Covid vaccine rollout in the US - who do you know that is getting the vaccine?

[Michael in ABQ]

My brother-in-law got the Moderna vaccine a few days ago. He already had COVID (mild case but he did lose most of his sense of smell) a month or two ago but he was in the right place at the right time and there were extra doses that had to be used.

He got the vaccine in the afternoon and said by that evening he wasn't feeling well and had a bad fever through the night that didn't break until the following morning. I saw him the next day and he seemed ok by then.

His wife also had a mild case of COVID at the same time and didn't get the vaccine so he's curious to see what their antibodies look like a week or two after his second dose.

[Morning Glory]

question (and maybe wrong thread):
i recall hearing/reading that even after you get the vaccine, that you will still be able to contract and spread the virus to others. so even though you're 95% likely to not have issues, i am curious how this works for the sake of herd immunity. isn't the idea that the vaccine will immunize a high enough % of people that herd immunity would be achieved and then the virus would stop spreading?

If you get the vaccine and then are exposed shortly after to someone with COVID you could still get it. I believe it takes until after the second dose at least until you would be considered immune. Realistically probably a few days to a few weeks after the second dose.

That is true for a lot of vaccines, because the immune response takes a few days. I've heard people say they got the flu "from" the shot when really they were exposed shortly before or after receiving the shot when they weren't fully immune.

[charis]

My spouse got it yesterday. No reaction thus far except a sore upper arm

[oldladystache]

The word just went out that our senior community of 9,000 over 55s will have 2,000 doses to give out Monday and Tuesday. It's only for the over 65s, but that's most of us.

I'm gonna try to be at the head of the line for appointments, but I probably won't be the only one. They claim there will be more soon.

I think they should have restricted it to over 75s, or even 80s. But nobody cares what I think.

So I managed to get an appointment for Tuesday morning.

[Dollar Slice]

That is true for a lot of vaccines, because the immune response takes a few days. I've heard people say they got the flu "from" the shot when really they were exposed shortly before or after receiving the shot when they weren't fully immune.

Plus, people confuse an immune reaction to the shot (some people get achy and feverish) with having the flu; or they have no idea what the actual symptoms of influenza are, and think "stomach flu" is the same thing. So they get food poisoning or norovirus or eat too much Taco Bell and say "why did I even get the damn flu shot if I'm still going to get this sick! It doesn't even work!"

[Peony2019]

I received my 1st Moderna injection a few days ago and did have a mild neurological reaction to it that came on about 30 min after but resolved w/in 48 hours.  No headache, fever, nausea, or respiratory symptoms though.  After receiving the immunization one can sign up for CDC monitoring via an app.  I chose to participate in that so more data can be collected by race, age, and gender.  They text you daily with a series of questions to complete.  Am hoping this data will be put to good use.

Re: vaccine wastage - what happens at my facility is that we thaw a certain # of vaccines for a given day based on the number of appointments booked.  When there are no shows we run into the risk of having to waste their doses.  Our organization is working on creating a 'standby' appt listing for those who can present for vaccines on short notice to mitigate this risk. Until this is effectively implemented, we go through a phone tree to find people willing to swap appts to avoid waste.  So far we have wasted less than 5 doses out of close to 3000 given. 

I am not sure if folks realize the logistics and challenges in setting up these clinics on the fly, while trying to provide testing, while also providing safe respiratory clinics for symptomatic evaluations, while treating/triaging patients in an overflowing ER and caring for them on the units and in CCU.  Staffing is the main constraint.  There are only so many clinical staff qualified to perform the various duties. It is not only clinical staff though.  IT is needed to build out new departments, Finance to manage the devastation to cash flow, housekeeping to keep facilities clean, screeners to limit inappropriate access and exposure of visitors, researchers to ensure policies are kept up to date w/ the latest science.  The list goes on and on.  So many good people working very hard to ensure the community is safe.  We have several RNs who had looked forward to retirement in 2020 come back to care for patients, staff the testing and vaccine clinics etc.  It is amazing and inspiring to me to see how people are coming together to manage this crisis.  I wish the news would share more of these stories.  And I wish the general public would take the virous seriously for a few more months.

[wenchsenior]

That is true for a lot of vaccines, because the immune response takes a few days. I've heard people say they got the flu "from" the shot when really they were exposed shortly before or after receiving the shot when they weren't fully immune.

