It was time for a new vaccination thread, and this seems like a good time to put it up because of the evolving capital hill situation.
Share your experience, and get a sticker! Just tell me which sticker you want, so I can sticker you!
Samwise, Baby Champ and Henry:
Rosie & Thurston, Lily, Tikka:
Steve and Badger:
Balloons!
Green balloons!
Kamala and Joe!
One and done for Johnson & Johnson:
Now with Dolly, Penelope and ducklings!
If you are still waiting for access to the vaccine:
Stickers by MazeDancer!
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
I got my first Pfizer shot on March 30th and I have an appointment for the 2nd one on April 27th at Walgreens.
I was in and out in about half an hour, counting the 15 minutes observation time after the shot.
I signed up online and even printed out the (fillable PDF) consent/insurance info form, which was good because my handwriting is nearly illegible due to hand tremors.
WaterGirl
@Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman): What sticker(s) would you like?
BigJimSlade
I got my first Pfizer shot yesterday in a parking structure at USC. I was there about 40 minutes. Everyone was nice. Tiny bit of soreness in my arm – barely noticeable. I feel fine :-
Samwise 1 dose done for me please!
artem1s
First shot on March 11 and second yesterday April 1! No real side affects so far outside a little soreness at the shot site. fingers crossed!
can I haz a duckling sticker plz!
Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)
@WaterGirl: Biden, please.
Adam L Silverman
Maybe we want to consider phrasing given the events detailed in the previous post?
Matt McIrvin
I got A vaccination today, just not THE vaccination.
surfk9
Got Moderna #2 yesterday. Really fatigued today. Also sore arm. Could I get a Dolly?
skerry
I got my first Pfizer shot. No side effects except little soreness at the site.
I’d like a Henry sticker please.
Tenar Arha
I got my first shot on Tuesday ?
They were giving Pfizer BioNTech that day. Getting the appointment was much much easier than I’d expected. I just used the MA state COVID site, & signed up for whenever they had appointments free at one of the big sites in my preferred area. That way they were able to contact me using my preferred method to set up the appointment.
(Hi WG! I’d like a one dose done with the tiny black & white kitten, please).
Bluegirlfromwyo
Samwise sticker for my first Pfizer please! Got it March 22 so late to the sticker party. The department of health will send an email when I can schedule my next one. It will be the week of April 12.
Getting the shot was easy. Getting the appointment, not so much. Side effects were a minor headache the first day and a sore arm the second. Side effects when in line were tears of gratitude. I don’t have to worry about slipping and getting my pushing 70 husband sick anymore.
zhena gogolia
I got Pfizer #2 on Wednesday. Crushing fatigue Wed and Thurs, feeling somewhat better today but wish I didn’t have a two-hour Zoom meeting at 3:00.
Steve!
CaseyL
I had a mammogram yesterday, and while checking in noted that I was fully vaccinated. The front desk person asked when my 2nd shot was, I said “Late January,” and she said, “Oh, you must work in healthcare.”
It was a little strange, thinking about how long ago (comparatively speaking) my two shots were, in view of the ongoing push.
(And I really do hope inoculation is good for more than 3 months, otherwise Imma needa booster soon!)
Lee
Wife and I got our second Pfizer shot Wednesday!
I felt like hammered crap for 36 hours. Then felt great.
Biden please.
counterfactual
Just home from second Pfizer shot. 40 minutes from parking the car to getting back to it, in Ohio.
Thanks, Dolly sticker please.
Brachiator
I got my second Moderna vaccine yesterday afternoon. My arm is a little more sore than when I got the first jab, but otherwise no other issues.
Afterwards, I had a few errands to run. I still try to limit the time I will be out and about. I stopped at a eatery with outdoor dining. Not crowed and people all around were good about wearing masks.
I feel much relieved now. I live in Los Angeles County, but could not easily get to places like Dodger Stadium where they were doing the vaccine in bulk. I had some FOMO anxiety (Fear of Missing Out), but relaxed as more doses became available. Ultimately, I was able to make an appointment at a nearby pharmacy. Everything went smoothly afterwards.
In California, they have announced that anyone age 50 and older can make appointments for the vaccine. Things are starting to move along.
I hope that everyone everywhere will soon be able to get this taken care of.
