VACCINE AVAILABILITY

[DeeniEncinitas]

2 hours ago, sandiego1 said:

I volunteered at the Del Mar Fairgrounds vaccine site twice in the last few days. I was an "observer" after people got the vaccine (I have no medical background so couldn't do intake or actually give the shot). I was outside setting timers to ensure people waited their 15 minutes and queried them to ensure they were feeling well, before releasing them. I did over 20,000 steps which is 10.2 miles in the 5 hour shift.

 

Without fail, everyone said that the process in Del Mar was very efficient and they were so happy to finally get the shot.  On Friday, they gave 500 shots. On Sunday, it was 1000. They are ramping up over the next few weeks to get to 6000/day. I will be volunteering at least once per week going forward. I am not eligible for a vaccine yet and hope to be able to get 1 of the leftovers at some point (they rightly go to any law enforcement volunteers, and then by age). On Fri, there were 5 left over. Yesterday, only 10. They run a very lean process!

 

There are lots of appointments available at Del Mar. I encourage everyone to take advantage of it if you are eligible. Del Mar is a drive up site. You never leave your car.  And it's fast. You will likely be in and out within 30 minutes. There are also plenty of appointments available at Grossmont Center  and South Bay (both currently have hundreds open every day). Also, lots of Fire/Rescue places are doing it. It is hard to get an appt at Petco site (lack of Moderna vaccines) and small pharmacies. But there are PLENTY of other places that have tons of availability.

 

If you live in San Diego county and are eligible, there is no excuse not to get a vaccine now - even if you have to drive a little ways. 🙂 

I am also one of the volunteers as a retired DDS that has been giving the shots. It is affiliated with Scripps Hospital. I live in Leucadia and am affiliated with Scripps. It was very busy on Sunday! Thank you for your volunteering much appreciated! The smiles from the patients is well worth it!

Denise😊

[nocl]

On 2/21/2021 at 7:24 PM, mcrcruiser said:

We were not talking about  600 to 700 million doses but ,a steady stream of supply that would meet the local community  demand  with appointments . Still the Federal government imo  dropped the ball in this regard 

If there was a steady stream of supply to meet all local community demand there would not be a shortage.  There is a shortage so by definition there is not enough to meet appointment demand in all locations.

[ontheweb]

47 minutes ago, nocl said:

If there was a steady stream of supply to meet all local community demand there would not be a shortage.  There is a shortage so by definition there is not enough to meet appointment demand in all locations.

And there was just a temporary shortage due to the awful winter weather screwing up the delivery of the vaccine. Personally, DW and I were affected by this as we had appointments for our second Modena vaccines on 2/19, four weeks after our initial vaccinations. We received a phone call on 2/18 postponing our appointments until 3/1.

[KroozNut]

7 hours ago, ontheweb said:

And there was just a temporary shortage due to the awful winter weather screwing up the delivery of the vaccine. Personally, DW and I were affected by this as we had appointments for our second Modena vaccines on 2/19, four weeks after our initial vaccinations. We received a phone call on 2/18 postponing our appointments until 3/1.

We feel for you, as we're done. But good good luck in New York!

[ontheweb]

8 hours ago, KroozNut said:

We feel for you, as we're done. But good good luck in New York!

The funny thing is we were worrying about what the weather would be here and it did snow that day, but ended before we would have had to leave for our appointments. Every day prior and still now, I see a scroll on the local cable station that the NY State Department of Health is not cancelling appointments due to weather. And then ours were cancelled due to weather somewhere else that caused no shipments of the vaccine.

 

We sure hope it works out better next Monday.

[cruisemom42]

I have no idea when I will finally be eligible for the vaccine in my state (I am <60 years and not high risk). I see they are likely about to issue an emergency use authorization for the J&J vaccine, which has lower overall efficacy. 

