Vaccine reluctance & General COVID Discussion

Apparently it was a popular approach among the scientific community as well, which found age to be the most important factor in vulnerability to covid. That is why most places used that criteria.
I dont know anyone who objected to first responders having priority, but many objected who found that definition stretched to include remote health care workers who had no exposure to patients.

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I believe that the feds have already announced that the bivalent covid vaccines scheduled to be delivered starting next month will be a first come-first served distribution.

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Do you have a source for the first come first serve decision?

Neither Pfizer nor Moderna have submitted new Omicron vaccine data to FDA yet, I am not sure Pfizer’s clinical trial is even finished (have to check that). I assume Moderna will submit first with the same data the UK just used to approve the Omicron booster there, whether or not that means it will be available in September is undetermined.

AFAIK US (HHS) has bought 66M doses of Moderna omicron booster, clearly not enough for all. HHS has also purchased 105M Pfizer omicron boosters, but those being available in Sept seems like a pipe dream.

We were hoping to get our omicron-specfic booster before our trip to Scotland next month, but I very much doubt that’ll happen!

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Perhaps you can check if visitors can get it while there.

As long as they’ll fill in my CDC card!!!

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They probably won’t be able to do that, but you might see if you can get an e-record to load onto your health app and/or place in your phone’s wallet. Those CDC cards are low tech - I’m pretty sure my son’s went through the wash a few times. It’s unreadable.

The UK apparently has its own ways of recording COVID-19 vaccinations: Get an NHS COVID Pass - NHS

So if you do manage to get one there, perhaps you can bring back such a record and then add it to your medical records along with your other vaccinations at your primary care physician’s practice.

I saw my PCP for my wheezing symptoms today. Both she and her nurse practitioner said that these continuing bouts of bronchitis/pneumonia/bronchitis are likely Covid related from what they have seen. Anecdotal but they have seen it before–this new pattern of symptoms post-Covid. No joke.

MA does not have an app to store your vaccine info, just a tattered card.

What about a digital vaccine record described here, is that possible for you?
https://www.mass.gov/video/learn-how-to-access-your-massachusetts-covid-19-vaccination-record

That’s it. I got my digital MA vaccine card months ago. It’s in my wallet on my phone.

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I haven’t heard about a digital card - why is this not available to everyone?

We all were able to download QC codes with our covid vaccine records from the VA health department back before Christmas. And somehow I downloaded the info to my health app on my iphone. It’s all there too.

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I’m also wondering where the FDA and CDC are with the new boosters. I don’t see any relevant advisory committee meetings for either organization listed, either. I find the September timeline for availability of vaccine quite ambitious.

The UK has approved a basic Omicron booster. The US directed the companies to develop a booster specifically targeting BA 4/5.

"European Medicines Agency (EMA) officials expect COVID variant-adapted vaccines to be approved in the European Union by September, and have signalled the regulator is open to using shots targeting the older BA.1 variant this autumn, given those specifically targeting newer subvariants are further behind in clinical development.

In contrast, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said it will seek the specific inclusion of the newer BA.4 and BA.5 offshoots of Omicron in any new shots used domestically."

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/variant-adapted-covid-vaccine-wins-first-approval-britain-2022-08-15/

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Back in the beginning, everyone’s vaccine was registered with the CDC. But then that system changed, and it was left up to the states. I haven’t checked my CDC record in a long time, but I know my record is complete with my state health department.

I think depends on your state health dept, unless you received vaccine from pharmacy retail company or health care provider.

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I tried that MA portal and it told me I wasn’t in the system. All my vaccinations were done at CVS, none were done at the state clinics. CVS does have my records, but as a 4 page PDF! There is a QR code that I can scan to add the vaxes to a health app, but what health app should I use? State does not provide one.

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Maryland offers a digital vaccine record via MyIR mobile website. The process was very clunky and not at all user friendly when they first started using it, but once I got it working, I was able to see not only my initial Covid vaccines administered by a FEMA-run location, but also my flu vaccines and Covid booster that I received at CVS. Originally you could only view them by logging into their website, and you could print out a vaccine certificate (which honestly looked like something a kid designed and did not look at all official). Eventually, they upgraded to a mobile site where you can now access a QR code for your Covid vaccine. Now that it’s user friendly, I have never even needed to use it.

At the time MD started using this company, there were maybe five other states listed that were also using it.

Illinois also has a functioning (!) site with all residents’ vaccine history, looks like it goes back a few years. It has my vaxes for flu, covid, shingrix, and tdap in there, and those were given at 5 different sites. There’s a QR code to use if you need to show your covid vaccine history.