Are vaccines the light at the end of the tunnel?

[Ken the cruiser]

8 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

With so many reluctant people out there and some true anti-vaxers as well- How come I cannot find a way to get a vaccine appointment?  It should not be this hard.  And one for my wife too.  We will not likely be able to cruise until 2022 at this point even if cruises start up mid-2021 to some degree.

Rick, I'm sure you know about this site - Getting the COVID Vaccine | PA.GOV

 

I take it, though, you're both under 65, don't work in the areas defined in the various Cat 1 groups, and are stuck in Cat 2 like a lot of other folks like our 40 year old son who is in construction. I still believe the addition of the J&J vaccine as well as the arrival of the new administration is going to make a big difference in getting the Cat 2 vaccinated much earlier than currently expected.

 

[mimbecky]

17 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I take it, though, you're both under 65, don't work in the areas defined in the various Cat 1 groups, and are stuck in Cat 2 like a lot of other folks

Keep an eye out.  Our super stations are asking for volunteers (medical and non medical).  Added bonus...a vaccine.

[TeeRick]

30 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Rick, I'm sure you know about this site - Getting the COVID Vaccine | PA.GOV

 

I take it, though, you're both under 65, don't work in the areas defined in the various Cat 1 groups, and are stuck in Cat 2 like a lot of other folks like our 40 year old son who is in construction. I still believe the addition of the J&J vaccine as well as the arrival of the new administration is going to make a big difference in getting the Cat 2 vaccinated much earlier than currently expected.

 

Even though I am 63, I qualify (for medical reasons) right now.  I go to that PA web site every day as well as my county site, the pharmacy sites, etc.  No appointments available.  I am on a few waiting lists.  Our state is just not doing what it needs to do.  I should at least be able to get an appointment even if months away.

[K.T.B.]

20 hours ago, D C said:

I'm amused by the people who deny being anti-vax but are.

 

"I won't get the flu shot"

So you're anti-vax?

"No, I got all of my regular shots, but I won't get the flu shot"

You know it's effective, right"

"Yeah, but I won't get it"

You admit it works, yet won't get it?  So you're selectively anti-vax?

"No"

Then why won't you get it?

"I just....I've never had it and never had the flu"

So you won't get a vaccine just because you feel lucky?

"no...."

So you're anti-vax?

 

 

Well, I can't get a flu shot as it makes me violently ill.  That won't stop me from getting a Covid vaccine though.

[Crazy planning mom]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Rick, I'm sure you know about this site - Getting the COVID Vaccine | PA.GOV

 

I take it, though, you're both under 65, don't work in the areas defined in the various Cat 1 groups, and are stuck in Cat 2 like a lot of other folks like our 40 year old son who is in construction. I still believe the addition of the J&J vaccine as well as the arrival of the new administration is going to make a big difference in getting the Cat 2 vaccinated much earlier than currently expected.

 

J & J aren't expected to have much supply until June.

[deadzone1003]

People have a strange idea that once a vaccine is approved (or given an EUA) that enough vaccine is available for everyone in a short time.  A vaccine is a manufactured item.  It will take time to produce whether you want it tomorrow or yesterday.  It's no different then a very popular new car.  The company can only make so many initially.  Because the mRNA vaccines have never been produced before, it will be a learning process (hopefully it was a short one) for the company that produces it.  Because of the special storage requirements for the mRNA it makes it more difficult to distribute.  Initially, various states had difficulties distributing the vaccines, now it seems limited supplies plus high demand are causing spot shortages.  It appears this will be the case for February and parts of March.  Once the J&J vaccine gets distributed in enough volume, we will be o.k.  As for the new administration, if you want 100,000,000 doses in 100 days, the Federal govt would have to limit distribution, caused there will be well over 200-250 million doses arriving within the next 100 days.  We are averaging over 1.3 million doses a day already with the limited supplies of mRNA vaccines.  Anyway, what can the new administration do that will produce the vaccines quicker?  That is the problem.  

[deadzone1003]

3 minutes ago, Crazy planning mom said:

J & J aren't expected to have much supply until June.

Are you saying that they can't fulfilled their 100,000,000 doses obligation to the USA until end of June?  or they can't supply additional doses beyond their contractual obligation?  I read they are able to produce up to 12,000,000 by end of February and their contractual obligation by end of April though with expected EUA is not until end of February, it could be end of May when J&J is required to fulfill their contractual obligation.

[Fouremco]

4 minutes ago, deadzone1003 said:

People have a strange idea that once a vaccine is approved (or given an EUA) that enough vaccine is available for everyone in a short time. 

I agree, this is a rather unrealistic expectation, but it's easy to understand how it developed. Companies like Pfizer were very vocal about how they were mass producing their vaccine even before acquiring their EUA approval, projecting 50 million doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021. This resulted in raised expectations for their manufacturing and delivery capabilities with many people. 

[deadzone1003]

26 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

I agree, this is a rather unrealistic expectation, but it's easy to understand how it developed. Companies like Pfizer were very vocal about how they were mass producing their vaccine even before acquiring their EUA approval, projecting 50 million doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021. This resulted in raised expectations for their manufacturing and delivery capabilities with many people. 

