lilac05, I agree with you. I think in Iowa our supply is going up by like 26K next week and then even more the next week? That is a pretty big jump.
Pair that with Biden saying his new goal is 200 million shots by 100 days. They are feeling pretty confident on supply.
It feels like itās taking forever right now...but I think weāre going to look back and be amazed at how quickly we went from identifying a pandemic to having availability for every adult who chooses to be vaccinated.
But after a year of this, waiting one more day just feels like one day too long. I donāt think Iām the only one who went from āIāll happily wait my turn. I know others need it more than me.ā to āI want it now. Not two weeks from now. Now.ā
Iām super excited about the supply going up, obviously, but I hope between now and then we start ramping up locations, volunteers, and figure out a way for everyone to be making their appointments.
BREAKING: @gavinnewsom announces that California will expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all 50+ individuals starting April 1 and all 16+ individuals on April 15, based on expected supply increases.
thatās a giant jump. So my cancer survivor friend isnāt going to qualify until healthy 20 year olds do?
Something is very wrong with this picture, Gavin.
Right? The whole thing completely skipped ill and chronically ill young people. But hey, everybody else gets to do high-fives so thatās cool, amIright?
No. only a very short and specific list. Cancer has to be current *and* also be causing compromised immune system.
Just having cancer caused compromised immune system isnāt enough if the cancer is not considered current. Or just current cancer. Also not enough. Nor many heart problems. Nor lung problems unless you are oxygen dependent, nor cerebrovadcular disease, nor type one diabetes, nor liver disease, nor dementia, nor so many other oral factors
Itās pretty fucked up that we are jumping straight to all adults.
I know I've said this before, but I really don't think states would be doing this if they weren't expecting an imminent insane increase in supply.Ā And everything I've read says that supply in April is going to be wayyyyyyyy larger than what it has been.
I hope I'm not wrong."
I hope you are right.
CA still should push eligibility for the rest of the CDC risk factors into the earlier 50+ group. People need a smidge of chance of getting it before it becomes thunderdome for those with access and privilege.
I think I work in a unicorn place when it comes to vaccines. Donāt worry, it isnāt that cool for any other reason lol. But in my part of the Central Valley of CA, thereās lots of vaccines available. Everyone I know who is interested and eligible have received it. And I checked and one place has 20+ apppintments tomorrow.
Perhaps itās because this area is more red? More rural?
In my area I am starting to see more new vaccination sites opening up. The availability is still snatched up quickly anywhere near the metro areas but I got two friends signed up at two different sites within 20 minutes of their house, both the appointments filled within 3 hours.
I think I work in a unicorn place when it comes to vaccines. Donāt worry, it isnāt that cool for any other reason lol. But in my part of the Central Valley of CA, thereās lots of vaccines available. Everyone I know who is interested and eligible have received it. And I checked and one place has 20+ apppintments tomorrow.
Perhaps itās because this area is more red? More rural?
itās probably that plus the āeligibleā part.
Itās the people who have heightened risks, but still arenāt eligible under current CA guidelines that worry me. ( people like my cancer survivor friend and those with the myriad of health issues mentioned above, including anyone with a compromised immune system unless itās due to current cancer or HIV, and lung problems that donāt require supplemental oxygen). Interest and heightened risk donāt matter if you donāt qualify. I know more people who fall into that category than people who are interested, eligible and unable to *get* appointments if they scour everything.
( Although getting an appointment time isnāt always enough either. There are almost weekly news articles about this or that big vaccination site having to cancel all their appointments because they donāt have supply. So supply is also still an issue in the Bay Area.)
Having worked several vaccine clinics, I can see why states are moving eligibility to 16/18+ and skipping over a lot of pre-existing conditions. It's REALLY hard for workers to verify all of this stuff. Age is easy. Employer is sort of easy since you can ask for a pay stub or work ID. A health condition, you could ask for a note from a doctor, I suppose, but that would be so easy to forge, what's the point? There's no way for clinic volunteers to quickly and easily verify it. And it'd be hard for volunteers to remember which conditions "count" and which don't.
