For those in MA: At 6:15 AM today, the state vaxfinder website wasn’t updated yet, so I went to the CVS site. By 6:20 AM I had an appointment! At the closest CVS offering vaccine to where I live! Going on Monday.
Cannot express the sense of relief I am feeling. Living like a hermit for a full year, finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
My poor wife got a tetanus booster earlier this week, so we can’t try signing her up for 2 weeks–she assumed her chance of getting a COVID vaccine appointment this week were slim to none.
So glad to hear this @MADad. I think the pharmacies are easier to get than the mass sites.
I have identified an allergy to polyethylene glycol at this point. I again met with the allergist for more instructions, and have so far cancelled two appointments due to this problem. I have an appointment now for next Wed.
I called my cousin at 6:30 am today. She is a late sleeper. I saw the CVS spots on the website and her son did it for her. She has an appointment Sat. She has been trying for weeks. So similar story to yours.
OMG. Just to see how today’s big release of appointments was going in MA, I went to the state vaxfinder website. This is the message they have posted:
“Due to limited federal supply and a large number of previously scheduled second-dose appointments, first dose appointments are no longer available today for Fenway Park, Gillette Stadium, or the Reggie Lewis Center. Please check other locations for availability.”
I just looked at CVS. No availability right now in MA so the slots are all gone.
FYI - My husbands appointment at Gillette went very smooth yesterday. There was literally no line at all. We had to go through a couple check points but basically walked right up to a desk giving vaccines. There was some confusion about how to sign up for second doses. I think they must have recently changed procedures because we got two different sets of instructions while we were there but in the end all was good and his next appointment is scheduled for 4 weeks.
I can’t wait until l am eligible to get my appointment. I am getting serious vaccine envy. Relatives and coworkers who live in CT who are over 55 are now all scheduled.
So, this morning, probably at 8am CVS opened a bunch of slots in VA. I got on at 8:05 and immediately started the process only to be told they’re extremely busy and to wait - they are updating that page continually and will let me know when it’s my turn. I had H get on too - he would have been on about 8:07.
H got through before I did by about 5 minutes, so they are NOT going in order (grr!, but he got through). There was one day left (Monday) for appts, but he’s in the process of snagging one. Out of curiosity - and as a backup - I went ahead and started the process when it let me on (8:20 vs 8:15ish) and by that time all of the appointments around FIL were booked.
So for lessons, it’s a crapshoot. I should have gotten through before H because I was on the page first by a couple of minutes - yet I didn’t. If you can have more than one page open - do so. And the slots go quickly in populated areas. Very quickly.
It’s super frustrating, but FIL has both of his shots now scheduled. For that, I’m relieved.
Continuing to watch VA, there are still openings in several areas, but not in the areas around Richmond where FIL is. If anyone is looking in a different area - check. And VA might want to redistribute some vax to areas that seem to need them more…
I’m sure there is a lot of demand in Richmond area with a lot of computer savvy people. And they probably don’t have as many pharmacy options like NOVA. We don’t have many options, but not the demand/computer savvy people. Our CVS slots stay open for about 2 days.
And in contrast to all of that, the Roanoke area Krogers always seem to have something.
@me29034 I saw on last night’s news that only 12K first doses would be released today by the state because they were holding back lots of vaccine for second dose appointments.
I also heard that CVS gets its supply directly from the federal gov’t in exchange for their role in vaccinating nursing home residents. The secret with CVS apparently is logging on right at 6AM?
I think going forward we will concentrate on CVS in the quest to vaccinate my wife, as opposed to the state megasites. Nice to hear that the process went smoothly for your hubby!
In NY, the statewide system is so glitchy that it’s hard to actually see true availability. Last week I started looking to help my sister, her D and H get appointments in Western NY (all under 65 with qualifying co-morbidities). The local pharmacy sites were only authorized to vaccinate 65+, so I was relying on the state sites. At that time there was one each in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. They live in Buffalo and were willing to drive as far a Syracuse. I looked online and called the NYS Vax Hotline to no avail. Then, Monday evening, I was scrolling Twitter and noticed that one of the new vaccine finder posters had noted that for the state sites at Aqueduct and Jones Beach, even if the website said no appointments available, if you clicked on “Schedule an Appointment” anyway appointment availability appeared. I thought I’d take a chance on the other sites and was able to get appointments for my sister and her D on Friday in Rochester. Her H got one in Syracuse today and that works for him since he has to be there on business today, anyway. My niece is only 16 but has significant auto-immune issues and needs the Pfizer vaccine since it is the only one authorized for 16+. My sister called the hotline and was assured that the state site in Rochester is giving Pfizer but that info, too, is not available on the website. By the time I got up Tuesday morning, all appointments on the state site had been booked. Everyone eligible in my family has now been vaccinated or will be soon - my thirty-something children are the only ones left, though DIL is pregnant and has been vaccinated. The whole process is frustrating and annoying and unfair - there had to be a better way.
After Biden’s request, Maine changed its priorities to allow all teachers and childcare workers to get vaccinated immediately, no matter their age. While I am happy for them, selfishly I’m thinking, ugh. It will be harder for me to get an appointment on April 1 when I’m eligible. Oh, well. I know it’s important for teachers to feel safe, so it really is a good thing.
We had success with CVS, too. H wasn’t on until 7:30 AM, but there were quite a few slots at locations that worked for us. (This was last week.) The best things about the CVS site, IMO, are that you schedule both doses, and they reserve your times while you put in all the info. Very civilized!
I know politicians can promise anything and not deliver, but I do have a lot of faith in our governor (Murphy in NJ) and he has said repeatedly that he expects vaccine availability to “explode” in the first week of April and that supply is going to outstrip demand shortly after. I imagine that is the case for all states. Hang in there!
Hopefully we’ll be getting our second (Moderna) shots (twice delayed) at Petco this weekend. But just in case there are yet more problems, at 1:00 am last night I managed to grab two newly released appointments at the local Rite Aid for next Wednesday - still within the 42 days.
To keep the vibe as positive as possible (because we do have options here or coming we should be thankful for), I want to say I think it is heartwarming to see the CC people helping others secure appointments, offering tips and being joyous when appts are secured.
i was thinking about this the other day. Even when only 1A was being vaccinated, it was clear that not just the frontline medical workers (or support personnel) were being vaccinated. Remember the reports where medical admin folks snagged all the appointments because they were sitting in offices, while the ICU workers were busy in the ICU? And what about professionals who remain remote, yet got that vaccine at the head of the line? Sure, it’s easier to vaccinate every single employee of a medical system. But that only served to show everyone that such reasoning could be used in other priority groups, too. So much jockeying for front-of-the-line status among various groups. Combine that with the Hunger Games vaccine competition among individuals, and there you go.
Given that the government was responsible, despite initial delays in getting “shots in arms”, it is not that bad. Compared to many/most countries I have seen discussions on, we seem to be doing reasonably well in getting the population vaccinated.
Sure it could have been done differently, but someone would always be unhappy. Hopefully, the supply ramps up and we can get more folks getting the shots asap!
