Per the vaccine distribution timeline of Massachusetts, D would be eligible at the same time as or before those of age 75+ (she has two comorbidities; beginning of Phase 2). Crazy that my D could get the vaccine before them.
We are actually from the Mohawk valley area but used to lived in NYC. Moved here after the eldest was born.
Yeah I am glad there are more testing being done by the school. Iām worried though because I learned the new variant of covid19 affects people 19 and younger.
On another note, my husband and I got our second dose of vaccine Moderna yesterday. I have the same noticeable tingling on my fingers and feet albeit less this time. My arm is sore and slightly swollen so Iām doing cold compress. We havenāt have any success in getting appointments for our parents ranging in age from 75 to 84 yo. They live with us.
Oops. I guess I misunderstood. But it is a small world - I grew up just a couple of miles from the Mohawk River though I think we were technically considered the Capital District. We used to hang out at Lock 7.
Glad to hear you and your husband got your vaccinations. My H got his first Moderna shot 12/31 (our daughterās bday - a present to her as she has been very worried about him as he is a health care provider) and gets the second this week. My mother got her first a couple of weeks in MA. Sheās the only parent left but Iāve helping my 91 y/o aunt navigate the process. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for you to try to do it 4 times (though a blessing Iām sure that your parents are still with you)
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My daughter got her first one today in Delaware. Sheās on the list here in NJ, but one of her roommates is a nursing major and was going today. Had to wait a few hours but today was the last day for 1a, moving on to over 65 tomorrow.
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Itās disturbing. All because they overcomplicated the initial rollout and decided to stick tho their exact schedule not ramp up sooner. Hospitals were SLOW to get vaccines in arms in Decemberā¦ Lots of rules and specifics about who could get it and they were not ready with appointment booking systems. They are doing these vaccines during normal business (not holidays or weekends) hours. Shameful. Connecticut is vaccinating much more quickly.
Currently 75s are prioritized to start Feb 1. This actually makes me upset too. Why do they have a set date if supply is unpredictable? Just like ācongrant care settingsā that started exactly on Monday morning - they are not shifting quickly based on supply and distribution ramp ups. In Connecticut, they decided over 2 days to open up to 75+ based on the fact they were not getting enough hits from the health workers. Baker is really failing here. According to Massās own reporting, they have 200k+ vaccines sitting in freezers in Mass.
No chance in heck that college students get their jabs (in Mass) before March. They have millions of elderly to do first.
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My two DS are returning to their respective schools this weekend.
DS1 is at Notre Dame. They pushed back the start of the Spring term and will not have Spring break. They are doing a staggered return with testing required upon return to activate your ID card to access the dorm. All students will be required to get tested weekly. They may be tested more frequently if there are surges in the dorm.
DS2 is at Arizona State. They started on Jan 11, but we kept this one home to keep his brother company and limit boredom. All his classes are online this semester. Any class with over 100 students is required to be online. He is returning now for a few reasons. First, housing will not let him out of his contract. Second, he does have a capstone team project that will be easier if he and the other members can meet in person. Third, he is ready to go back to get into the academics more. He definitely feels like he has more of the ābeing at schoolā vibe, even though he doesnāt go to a classroom. Finally, he needs to start preparing for an internship (housing, etc.) that will be easier to coordinate if he is physically present. ASU testing protocol is test at home no more than 1 week before returning. Test within 48 hours of return to campus. Then, random testing the remainder of the semester.
Both are definitely hoping for a more ānormalā Fall '21 semester. That will be the beginning of their Senior year.
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Governor Baker just announced MA is finally moving to phase 2 next week. February 1 : included are all adults over age 75 and those with one co morbidity.
He is opening up other larger scale vaccination sites. And @GKUnion I agree it an embarassment how slow this roll out has been especially since the UK variant is here in state now. Most of the vaccines will be distributed at large sites located in urban more disadvantaged areas.
That is not exactly what the Globe is reporting. Those 75 and over are eligible on Feb1, but not those with one comorbidity.