Even if Pfizer could reach their production goals, their contractual obligation to the USA was 100,000,000 doses by the end of March and another 100,000,000 doses by the end of June.  I would not be surprised if they have a just-in-time operations because of their limited refrigeration capacity and limited amount of dry ice available.  

[cantstopingcruising]

Both Pfizer and Moderna had contractual obligations with Canada...and they went kaput.

[Charles4515]

6 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

It's an issue with the minority communities not trusting the government and the medical community.  At least in Michigan many of the staff working in the assisted living  or long term care facilities are from minority communities and the minority communities are not getting vaccinated at the same rate as the non-minority populations.  This is starting to be a problem in some states because they are hesitant to move to mass vaccination settings that might allow a higher percentage of non-minority  community to be vaccinated.  The result is an overall slow down in the vaccination rates because of the distrust of the government.

 

That is the problem here. The county is hesitant to move ahead because of the lower percentage of minorities not trusting the government and willing to be vaccinated. The state has moved ahead and is now opening mass vaccination locations. i was vaccinated last week not at a mass location but at a medical facility not under my counties guidelines that follows the State guidelines.

Edited February 6, 2021 by Charles4515

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Even though I am 63, I qualify (for medical reasons) right now.  I go to that PA web site every day as well as my county site, the pharmacy sites, etc.  No appointments available.  I am on a few waiting lists.  Our state is just not doing what it needs to do.  I should at least be able to get an appointment even if months away.

 

We had the same here in addition to county and state having different guidelines about who was eligible. I was able to get my first dose on Thursday. You have to make your own luck and be persistent. Many times the vaccination provider's web site would crash at the last step. Very frustrating. I tried over and over for many days and then one morning with no expectation of success I got an appointment.  

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Even though I am 63, I qualify (for medical reasons) right now.  I go to that PA web site every day as well as my county site, the pharmacy sites, etc.  No appointments available.  I am on a few waiting lists.  Our state is just not doing what it needs to do.  I should at least be able to get an appointment even if months away.

That definitely would be frustrating. Hopefully, things change in your area soon and some mass vaccination sites open up. I know here in Montgomery it's definitely been a slow go. But they are offering their first week-long mass vaccination site starting on Monday which coincidently coincides with the first day 65 and older, as well as others in group 1B, can get the vaccine in our state. So, hopefully, we'll get our first shot next week sometime. It will also be interesting to see if there are any military folks helping out.

[TeeRick]

2 hours ago, K.T.B. said:

 

Well, I can't get a flu shot as it makes me violently ill.  That won't stop me from getting a Covid vaccine though.

What are you allergic to in the shot r what makes you ill?  There are so many types of influenza vaccine choices and formulations these days.  Unless it is the influenza antigen itself.

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, deadzone1003 said:

People have a strange idea that once a vaccine is approved (or given an EUA) that enough vaccine is available for everyone in a short time.  A vaccine is a manufactured item.  It will take time to produce whether you want it tomorrow or yesterday.  It's no different then a very popular new car.  The company can only make so many initially.  Because the mRNA vaccines have never been produced before, it will be a learning process (hopefully it was a short one) for the company that produces it.  Because of the special storage requirements for the mRNA it makes it more difficult to distribute.  Initially, various states had difficulties distributing the vaccines, now it seems limited supplies plus high demand are causing spot shortages.  It appears this will be the case for February and parts of March.  Once the J&J vaccine gets distributed in enough volume, we will be o.k.  As for the new administration, if you want 100,000,000 doses in 100 days, the Federal govt would have to limit distribution, caused there will be well over 200-250 million doses arriving within the next 100 days.  We are averaging over 1.3 million doses a day already with the limited supplies of mRNA vaccines.  Anyway, what can the new administration do that will produce the vaccines quicker?  That is the problem.  

Maybe some people have that strange idea but I do not.  So is that what you are saying?  In my case my state has plenty of vaccine sitting in freezers.  There is a lot of vaccine here that is not being used.

[TeeRick]

29 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

We had the same here in addition to county and state having different guidelines about who was eligible. I was able to get my first dose on Thursday. You have to make your own luck and be persistent. Many times the vaccination provider's web site would crash at the last step. Very frustrating. I tried over and over for many days and then one morning with no expectation of success I got an appointment.  

Yes that is why many are calling it the Vaccine Hunger Games.

[D C]

It's frustrating.

My in-laws stumbled into getting vaccinated. They drove to one of the major hospitals to sign up and drove away less than an hour later with vaccines in arms.

 

My 80yo parents tried calling the same place. No luck.  They were on lists with their doctor, the University of Michigan hospital, St Joseph Hospital (the one the in-laws went to) , the health department, etc...

 

Then my aunt says she got an appt at another major hospital where my parents don't have a doctor affiliation.  My mom calls, says she needs help setting up a vaccine appt and they got their jabs 2 days later.   

 

Still not a peep from anyone else they signed up with.  Craziness.   

[K.T.B.]