I'm seeing a lot more clinics getting scheduled through the local health departments, and MI has set up a mass site at Ford Field where they'll do 5,000 people a day! So I think we're really to the point where it matters much more to get people vaccinated as quickly as we possibly can, and verifying a lot of extra stuff will severely slow that process.
I got vaccinated at a mass vaccination site yesterday and it was very eye opening. It's easy to sit at home and feel that vaccination is not happening, but that's just not the case. This place was huge. They do thousands a day and they are efficient as fuck. A very well oiled machine. And once people are there they honestly do not care if they are eligible or not. They just want to get the shots in arms. They verified nothing and I don't blame them. It would be such a colossal waste of time and energy.
My health department opened next weekās appointments for all adults AGAIN because theyāre not filling with eligible people. My coworker even got to choose if he wanted to go on a J&J day or a Pfizer day. I am so glad that people around me are getting vaxxed but it also means that older people arenāt which is disappointing and scary.
I also said this in the vax hunters thread, but I'm in Maryland and there is a site out in rural eastern MD (very RED and relatively rural) that has 30+ appointment available today, tomorrow and Sunday just on the website alone (which means there are actually probably many more). I think this makes it pretty clear we are ready to open up to everyone. I mean in January people would have driven out there without a doubt to get those shots, but now they are sitting.
I got vaccinated at a mass vaccination site yesterday and it was very eye opening. It's easy to sit at home and feel that vaccination is not happening, but that's just not the case. This place was huge. They do thousands a day and they are efficient as fuck. A very well oiled machine. And once people are there they honestly do not care if they are eligible or not. They just want to get the shots in arms. They verified nothing and I don't blame them. It would be such a colossal waste of time and energy.
Yep. I'm careful to check that the info on their form matches their ID (name, DOB, address) and that it's all legible so it can get correctly entered into the databse. Phone number/email address is important for those getting their first dose of Moderna or Pfizer so that the health department can contact them in case there are changes to the location of their second dose appointment. We often don't get thorough information about what "counts" that day or not. And it's SO HARD to remember.
I got vaccinated at a mass vaccination site yesterday and it was very eye opening. It's easy to sit at home and feel that vaccination is not happening, but that's just not the case. This place was huge. They do thousands a day and they are efficient as fuck. A very well oiled machine. And once people are there they honestly do not care if they are eligible or not. They just want to get the shots in arms. They verified nothing and I don't blame them. It would be such a colossal waste of time and energy.
I was in that role yesterday, and that was definitely true! I worked as a vaccinator assistant at an almost fully-volunteer staffed county operation at a convention center. We had 1,000 first dose appointments in the AM and 1,080 second dose appointments in the PM. I was one of the staffers at the laptop verifying that the person sitting in front of me was clear to proceed with vaccination, filling out the vaccination record cards, and for first doses, making their 2nd dose appointments. As far as eligibility, we asked if they had read the eligibility groups and did they confirm under penalty of law that they were eligible. Yes? Done. For first doses I looked at ID and registration ticket for the appointment only. For 2nd doses, ID and vaccine card only. In, out, on to the next person. My job as I was trained to do it was to process people quickly, accurately, and safely, and not at all to vet (other than flag anything diagnosis or medication-related for a medical evaluator).
First dose processing takes at least 2x as long, because of the 2nd appointment creation process (maybe other sites have a better interface than we do). Plus I have to fill out the full vax record card, as opposed to just adding the manufacturer/lot/date/site for the 2nd dose to an existing card.
If I had to add vetting eligibility to the first dose process, omg, we'd never ever get through. The tradeoff between speed and equity that exists with eligibility and making appointments, also exists when executing the appointments. I think speed is the right choice onsite, because nobody wants to waste doses.
I got vaccinated at a mass vaccination site yesterday and it was very eye opening. It's easy to sit at home and feel that vaccination is not happening, but that's just not the case. This place was huge. They do thousands a day and they are efficient as fuck. A very well oiled machine. And once people are there they honestly do not care if they are eligible or not. They just want to get the shots in arms. They verified nothing and I don't blame them. It would be such a colossal waste of time and energy.