Plus, people confuse an immune reaction to the shot (some people get achy and feverish) with having the flu; or they have no idea what the actual symptoms of influenza are, and think "stomach flu" is the same thing. So they get food poisoning or norovirus or eat too much Taco Bell and say "why did I even get the damn flu shot if I'm still going to get this sick! It doesn't even work!"

Yeah, this is frustrating.  Even many well-educated people seem to believe they are experiencing 'the flu' when it's other random illnesses that are not influenza (colds/coughs/sniffles, random gastrointestinal upsets, norovirus or food poisoning that results in a day of severe nausea and vomiting, etc).  I've seen people refer to such events on this very board as 'the flu'.   People, that shit is NOT the flu. The flu is really seriously unpleasant and potentially fatal.  You aren't going to be over it and fine in 3 or 4 days.  But if you are erroneously convinced your standard seasonal cold with mild sore throat and congestion and cough is the flu, I can sure understand why you'd wonder what the big deal is.

[wenchsenior]

I received my 1st Moderna injection a few days ago and did have a mild neurological reaction to it that came on about 30 min after but resolved w/in 48 hours.  No headache, fever, nausea, or respiratory symptoms though.  After receiving the immunization one can sign up for CDC monitoring via an app.  I chose to participate in that so more data can be collected by race, age, and gender.  They text you daily with a series of questions to complete.  Am hoping this data will be put to good use.

Do you feel comfortable elaborating? I have a history of weird autoimmune-like symptoms including neurological ones (though the several confirmed autoimmune illnesses that I've been confirmed to have do not explain them), so I tend to want to know what I might be facing if I react to this shot.

[Aphextwin]

I got the Pfizer vaccine on January 1st (healthcare worker in the UK). Had a mild temperature next day, fine by the day after.

[MoseyingAlong]

.....
I am not sure if folks realize the logistics and challenges in setting up these clinics on the fly, while trying to provide testing, while also providing safe respiratory clinics for symptomatic evaluations, while treating/triaging patients in an overflowing ER and caring for them on the units and in CCU.  Staffing is the main constraint.  There are only so many clinical staff qualified to perform the various duties. It is not only clinical staff though.  IT is needed to build out new departments, Finance to manage the devastation to cash flow, housekeeping to keep facilities clean, screeners to limit inappropriate access and exposure of visitors, researchers to ensure policies are kept up to date w/ the latest science.  The list goes on and on....

+1, Amen, Ditto.

I've worked a few days in our vaccine clinic and helping out on the COVID ICUs.
I am so impressed by how my health system is handling things and the absolutely crazy amount of resources they are throwing at it, trying to take care of patients and staff. Not perfect but very, very good considering the circumstances. From setting up outdoor drive-thru testing last spring to our drive-thru vaccine clinics, it's thoughtful plans that are improved upon daily. 

[Chris Pascale]

My wife volunteered to be among the first people to get it.

She did it because if our daughter is approved to study abroad, it will be required, and didn't want her going in blind.

Her opinion is that the smaller you are, the more you'll be affected - like the dose is not measured out. She based this on the fact that the bigger people she knows who got it felt a lot better than the smaller people. But she was okay. Arm soreness was the biggest thing, and feeling tired.

[GuitarStv]

question (and maybe wrong thread):
i recall hearing/reading that even after you get the vaccine, that you will still be able to contract and spread the virus to others. so even though you're 95% likely to not have issues, i am curious how this works for the sake of herd immunity. isn't the idea that the vaccine will immunize a high enough % of people that herd immunity would be achieved and then the virus would stop spreading?

Scientists just haven't had time to do the research yet on whether you will, or will not, be able to spread the virus to others after vaccination. The vaccine may stop the spread, it may not - or it may be somewhere in between, like reducing the spread but not eliminating it. I would be pretty surprised if the vaccine has no impact at all on how much it spreads - if it isn't able to infect many of the cells in your body before your immune system eliminates it, your body won't be silently spewing out copies of the virus for days at a time, infecting everyone around you.

But since we don't know for sure, and the vaccines have a failure rate, and COVID is massively widespread, and there's a more contagious variant spreading - they're telling people to keep wearing masks until it's under control, because you could be spreading it after you get vaccinated, one way or another. The research isn't there yet. Maybe in a few months we'll know.

