The drive-through’s here are well managed and no contact except for the vaccine station. Masks worn inside the car as well as by all people outside. ID & appointment info presented by holding paperwork up to the car window. The cars are routed in an open parking lot, but the actual vaccines are being given in a covered lot – so the health care people with the syringes are in a warm & dry place. Then cars are routed outdoors again for the 15 minute post-vac wait – but it is all very well organized.
I’ve heard good things about the local indoor mass vax events as well, at a local convention center – but I can see how pharmacies might not have the space to manage all the people. For indoors, it really helps to have a large arena or exhibition space with high ceilings for good ventilation and lots of space to for social distancing. They just did an event locally for over-65 at a local high school - I haven’t heard any reports from anyone who went there, but I’d assume they probably used the high school gym, though the weather the past few days has been nice enough that they could also have set up outdoors (but that’s not something to count on – here in northern california it rarely gets very cold, but we do get bouts of winter rain.)
My husband is a pharmacist in a grocery store (AZ). They schedule vaccine appointments every 15 min and they do have a separate waiting area. The previous patient is done with their wait about when the next one has finished checking in and is ready to be vaccinated. He is also doing all his normal pharmacist work during the day and this arrangement is manageable and avoids the lines. I’m pretty surprised to hear of the lines snaking through stores. Who thought that was a good idea?
I volunteered this past week at a drive through mass vaccination site at a stadium location. It was extremely well organized. These big sites have been open long enough now that they have worked the most of bugs out of the system. The same can be said of the vaccine appointment registration website and the call centers that help people book appointments. They’re ready to keep ramping up as more vaccine is available.
I received a vaccine at the end of my volunteer shift. The volunteer who booked my second appointment made an error (created dose 2 appt for the same day as dose 1) which I noticed when I got home. I was able to go on the state website, create an account, pull up my first vaccine info and rebook the second appointment for the correct time. This would have been a nightmare just a few weeks ago and took me less than five minutes.
My husband called one of the call center numbers today just to see what happens when he refers his elderly patients who can’t figure out how to register online. He got through to a real (and friendly and helpful) person in just a minute or two. They are able to help people find a location and book an appointment. Good news.
My first was at a county site. I waited in line for 2 hours. People kept their distances and were friendly. Sheriffs were omnipresent and offered water. People who couldn’t stand were ushered to chairs in the shade. For the second shot, there was no line at all.
Our local,p Publix stores sees far fewer people. Perhaps I see 2 people waiting their 15 minutes after the shot. People report that their shots are given at the appointed time.
I had each of my vaccines at a Walgreens. They were scheduled 15 mins apart from the next person. No crowds and the stores were empty. I felt very safe and was brought into the private room for the shot. My parents had theirs at a Walmart and similar experience.
If one takes the proper precautions you will be safe. Wear a mask, wear gloves if that makes you feel safer, keep your distance from others, if others get too close to you move away from them or ask them to step back. People will be responsive. Getting out of your house and getting the vaccine is the best thing you can do at the moment to protect yourself and your family members.
My mom is stage 4 lung cancer patient with many other health issues. She couldn’t wait to get the vaccine so she could see u and my kids more often. This is what everyone should want.
I know it scary but once you do it you will feel happy that you did!
My parents’ financial advisor knew about a clinic being held at UT-Austin. The man’s wife walked my dad through signing up for appointments for Mom and him on Friday morning! So relieved.
I just received a text and email that I had been selected through my state’s Department of Health to receive a vaccine. I had been given a link from the public schools to sign up on a waiting list as an ‘essential school volunteer’. I have always been a school volunteer, but since retirement I have been able to support students in the local elementary school weekly and sometimes two or three times per week. They REALLY need a lot of support right now, so I am glad I will be able to go back. I emailed my favorite principal and she responded with fireworks.
There were some interesting news stories this weekend about getting appointments for vaccines, about ‘line jumpers’, about the inequity for different groups. One location (I think it was a pharmacy, not a big drive thru) was for an underserved neighborhood and they’d sent a special code for sign up to eligible people. Well, it was pretty clear those showing up, with appointments made with the code, were not the population they were supposed to be giving the vaccines to, so they shut down the clinic.
In Philly, which is about 70% black (I think that was the figure), most of the vaccine has gone to white people, and not necessarily those over 65.