I was in that role yesterday, and that was definitely true! I worked as a vaccinator assistant at an almost fully-volunteer staffed county operation at a convention center. We had 1,000 first dose appointments in the AM and 1,080 second dose appointments in the PM. I was one of the staffers at the laptop verifying that the person sitting in front of me was clear to proceed with vaccination, filling out the vaccination record cards, and for first doses, making their 2nd dose appointments. As far as eligibility, we asked if they had read the eligibility groups and did they confirm under penalty of law that they were eligible. Yes? Done. For first doses I looked at ID and registration ticket for the appointment only. For 2nd doses, ID and vaccine card only. In, out, on to the next person. My job as I was trained to do it was to process people quickly, accurately, and safely, and not at all to vet (other than flag anything diagnosis or medication-related for a medical evaluator).
First dose processing takes at least 2x as long, because of the 2nd appointment creation process (maybe other sites have a better interface than we do). Plus I have to fill out the full vax record card, as opposed to just adding the manufacturer/lot/date/site for the 2nd dose to an existing card.
If I had to add vetting eligibility to the first dose process, omg, we'd never ever get through. The tradeoff between speed and equity that exists with eligibility and making appointments, also exists when executing the appointments. I think speed is the right choice onsite, because nobody wants to waste doses.
Second dose scheduling is a mixed bag in MI. My husband and I have been volunteering in different counties. Where I go, the 2nd dose is automatically booked for 4 weeks out from the 1st dose (they have had all Moderna for quite a while), same day of the week, same time, same place. Only occasionally is someone not able to make it, and then we note on their registration form for the county to call them to schedule the 2nd one. Where my husband works, there are special people to book the second dose, and they walk the line of cars (it's a drive-through) with iPads and book them as people are waiting their 15 minutes.
cap, that sounds really nice. For me, I have to use basically the same interface to book 2nd appointments that individuals used to make their first ones, it's just accessible at a link that isn't publicly available, so that we can limit 2nd dose clinics to exactly the pool of people who got a first dose from us. The appointment is a brand new one, not tied to the first one so none of the data transfers. I have to enter it all de novo. (And when my 2nd dose people come in, I have to make corrections because of human error on data entry side at the first dose.) Even skipping all the optional stuff (emergency contact, primary care physician), there are a ton of questions that we have to click through. Demographic info, handicap access, do you need language assistance, etc. etc. For. Ev. Er. Oh well. We're getting it done!
I think I work in a unicorn place when it comes to vaccines. Donāt worry, it isnāt that cool for any other reason lol. But in my part of the Central Valley of CA, thereās lots of vaccines available. Everyone I know who is interested and eligible have received it. And I checked and one place has 20+ apppintments tomorrow.
Perhaps itās because this area is more red? More rural?
itās probably that plus the āeligibleā part.
Itās the people who have heightened risks, but still arenāt eligible under current CA guidelines that worry me. ( people like my cancer survivor friend and those with the myriad of health issues mentioned above, including anyone with a compromised immune system unless itās due to current cancer or HIV, and lung problems that donāt require supplemental oxygen). Interest and heightened risk donāt matter if you donāt qualify. I know more people who fall into that category than people who are interested, eligible and unable to *get* appointments if they scour everything.
( Although getting an appointment time isnāt always enough either. There are almost weekly news articles about this or that big vaccination site having to cancel all their appointments because they donāt have supply. So supply is also still an issue in the Bay Area.)
Has your friend consulted with her doctor about eligibility? The listed conditions are very narrow, but there's that last one that says if your doctor thinks contracting covid will result in severe risk of death. I think her doctor might just tell her to book an appointment under the medical eligibility.
Locally, there arenāt those giant mass vaccination sites. Most of the vaccines are going out through Kaiser, Sutter and the county. Kaiser and Sutter both already have all of the health records of the people they are vaccinating so screening for health eligibility is much easier. The county has focused on at risk communities so they are also targeted and not ripe for abuse. I hope those types of facilities continue to prioritize by risk.
So my husband, who has an autoimmune disorder and cancer, works in an "essential" industry that involves a lot of travel and meeting with clients indoors, is still not eligible in our state. Yesterday he had to travel to a meeting in a very rural low-population area of the state so on a whim he called the Walmart there and asked if he could get a vaccine. They said yes and he walked in and got a shot. There was no one on their waiting list. Was that cheating and lying and it makes him an asshole? Some would probably say so. But I am just so freaking glad he has less a chance of dying I DGAF.