Biden sticker would be fun.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Got the J&J yesterday at Pierce College in the West Valley, a bit of a drive but traffic wasn’t too bad except around the 405. A bit of a wait to get into the parking lot and check-in, but the jab was quick. I had a bit of bleeding and the nurse was pretty apologetic(I didn’t see an blood, she just kept wipping if off). I managed to quickly loose my vaccination record(either getting my keys out to give them to Madame or in porto-potty) but they sent a digital vax record while I was drving home. Have a bit of fatigue and the arm’s sore, but nothing too bad so far.
Stacib
Just got my second Moderna. In 61 years, I have never had the flu and a bad cold only a couple times. Please, please don’t let me get sick.
Darby'sMom
Got my second Moderna yesterday but it almost didn’t happen. Got my first shot on Mar 3rd and then tested positive for COVID on Mar 11. Had to quarantine for 14 days at home w/ hubby (who tested neg.)
When I went to get my 2nd shot yesterday, they looked at the intake questionnaire and said I would need to wait 90 days after my positive COVID test to get my 2nd shot. I think my teary eyes may have had something to do with the tech/P.A. saying she would double-check with the Dr. Came back a few minutes later, and said I was good to get the shot. YAY!
Today: Fever; slight headache; sore arm; super tired.
(Baby duckers please)
Mike in Oly
I have an appt. Sunday for my first shot. So happy to finally be eligible!
Dr. Fungus
First Pfizer this morning. Woof!
zhena gogolia
OT, now this is a nice Russia clip
https://twitter.com/Ozkok_A/status/1377916653846036480
Aziz, light!
One Pfizer down on March 21. A whole lot of soreness at the site that night, and leveled by fatigue for half the next day. Then I felt great. Impressive operation at the Portland Convention Center as they process 7,000 people a day. Was surprised to see all the checking in being done by Army personnel in camo and desert boots.
currants
I got the shot! First Moderna, yesterday afternoon (April NO FOOL, I!).
Stickers: I love the middle balloon, but also, THANKS, DOLLY!
Oh, right, experience. It was frustrating trying to get an appointment the first week I was eligible. And…I have a savvy daughter who’s husband’s a doc, and even though she lives in OH, she still has friends in MA, and before you know it, I had 3 appointments. Cancelled 2, took one, but this week was full of emails from the state (where I’d signed up a few weeks ago), and my PCP, trying to get me to sign up. I tend to not rush about these things, and that would have worked after all. Patience sometimes pays.
West of the Rockies
@CaseyL:
Someone on MSNBC (I believe) yesterday said vaccine duration is at least six months based on trials. It could be, she said, considerably longer (years).
Got my Pfizer #1 eight days ago. Two days later the eldest son of my fiancée tested positive, so I am in quarantine. His mom already had both doses a month ago and is fine. She got tested to make sure.
Exciting times.
White dog sticker, please. Thank you.
Tim in SF
I got Pfizer #1 at lunchtime on Tuesday at the Walgreens at UC Berkeley. At lunch around the corner at a cheese steak place with the spousal unit right after. My arm was a touch sore that night, more sore the next morning, but the pain was gone by afternoon. Today, two days later, it doesn’t hurt unless I poke the spot.
gratuitous
I’ll be ready for the second Pfizer shot on 4-20.
joel hanes
First dose Moderna on Monday at Santa Clara Convention Center
Tuesday negligible arm soreness
Wed tired and stupid and unable to learn in online class
Thu a bit cranky
Today fine
No sticker thanks.
Martin
Got my first Pfizer on Tues. Other than a sore arm, felt fine. Wed was mostly spent in a coma. Thurs AM felt pretty good, but crashed mid-aft. Wed/Thurs had some trouble regulating body temp. We’ll see how long I last today, but so far so good.
I’m tracking a nasal spray vaccine for my son who has a legit needle phobia. I’ve lined up how to get a J&J from my HMO, so that’s a start, and with enough Xanax we might make that work. We’ll see how this other option works through trials but I’m guessing it’ll be late summer before it’s approved, so we might try the Xanax path and see how that goes. He needed some minor outpatient surgery some years ago and it took 6 attempts and converting it to general anesthesia. So with persistence we can get there, but it doesn’t really fit in well to the kind of logistics they have in place now. Having a doped-up young adult going through a fight or flight response in line doesn’t exactly put the rest of the folks in line at ease
Oh, hit me with our queen Kamala.
CaseyL
@West of the Rockies:
Good to know! I’ve planned to go to Maine this autumn, though, and hope they extend that 6 months a bit more : )
craigie
Got my second Moderna on Tuesday, only feel normal today. Wednesday was a complete loss – fever, no energy, the whole thing. Yesterday wasn’t so bad, but then I fell asleep in the middle of the day for 4 hours.