Here they kept shoving people into the 1b.3 group, and before they announce that we (yes ME! I’m in that group) could sign up as of March 5, they created a new 1b.4 and moved 2.5 MILLION from group 1b.3 into it, mostly restaurant workers and front line workers. Grocery workers got to stay in 1b.3 (that’s what having a union gets you) and there are also a lot of pharmacies in those grocery stores so they’ll be setting up a separate sign up for their employees. The restaurant owners and workers are furious, but I’m not sure what their chances were if they’d opened it up to 3.5 MILLION people this weekend. I think it would have again bumped older(new group includes 60-64 year olds) and medically fragile (the group has those with 2 medical conditions), and of course those of use who aren’t up at 3 am and able to use the computer as well as the average waiter.
I actually think things will run quicker by breaking up the group into smaller groups. We can’t even make appointments until our number is called. There is no making appointments for May or June. I think they are going to try a few big stadium events again, where they get 10,000 done in a weekend (well, two weekends as there is the second shot). I’m hoping for J&J and one shot and done and if that doesn’t happen for 2 weeks, I’m good with it.
Got an email notice from MyChart (health system communication program) that I 'had an appointment to schedule." It was for my covid shot. My group opens on Friday and I scheduled it for 2:10 - on Friday. Most of the systems are not open to sign up until Friday so this was a nice surprise to get the notice.
Will it be too much to hope for the J&J? I just want to be done.
All of my CT friends are scheduled. They really had to be persistent as appointments opened up…but they got them. They were frustrated all day, but in the last hour all scored their first shots.
Just got my email from the county and signed up for tomorrow am. If that is successful I will give up my Safeway one in 2 weeks and it will ripple through. They seem to be picking up the pace significantly. Friday reports were that they were still processing only 65% of the registrations from January 18th, the day before mine.
I heard on the news today that on Monday CA will begin transitioning to a new vaccine distribution system overseen by health insurer Blue Shield, which officials say will create more consistency among counties. Hope this helps the distribution.
That matters less than the supply of vaccine. If there is a shortage, no amount of rearranging priorities etc. will be seen as satisfactory by those who cannot get the vaccine because there are not enough doses.
Yay, I was able to schedule my husband’s two vaccinations! March 13 and April 3. The closes site I could find is two hours away, but that’s OK. If I find a closer location, I can cancel these. I can’t believe it was so easy.
I won’t be eligible until April 1. Not too far away, at least.
@MaineLonghorn , both Maine and NH are cleaning MA’s clock! You were able to schedule appts more than a week away. Family in NH got April appts, but were vaccinated last week when there were cancellations.
Here in MA we cannot schedule more than one week in advance, at a small number of mega-sites, and there are hundreds if not thousands vying for each appointment time. Every Thursday morning when the following week’s slot open up , it’s like the Hunger Games.
CVS and supermarkets are able to get a very limited supply of doses, and those fill up in minutes. Town health depts, medical practices cannot get vaccine. Hospitals have been promised limited amts.
As I have told people, even though MA has some of the best hospitals and universities in the world, vaccine-wise we are a backwater compared to tech-savvy NH and ME.
I don’t mind if my vaccination is months away, but please, GIVE ME A DATE! Then I can relax and wait for my turn to come. Weekly frustration will just create more co-morbidities.
Why give someone a date of May 3 when they are just going to keep searching for something sooner and then not release the May appointments until a much later date? I think it is best to release smaller groups and get them vaccinated, then do the next group, etc. Most states are to the point where people are in several groups and they don’t really know how big the group is anymore. 65 and a teacher? Counted twice. Grocery store worker and have two health conditions? Counted twice.
I think most here are only scheduling first appointments two weeks out. No crashing computers, no hours online. I’ve had family in almost every group (EMT, 85 year old, 65/teacher) and it’s been pretty smooth. I think they are going to do a few more of the big 10k drive thru events soon too.
Big problems in San Diego where between weather and supply issues with Moderna, there’s a large pool of seniors whose second dose has been delayed, sometimes more than once. People have been scrambling when Petco superstation closed multiple times, trying to find a second dose elsewhere. None to be found anywhere anymore.
Our second appointments were delayed to this Thursday (32 days after first) and my fingers are crossed that expected supplies arrive, are reserved for second doses, and tomorrow’s rain doesn’t cause more delays.
In places where this is done, people complain that there is too much overhead checking and verifying eligibility, etc. or that they do not agree with the prioritization categories.
But really, when there is a shortage, there will be people left out and who will complain about it. Different ways of rationing will just result in different people being left out and complaining.
