Are vaccines the light at the end of the tunnel?

[K.T.B.]

Well, with the news yesterday that the US government is buying an additional 200 million doses of Moderna & Pfizer (LINK), there is absolutely zero excuse for 100 % of the adult population (18+) to not be vaccinated by August.  There will actually be an excess of dosages, so that means teens can then be vaccinated, assuming there's no risk.  (So far it appears there is no risk.)

 

It appears there is light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not an oncoming train!

[phoenix_dream]

14 minutes ago, K.T.B. said:

Well, with the news yesterday that the US government is buying an additional 200 million doses of Moderna & Pfizer (LINK), there is absolutely zero excuse for 100 % of the adult population (18+) to not be vaccinated by August.  There will actually be an excess of dosages, so that means teens can then be vaccinated, assuming there's no risk.  (So far it appears there is no risk.)

 

It appears there is light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not an oncoming train!

Getting vaccine versus administering it is the key.  As a fellow Chicagoland person I'm surprised you don't share my skepticism about our ability to administer it effectively.  We are currently WAY near the bottom of the list with states and their efficiency.  Hopefully we will improve!

[Arizona Wildcat]

25 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

Getting vaccine versus administering it is the key.  As a fellow Chicagoland person I'm surprised you don't share my skepticism about our ability to administer it effectively.  We are currently WAY near the bottom of the list with states and their efficiency.  Hopefully we will improve!

Born in Chicagoland.  You need Mayor Dailey - father not son - to return.  He got McCormick Place rebuilt after a fire in under a year.  Would take 10 years now.

Arizona program is capable of injecting at about twice current level.  5.4M adults and at about 20% injected.  About 5% fully vaccinated.  Three tier system.  State with big 24/7 sites.  Counties with 8-7 sites and smaller towns with local sites.  Website disaster on startup better.  Just need to get to March when vaccine availability improves lots!

[hcat]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

Well I think you picked the right winter to come back for snow and ice.  We are having the worst winter here in southeast PA in recent memory.

Yup. The forecast for next week where we are headed shows snowflakes every day,   Hopefully, flying won't be affected...esp if we go through getting the  Covid test 3 days ahead as per NY Rules,    In the winter it's a risk we take.

 

Feeling better somewhat from the vaccination # 2  today but the after effects  were not a great experience to say the least! But over with for now. Hope the annual boosters are one shot deals..and easier to book.

Edited February 12, 2021 by hcat

[K.T.B.]

1 hour ago, phoenix_dream said:

Getting vaccine versus administering it is the key.  As a fellow Chicagoland person I'm surprised you don't share my skepticism about our ability to administer it effectively.  We are currently WAY near the bottom of the list with states and their efficiency.  Hopefully we will improve!

 

Right now?  You're correct.  In the next couple of months, I think it'll be a heck of a lot easier.  I know that Walgreens will be getting up and running for distributing the vaccine soon.  

 

Here's a good article on the subject of pharmacies giving vaccinations:  LINK

[nocl]

5 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

Getting vaccine versus administering it is the key.  As a fellow Chicagoland person I'm surprised you don't share my skepticism about our ability to administer it effectively.  We are currently WAY near the bottom of the list with states and their efficiency.  Hopefully we will improve!

Things will get much better once you get supply in the hands of those that do most of the vaccinations in the US, the commercial pharmacies. The longer the county health departments keep total control on vaccinations the longer it will take.

[phoenix_dream]

22 minutes ago, nocl said:

Things will get much better once you get supply in the hands of those that do most of the vaccinations in the US, the commercial pharmacies. The longer the county health departments keep total control on vaccinations the longer it will take.

One would hope, and yet.............

 

My 95 year old aunt in a nursing home just got her first shot this Monday.  In Illinois, at least in our area,  CVS and Walgreens were coordinating the long term care homes.  Now, admittedly, not sure if it was the fault of the facility for doing a poor job or the pharmacies, but it doesn't give me the warm fuzzies just because the pharmacies are doing it based on this timeline.  The nursing homes were supposed to be vaccinating in mid to early January, not February.  I'm sure things will get better, but it remains very frustrating.  