 

I worry that by the time I am eligible to be vaccinated, they will only have J&J doses available, which I do NOT want preferentially. When one makes an appointment somewhere, is it clear which version of the vaccine will be given?

 

[Cruising-along]

6 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

When one makes an appointment somewhere, is it clear which version of the vaccine will be given?

In my case (Swedish, Seattle), it was not.  You could probably call and ask, if you can get through on the phone. I agree with you, J&J would not be my choice either.

[RocketMan275]

16 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I have no idea when I will finally be eligible for the vaccine in my state (I am <60 years and not high risk). I see they are likely about to issue an emergency use authorization for the J&J vaccine, which has lower overall efficacy. 

 

I worry that by the time I am eligible to be vaccinated, they will only have J&J doses available, which I do NOT want preferentially. When one makes an appointment somewhere, is it clear which version of the vaccine will be given?

 

Wife and I are scheduled for our first shot tomorrow, 24 Feb.  We were scheduled for last Tuesday but had to skip because of weather.  They called us on Monday about rescheduling.  We're both over 65 with no comorbidities.

 

Sometimes you can get a good idea which vaccine will be given by the dates involved.  Our area makes the initial and the follow up vaccination appointments at the same time.  Ours are three weeks apart so that's the Pfizer vaccine.  I confirmed that with the person I spoke with who also said Pfizer was all they had.  The moderna has a different interval between doses, 28 days.  The J&J doesn't require a second shot.   You can use that information to determine which vaccine you're getting.

 

In general, the medical advice on the web states that one should take whatever you can get.  

 

A note on our area.  There is only one facility (Huntsville Hospital) giving the vaccine.  You have to go to their website and answer a few questions on eligibility, age, occupation, etc., to determine priority and eligibility.  One does not make an appointment there.  You have to wait for them to call you back.  At that time, you make both appointments.

 

Right now, vaccinations are slowed since there are some issues with vaccine availability due to the snow last week.  Evidently, that weather messed up supply chain deliveries.  Our area isn't making any new appointments until that clears up.  It also suggests that they are only making appointments for which they currently have supplies for both shots on hand.

Edited February 24, 2021 by RocketMan275

[Laminator]

25 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

In my case (Swedish, Seattle), it was not.  You could probably call and ask, if you can get through on the phone. I agree with you, J&J would not be my choice either.

I would be thrilled with any of the 3. J&J's vaccine prevented all but 2 hospitalizations and no deaths in their clinical trials. I am not sure you can ask for much more.  

Edited February 24, 2021 by Laminator

[HAL4NOW]

31 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

When one makes an appointment somewhere, is it clear which version of the vaccine will be given?

 

Many of the clinics in Washington State are stating on their websites which vaccine they have available for specific days. Pfizer and Moderna are both ramping up their availability and shipments. I believe many individuals will prefer to take the J&J vaccine because it only requires one dose. That will make more of the other two available going forward.

[cruisemom42]

12 minutes ago, Laminator said:

I would be thrilled with any of the 3. J&J's vaccine prevented all but 2 hospitalizations and no deaths in their clinical trials. I am not sure you can ask for much more.  

 

I have reasons for preferring the other two, not least that I do not want to experience any level of infection, not just prevent "moderate to severe" infection -- because I have parents who are quite elderly and frail, and I want to be able to spend time with them without guilt, i.e., I want the added protection of knowing I would be less likely to pass anything on to them. (And yes, they have been vaccinated, but there are still too many uncertainties regarding level of protection in the very elderly and level of prevention of disease in all of the vaccines....)

[Cruise NH]

I think a lot of people are going to wonder about the effectiveness of vaccines.  Below are, I think, important points I found in a LiveScience article that hopefully clarifies some of these concerns.  I think the comparison between these vaccines and other ones in the 3rd paragraph is especially interesting.

 

------------------------------------------------------------

 

You have likely heard that Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine efficacy is 95%, Moderna's is 94% and Johnson & Johnson's is 66%. But what do these numbers actually mean? 

