazy. And of course there is no way they can keep track of any of this so you could just drive around from one Krispy Kreme location to another and dine on free doughnuts all day long. Very odd.

KK was smart to limit the offer, which is tempting enough, to glazed donuts only. Otherwise, it would be VERY tempting to plan to get a different variety every day until you've tried every single one.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: My apologies for hijacking this thread. Time to return to our regularly scheduled programming on a very important subject.

 

[Freedom56]

There appears to be more supply than demand in Los Angeles County. So much so that they have opened it up to age 16+. I made a last minute change from one vaccine provider to another. I made an appointment on Monday for my jab on Friday April 9th. I called the provider to confirm that they were using Pfizer or Moderna but the representative stated no it's Johnson and Johnson vaccine. I said hell no and cancelled my appointment. I then went back to Myturn.ca.gov and found that most clinics were only offering Johnson and Johnson for first dose patients. I then discovered that the Kaiser Permanente medical center in Los Angeles around Hollywood was using Pfizer and got an appointment without any issues for Friday April 12th. Since I never used Kaiser, I had to request a medical record number and after that was able to book and appointment with them. I got my first dose of Pfizer today and they scheduled me for the second dose on the 30th at the same location. I did notice many for the people were in their 20's and 30's. The schedules are still wide open at most large vaccination facilities. You can book same day appointments in many cases. This makes me wonder if we are close to hitting the wall in terms of vaccination numbers. It could also be that many people don't want the Johnson and Johnson vaccine(like myself) and have elected to wait for more Pfizer and Moderna vaccine supply.

 

[bada bing]

The schedules are still wide open at most large vaccination facilities. You can book same day appointments in many cases. This makes me wonder if we are close to hitting the wall in terms of vaccination numbers.

It is going to be interesting to see what the final percentage of the population vaccinated will be. It seems like some areas of the country are starting to transition from supply limited to willing participant limited. But lots of the country seems to have a ways to go to reach that break over. I'm hoping that most of the "hesitant" will get the jab once it isn't a hassle to find a slot. No doubt, the guessing game of what the final demand will be will play into inventory surpluses or shortages going forward. I don't remember where I read it, but I think there are estimates that the USA has ordered as much as 100 million doses more than potential need, depending on what the participation rate ends up being. Supposedly there is a mechanism to donate the eventual surplus to other countries.

It could also be that many people don't want the Johnson and Johnson vaccine(like myself) and have elected to wait for more Pfizer and Moderna vaccine supply.

I was sort of agnostic about which brand I got jabbed with, but in my extended family every adult expressed a preference to get the J&J. They all expressed a preference for the one & done aspect. A couple of my siblings and in-laws were a little put off by having to accept Pfizer because that was all they could find. It will be interesting to see what preference will predominate when there are adequate supplies to allow choice.

 

[JoeWras]

I was sort of agnostic about which brand I got jabbed with, but in my extended family every adult expressed a preference to get the J&J. They all expressed a preference for the one & done aspect. A couple of my siblings and in-laws were a little put off by having to accept Pfizer because that was all they could find. It will be interesting to see what preference will predominate when there are adequate supplies to allow choice.

It will be, especially after the glitch in Denver and Raleigh where people fell out during the J&J events. Both have been attributed to normal reactions that were handled normally but got exaggerated for various reasons. Whatever the case, a reputation has developed and Denver won't use J&J at mass sites anymore. Mass sites have the disadvantage of the line of people seeing a response (ambulance, etc.) and then gossip and chaos follow. The news trucks also park at these events waiting for ... something.

 

[JoeWras]

Regarding the one-shot: I kind of wish I had it.

I'm now 28 days past my Moderna #1 and have no appt. for #2. The pharmacy has told us: "Don't call us, we'll call you... and please don't go somewhere else, we know about you."

This makes life planning difficult. I'd like to reserve 2 days with no activities due to known possible reactions.

So I'm a bit irritated. If we get no indication by Tuesday, I won't call them, I'll walk over to their office. Can I at least get a plan or rough idea of the day? They are small and don't do this kind of work weekends, so I get it. But man, at least some idea? Our friend who volunteers there says it is because they only find out about their weekly allocation at the last minute. Whatever... It is nerve wracking.

 

[Aerides]

and please don't go somewhere else, we know about you

So by day 21 I would have said stuff it. I don't think you have any obligation to wait and should just look around elsewhere. What are they gonna do? nothing. You have to take things in your own hands.

 

[audreyh1]

Regarding the one-shot: I kind of wish I had it.

I'm now 28 days past my Moderna #1 and have no appt. for #2. The pharmacy has told us: "Don't call us, we'll call you... and please don't go somewhere else, we know about you."

This makes life planning difficult. I'd like to reserve 2 days with no activities due to known possible reactions.

So I'm a bit irritated. If we get no indication by Tuesday, I won't call them, I'll walk over to their office. Can I at least get a plan or rough idea of the day? They are small and don't do this kind of work weekends, so I get it. But man, at least some idea? Our friend who volunteers there says it is because they only find out about their weekly allocation at the last minute. Whatever... It is nerve wracking.

Yeah, you are free to go somewhere else. CVS allows 2nd dose scheduling, I’m sure some others do too.

 

[JoeWras]

So by day 21 I would have said stuff it. I don't think you have any obligation to wait and should just look around elsewhere. What are they gonna do? nothing. You have to take things in your own hands.

Moderna is a 28 day wait.

My conundrum is due to the way we got it via DW's nurse friend on an extra allocation. DW doesn't want to make her friend angry. DW will be contacting friend since she has inside info, so hopefully that will work.

We have a window of time here. But I just want this over with (or a least know the date), especially since the second shot is known to disrupt life for a few days.

 

[harllee]

It will be, especially after the glitch in Denver and Raleigh where people fell out during the J&J events. Both have been attributed to normal reactions that were handled normally but got exaggerated for various reasons. Whatever the case, a reputation has developed and Denver won't use J&J at mass sites anymore. Mass sites have the disadvantage of the line of people seeing a response (ambulance, etc.) and then gossip and chaos follow. The news trucks also park at these events waiting for ... something.

The Raleigh paper had an article about the J&J side effects this week that caused them to shut down the J&J vaccines for a few days (they are going to start giving J&J again next week). What happened was that 18 people who had the J&J fainted and/or vomited and 2 had to be hospitalized. When the health people interviewed the people that had these reactions they found that these were mostly people with needle phobias who in the past had this reaction to any sort of shot. They paper interviewed one lady who had been hospitalized after the J&J shot and she said always fainted when getting any shot. People who have this issue are getting the J&J because it is only one shot so that is why there is more of this type of reaction to this particular vaccine. The health folks in Raleigh are now going to ask people if they have this phobia and if so those people are going to be allowed to lay down for the shot and are going to be given orange juice and a snack.

 

[Aerides]

Moderna is a 28 day wait.

My conundrum is due to the way we got it via DW's nurse friend on an extra allocation. DW doesn't want to make her friend angry. DW will be contacting friend since she has inside info, so hopefully that will work.

We have a window of time here. But I just want this over with (or a least know the date), especially since the second shot is known to disrupt life for a few days.

Yes I know it's 28, hence I meant at day 21, with no appointment on the horizon, I'd start looking to get one on my calendar at some other place.

I understand not wanting to upset a friend, but really, what kind of friend wouldn't understand "hi, the 4 weeks are up, we want to be safe and we got it at XYZ pharmacy."

If I had a friend who was angry at me over that, I'd think them a bit nutty.