It doesn’t work but it didn’t stop people from trying. I had my QR code scanned 3 times in the process - upon arrival, before getting the vaccine, and before leaving the observation area. I also had to show ID and proof of employment.
Not sure if your comment is directed at me but we certainly have a lot of undocumented workers in IL as well. You don’t need a government issued ID…anything with your picture would have worked.
And proof of employment was only for those of us under 65 who are getting it because we are health care workers or teachers. Our employers signed us up, so work badge would have worked too.
Definitely not perfect and I’m sure there are gaps. Like for the elderly who don’t live in facilities and have no computer access. Thankfully the town has opened up phone lines for appointments now and people can register for phone calls through their doctor’s offices/medical systems.
I am disappointed the federal government still does not have any sense of urgency regarding the vaccine rollout. Johnson & Johnson submitted its request for EUA on Feb 4th with all supporting data, the FDA is scheduled to discuss it Feb 26th. Given this is a national emergency,couldnt they move the discussion up a week or two?
There are literally hundreds of thousands of pages of documents to review, even for EUA…that takes a lot of people a lot of time to review. We don’t want them to make a mistake. If data are good, approval should happen within a couple of days after that meeting. JNJ also doesn’t have that many vaccines available as of right now, but are still committing to 100m in the US by June/July.
Thanks for pointing out that even if the J&J vaccine were approved that there aren’t that many produced at this moment. I think it was reported that they are having some problems with production.
Also yes, thank you for reminding how much paper that needs to be reviewed.
Massachusetts just did this -
Individuals accompanying someone 75 and older to their vaccine appointments at any of the state’s mass vaccination sites can get vaccinated at the same time under a new authorization the Baker administration announced Wednesday.
There mass vax centers are a disaster, 75 year olds who are not in a facility can’t easily get there. This is a way for them to get more shots given. They need to move the age down already to 65 like all the other states and start visiting nurse service for these older folks.
It’s the same all over. The county in Illinois where my dad lives has 43,000 (roughly) citizens over 65. Like many others, he had trouble using the internet site. They did have a phone number to call for appointments. With only 7 manning the phone lines. 7.
Massachusetts has moved the age down to 65 and over in some areas. I’m in the 65-74 age group and I got my vaccine yesterday. I’m lucky because I’m in one of the less populated counties in MA–since September we’ve been living here in our vacation home while extensive repairs taking place at permanent residence (both are in MA). I was able to signup for the vaccine last week and got my vaccine yesterday at the local VFW Hall. It seems like people in more populated areas of the state aren’t having an easy time getting a vaccine. I did see this story on CNN about a woman who created software while on maternity to help with the appointment scheduling.https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/08/us/olivia-adams-ma-covid-vaccine-website-trnd/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/08/us/olivia-adams-ma-covid-vaccine-website-trnd/index.html
The 26,000 CVS slots for VA filled very quickly yesterday. They say they will reopen appointments when they have their next batch but not saying when. Apparently there is no real check against the pre-screened county lists so anyone can sign in and get an appointment. Walgreens site struggled. It just says none a available. County won’t say where we are on the 150,000 list. Who knows when we’ll see the vaccine.
Yes, Atlantic City. I got the appt. at 11:28 p.m. I was in the queue since 2:30 in the afternoon. It’s actually a pretty good system because they will email you as your turn comes up, so you don’t need to stare at a screen for hours (which of course I was doing anyway, as I was fascinated by the numbers changing).
People were in the queue using multiple devices, browsers etc. As the time to make my appointment approached, a lot of these devices timed out. Once you’re in the queue, you stay there. If you don’t register within 10 minutes of getting into the registration area, you are booted out. I think a lot of people weren’t tending their devices that late and just got booted out, enabling the patient to get an appt.
If the person you are looking to get a vaccine for is a vet - try your local VA hospital/facility. They have some limited supply but also limited people they are serving. You might get lucky?
My county is finally opening to 65+ and in a couple weeks also to anyone with health conditions as part of 1b.
I received an educator code to use to make an appt from my county but seeing as I already had been vaccinated I didn’t use it and I didn’t forward it. I assume I couldn’t pass it on anyway because they vaccinations were being given at two high schools and if we showed up at the county location we would be turned away. Apparently some idiot teachers didn’t read the email and sign up with the code to go to the right locations! Duh! and they yell at kids for not following directions!
Our school is also going back in about 10 days 50% but right now my son isn’t on board with it and wants to stay home at least for the first 2 weeks. Whatever floats his boat. I hope as time goes on, he will change his mind, but seeing as they’re only going in for 3 periods a day, and some days when you may have PE, or a teacher you know isn’t present, it’s hard to get motivated to get out of bed that early.
for those in MA, I got the following email
Massachusetts CIC clients and staff,
Many of you have asked me if there is a legitimate way for a younger person to get a vaccine for themselves. There now is.
I am writing to alert you that Massachusetts has just announced that if you bring a person who is 75+ years old in to get their vaccine shot, you can now get a shot yourself at the same time. Make sure you make two separate appointments (one for them, one for you) around the same time. Only one person can accompany.
There are a few appointments available still right now. A nice private site that summarizes locations that are available can be found here. Most sites that add more appointments, including CIC Health, post them at some point on Thursdays (tomorrow). This time is not announced in advance to avoid overload of the systems.