 

One common misunderstanding is that 95% efficacy means that in the Pfizer clinical trial, 5% of vaccinated people got COVID. But that's not true; the actual percentage of vaccinated people in the Pfizer (and Moderna) trials who got COVID-19 was about a hundred times less than that: 0.04%. 

 

What the 95% actually means is that vaccinated people had a 95% lower risk of getting COVID-19 compared with the control group participants, who weren't vaccinated. In other words, vaccinated people in the Pfizer clinical trial were 20 times less likely than the control group to get COVID-19. 

That makes the vaccine  "one of the most effective vaccines that we have," Barker told Live Science. For comparison, the two-dose measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is 97% effective against measles and 88% effective against mumps, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The seasonal flu vaccine is between 40% and 60% effective (it varies from year to year, depending on that year's vaccine and flu strains), but it still prevented an estimated 7.5 million cases of the flu in the U.S. during the 2019-2020 flu season, according to the CDC.

 

Dr. Barker cautions that it’s tricky to directly compare efficacy between the Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna vaccines, because the clinical trials happened in different geographic areas with different populations, and at slightly different time points in the pandemic when different variants of COVID-19 were circulating. “There were more people who had the B117 [U.K. variant] or other types of variants during the time of the Johnson & Johnson trial than during the Moderna trial,” she said. 

 

All three vaccines were 100% effective at preventing severe disease six weeks after the first dose (for Moderna) or seven weeks after the first dose (for Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, the latter of which requires only one dose). Zero vaccinated people in any of the trials were hospitalized or died of COVID-19 after the vaccines had fully taken effect. 

[Laminator]

38 minutes ago, Cruise NH said:

I think a lot of people are going to wonder about the effectiveness of vaccines.  Below are, I think, important points I found in a LiveScience article that hopefully clarifies some of these concerns.  I think the comparison between these vaccines and other ones in the 3rd paragraph is especially interesting.

 

------------------------------------------------------------

 

You have likely heard that Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine efficacy is 95%, Moderna's is 94% and Johnson & Johnson's is 66%. But what do these numbers actually mean? 

 

One common misunderstanding is that 95% efficacy means that in the Pfizer clinical trial, 5% of vaccinated people got COVID. But that's not true; the actual percentage of vaccinated people in the Pfizer (and Moderna) trials who got COVID-19 was about a hundred times less than that: 0.04%. 

 

What the 95% actually means is that vaccinated people had a 95% lower risk of getting COVID-19 compared with the control group participants, who weren't vaccinated. In other words, vaccinated people in the Pfizer clinical trial were 20 times less likely than the control group to get COVID-19. 

That makes the vaccine  "one of the most effective vaccines that we have," Barker told Live Science. For comparison, the two-dose measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is 97% effective against measles and 88% effective against mumps, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The seasonal flu vaccine is between 40% and 60% effective (it varies from year to year, depending on that year's vaccine and flu strains), but it still prevented an estimated 7.5 million cases of the flu in the U.S. during the 2019-2020 flu season, according to the CDC.

 

Dr. Barker cautions that it’s tricky to directly compare efficacy between the Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna vaccines, because the clinical trials happened in different geographic areas with different populations, and at slightly different time points in the pandemic when different variants of COVID-19 were circulating. “There were more people who had the B117 [U.K. variant] or other types of variants during the time of the Johnson & Johnson trial than during the Moderna trial,” she said. 

 

All three vaccines were 100% effective at preventing severe disease six weeks after the first dose (for Moderna) or seven weeks after the first dose (for Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, the latter of which requires only one dose). Zero vaccinated people in any of the trials were hospitalized or died of COVID-19 after the vaccines had fully taken effect. 

You are correct. People are not understanding the numbers. My wife is a pharmacist and receives a ton of information in her pharmacy journals. All 3 vaccines are extremely effective. It's hard to explain to all of the supposed medical professionals.