There's also the fact that one in twenty people who are vaccinated can still get covid-19.

[mm1970]

Interesting that my FILs doc told him he doesn't need to get vaccinated since he just got over it.  Does that mean never?  Because the vaccine doesn't last forever and the guy is 78 yo.

I have a running group. We haven't met since March.

One guy and his wife work with at risk people, they both have gotten their first doses.

3 of the group are over 65 (2 over 70), and they have scheduled their first doses.

I know several doctors, nurses, and pharmacists who have gotten their doses.

Hopefully my MIL and her boyfriend will get it.

I am actually feeling hopeful.  I am 50 and DH is 52. If we can get it this summer, we could actually go visit family. Our kids probably won't be able to get it by then (I am assuming it's not released to kids by then).  No way I'd want to get on a plane without the vaccine.

[Dollar Slice]

There's also the fact that one in twenty people who are vaccinated can still get covid-19.

That's what I meant by "the vaccines have a failure rate."

That rate is different with each vaccine, it's not 1 in 20 for all of them. The ones currently approved in the US and Canada are roughly 1 in 20, but we will approve more, and other countries are using different ones, so I didn't want to be too specific.

[GuitarStv]

There's also the fact that one in twenty people who are vaccinated can still get covid-19.

That's what I meant by "the vaccines have a failure rate."

That rate is different with each vaccine, it's not 1 in 20 for all of them. The ones currently approved in the US and Canada are roughly 1 in 20, but we will approve more, and other countries are using different ones, so I didn't want to be too specific.

Yep.  It's also expected to be worse than 1 in 20 for the UK and Africa variant - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2021/01/existing-vaccines-should-work-against-new-coronavirus-variants-for-now/.

So we should all be wearing masks for quite a while to come.

[MudPuppy]

Interesting that my FILs doc told him he doesn't need to get vaccinated since he just got over it.  Does that mean never?  Because the vaccine doesn't last forever and the guy is 78 yo.

I have a running group. We haven't met since March.

One guy and his wife work with at risk people, they both have gotten their first doses.

3 of the group are over 65 (2 over 70), and they have scheduled their first doses.

I know several doctors, nurses, and pharmacists who have gotten their doses.

Hopefully my MIL and her boyfriend will get it.

I am actually feeling hopeful.  I am 50 and DH is 52. If we can get it this summer, we could actually go visit family. Our kids probably won't be able to get it by then (I am assuming it's not released to kids by then).  No way I'd want to get on a plane without the vaccine.

Some places are advising anyone in the 90 day window after infection to wait, but the manufacturers and the CDC only require that you are outside of the active infection stage (usually 14 days).

[Scandium]

I know three who got it. Both early 40s, working in admin in hospitals (all from home I believe). LA and Baltimore. None have any obvious other risk factors that I know of.

[redhead84]

My Mom is 1a priority and getting the Pfizer vaccine tomorrow. My father-in law (age 75+ in FL) got the Moderna vaccine last week. My mother-in-law, tried to make an appointment the same day but couldn't get a slot.

[the_fixer]

Got a message last Monday from my work asking us if we wanted to come get vaccinated on Wednesday at noon. I responded yes immediately and they said more info would follow but never heard back.

Today on a meeting we were told employees in states surrounding us are receiving vaccinations as group 1a and 1b but the governor of our state put us at phase 2 behind 1a and 1b so we are looking at sometime in March.

I was ecstatic Monday / Tuesday now I am just sad


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kenmoremmm]

my wife got 1st shot of moderna on sunday. very sore arm, as reported elsewhere. today is fine.

[LaineyAZ]

Got notified today that where I live, Maricopa County AZ (4th most populous county in the U.S.), is reporting that they received 300,000 doses of the vaccine. 
But to vaccinate everyone in Phases 1A and 1B they need an estimated one million doses.
Therefore, starting tomorrow Tues 1/19, they will open up state-operated vaccination sites to adults 65 and older (1C segment)

Huh? how does a vaccine shortage = Let's increase the number of people in line to get it??

Right now I'm in agreement with several senior friends my age that we're going to wait until we can go to the local pharmacy and get it. 