3 hours ago, TeeRick said:

What are you allergic to in the shot r what makes you ill?  There are so many types of influenza vaccine choices and formulations these days.  Unless it is the influenza antigen itself.

Flucelvax and Flublok.  Flublok didn't hit me as badly, but it affected me for a couple days. 

[MarkWiltonM]

2 hours ago, D C said:

It's frustrating.

My in-laws stumbled into getting vaccinated. They drove to one of the major hospitals to sign up and drove away less than an hour later with vaccines in arms.

 

My 80yo parents tried calling the same place. No luck.  They were on lists with their doctor, the University of Michigan hospital, St Joseph Hospital (the one the in-laws went to) , the health department, etc...

 

Then my aunt says she got an appt at another major hospital where my parents don't have a doctor affiliation.  My mom calls, says she needs help setting up a vaccine appt and they got their jabs 2 days later.   

 

Still not a peep from anyone else they signed up with.  Craziness.   

It does seem quite random. I and 64 with some health issues that increase my risk of severe Covid-19 but I didn't think I'd be eligible for a vaccination for a long time. So I enrolled in a trial of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to test two shots instead of the single shot that J&J is currently seeking approval for. That would have given me a 50/50 chance of getting the vaccine or a saline placebo. Two days before I was supposed to have my first jab, a local hospital called and asked me to come in--in 15 minutes--for the Moderna vaccine. Five days earlier, I had put my name on my rheumatologist's list of patients with high-risk medical conditions. She said at the time she had no idea when I might be able to get a shot. I almost thought I was being punked when the hospital called. The process at this particular hospital (Holy Cross in Fort Lauderdale) was flawlessly efficient and the workers were amazing. But the vaccination center was under lock and key and no one without an appointment was allowed in. Meanwhile, my spouse got the J&J vaccine in the aforementioned trial and the next day he had a low fever and other flu-like symptoms so we are pretty sure he got the vaccine rather than placebo. 

 

I have a number of friends in their 70s and 80s who were going nuts trying to get appointments a few weeks back. One of them ended up going to a park here without an appointment (although you are supposed to have one), and he got a vaccination with no wait. He called all his frustrated friends and they hustled down and got theirs too. At this point everyone I know here 65 and over has had at least one shot and has the second one scheduled or completed.

 

I do think there will be much more supply soon and these are just growing pains. I hope everyone can get their shots soon. Then I hope we can all get boosters in due course to cover the emerging variants.  

Edited February 6, 2021 by MarkWiltonM
clarity

[Covepointcruiser]

What is very frustrating about getting the vaccine in some states, including MD and PA, is the amount of vaccine sitting on the shelf in the state and not being used.    I wrote emails and called our, governor, senator and congressman (Hoyer) daily since the vaccine was released to the state.  Of course they were too busy with other, non life threatening issues, in DC.   At least Florida has now stopped offering the vaccines to snowbirds (Many from Canada).   There was even vaccine tourism from Canada.   My 78 year old husband finally received the first dose seven weeks after it became available and 12 weeks after it was finally approved after the election.    Many of our states have woefully mismanaged this process.   

[nocl]

6 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Maybe some people have that strange idea but I do not.  So is that what you are saying?  In my case my state has plenty of vaccine sitting in freezers.  There is a lot of vaccine here that is not being used.

Define plenty.  Plenty would be enough that prioritization would not be necessary and all potential vaccination venues would be able to vaccinate to full capacity.

[LGW59]

5 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

What is very frustrating about getting the vaccine in some states, including MD and PA, is the amount of vaccine sitting on the shelf in the state and not being used.    I wrote emails and called our, governor, senator and congressman (Hoyer) daily since the vaccine was released to the state.  Of course they were too busy with other, non life threatening issues, in DC.   At least Florida has now stopped offering the vaccines to snowbirds (Many from Canada).   There was even vaccine tourism from Canada.   My 78 year old husband finally received the first dose seven weeks after it became available and 12 weeks after it was finally approved after the election.    Many of our states have woefully mismanaged this process.   

In MA as well, our Gov admitted this week the rollout has not been handled well

[LGW59]

11 minutes ago, nocl said:

Define plenty.  Plenty would be enough that prioritization would not be necessary and all potential vaccination venues would be able to vaccinate to full capacity.

Wow, you are such and expert on every single topic posted here on CC, amazing!

[nocl]

18 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Wow, you are such and expert on every single topic posted here on CC, amazing!

Will you certainly seem to also have an opinion on a lot of subjects, usually to criticize others without adding anything material.

 

 

[OUBaylor1]

10 hours ago, TeeRick said:

With so many reluctant people out there and some true anti-vaxers as well- How come I cannot find a way to get a vaccine appointment?  It should not be this hard.  And one for my wife too.  We will not likely be able to cruise until 2022 at this point even if cruises start up mid-2021 to some degree.

I live in Carlisle, PA and was finally able to get a vaccine appointment for my 86 year old dad at our local Weis market.  You might want to check out Weis Markets website if you live near one.  Appointments went fast, unfortunately, so I was unable to secure one for my husband and myself.