The Vaccine Thread

[Too Tall]

My sister in law (and brother) are RNA scientists and she's been tracking the news and offering her interpretations which has been kind of interesting. She says Moderna's ability to produce vaccine outstrips their ability to fill vials so they've asked to put 15 doses to a vial instead of 10. I think one of the priorities from the government side ought to be to get them and Pfizer all the tooling they need to ship volumes fast because apparently they can make the stuff apace, which makes sense because as my brother says "It's just a polymer."

Amen.

[beeatnik]

Covid as a "super flu?"

Considering that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are/were expected to provide 3 years of immunity or less doesn't that mean Covid-19 is in practical terms a super flu or virus?

https://twitter.com/IHME_UW/status/1356639890952216578

[72gmc]

Listened this weekend and found the second topic interesting: intellectual property law vs. public investment in the vaccine.

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts...on-dollar-idea

[rwsaunders]

Perhaps the vaccine manufacturing will go the way of the Bantam JEEP during WWII...the award for the bulk of the production of the JEEP wasn't given to the firm who offered the best design, but to the manufacturer who could produce the most units, was fiscally fit and incorporate the best of the design features from the other competitors.

http://www.m201.com/bantam.htm

[mnoble485]

I had my second dose of the Moderna vaccine yesterday. Slight headache and general blah feeling before bed. Today is much the same and my arm feels like JJ Watts gave me a noogie at the injection spot.

Gratitude for the shot far outweighs the discomfort.

Mike

[Saab2000]

My mother is 83 and lives in a retirement cooperative in Minneapolis. I was wondering if there would be a vaccine offering in her building but as of recently there was no news. So my brother signed her up for the shots with the first appointment in a reasonable radius of the Twin Cities. He brought her for her first dose about three weeks ago and I went up and brought her for her second shot yesterday, also in Princeton, MN for the locals here. It was well organized and efficient. No significant waiting - less than five minutes and then 15 minutes of thumb twiddling as is the standard practice. She received the Pfizer vaccine.

She is reporting little or no side effects from either shot. So she’s had her two.

Just this week then her residence management announced the vaccine would become available in the building but the first doses wouldn’t be ready for almost another month. So now she’s done and needn’t wait any longer and she won’t be in competition with others for time slots that she said filled up almost immediately.

There was a small outbreak in her building in November which has a been brought under control but did result in one fatality. There is a strict “No Visitor” policy in her building though my brother who lives locally has a waiver to enter the building occasionally. I do not have this so I haven’t seen her in her home for a year. When I go to Minneapolis I need to pick her up in front and not enter the building.

She is looking forward to resuming a normal life with less isolation. The past year has been difficult for her psychologically.

As of press time it was unclear when she would resume hosting crowded in-house raves in her apartment after having to shut them down last year.

[Todd Amunrud]

[QUOTE=Saab2000;1040175]I went up and brought her for her second shot yesterday, also in Princeton, MN for the locals here.

That's a pretty far distance to go. Glad you and your brother could help out. We've only provided doses to those in our county or school district for under 65, over 65 they need to be from certain cities.

Side note: we're getting news of return to fulltime, in-school learning at the end of March. Over 80% of our school district staff will be vaccinated with two doses by next week.

[rwsaunders]

My Mother’s senior complex vaccinated 400 people two weeks ago and her second shot is scheduled. We really had to go it alone in terms of finding a location for my Mother-in-law, as she lives at home and isn’t a part of any group...95 yo too. Now if you are under 65 and have a pre-existing condition here in PA, you can move up the ladder and believe it or not, if you check the “smoking” box, the Rite-Aid website lights up with a green “congratulations” button and you can schedule your jab...unreal.

[Too Tall]

My Mother’s senior complex vaccinated 400 people two weeks ago and her second shot is scheduled. We really had to go it alone in terms of finding a location for my Mother-in-law, as she lives at home and isn’t a part of any group...95 yo too. Now if you are under 65 and have a pre-existing condition here in PA, you can move up the ladder and believe it or not, if you check the “smoking” box, the Rite-Aid website lights up with a green “congratulations” button and you can schedule your jab...unreal.

Admiring your love and dedication to family chief. Hats off to you and everyone doing this, I know there are a more than a few.

R.W. reading this a thought, maybe another thread, comes to mind. Isn't early intervention, in this use case of at risk smokers, exactly where we want to place the power of our shared responsibility to reduce suffering and disease with a real big nod to lowering all health care costs?

I really need to lower my caffeine intake!

[Mabouya]

believe it or not, if you check the “smoking” box, the Rite-Aid website lights up with a green “congratulations” button and you can schedule your jab...unreal.

Talk about a classic example of moral hazard.

[Tom]

Karen pulled a second rabbit out of her hat and got me an appointment for my first poke in Utica on Wednesday. Looking forward to it.

[rwsaunders]

Admiring your love and dedication to family chief. Hats off to you and everyone doing this, I know there are a more than a few.

R.W. reading this a thought, maybe another thread, comes to mind. Isn't early intervention, in this use case of at risk smokers, exactly where we want to place the power of our shared responsibility to reduce suffering and disease with a real big nod to lowering all health care costs?

I really need to lower my caffeine intake!