Post by Scout'sHonor on Mar 26, 2021 10:15:43 GMT -5
I feel comfortable enough in this stage in the pandemic that I can throw away the truly terrible smelling hand sanitizer (since the better stuff is available again)
I feel comfortable enough in this stage in the pandemic that I can throw away the truly terrible smelling hand sanitizer (since the better stuff is available again)
Oh I need to do this! I have the Trader Joe's spray sanitizer that is supposed to smell like grapefruit but instead smells like cheap tequila.
I got the J&J at a mass vaccine event with the National Guard yesterday. They were amazingly efficient. I feel like shit today, everything hurts and I'm exhausted.
I got vaccinated at a mass vaccination site yesterday and it was very eye opening. It's easy to sit at home and feel that vaccination is not happening, but that's just not the case. This place was huge. They do thousands a day and they are efficient as fuck. A very well oiled machine. And once people are there they honestly do not care if they are eligible or not. They just want to get the shots in arms. They verified nothing and I don't blame them. It would be such a colossal waste of time and energy.
I'm assuming you went to the same site I did. I think it would be really hard to turn anyone away, honestly - how would they even route them out of there? With it being a drive through operation, once you are in line it would be a huge fiasco to get out line. I guess they could send you through and NOT vaccinate you, but it just seems like it would be really hard.
Of course they do confirm your identity so I assume perhaps they do turn some people away if they don't have an appointment. I just hope those are few and far between.
I'm in a more rural red city and my H went to the mass vaccine site put on by FEMA and got vaxxed via their leftover doses yesterday. He has to schedule his own second shot. I was eligible, got my vaccine at a pharmacy and they gave me a card with my next scheduled shot. That might be a difference between the mass vaccine site and a pharmacy though. It works for us though as we want to stagger our second shots in case we feel sick (we got our first shots a day apart).
I think I work in a unicorn place when it comes to vaccines. Donāt worry, it isnāt that cool for any other reason lol. But in my part of the Central Valley of CA, thereās lots of vaccines available. Everyone I know who is interested and eligible have received it. And I checked and one place has 20+ apppintments tomorrow.
Perhaps itās because this area is more red? More rural?
itās probably that plus the āeligibleā part.
Itās the people who have heightened risks, but still arenāt eligible under current CA guidelines that worry me. ( people like my cancer survivor friend and those with the myriad of health issues mentioned above, including anyone with a compromised immune system unless itās due to current cancer or HIV, and lung problems that donāt require supplemental oxygen). Interest and heightened risk donāt matter if you donāt qualify. I know more people who fall into that category than people who are interested, eligible and unable to *get* appointments if they scour everything.
( Although getting an appointment time isnāt always enough either. There are almost weekly news articles about this or that big vaccination site having to cancel all their appointments because they donāt have supply. So supply is also still an issue in the Bay Area.)
Yeah I think some areas could open up eligibility faster than others. The person running the largest mass vaccination site here basically told my SIL to make an appointment, they donāt care. They have enough vaccines. I donāt know if that will change when everyone is eligible 4/15.
I got vaccinated at a mass vaccination site yesterday and it was very eye opening. It's easy to sit at home and feel that vaccination is not happening, but that's just not the case. This place was huge. They do thousands a day and they are efficient as fuck. A very well oiled machine. And once people are there they honestly do not care if they are eligible or not. They just want to get the shots in arms. They verified nothing and I don't blame them. It would be such a colossal waste of time and energy.
I'm assuming you went to the same site I did. I think it would be really hard to turn anyone away, honestly - how would they even route them out of there? With it being a drive through operation, once you are in line it would be a huge fiasco to get out line. I guess they could send you through and NOT vaccinate you, but it just seems like it would be really hard.
Of course they do confirm your identity so I assume perhaps they do turn some people away if they don't have an appointment. I just hope those are few and far between.
I'm glad you were able to get vaccinated!Ā
I was actually at M&T which is not drive through, but even as a walk through clinic I donāt know how theyād turn people away. By the time you check in youāve been in line for like 30 minutes. I did not see anyone who was turned away.