Edited February 12, 2021 by phoenix_dream

[D C]

42 minutes ago, nocl said:

Things will get much better once you get supply in the hands of those that do most of the vaccinations in the US, the commercial pharmacies. The longer the county health departments keep total control on vaccinations the longer it will take.

Bingo!   

[cangelmd]

Just read a summary of where we are in Alabama. After a somewhat dismal start, the numbers reported caught up with what was actually going on - 65% of doses received have been given, and that does not include a big surge effort this week where some of the backlog was given.

interesting points that were made

African-Americans in AL have been vaccinated at about twice the national average, although still too low a number. Our drive in clinics are almost all staffed and run by local hospitals, it is too logistically difficult and quite expensive to run those mass sites without lots of vaccine to give out, so now that most of the stockpiled vaccine is given, the mass drive thru sites are closing for the time being. I get the sense from the state health officer’s tone, that they are still concerned about vaccine stock going forward and are hanging on to at least some second doses “with a person’s name on them”.

Retail pharmacies will get the bulk of vaccination done, but until there is a large and steady supply, the process will be disjointed.

[larry_s_taco]

I saw a post from Indiana State Dept of Health that said one in nine people have received their vaccine. 

They are on the 65 and above list now. (High risk, front line, and the 70 -80 classes were already started/completed depending on who consented to it)  I got the vaccine within 3 days of sign up, and they already gave me the appointment for the follow up vaccine. 

[TeeRick]

18 hours ago, nocl said:

Things will get much better once you get supply in the hands of those that do most of the vaccinations in the US, the commercial pharmacies. The longer the county health departments keep total control on vaccinations the longer it will take.

Yes exactly.  Unfortunately in my state (PA) the county where I live even controls some of the pharmacies.  If you want a vaccine at RiteAid pharmacy you need to register with the county and get on the same wait list.  I have not seen any evidence that CVS and Walgreens is even taking appointments for Covid vaccines.  Same for pharmacies associated with grocery stores.  Hopefully this all changes soon.

[mimbecky]

45 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Yes exactly.  Unfortunately in my state (PA) the county where I live even controls some of the pharmacies.  If you want a vaccine at RiteAid pharmacy you need to register with the county and get on the same wait list.  I have not seen any evidence that CVS and Walgreens is even taking appointments for Covid vaccines.  Same for pharmacies associated with grocery stores.  Hopefully this all changes soon.

Yes, I hope so too.  I have in laws outside of Pittsburgh who are eligible and have been looking for quite some time, without any luck. 😢

M

[paulh84]

On 2/12/2021 at 7:52 AM, phoenix_dream said:

Getting vaccine versus administering it is the key.  As a fellow Chicagoland person I'm surprised you don't share my skepticism about our ability to administer it effectively.  We are currently WAY near the bottom of the list with states and their efficiency.  Hopefully we will improve!

 

Although we ae much better off than our neighbors to the west who chose to prioritize rural areas chock-full of deniers and anti maskers, selecting two pharmacy chains for the federal retail pharmacy program that are not located in their two most populated areas STL and KC. But the governor, errr sheriff, says the numbers are all wrong. All wrong. I feel sorry for the residents of those states. 

[Suzanne123]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

Yes exactly.  Unfortunately in my state (PA) the county where I live even controls some of the pharmacies.  If you want a vaccine at RiteAid pharmacy you need to register with the county and get on the same wait list.  I have not seen any evidence that CVS and Walgreens is even taking appointments for Covid vaccines.  Same for pharmacies associated with grocery stores.  Hopefully this all changes soon.

The first night they announced age 65+ on the news I was able to get a next day appointment on Jan 23rd with the rite-aid link on the Pa Dept of Health web site map.  There were 2700+ people ahead of me on line, and I waited for over an hour, only to get a “ no vaccine within 50 miles” message. However, it did allow me 10 minutes to put in additional zip codes, so I just started  tapping in numbers between here and Pittsburgh.  I got lucky and found an appointment about two hours drive from here in the mountains where there are more deer than people.🙂

 My second dose (Moderna) is next Saturday.  
 

