The Vaccine Thread

[Too Tall]

More government dysfunction here - believe it or not, in NJ, a paramedic CANNOT administer a vaccine. Sure, they can save your life with a field tracheostomy or chest tube in a moving ambulance or helicopter, but they can't (sarcasm) be trusted to give you an itty-bitty needle in the arm. Thus, we have to take nurses from the bedside to do this. Paradoxically, pharmacists can administer the vaccine. While this is good and appropriate, it's about the only time they touch a human body in a professional context and many are uncomfortable at first. A bunch of us around the state are working on this through our lobbyists and the Hospital Association. Common sense is not common.

Draft me for needle stickin' duty. That's nuts. It is almost like there was no plan.

[ldamelio]

Toots, you are being generous with the 'almost'. There was NFP.

[Too Tall]

Toots, you are being generous with the 'almost'. There was NFP.

My cellmate taught me well...."Don't start none there won't be none".

[Clean39T]

The rollout of the vaccine is starting to feel like tubeless road tires - so promising when done right, but between humans being humans and the seeming inability up and down the supply chain to follow instructions or standards, mileage is varying significantly...

How many seniors are going to contract the virus at these superspreader vaccination cluster fuggles? Meanwhile I have people talking about family vacations early this year because "there's a vaccine". SMH.

[beeatnik]

The rollout of the vaccine is starting to feel like tubeless road tires - so promising when done right, but between humans being humans and the seeming inability up and down the supply chain to follow instructions or standards, mileage is varying significantly...

How many seniors are going to contract the virus at these superspreader vaccination cluster fuggles? Meanwhile I have people talking about family vacations early this year because "there's a vaccine". SMH.

Aren't they sitting on lawn chairs in the sidewalk?

On a related note, has anyone seen any papers or studies (JimCav?) on infection rates after the election? Here in CA all the messaging has been about "indoor gatherings" but cases began to surge weeks before Thanksgiving.

[davids]

Speaking of seniors in lawn chairs, I just talked with a friend whose mom is wintering in FL. She heard that DeSantis was holding a press event related to the vaccines at her apartment complex, so she stepped outside and got in line. Texted her kids, "I'm getting vaccinated now because the Gov is here."

Boom, done. 85 years old so she wasn't exactly jumping the queue.

[Marvinlungwitz]

Giddyup.

"What if" the Red Cross trained volunteers? I'd want to be part of that.

A friend of mine is a retired actuary. He was hired by the state to do case tracking. He’s also going to be volunteering at the Lake County outdoor clinic (maybe that saves needing a freezer - joke).

Eligible people at this time are health workers, the elderly, and those with pre existing condition that puts them at high risk. Lake County had the first sign-up web site in IL, and folks need to sign up before they can get the vaccine.

He’s going to be checking people in, directing them where to go, doing the paperwork, etc., which frees up the nurses to do the injections.

[Too Tall]

A friend of mine is a retired actuary. He was hired by the state to do case tracking. He’s also going to be volunteering at the Lake County outdoor clinic (maybe that saves needing a freezer - joke).

Eligible people at this time are health workers, the elderly, and those with pre existing condition that puts them at high risk. Lake County had the first sign-up web site in IL, and folks need to sign up before they can get the vaccine.

He’s going to be checking people in, directing them where to go, doing the paperwork, etc., which frees up the nurses to do the injections.

I'll look into this for my State as well as (sent) a suggestion to our Gov. to enlist adjunct health care providers to assist.

[zachateseverything]

Meanwhile I have people talking about family vacations early this year because "there's a vaccine". SMH.

My parents are in this camp. They're both mid 60's and are more talking about being able to go see family members that have also been vaccinated than they are going to tourist traps.

[bigbill]

My company is discussing a payment to employees or addition to their HSA for getting the vaccine. I'm on Tricare and VA so I don't have an HSA, but I'm glad the company is putting their money where their mouth is. I bet half the employees still won't get the vaccine, the "tin foil hat and black helicopters" are strong in this area. Of all the shots I received in my life for deployments, this one is pretty minor, I'm just waiting on the email from the community VA clinic to tell me when. My Oncologist and Rheumatologist have both recommended it for me. I sure miss traveling, we've done a few road trips to National Parks and such, but have avoided inside events and crowds. My mask collection is up to ten washable ones.

[ides1056]

I think as the months roll by and the virus mutates and the death toll rises those who at the start were comfortable with the notion that, as an old guy in Florida said to me last March, "some people are going to have to die" won't want to be one of them and will get the vaccine, even if it means taking the microchip the deep state put in it.

