Wow. I just found out that those involved in the cannabis trade are considered health care workers in California and are in group 1a. Since cannabis can be used for medicinal purposes. So those 20 somethings in that trade would qualify for the vaccine before a 64 year old with diabetes or lung disease. Talk about inequities. SMH
4 Likes
I think I need to buy a lotto ticketā¦I got my friend and her mom appts in Mar and April, but with no luck for her 65+ year old husband. She has been trying for a while. Today while I was doing a major presentation I clicked on the Javit Center link and there were 10+ slots available today. I quickly turned my talk over to someone on my team and grabbed an appt for my friendās husband. Of course I had a hard time getting in touch with them after I made an appt. But he just got vaccinated. 
10 Likes
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/VaccineAllocationGuidelines.aspx says:
I.e. it looks like most cannabis workers will be in 1b, not 1a.
The overlapping definitions above refers to the definitions in Essential workforce - Coronavirus COVID-19 Response .
1b sounds right to me. I mean, people do use cannabis for health reasons. My dad did instead of opioids for pain and sleep after a surgery.
It does specify āmedical cannabis.ā They seem like essential workers to me.
Hereās the site for one of them. https://www.macovidvaccines.com/
Iām so frustrated with the slowness of the opening of the different phases in MA.
Unless lots of folks scheduled, there seem to be openings at some places in MA!
Me too! Gov. Baker really needs to take a look at whats going on and make some changes. If the spots arenāt being booked at the super sites, there is probably a reason! Get it to the local pharmacies/towns to distribute to the less mobile senior population and open up the sites to 65+ and teachers!
2 Likes
My husband had a doctorās appointment today with the doctor who got him his vaccine appointment. She said he was super lucky, they were overwhelmed right after he got his appointment and she had to struggle to get vaccines for her own elderly parents. Her advice to him. If your wife wants a shot sooner, tell her to lie and say she used to be a smoker.
Gillette Stadium as a vax site for MA made little sense to me. Itās closer to downtown Providence than it is to Boston. No public transportation and many elderly donāt have cars/shouldnāt be driving (at least in winter).
1 Like
Is this where we are as a society, where physicians tell their patients they should lie?
I swear I am afraid for our society.
It wonāt be long until there will be enough vaccine for all who want it. I understand people are impatient but is it worth lying? Do we have to be first in line?
11 Likes
The big stadium sites work well to move people through quickly, but they are serving mostly middle class or higher, with cars, and probably people who had the ability (or had kids who could help) to navigate the sign-up website. My mother (85) could NEVER have done it on her own.
The good news is that they are vaccinating large numbers of people (10k the weekend she went) and shots arenāt going to waste. Bad news (unfair news) is that all in the early group (70+ in our state) arenāt getting equal access to the clinics. We are having more (smaller) community clinics. This weekend there was one at a church that mostly serves an Hispanic population and is in the center of the city and another in an area that is mainly Black (but it was a drive through). They had another big one at a not-so-convenient arena, but they made an effort to get some seniors there with ride share and senior ride buses.
As long as the clinics are getting shots into the arms of the eligible groups, I think it is okay to hold the clinics at places that might not be as convenient for all but get more people through the process.
1 Like
For New Jersey residents, this Twitter feed is valuable:
https://twitter.com/C19VaxxUpdates
The guy monitors all the different portals and sites in New Jersey and posts updates on when they are open/have appts available. Itās really amazing. Heās a currently unemployed Broadway actor who is doing this as a public service. Why the state canāt do this, I donāt know.
I am in the queue right now for the Atlantic City mega site. I probably wonāt get an appointment for my husband tonight, but they are giving out 14.000 appts today. Right now we are # 3395 in the queue but there are only 2650 appointments left.
4 Likes
I agree that current distribution protocols favor the connected (literally). If you are an elderly person who lives alone, is not tech savvy, and has no help from family, you are very vulnerable yet you are not going to get a vaccine. I find it incredible that rollout plans did not take this population into account. If you are not in a congregate care setting, or you donāt have someone aggressively advocating for you, you will miss out. And thatās a lot of people.
1 Like
Charlie Baker was the CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health before becoming governor and ran as a ācompetent managerā. Vaccine rollout should be right up his alley, yet heās botched it. Saw on the news today that the National Guard is being sent to manage the vaccine site in Springfield. Many age 75+ people people waited outside in the cold for long periods waiting for vaccine. In the early days at Gillette, saw the same thing. These folks should not be out in the cold, and many of them should not be standing in place for that long.
WHY???
1 Like
OMG I am now 450 on the list with approx. 500 appt. slots remaining. This is painful. When your slot comes, you have a brief window to go into the system and make an appointment. I think people are going to bed and missing their window. At least I hope thatās the case now.
Update: # 257 with 300 appts. left. Fingers crossed!
4 Likes
I got it! Appointment on March 29.
Honestly I am going to keep on trying to see if I can get something earlier for him.
14 Likes
Why isnāt MA doing drive through sites at some of these places?
Got my friendās H vaccinated yesterday. I did more research online and found some small clinics around Brooklyn giving shots. I got my friendās 90 yr old mother an appt today. My friend being a typical New Yorker said, āHow would I get my mother there. I donāt know where it is.ā I said, ā$80 round trip uber rides.ā My fingers are crossed everything will go smoothly for the mother (not getting turned away for not being a Brooklyn resident).
It is frustrating that each state, city is doing it differently.
Someone said it is kind of like trying to get a Rolling stone concert ticket (or in my case, Springsteen ticket).
5 Likes
No documentation is required for a vaccine here-it is much faster that way, and more welcoming to some groups who cant or wont provide identification.
2 Likes
Wish I knew. Not possible at Fenway Park but Gillette Stadium has acres and acres of parking. Donāt know the setting of the vaccination debacle in Springfield. If itās downtown, I canāt imagine there would be much space for drive-thru clinics.
1 Like