[nocl]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

Yes exactly.  Unfortunately in my state (PA) the county where I live even controls some of the pharmacies.  If you want a vaccine at RiteAid pharmacy you need to register with the county and get on the same wait list.  I have not seen any evidence that CVS and Walgreens is even taking appointments for Covid vaccines.  Same for pharmacies associated with grocery stores.  Hopefully this all changes soon.

Central coast of CA just opened for those over 65. County had no appointments. Checked Abertsons, Walgreens and CVS websites. CVS had appointments starting 2 days out. So yes in some areas the companies are taking direct appointments.

[deadzone1003]

On 2/12/2021 at 5:36 AM, K.T.B. said:

Well, with the news yesterday that the US government is buying an additional 200 million doses of Moderna & Pfizer (LINK), there is absolutely zero excuse for 100 % of the adult population (18+) to not be vaccinated by August.  There will actually be an excess of dosages, so that means teens can then be vaccinated, assuming there's no risk.  (So far it appears there is no risk.)

 

It appears there is light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not an oncoming train!

Unless they are planning not to approve the J&J vaccine, it will be a almost total waste of money.  Delivering and distributing the Pfizer vaccine will be a nightmare during the June/July.  I hope the purchase allows for switching adult vaccines to children's vaccines.  Before this latest vaccine purchase and if J&J vaccine gets approved, we will already have purchased enough vaccine for 300,000,000 adults in the USA.  The entire adult population who are willing to be vaccinated will likely to be vaccinated before this new order starts getting delivered.  Like I said, unless they are not approving the J&J vaccine, a total waste of money.

[LGW59]

1 minute ago, deadzone1003 said:

Unless they are planning not to approve the J&J vaccine, it will be a almost total waste of money.  Delivering and distributing the Pfizer vaccine will be a nightmare during the June/July.  I hope the purchase allows for switching adult vaccines to children's vaccines.  Before this latest vaccine purchase and if J&J vaccine gets approved, we will already have purchased enough vaccine for 300,000,000 adults in the USA.  The entire adult population who are willing to be vaccinated will likely to be vaccinated before this new order starts getting delivered.  Like I said, unless they are not approving the J&J vaccine, a total waste of money.

🙄🙄

[Charles4515]

25 minutes ago, deadzone1003 said:

Unless they are planning not to approve the J&J vaccine, it will be a almost total waste of money.  Delivering and distributing the Pfizer vaccine will be a nightmare during the June/July.  I hope the purchase allows for switching adult vaccines to children's vaccines.  Before this latest vaccine purchase and if J&J vaccine gets approved, we will already have purchased enough vaccine for 300,000,000 adults in the USA.  The entire adult population who are willing to be vaccinated will likely to be vaccinated before this new order starts getting delivered.  Like I said, unless they are not approving the J&J vaccine, a total waste of money.

 

J&J is having production problems at the Baltimore plant they are bringing online to manufacture their vaccine. Their rollout is expected to be slow. If we don't use much of it in the US there will likely be other countries who will take it off our hands.

[nocl]

58 minutes ago, deadzone1003 said:

Unless they are planning not to approve the J&J vaccine, it will be a almost total waste of money.  Delivering and distributing the Pfizer vaccine will be a nightmare during the June/July.  I hope the purchase allows for switching adult vaccines to children's vaccines.  Before this latest vaccine purchase and if J&J vaccine gets approved, we will already have purchased enough vaccine for 300,000,000 adults in the USA.  The entire adult population who are willing to be vaccinated will likely to be vaccinated before this new order starts getting delivered.  Like I said, unless they are not approving the J&J vaccine, a total waste of money.