Today, everything is great and I feel like I have superpowers.
Betsy
Had my #2 Moderna 49.75 hours ago, no side effects whatsoever, unless you count a little feeling in the tricep like I did one too many curls (which in my case would be approximately four curls).
Which is good because I had a spectacturlay shitty day yesterday
Gimme Joe!
Mike in NC
We have neighbors who invited us to dine out with them tomorrow night for their 40th wedding anniversary. We’ve all been fully vaccinated, so said OK.
UttBugly
Pfizer number 2 + 3 hours. – 13 days and 21 hours to the .90.
WaterGirl
@Adam L Silverman: In my defense, when I put this up, we only knew about the knife.
Peale
I got my second shot Tuesday. Looking forward to Moderna Arm part II. But Wednesday, I felt like I had just tried to move a bunch of boulders and went to bed for 13 hours. I was so stiff it took too much energy to sit up. But I’m done.
I managed to get my sister her first appointment in Ohio and walked my niece through the process of finding one, and tagged teamed her with my Mom to convince her to take it. (Against another aunt who told her that if she didn’t want to become sterile and wanted have children without birth defects, she shouldn’t get it. Arghhhhh. Well at least we won.)
Arlene
I got my first shot back on February 13th and second on March 13th (Moderna). Finally saw some of my family this past Tuesday. We’re finally returning to normalcy, masked of course.
I’ll take Steve two doses (he could be my Griffin’s twin)!
Yutsano
@gratuitous: My second Moderna is due then too. I’ll be driving to Seattle that day so just to avoid possible bad reactions going to wait until the Saturday after I get home to get it. I’m thinking full freedom by May!
Oklahomo
Got my first on 3/26; have an appointment for the second on 4/16. The Cherokee Nation opened up for anyone close to their clinics and I got an appointment scheduled the day I called in for the next day. (The afternoon after I got my shot the state of Oklahoma emailed me that I could schedule now in my county.) Mine was the Pfizer — a bit of soreness in the bicep, and felt kind of tired, but that was gone 2 days later. I want a Baby Champ sticker.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Mike in NC: Doesn’t it feel weird?
WaterGirl
@Mike in Oly: Yay for you! Don’t forget to come back on Sunday for your sticker.
Pinkpuppy
After spending the last few months with my 64 year old face pressed against the glass while watching my 65+ wife and peers in their vaccinated glory, I lucked into a Pfizer appointment on the first day that California opened up vaccinations for 50-64 year olds.
I would love a Baby Champ “1 Dose Done” to celebrate.
Zelma
I got my second Moderna shot on Tuesday. I sat there waiting for the side effects and nada! A little soreness at the injection shot but that’s all. I’ve heard tales of folks who had a reaction three or four days later, so I’m not celebrating yet. Well, I am celebrating!
Joe please.
WaterGirl
@UttBugly: What sticker would you like?
WaterGirl
@joel hanes: congratulations!
sixthdoctor
Got the J&J shot at lunchtime. Feeling a little arm soreness but otherwise fine. I’d like the one and done sticker with the kitty cat, please. :-)
Pharniel
Team Pfiser 1st dose done yesterday. Samwise is just so demure.
Mike in NC
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Yes. Last week we went to a restaurant for a birthday dinner. First time in more than a year. We order take-out a couple times a week to support our favorite places.
WaterGirl
@Pharniel: Yes, Samwise is so dapper.
Monala
I got the J&J shot last week. I know it’s better than nothing, but I still don’t feel protected given its lower efficacy than other vaccines, and shorter period of remaining efficacious. Can anyone reassure me that I can feel safe? Or should I be looking to see whether I can still get another type of vaccine?
Adam L Silverman
@WaterGirl: I just wanted the excuse to post the gif. The wording of the title is fine.
West of the Rockies
@gratuitous:
I’ll be ready for 4/20 on 4/20.
O. Felix Culpa
Got Moderna #1 just over a week ago. Ms. O got Pfizer #2 yesterday.
Dolly for me and ducklings for Ms. O please. :)
thruppence
Got my second Pfizer shot on Tuesday. No adverse reactions, though I wanted to take midday naps, but then I always want to take midday naps.
Tikka, please! love the gaze full of disdain.
