Did you check the Harris Teeter sites? There is a lot of availability in the Raleigh area. Also, is he anywhere near the Greensboro FEMA site? Try vaccinefinder.org. Wishing him the best and hope his symptoms will dissipate when he is able to be vaccinated.
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Yup, no CVS openings anywhere in WA. Even for second shots. Local news had a segment about vaccine āopening dayā yesterday, and as we already know, they reported plenty of openings in less populated counties. The business community leaders interviewed by the news crew were by no means against offering any of these shots to Seattleites. They were hoping vaccine seekers might even do some socially distanced shopping, dining, and recreation in additionā¦ yup, vaccine tourism seems to be unofficially encouraged to boost the economy. These vaccine tourists come in small groups, generally have no issues with mask compliance, so they should not pose a threat to the locals.
Did the news report mention why the state is not adjusting allocations to send more to the high demand areas? Can Seattle not administer more doses than theyāre currently getting? Or is this part of a state mandated percent requirement for underserved or tribal areas etc.?
This - the latter - seems to be the plan. The massive PFE vaccine shipments to Yakima are federal allocations (not included in the state allocations), and FEMA apparently targeted the area that was hit the hardest last year. Plus, it is the beginning of active farming season where masks and distancing seem problematic, so the state is trying to make appointments easily available (on a walk in basis) in agricultural areas to encourage farm workers to get vaccinated.
ETA: WA tribes are doing a fantastic job getting vaccines into peopleās arms and are now offering help with vaccinations of non-tribal population. Some counties (mostly tribal lands) have vaccination rates double of the state averages.
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You can backdoor into the CVS site and sometimes find appointments by selecting a state with openings. After the screening you will need to reselect the state and then put in the zip.
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I just tried vaccinefinder. Iāve never found that site to be useful TBH. They claim both CVS and Walgreens around him have openings, but on both CVS and Walgreens sites themselves they do not. I even tried the backdoor check for CVS suggested by @the_mom_1 just in case that worked.
Heās in Western NC, so Greensboro is over an hour and a half drive.
Iām going to text him to see if heās happened to find anything or plans to wait for J&J still (thatās what he had lined up).
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Another CVS FYI. They tend to open their slots after midnight and around 5a. When theyāre in process you get a āweāre adding new appointmentā message and then a āsit tightā message. Iāve waited over an hour in the sit tight room. During the day you find slots opening from cancellations.
I just received a text back from long hauler that he and his wife just had Moderna #1 on Wednesday! Doing a happy dance here, esp since I knew he wanted J&J and wasnāt sure heād switch off of that desire. Also really, really, hoping his long haul symptoms go away once itās had a chance to work.
ETA: He also said his only side effect was a sore arm. I wasnāt sure if heād have more being previously infected with Covid and getting Moderna. He had his back in March 2020 at the beginning of it all. I donāt know if that changes anything TBH.
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Iām on the wrong coast, but for us it was a matter of trying to get to the poor and traditionally underserved areas. And why us vs another poor area? Our city manager wanted it here. I know he worked hard to pull together and work out logistics, and likely showed that to the state/feds. Too bad the rest of the area isnāt as excited as he is. I am guessing they were reluctant to shift quickly, because they wanted to make sure they gave people the opportunity to get them before moving on. They did switch gears from the one mass clinic to adding mobile units that went to places in the community (in addition to the cvs/other pharmacy sites.) And then when that didnāt work, they started scaling back our doses. We still have plenty of unused appointments every day, so pulling back isnāt hurting anyone here.
@Creekland so glad that your long hauler son got his first shot!! Iām am hoping that now he will get back to feeling %100 
. I know it takes the second shot for some to improve. Happy dance!
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@the_mom_1 , do you know of anyone who actually got vaccinated by registering this way? I got my son an appt by this method, and heās afraid he will get turned away. It seems legit, since there were fewer sites and fewer appts available when I checked a second time.
Iām not sure which way you mean but Iāve never had anyone turned away for any reason. Sites donāt care what you put down for eligibility when you registered.
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Son has a workmate (I wish he knew where he went) who supposedly was turned away at a vax site, was told his appointment wasnāt an actual one. Again, hearing all this third hand without all the details. Told son to show up for his appt and see what happens. He has a confirmation text/email, etc. I appreciate you passing on the tipāthank youājust dealing with an anxious young adult!
Thatās great news, Creekland. I hope he starts to feel better soon. Please keep us updated.
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Weāre getting together the end of May to celebrate med school ladās graduation. Iāll know more then seeing him in person. Then too, Dr Lad will be able to talk some things over with him if heās not better regarding what his next steps should be. The two trust each other and get along well.
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midwest here; and vaccines are open to anyone who is over 16. just make an appointment: county or private pharmacies or groups.
have friends who own pharmacies; and am going to help them a few hours a week with vaccines/paperwork. I had such a great/busy day on my first day. I liked talking to the elderly - especially those in for the first time. Iāve been through that with my 80yr old parents: vaccine reluctance. One old military guy said he was in because his granddaughter persuaded him. Good for her - and good for him for listening.
I loved being around people again, assuring, joking, listening, and giving the teens the āmom talkā about not losing their cards.
This private pharmacy is collecting insurance info; the public places arenāt. I think itās because private places are getting a small admin fee for administering . . anyone know? (Not going to ask my friends this question. )
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The private HMO where we got our vaccine collected our BCBS info. They billed our insurer and Medicare for vaccine administration fee of $18+ (H had $30+ fee), depending on your coverage. We were sent letter, telling us as a courtesy they were billing our insurer and we were responsible for any remaining unpaid balance. I just got a benefit statement that shows my insurer paid them the entire amount.
We gave them Hās Medicare info on the phone as his insurer statement shows that the claim wasnāt processed since Medicare was primary for him and insurer was secondary. I expect Medicare will pay 100% of the admin fee.
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I will be interested to see how this works out, we had our vaccine out of our home state and our coverage is ONLY for UC/ED out of network; will they balance bill or will the federal government pay for it (some articles say they will.) Either way, I am glad to get the vaccines.
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Walgreens billed the Medicare primary and not sure they ever billed BC/BS as secondary. They billed around $35 administration of vaccine fee and got around $17 approved and paid to them.
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Heck, I would have happily paid out of pocket any amount up to $100/shot; we were just glad to get shot. Iām glad they were willing to bill my insurer.
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