Not much difference delivering and distributing the vaccine in June and July than there is in the winter.  The shippers work equally well, the freezers at the end points will still work.  Really no more issues in the summer than in the winter

[phoenix_dream]

5 hours ago, Suzanne123 said:

The first night they announced age 65+ on the news I was able to get a next day appointment on Jan 23rd with the rite-aid link on the Pa Dept of Health web site map.  There were 2700+ people ahead of me on line, and I waited for over an hour, only to get a “ no vaccine within 50 miles” message. However, it did allow me 10 minutes to put in additional zip codes, so I just started  tapping in numbers between here and Pittsburgh.  I got lucky and found an appointment about two hours drive from here in the mountains where there are more deer than people.🙂

 My second dose (Moderna) is next Saturday.  
 

Great minds think alike.  We found a reservation at a Walgreens 2 1/2 hours from us.  Going for our second dose this Wednesday.  We figured the miles were well worth the effort to get the vaccine.  The chance of getting it anywhere near us is slim and slimmer.

[hcat]

11 hours ago, Suzanne123 said:

The first night they announced age 65+ on the news I was able to get a next day appointment on Jan 23rd with the rite-aid link on the Pa Dept of Health web site map.  There were 2700+ people ahead of me on line, and I waited for over an hour, only to get a “ no vaccine within 50 miles” message. However, it did allow me 10 minutes to put in additional zip codes, so I just started  tapping in numbers between here and Pittsburgh.  I got lucky and found an appointment about two hours drive from here in the mountains where there are more deer than people.🙂

 My second dose (Moderna) is next Saturday.  
 

Yes..it pays to  search & travel a bit.  Has worked for us while  some of our neighbors in  our more populated area are  on 1400 person waiting lists that never seem to move!

 

Good luck with shot 2..was a bit rougher recovery this time..needed a few days

[Wine-O]

11 hours ago, hcat said:

Yes..it pays to  search & travel a bit.  Has worked for us while  some of our neighbors in  our more populated area are  on 1400 person waiting lists that never seem to move!

 

Good luck with shot 2..was a bit rougher recovery this time..needed a few days

I guess we all have different reactions.  My 2nd shot was similar to a flu shot.  Just a slight soreness for a day or so.   The shingles shot (both doses) was the worst reaction I've ever had.  🍷

[TeeRick]

Here are the pharmacies participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program according to the CDC.   If you scroll down there is a list for each state (Link below).

 

Do not assume major pharmacies are in the program for your particular state.  The list is a bit surprising.  For my state (PA) it only lists Rite Aid and Topco Associates (some pharmacies in grocery stores).  No CVS.  No Walgreens.  No Walmart or Costco.  Very limited.    Other states might have more participation and more options.  So check out the list and save yourself some time.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/retail-pharmacy-program/participating-pharmacies.html

[mimbecky]

Now being told California will open vaccinations mid March to these groups. Just thought there might be interest in the parameters.  Happy that smoking is not included but surprised about pregnancy since I thought that vaccines for pregnant women was questionable. This is a jump- teachers were to be next and that doesn't appear to be the case now.  Not saying it is a bad thing at all but find that the goal posts keep moving, everything definitely in flux.

• Cancer
• Chronic kidney disease
• Chronic pulmonary disease
• Down syndrome
• Weakened immune system from solid organ transplant
• Pregnancy
• Sickle cell disease
• Heart conditions
• Severe obesity
• And Type 2 diabetes mellitus

[K.T.B.]

23 hours ago, deadzone1003 said:

Unless they are planning not to approve the J&J vaccine, it will be a almost total waste of money.  Delivering and distributing the Pfizer vaccine will be a nightmare during the June/July.  I hope the purchase allows for switching adult vaccines to children's vaccines.  Before this latest vaccine purchase and if J&J vaccine gets approved, we will already have purchased enough vaccine for 300,000,000 adults in the USA.  The entire adult population who are willing to be vaccinated will likely to be vaccinated before this new order starts getting delivered.  Like I said, unless they are not approving the J&J vaccine, a total waste of money.

 

22 hours ago, nocl said:

Not much difference delivering and distributing the vaccine in June and July than there is in the winter.  The shippers work equally well, the freezers at the end points will still work.  Really no more issues in the summer than in the winter

 

Exactly what nocl said.  Besides, at least here in Illinois, they're amping up the ability to get vaccinated at local pharmacies.  I still think my dates will be fairly accurate.