 

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

I have no idea when I will finally be eligible for the vaccine in my state (I am <60 years and not high risk). I see they are likely about to issue an emergency use authorization for the J&J vaccine, which has lower overall efficacy. 

 

I worry that by the time I am eligible to be vaccinated, they will only have J&J doses available, which I do NOT want preferentially. When one makes an appointment somewhere, is it clear which version of the vaccine will be given?

 

We were not told. I found out it was the Moderna when I asked the nurse giving me the shot.

[HappyInVan]

2 hours ago, Cruise NH said:

One common misunderstanding is that 95% efficacy means that in the Pfizer clinical trial, 5% of vaccinated people got COVID. But that's not true; the actual percentage of vaccinated people in the Pfizer (and Moderna) trials who got COVID-19 was about a hundred times less than that: 0.04%. 

 

 

Let me try and help.

 

In the Pfizer trials, they did not test for many many people got infected. Rather, the evaluation was based on how many people reported symptoms (being symptomatic).

 

Therefore, there is no information from the preliminary evaluation about how many people were really infected (with or without vaccination).

 

Based on the number of people who reported being symptomatic and tested positive, 95 out of a hundred were not actually vaccinated (the control group). Therefore, you are either one of the 95% or the other 5% (the vaccinated).

 

Other vaccine trials actually tested participants regularly for infection. The reports I have seen indicate an average efficacy of 50-66%, depending on the vax brand.

 

The good news for the infected is that severe illness is very much less likely with a vax. For example, your chance of being hospitalized (after effective vaccination) may be 60% less. You are one of the lucky 60%, or one of the 40% in hospital.

 

That said, you must read the fine print. For the sub-groups...

 

“The vaccine showed 42.3 percent overall efficacy in people over 60 with other health risks — such as obesity, heart problems and high blood pressure — which is lower than the FDA’s 50 percent bar for authorization. But there also is limited data for that subset, FDA and J&J said, adding uncertainty about the accuracy of the efficacy estimate.”

 

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/24/fda-johnson-johnson-single-dose-shot-covid-471327

 

In addition, the Novavax trial in South Africa suggests that the protection (against SA variant) for participants with HIV (immunity compromised) is abysmal.

 

That is why the vaccines are currently under EUA. The large-scale field reports will have good and bad news. For example, South Africa has suspended use of AZ because of one study where AZ seems to have no statistical benefit for people under 55, from moderate symptoms.

 

I'm not a science person. This is the best I can offer. In the future, I suggest that you ask the forums experts (like nocl) about the issues.

Edited February 24, 2021 by HappyInVan

[StLouisCruisers]

5 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

I have no idea when I will finally be eligible for the vaccine in my state (I am <60 years and not high risk). I see they are likely about to issue an emergency use authorization for the J&J vaccine, which has lower overall efficacy. 

 

I worry that by the time I am eligible to be vaccinated, they will only have J&J doses available, which I do NOT want preferentially. When one makes an appointment somewhere, is it clear which version of the vaccine will be given?

 

 

I live in Georgia so hope this helps.  When we got our appointments it was through our District Health Department.  The website showed which vaccine was available at different vaccination sites in the various counties around us.  The vaccine in our county was Pfizer, but we chose the adjoining county which had Moderna.  We were allowed to choose the place and date we wanted to receive it.  I didn't really care which vaccine we got back then, just decided the location where we got it suited us better.

Edited February 24, 2021 by StLouisCruisers

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

I live in Georgia so hope this helps.  When we got our appointments it was through our District Health Department.  The website showed which vaccine was available at different vaccination sites in the various counties around us.  The vaccine in our county was Pfizer, but we chose the adjoining county which had Moderna.  We were allowed to choose the place and date we wanted to receive it.  I didn't really care which vaccine we got back then, just decided the location where we got it suited us better.

