I read an article recently that in Los Angeles they were running clinics that had no advertising and no internet signups. They were in target neighborhoods that had high Covid rates and low vaccination rates. They did on the ground outreach through community organizations, churches, neighborhood clinics. From the article they had outreach workers walking the streets and knocking on doors.
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Well, my son tells me that he wonāt rush the day his eligibility starts - thereās nothing heās been waiting for a vaccination to do. So heāll wait a few days and see what the situation is like and what his medical group recommends. There go my plans for online vaccine hunting on at 12:01 am on April 15!
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Found a J/J vaccine @30 min away for D21 who turns 18 this week. She wasnāt desperate to get the vaccine right away, but willing to take it. I like knowing that our family will be doneā¦unless they decide a booster is needed.
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MD just announced starting tomorrow, due to an increase in vaccine availability, all MDers ages 16+ will be eligible for vaccination. I just booked my 18 y/o for J&J on Wednesday. Have to drive a little over an hour, but he is on spring break this week so easier to just get it done now. Iām sure if I waited, I could find something closer to home but then I would have to work around his school, sports and work schedule.
Noe he will be fully vaccinated before me, dh and my 16 /yo b/c we just had Moderna and Pfizer. We wonāt get our second doses until later in April.
S19 is getting J&J on Saturday. My oldest got her second dose last Friday. So happy by early May we will all be totally vaccinated.
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I just returned from driving my mid 20s kids to their first Pfizer shots at a CVS 90 minutes (one way) from our house. This is the place that had openings available for a few days, so we finally decided to sign up for them figuring weāre not taking any away from those who should be ahead of them in line.
One big difference I noticed between my two shots (locally) and theirs today is I felt like I was the ākidā when I got mine. Everyone else seemed older or at least similar aged to me. Where they got theirs today, many of those getting it were their age or probably younger (college age). Iād have been among the few āold folksā if Iād been in line with them.
Not only that, when they were done they told me the lady asked where they were from telling them theyāre getting a lot of younger people coming in for the vax, including two who came from the Boston (MA) area yesterday. Those two told her this was āthe closest we could find.ā I asked Google what the distance was from there to Boston. Google said 6 hours and 10 minutes if they drove (they may have flown).
We also wondered if the two had friends or family in the area (a couple colleges are nearby) where they might have had a ābase,ā as I think there should have been closer open areas in PA to them - if they drove. If they flew, then there might not have been as this one is less than an hour from an airport and not near a big city.
Regardless, it certainly appears like vaccine tourism is a thing at the moment. In my mind, if the locals donāt want the vaxes (no rush to fill spots), then let those willing to travel have them.
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Yes a friendās flew home to PA from BC for Easter and received his first shot the day he landed. Heāll have to find his second shot in MA
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Spoke to somebody today who flew her college kid from Chicago to NJ to get their shot this weekend. They are hoping the kid can get shot number two back in Chicago, but if not, they will fly her back again for it.
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A friendās daughter attends American, and she and a group of friends made appointments in North Carolina. They took a weekend trip, planned their stops for BBQ, and drove back. Just after they planned this trip, Maryland and Virginia opened up to 16+.
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We had my D20 travel home from Boston to NJ so she could get her vax (she was eligible in NJ, wouldnāt be in MA for a couple of weeks, and not sure how that would work, as sheās not a full-time resident there). Sheāll be coming back for shot #2 in a couple of weeks.
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S drove to Bakersfield from LA with his roommate this morning. Walk-in at the mass vaccination clinic is available even for under 50s (who arenāt eligible in LA) because they have lots of spare shots. He said news crews were covering it because almost everyone there was from LA CSUB vaccine hub extends offer to those 16 and older and to non-Kern residents - The Runner
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Definitely happening in WA. Lots of rumors of people in my wider Seattle social circles who headed to the mass vaccination sites in E WA. Ready to get it done.
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I have friends who drove to Bakersfield early in the vaccine rollout. We would have considered it when our time came but we were able to get something closer. The Central Valley seems to usually also have availability at CVS.
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Our local hospitals suddenly have plenty of sign-up dates available, starting 4/19. I debated cancelling my 70 minute drive to Ohio today to put it off for a couple of weeks, but went ahead with the scheduled one.
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Iām annoyed at a few friends. They asked how I got appointments so quickly so I told them. Sign on the website at EXACTLY the time I tell you. If you try Walmart, make sure you have an account first. Etc., etc. But then they would say things like, āItās hard to stay up until midnight.ā āI donāt want to get a Walmart account because I had issues with them in the past.ā So they dilly dallied and now it IS hard to find appointments since everyone 16 and over is eligible. Sigh. I told them itās still possible but they have to be PERSISTENT. I was!
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Priorities
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Todayās Los Angeles Times has a front page article about young people from Los Angeles heading to Bakersfield for shots. They are welcoming them as Kern county has a lot of vaccine hesitantly.
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Seattle is letting all over age 16 register to be notified of availability for city administered vaccines after April 15. My son allowed me to register him.
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We are running out of reasons not to get a vaccine around here. We dropped eligibility to anyone/everyone last week (give or take). We have hundreds of unused appointments each day. Moderna mostly, but some mobile pop up clinics of the J&J. And now, if youāre 60+, you can call our locality and they will pre-register you, make your appointment, and pick-up you/drop you off free of charge. We are trying. Unfortunately, I donāt think we will have enough takers to reach herd immunity.
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I have mixed feelings about the Central Valley situation. Iām glad the doses are getting used, but if folks in Kern County are so reluctant, shouldnāt the extra doses be going directly to places like Los Angeles and San Diego, where vaccine enthusiasm is high? From what Iāve read San Diego has an extremely robust vaccine delivery system, but still hasnāt been able to ramp up to full capacity because it isnāt getting the doses.
Agree completely. The allocations are ridiculous here in CA.
I think things are really improving throughout the state, though. My healthcare system jumped ahead of the state and counties on Monday and started giving to everyone 16+ regardless of county of residence. They have plenty of shots. My county, on the other hand, designated about 10 zip codes that can go 16+ while the rest of the zip codes wait until the 15th. Itās bizarre how they try to micromanage. At this point just get the shots in arms.
ETA- I just saw that CSULA is offering shots to all adults starting today. They have excess capacity, it seems.