For the purposes of this thread, I doubt healthy college students will be eligible until late spring.
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I totally agree and have said that quite a few page back. There is no way healthy college students will get vaccinated in MA anytime soon.
However Boston.dot com is reporting 1 co morbidity āThe final group eligible in Phase 2 will be individuals with a single comorbidity, before the rollout opens to all members of the general public.ā So I think you are not correct on that.
Nothing really changed in his plan for next week (75s were recently in the list for top of phase 2 and phase 2 has always been set for Feb 1). What did change was he moved over 65s with 2 co-morbidities to next in line after that AND most importantly announced a ton of new sites opening.
As to college students - if you read Dr Scott Gotlieb, he really believes that if supply continues to ramp up, that by March - there will be issues with demand, not supply. He thinks 1/3 of the population is clamoring for the shots, 1/3 are ambivalent and will need coaxing and 1/3 donāt want it and will need lots of convincing. If that is true, then college students will get their chance in March.
The problem with Mass is that they didnāt get what they had into arms fast enough. They need to be ready in case supply does come through and not slow drag their feet with this ridiculous specific timeline.
Rutgers made an odd announcement that they hoped to welcome all students back in the fall 2021, but not at the same time. It seems very early for such a suggestion that staggered attendance would be needed, though I note the public school teachers union in NoVa apparently concurs.
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what is Rutgers doing now?
Rutgers is online for Spring semester for undergrads. My sonās best friend attends. Not sure what the protocol is for grad students.
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Iām really anxious to know, if all students are required to be vaccinated at a school, what life will look like. Will classes be in person without masks? Will freshmen have normal freshmen orientation? Will the only limits maybe only be on larger groups? And when will schools be able to determine all of this?
I would think schools would want their plans out there well before the May 1 decision date for the 2021 high school seniors but, if they have to change plans, I hope many of them accept late gap year requests. Since itās seeming like it will be anyoneās guess as to what fall will be like, we need to make sure that D can make a gap year decision closer to fall.
I think masks are here to stay until the majority of the entire population is vaccinated.
Plenty of schools still managed to safely be in person this year so I would hope the rest would be able to get their ducks in a row to do the same.
I donāt think it will look the same as pre-pandemic, but it should still be a meaningful, in person experience at most schools.
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It seems quite likely many schools will have no idea what the fall will look like, or how many of the students will be vaccinated, until the fall starts. Some states do not expect to begin shots for healthy college students until this summer.
One of the top people from CU Boulder was in front of the city council recently, and was asked about requiring students to be vaccinated. He said they wished they could, but because the vaccine is still defined as experimental they donāt believe they can require it. He did say that it is possible the vaccines could move out of the experimental classification in the future (he didnāt say if the future was next month or 5 years from now) and then CU would require it.
We canāt force the general population to vaccinate. I hope that colleges make their decisions about in-person classes based on vaccination rates of their faculty, staff, students and surrounding area. Iām not sure I understand how anything is going to be decided when it comes to loosening up Covid restrictions. When will we go to the grocery story unmasked? How will group limits be decided? 100 inside? 300 outside? Will this be by state? Based on hospitalizations, etc? All of this could affect this yearās seniors and how they choose their schools.
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Iām sure itās going to depend on the school and that private schools might have more leeway here. I know the flu shot is not in the same category as the Covid vaccine but S19 was required to have one to come to campus this spring. Iām pretty sure Bowdoin would require the Covid vaccine. And my niece at UIUC supposedly got an email saying it will be required for them as well. I pushed her on that because it seems like itās too soon for UIUC to be sending something like that out but she seemed sure.
I donāt know about plenty, at around here. Even those with students on campus appeared to have little in person classes. My daughterās college showed up as hybrid when I searched, but Iām guessing 99% was virtual. They had only 1200 students on campus, will have 5000 this spring (singles only) but again, mostly virtual classes (my daughter has taken 4 online labs and will take 2 more in the spring). In order to figure out what is actually happening on campuses, you really need to ask a current student.
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