 

Great info, thanks. 🙂

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, StLouisCruisers said:

We were allowed to choose the place and date we wanted to receive it. 

I found this the key.  I knew my county would botch the distribution, which they have - badly.  I immediately signed up with the two wealthier, younger and less densely populated counties to the north.  I can’t say enough good things on their efficiency and responsiveness. 

[Cinder Again]

South Carolina inexplicably got the least amount of doses in the beginning, even though we are not the smallest by either population or amount of resident Seniors. That said, the first doses went to Hospitals AND all Senior living/rehab centers. Even though I would have loved getting it faster, I know in my heart that was the correct decision. When they got them done, they concentrated on first responders next. They are now contracting with a local hospital system to handle mass vaccinations of teachers and school staff under 65.

Now they are mostly done,  Seniors 65+ is being handled. Whether you got a quick appt.or not, ( in large part)depended on how computer savvy and persistent you were. I think that population largely now has appts., but some aren’t until April/May. 

I got my first shot last Monday. It happened to be Moderna, (Walmart pharmacy) but I would have taken any brand, just to get it done. I think us getting vaccinated is our best chance to help get us traveling again. I miss all vacations, but really miss cruising with friends! 

[crusinbanjo]

Currently in MASS, if you are 65+ you are eligible, appointment required....but appointments are non existent.  Every day I have been on the state website to find an appointment, today I was 131,233 in line with a wait time quoted as 5 1/2 hours until I could schedule........  and, just to add injury to the insult, the longer I waited, the wait time kept going longer.  the other day I was on early, thinking I could get an appointment, but the site crashed.  Govmint........ Maybe I need to go to Florida.

[Cailey53]

20 minutes ago, crusinbanjo said:

Currently in MASS, if you are 65+ you are eligible, appointment required....but appointments are non existent.  Every day I have been on the state website to find an appointment, today I was 131,233 in line with a wait time quoted as 5 1/2 hours until I could schedule........  and, just to add injury to the insult, the longer I waited, the wait time kept going longer.  the other day I was on early, thinking I could get an appointment, but the site crashed.  Govmint........ Maybe I need to go to Florida.

Have you tried an alternate site like www.vaccinefinder.org? They list some of the pharmacy chains that might have availability— worth a try.

[Scottiemac]

On 1/10/2021 at 6:59 AM, KirkNC said:

Use doctor and pharmaceutical students, use military medics. 

California is using firefighters (among others) to get the vaccine in arms. We’ve opened Petco Park, a university sports center, the Del Mar racetrack (among other big sites) as super sites. They’ve done a good job. On Saturday they’re going to start vaccinating teachers, police, and farm and food workers. Now if only our Governor would open up restaurants, schools,  and gyms, we would be happy. 

[AryMay]

Two weeks ago I felt like I won the lottery here in rural Minnesota when I scored vaccine appointments for my husband and myself (both just barely over 65) even though we had to drive 30 miles. Now this week I could have picked from 4 different locations with immediate openings, one just 2 minutes from our house. 
 

Right now our state is working at finishing up those 65 and older and educators. Once 70% of the 65+ group is done they will move on to the next priority groups. 
 

Edited February 25, 2021 by AryMay

[Cruise NH]

1 hour ago, crusinbanjo said:

Currently in MASS, if you are 65+ you are eligible, appointment required....but appointments are non existent.  Every day I have been on the state website to find an appointment, today I was 131,233 in line with a wait time quoted as 5 1/2 hours until I could schedule........  and, just to add injury to the insult, the longer I waited, the wait time kept going longer.  the other day I was on early, thinking I could get an appointment, but the site crashed.  Govmint........ Maybe I need to go to Florida.

 

or just come up to NH...and I think Maine and VT are doing pretty well too.  I don't know why MA is having a problem but you're not alone...

[sandiego1]

My inlaws live in Massachusetts. My FIL called last Monday and was able to book an appt for the next day at Gillette Stadium. They had no problems at all.