[Dollar Slice]

Huh? how does a vaccine shortage = Let's increase the number of people in line to get it??

They did the same thing in NY. I'm glad on the one hand, because I know some high-risk people (like my mom) in the just-under-75 age range who were able to get it a lot sooner, but OTOH I'm sure there are a lot of people I don't know in the 75+ age range that aren't getting it because of that decision...

I really wish they had thought of a better way to do this that considered people's ability to isolate and their level of health instead of just saying "OK, 5 million people are eligible simultaneously, here's a terrible website and an understaffed phone line - enjoy!"

[kite]

Huh? how does a vaccine shortage = Let's increase the number of people in line to get it??

They did the same thing in NY. I'm glad on the one hand, because I know some high-risk people (like my mom) in the just-under-75 age range who were able to get it a lot sooner, but OTOH I'm sure there are a lot of people I don't know in the 75+ age range that aren't getting it because of that decision...

I really wish they had thought of a better way to do this that considered people's ability to isolate and their level of health instead of just saying "OK, 5 million people are eligible simultaneously, here's a terrible website and an understaffed phone line - enjoy!"

The reason to widen the eligibility is to prevent doses from being trashed.
To enforce the narrow prioritization in the early part of the roll-out, bureaucrats threatened hospitals and healthcare providers with a $1,000,000 fine and loss of license for vaccinating someone who didn't meet strict eligibility requirements.  And I agree, healthcare workers did need to go first. But what happened when doses were thawed but nobody who met the 1a criteria was nearby? Doses went into the trash.  That's the absolute worst case scenario.  Literally anyone getting the jab is better for all of us: delivery worker, college student, lawyer, grocery clerk, pro athlete, anyone who is willing should have been eligible to get those doses. Vaccinating anyone who is willing to receive would help flatten the curve. The highest priority should have been not wasting a single dose. 
If we continue to make people line up in strict 1a, 1b, 1c groupings, more doses are going to get trashed. Especially with an alarming number of folks in the 1a group who are still hesitant. 

[oldladystache]

The word just went out that our senior community of 9,000 over 55s will have 2,000 doses to give out Monday and Tuesday. It's only for the over 65s, but that's most of us.

I'm gonna try to be at the head of the line for appointments, but I probably won't be the only one. They claim there will be more soon.

I think they should have restricted it to over 75s, or even 80s. But nobody cares what I think.

So I managed to get an appointment for Tuesday morning.

I got the vaccination 2 hours ago. It didn't hurt a bit and I still feel fine. Expecting some reaction tomorrow.

[dougules]

I have two friends that got the first dose of Pfizer vaccine, both health care workers.  They had both already had COVID, and one of them said he went through all the same symptoms with the vaccine just over the course of a day.  He even said he lost his sense of taste and smell for a few hours. 

[MudPuppy]

My colleague and I gave each other our second doses at noon eastern time so that we could move forward from 45 and move forward from COVID at the same time.

[sui generis]

My colleague and I gave each other our second doses at noon eastern time so that we could move forward from 45 and move forward from COVID at the same time.

Nicely done!

[iluvzbeach]

My colleague and I gave each other our second doses at noon eastern time so that we could move forward from 45 and move forward from COVID at the same time.

I love this!

[Adventine]

@MudPuppy nice! And... Happy birthday (?!)

[MudPuppy]

45 as in 45th president! I try not say the name because it tastes bad.

[Adventine]

Ah. :) Still a cause for congratulations!

[jehovasfitness23]

Will be getting it Feb 3rd for work as we will assist in being a host vaccine site.

[TheContinentalOp]

My parents (77 & 82) in rural VA are scheduled to get the 1st dose of the Moderna vax on Saturday

[Villanelle]

Dad (77) in Nevada has his first shot (via the VA) tomorrow and mom has hers next week (via the regular healthcare system).

Friend in WA who works in mental health (mostly in schools) got her first, as did a CA friend (also in mental health, though she's mostly a college prof and then also overseas people doing therapy in order to get enough hours for licensure).

More and more people in my extended orbit are getting it.  I imagine I'm still months out though. 

[hops]

My SO's first Pfizer shot was uneventful, she experienced nothing but arm soreness. She had cleared her schedule just in case and ended up working on research instead. Second shot's coming up soon, scheduled so she'll have the weekend to recover if necessary.