[rwsaunders]

One of these days? Reston (VA) and Fort Detrick (MD) come to mind

This piece was posted on the BBC last month...the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, where they’ve been dealing with “the nasty stuff” since WWII. Spooky to say the least.

https://www.bbc.com/reel/playlist/se...ial.link.email

[jimcav]

Aren't they sitting on lawn chairs in the sidewalk?

On a related note, has anyone seen any papers or studies (JimCav?) on infection rates after the election? Here in CA all the messaging has been about "indoor gatherings" but cases began to surge weeks before Thanksgiving.

Specifically to your question, no, I have not seen studies that address COVID-19 incidence pre to post-election. I have seen a few studies that may suggest a "why" answer to your observation of a rise in cases pre-Thanksgiving.

The 1st study I read of possible relevance noted a rise in cases 14 days after "in-demand" testing. Meaning testing not done by a Dr's order due to symptoms, but done on demand because someone wants (or needs possibly) to know their COVID-19 status.
Obviously when you test, you discover cases, but the authors noted an increase 14 days later well-above the ongoing test-positive rate. They speculate the reason for the excess cases was that folks get a negative test, and then engage in riskier behavior--they travel or attend something or otherwise drop their guard. Now, if they were milling close together waiting for the test, that could lso give rise to excess cases--transmission occurring at the gathering to be tested.

2nd study I read of possibly greater relevance is that LatinX individuals have experienced a "sharp rise" in food insecurity (study was Bay area) and this is already well correlated to higher risk for COVID-19.

I believe from the news I watch out of LA etc there has been a steady rise and cumulative toll with agricultural harvest workers being overlooked or neglected in terms of protections, loss of work, loss of benefits, food insecurity and poverty often are closely aligned, and so you have a population at risk because they aren't as healthy (contract it more easily, more severe), and they are economically forced to live in higher density, can't afford PPE, and have to continue to work (with no WFH options). This applies not just to food-insecure LatinX that were the focus of the study, but also to any poor socio-economic group.

Lastly let me say it has been well proven for months now that you can monitor waste water for C-19 RNA so that in near-real time you can track rises--weeks before it shows up in flooded hospitals, and subsequently morgue trucks. I've not seen much news on states/localities taking advantage of this to guide restrictions. I think I saw news on MA using this method in Boston, but there is no reason it couldn't be done systematically on a national level--oh, wait, wait I nearly forgot, there is reason

[ldamelio]

I bet half the employees still won't get the vaccine, the "tin foil hat and black helicopters" are strong in this area.

I'm OK with that. More for the rest of us. I'm a big fan of Darwin, despite the fact that I've spent the last 40 years trying to foil his good work.

[Clean39T]

I'm OK with that. More for the rest of us. I'm a big fan of Darwin, despite the fact that I've spent the last 40 years trying to foil his good work.

Assuming the front line workers are vaccinated and its working, maybe, but there is still a major toll taken on our society due to their ignorance and stupidity - just like people who speed, DWI/DUI, don't wear seatbelts, smoke, drink, eat fast food, remove their smog-abatement, don't do their homework, flush diaper-wipes, vote Republican, etc.

[ldamelio]

Dan - we agree. I was half tongue in cheek. Unfortunately, there will never be a cure for ignorance, hence the persistence of lifestyle diseases that the rest of us pay for, literally and metaphorically.

[Clean39T]

Dan - we agree. I was half tongue in cheek. Unfortunately, there will never be a cure for ignorance, hence the persistence of lifestyle diseases that the rest of us pay for, literally and metaphorically.

I figured.. We have so much promise as a species. But also a long ways to go. We, humans.

[Drew]

I bet half the employees still won't get the vaccine, the "tin foil hat and black helicopters" are strong in this area.

I am really curious to see how this plays out with medium/large businesses. Who will require the vaccine as a condition of employment? What will the EEOC/OSHA do? Is mandate the right way to push forward? Or is the right way to break down all the barriers: free, on site, no PTO or lost pay; and simply encourage it? Then hope that most participate, and Darwin runs again...

[j44ke]

Wonder if it will come from the insurance companies. You can't get on the company health insurance unless you get vaccinated against covid. I can't see insurance wanting to insure people with a higher risk of getting covid when the vaccine is available.

[monadnocky]

Here in New Hampshire, the state has listed "therapists" (a term that has no technical meaning, since that's a nonspecific [and unlicensed] term, and anyone can call oneself such) as "clinical frontline workers" while psychologists (as well as social workers) are "non-clinical frontline workers." How odd.

Both seem to appear as "most risk," but the language is unclear.

Whatever. I'm stuck in Zoom Hell for the next few months regardless.