TT...I joked with my wife that we should go and buy a pack of Camel’s, roll them up in my t-shirt sleeve and go for the jab. I get the preventive maintenance part about keeping those at high risk out of the hospital system and alive, but including smoking with the list of pre-existing conditions posted below (pulled from the PA DOH website), just doesn’t feel right. Note the obesity and severe obesity requirements, too. Doesn’t obesity in itself qualify enough, so why list both? I do recognize the fact that many of these pre-existing conditions can be linked to each other as well.

Persons ages 16-64 with high-risk conditions:
Cancer
Chronic kidney disease
COPD
Down Syndrome
Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant or from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)
Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)
Pregnancy
Sickle cell disease
Smoking
Type 2 diabetes mellitus

[Too Tall]

R.W. What would Walt Kelly say? (Hanging my head).

I hear yah.

[htwoopup]

TT...I joked with my wife that we should go and buy a pack of Camel’s, roll them up in my t-shirt sleeve and go for the jab. I get the preventive maintenance part about keeping those at high risk out of the hospital system and alive, but including smoking with the list of pre-existing conditions posted below (pulled from the PA DOH website), just doesn’t feel right. Note the obesity and severe obesity requirements, too. Doesn’t obesity in itself qualify enough, so why list both? I do recognize the fact that many of these pre-existing conditions can be linked to each other as well.

Persons ages 16-64 with high-risk conditions:
Cancer
Chronic kidney disease
COPD
Down Syndrome
Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant or from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)
Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)
Pregnancy
Sickle cell disease
Smoking
Type 2 diabetes mellitus

It is interesting the differences by state...subtle and seemingly small but actually quite large.

In NY State it is Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes which as the father of daughter who was dx'd with Type 1 at the age of 2 (she is now 31) I am very happy about (and two of her friends with Type 1 died from Covid).

Also in NY smoking is not a reason.

But then again, in NY the heart conditions include hypertension which includes an very large cohort of people...it almost seems that NY physicians automatically put anyone over the age of 45 on "old people drugs" like blood pressure and statins. Which is how my wife qualified for a vaccine.

I think this whole thing is a crazy discussion. In my mind, just get it into arms. And I am saddened that I hear too many stories of older and/ or disadvantaged folks having an even harder time making an appointment than the hard time we had simply because it is so internet based which is not as widespread as it should be...particularly in the most impacted communities.

[thollandpe]

As of press time it was unclear when she would resume hosting crowded in-house raves in her apartment after having to shut them down last year.

Please let me know who to call, where to send letters, and how else I can help correct this injustice. Rave on, Jim’s Mom!

[vertical_doug]

Persons ages 16-64 with high-risk conditions:
Cancer
Chronic kidney disease
COPD
Down Syndrome
Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant or from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)
Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)
Pregnancy
Sickle cell disease
Smoking
Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Well last I looked, about 50% of Adults > BMI 30

[johnmdesigner]

Texas Abbot is opening up the state and removing what little mask mandate the state had.
I really don’t understand how such a shithead can stay in power.
Isn’t there someone in the state that will come forward and accuse him of something media worthy?

[htwoopup]

Texas Abbot is opening up the state and removing what little mask mandate the state had.
I really don’t understand how such a shithead can stay in power.
Isn’t there someone in the state that will come forward and accuse him of something media worthy?

I take it as a political move to be seen by Texans as a savior/ good guy as folks had to be getting to he and the dereg crowd are the bad guys in the power grid problem. Folks will remember the last thing rather than the older thing. Unfortunately. Sorta like that gov from the Dakotas who claims (and folks will believe her) that she nailed Covid..even though her state ranks number 2 on cases per capita hit parade.

But you know that. I was just venting my frustration at the American situation.

[johnmdesigner]

I take it as a political move to be seen by Texans as a savior/ good guy as folks had to be getting to he and the dereg crowd are the bad guys in the power grid problem. Folks will remember the last thing rather than the older thing. Unfortunately. Sorta like that gov from the Dakotas who claims (and folks will believe her) that she nailed Covid..even though her state ranks number 2 on cases per capita hit parade.

But you know that. I was just venting my frustration at the American situation.

I guess we’re not going to get out from under this for quite some time.
The expat thread is looking better and better.

[jimcav]

I take it as a political move to be seen by Texans as a savior/ good guy as folks had to be getting to he and the dereg crowd are the bad guys in the power grid problem. Folks will remember the last thing rather than the older thing. Unfortunately. Sorta like that gov from the Dakotas who claims (and folks will believe her) that she nailed Covid..even though her state ranks number 2 on cases per capita hit parade.

But you know that. I was just venting my frustration at the American situation.

Time will tell. I think that the only way the various states' "general public" will forget who handled/mishandled COVID-19 will be if most weren't touched by the illness, versus impacted negatively by the economic impact.

Personally, I've had some crappy assignments, crappy missions, some periods of living paycheck to paycheck. YEARS can fortunately pass where I now don't think of those times, and I have been fortunate thus far to be the only one in my family to get COVID symptomatically and hope to eventually fully recover from whatever weird heart rate and exertional shortness of breath I still have.

It is however RARE that I can go a few months of not thinking of a friend or loved one who I have lost, regardless of the reason. For me the ones I've lost that were preventable sting more.

I think that in states where you have high per-capita death and serious illness, that may have an impact long after the other effects have resolved. Whether that is ever a priority in how people choose state leaders remains to be seen.