[MudPuppy]

 Twenty four hours after Moderna dose 2, I have a very sore arm again. Colleague has aches and fatigue, which they did not experience with the first dose.

[jrhampt]

Friends who have gotten the vaccine this week in my state include someone in her forties who is full time National Guard and a teacher in her 50s with a serious health condition.

[American GenX]

Twenty four hours after Moderna dose 2, I have a very sore arm again. Colleague has aches and fatigue, which they did not experience with the first dose.

I'm scheduled for Moderna dose 2 on Tuesday.  I'm at 29 days since dose 1, which was just mild arm soreness.  Hopefully, dose 2 isn't any or much worse.

[erutio]

My wife received her 2nd dose pfizer the first week of January. 
I received my 2nd dose moderna today!

[sui generis]

My stepfather (age 77) got his first dose yesterday.  My mother (age 70) did not qualify.

My state says they anticipate completing vaccinating people 65 and older by June.

Fuck me.

[Dicey]

The older volunteers at the thrift store got their first vaccines a week earlier than us young 'uns. So far, none of them have had anything besides sore arms after completing Round 2. I'm on tap for #2 on Tuesday. Fingers crossed.

In other news, my giant HMO says they have 1.5 million members over 65 and have only received 200,000 doses. That was in a "Don't call us, well call you" email they sent this week. Seems so many people have been calling and waiting on interminable hold that no one else with other medical concerns can get through. Both sound like piss-poor planning excuses. Oh, and this is the outfit who had an ER staffer who did not know they had Covid dress up in an inflatable Christmas Tree costume, complete with fan, to spread "Christmas cheer" in the Goddamn ER.  Ho, Ho, Ho, sixty cases and more than one death later, they were finally forced to fess up to their gross incompetence. What a shit show!

@ysette9, you might have lucked into the best time ever not to have Kaiser Permanente.

[Villanelle]

BFF, dad, and sister all got a first dose within the last few days.  Sister had Covid (confirmed w positive test) a few weeks ago and was initially told that would put her at the bottom of the list, but it seems that changed.

Sister said her arm was extremely sore--far worse than any other shot, but that seems to be her only side effect and she said it was improved the next day.  No significant side effects for the other two. 

DH said they passed a spreadsheet around at work asking who wants the shot.  Hopefully that is forward progress for him. 
 

[the_fixer]

Father in law over 70 got his first phizer dose today. No issues so far.

My co-workers in New Mexico received their first shots last week glad for them but unfortunately Colorado put us in group 2 behind 1a and 1b despite CDC recommendations and my work is estimating May / June for our round (same group I would normally be in anyway)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Morning Glory]

My state clarified that students and faculty doing hospital rotations are officially 1a. Now we just need to wait until we actually get the vaccine. A couple of professors are trying to organize it so the students can give us and each other our shots. It would be so cool if I got a student who I had in skills lab last year.

[MudPuppy]

My arm is still sore today and there’s some discoloration in scattered patches from end of shoulder down toward elbow. Function not affected.

[DizzyDaisies]

I’m scheduled to get my second dose this week. I’m more nervous this time since it seems the side effects are more severe for the second dose. I am also discouraged by reading reports of deaths after the vaccine. I understand that some may be coincidental, but it still causes me some anxiety.

[Abe]

Second dose produced much less severe symptoms than first dose. Mild nausea and fatigue for 36 hours. I Received the Pfizer vaccine.

[DizzyDaisies]

Second dose produced much less severe symptoms than first dose. Mild nausea and fatigue for 36 hours. I Received the Pfizer vaccine.

Thank you for sharing. That’s encouraging to hear.

[Adventine]

Still here, still following all these stories of people getting the vaccines, very happy for those who have completed the doses, more than slightly impatient for my turn.

[Tass]

We are working on proving how the vaccine does in terms of preventing transmission. This kind of study takes time. This isn't "not a vaccine" just because we are still examining exactly how well it works. We know it works extremely well for preventing serious disease - that is not a "hope".

What do you mean to imply by calling it an "experimental gene therapy"? All therapies start out experimental. That's how we gather data on them. The fact that there's still more to learn is no reason to discount what we already know, which is that this vaccine will save lives.