I have been immunizing nursing home staff members all day. Many were second doses, but I was pleasantly surprised to have a large number of first timers who had declined the first time around. They stated that early on they had read arguments against the vaccine, but decided on their own that maybe it was a good idea, since their coworkers who had had the earlier dose reported no more side effects than that of the flu shot. This is good news!
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I was really surprised that my relative who is 65 and in ok health was advised to wait and see by his Kaiser doctor. The doctor herself got vaccinated.
Kaiser has announced that it will contact age 65+ people who use Kaiser when it has vaccine available for them. I.e. they do not want people flooding their phone lines. Perhaps that is what āwait and seeā meant? (Health care workers can call or use the web site for appointments.)
https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/covid-19/covid-19-vaccine
Maybe. Itās really not that difficult to make appointments at mass vaccination sites or many pharmacies where we are so I would think she should have told him to try to make appointment outside Kaiser system
I am getting more nervous about the vaccine, but really want one so I can see my kids. I have both an overactive immune system and an autoimmune disorder. One MD said my immune system has āgone awry.ā I am going to ask my doctors if the mRNA is the best kind for me or if I should wait for the adenovirus-based vaccines.
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How do different states and facilities verify if someone is a āhealth care providerā? Asking because two people I know simply checked āyesā on the form . One because she could honestly be considered English illiterate and figured her 77 year old husband was in need of her medical care. Another because they decided caring for a dementia individual in a private setting made them a āhealth care providerā. Both individuals received the vaccine - no questions asked.
Iā¦on the other hand (under 65, no pre-exisiting conditions, no political connection, no hope of major contribution to the correct entity)ā¦am ranked somewhere below the Quantanimo prisoners and a dead body
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Iāve signed up on a few of the hospital sites to be called when my group is called. They keep moving people from behind me to my group. First it was 16-64 with health conditions, then they added grocery workers and mailmen, then other professions and today all restaurant workers. The group is now at over 3 MILLION people.
Honestly, I think if Iād put the wrong birthdate (and I did type it in wrong once and had to correct it), Iād just be put in that group. My mother was not asked for anything except her birth date - no id, no insurance card.
I just filled one out and it asked my name, address, county, if I was in any of the work categories (teachers, restaurant workers, health care, nursing home worker, grocery stores), birth date, whether Iāve been diagnosed with any of the listed conditions or diseases. Some of the other lists only ask for a birth date, so not sure how they would know if you are 30 and have 10 diseases or 30 and healthy, but a grocery store worker.
They also have a āstandby listā for days when they have too much vaccine thawed. You have to get to the location within 15 minutes of being called. Only one location is close enough for me.
For my daughter who works in health care she IS able to socialize more with friends since many of her friends are also vaccinated. I agree with you on everything else. Also as more data becomes available more vaccinated people may be able to do a lot more ( e,g.the new Astra Zeneca study re transmission). I think the NYT article called ā We are underselling the vaccineā also makes a good argument about why telling people that ā nothing changes after vaccinationā is not a great one from a public health perspective.
In our state you are supposed to be a health care worker with direct patient contact. You are supposed to bring either a pay stub or show hospital/other facility id/badge.
Yes, confirming that as a health care worker 1. our vaccine comes through our employer - meaning on site at the health care facility and 2. show your badge! They did check for this.
I hope that sometime in the near future, that there will be a standardized system for prioritizing vaccines.
In my opinion, the perception that the vaccine rollout is unfairly distributed is because the rules seem to be different in every state, town and county. Instead of one system or even 50 systems, it seems like we have 1000ās of different systems.
We need to work together not divided.
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If I were emperor I would have done the rollout differently. But I am fine with whatever, I just wish they would hurry. I do not like those who jump in line, but once again, ok - just get the shot distributed asap to those who are willing to have it done.
I am surprised there is not a lot more pushback on the governments to improve, but I think everyone has been beaten into submission.
YAY! she changed her mind. she was tired of listening to me. 79-yr old mom getting her vaccination in two weeks! 
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My husband and I both got the Moderna ( underlying health conditions), my 18 year old will also get the Moderna as she volunteers at a Covid vaccine site. My 83 year old father got the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine in the UK and my 75 year old mum got her Pfizer vaccine in the Uk in her care home. I do not understand why any sentient being refuses the vaccine other than people in minority groups who have historical reasons to be suspicious of vaccines and it is our duty to public health education to remove those fears. I have a 24 yr old desperate to be vaccinated. I really donāt understand the reluctance unless prior health related reasons.
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Now youāve done it, it will be the Modernaās against the Phizerās ganging up in the single Astra Zeneca. 
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My sonās doctor, someone I trust immensely, said he thinks the Moderna vaccine is better. He was glad that was the one my son got today. But I will take anything I can get!
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Looks like we have someone for the Moderna clan.
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Somewhere (eek!) I read that Moderna has a lower efficacy in those 65 and up than Pfizer does. Mother-in-law and her friend had tension over this because her friend wanted Pfizer but they only had Moderna at her scheduled appointment. Friend had been āpromisedā Pfizer, but they were out when she went. MIL went to the same place the next day for hers and received the Pfizer. Then promptly texted her friend, āGo ahead and hate me. I got Pfizer.ā 
No wonder there was tension.
I am so far down the list that I feel certain I will have a choice when my time comes. Iām also hopeful that approvals for changed formulations to address new strains can happen, but I donāt know about that. The more boosters, etc that are required, the more pushback there is going to be, I think. People want an definitive āendā and they want it NOW. That is not realistic, but the more it gets drawn out the angrier folks are going to get.
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Which is another reason to keep reminding people that we are very very very fortunate to even have viable effective vaccines on the table in less than a year.
We have no choice but to be patient for production and for continued research and results.
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yes, Moderna did report a lower efficacy for those over 65, but after some digging into the research, they reported the sample size too small to be statistically significant. (they didnāt have that many 65+ in their study in comparison to Pfizer.) The belief is that Moderna should work similarly for the 65+ group as those <65.
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