Inventor
One of two Moderna shots in me. I don’t expect the mind control to kick in until the second shot; but then, how would I know?
I’m pretty sure the mind control with the Moderna comes from Dolly Parton. Which is fine.
Brachiator
@Monala:
The J&J vaccine is fine. I would have taken that one if it was the first one available. Bottom line:
More details here.
This vaccine might even be the smarter choice for people who might not be able to easily schedule and get a second jab of the other vaccines.
jimmiraybob
Got the 2nd Moderna on Wednesday. A little fatiguee on Thursday (although completed 6 miles walking). Feeling fine today – walking and laboring in the yard. The only lingering effect is that if I poke around where I got the shot it’s a little tender.
Ivan X
Boom! Shockingly, we have the remarkable luxury of choosing whether we want J&J on Monday, or Pfizer on Tuesday, and both locally in the Santa Barbara area. Things are happening. I found that visiting the CVS web site at around 3-4 AM PT yielded the most availability. Also you can, at least for CA, scan for which cities have availability before you get into the scheduling area where you have to put in a zip code.
I can argue either way, but I think we’re gonna go J&J. As a technologist of many years, I’ve become biased towards tried and true over latest and greatest. Age, I guess.
West of the Rockies
@Monala:
Well, the good news is 100% efficacy against death or a case requiring hospitalization with J&J.
Monala
@Brachiator: my concern isn’t just hospitalization or death (I know J&J is strong there), but also long Covid symptoms. Since J&J is only 66% effective at preventing mild Covid, and mild Covid can still have long-term serious effects, how can I feel safe against this disease?
gwangung
@Monala: The data seems to say that
a) it prevents hospitalization and death just as well as the other two,
b) it’s overall efficacy actually approaches the other two…but it takes longer to kick in (about 80% vs. 90-95%).
So,,,,feel good about it.
Monala
@West of the Rockies: see my reply to Brachiator
ruemara
Got my first one a week or so ago – but who knows? I can’t tell days apart now – and I go back on the 20th to get my second one. I really can’t wait.
JMG
The 14-day period after Alice’s and my second Pfizer shot is today. We may go out to eat as a treat, or maybe not. I will say that my reading glasses broke this afternoon, and at the local CVS where I went to get a new pair, they were doing covid vaccinations. I haven’t had to be there for a couple of weeks, so I don’t know when that started, but it cheered me up to see it.
PS: This is on Cape Cod.
Major Major Major Major
Got Moderna 2 about 24 hours ago, at a high school in the Bronx. At the worst (8am? T+17h) I felt like I’d been in a bike accident. Been taking Tylenol and a bit of now-legal cannabis. Looking forward to a good night’s sleep!
Biden sticker, if you’d be so kind.
Ruckus
@CaseyL:
I’m in the same boat. Second shot was Feb 19, so 6 weeks ago today. It doesn’t seem that long ago, especially as how hard I had to work to get the shot in the first place, but OTOH it seems very long ago as so many are just getting a shot now. Good buddy and his wife got first shot the same day, same time at 2 separate locations, both drive through 3 weeks ago and second shots on Wednesday. Some states seem to be doing better at getting shots in arms.
trollhattan
Spouse got her first jab yesterday under the new relaxed CA rules. Bro got his second jab yesterday in NH. We’re bicoastal!
Also, too, kid is scheduled for jab #1 next week.
Monala
@gwangung: do you have any links regarding the 80% efficacy rate? Everything I’ve read says about 66%.
My big concern is long Covid, which can happen even with mild cases. If I have a 1 in 3 chance of still getting mild Covid, that doesn’t feel super protected.
Major Major Major Major
@West of the Rockies: from what I’ve read, based on our experience with other coronaviruses, immunity ought to last quite a while. Antibodies stick around for at least a few months, and we’ve also observed activation of the longer-term parts of the immune system, which can turn an otherwise major infection into a cold-like illness. In fact there is speculation that something very much like this is how colds work: after childhood exposure, leading to mild illness, you’re quite resilient to them.
Obviously lots of unknowns but so far (again, from what I’ve read) it’s behaving like we’d expect from a respiratory coronavirus in most respects.
WaterGirl
@ruemara: Would you like a kitty or some other sticker to celebrate?
WaterGirl
@Ivan X: Come back for your stickers. :-)
Dan B
Got Pfizer 2 on Saturday. Pain in arm then arm, shoulder and vacc side of neck. Add fatigue and 11 1/2 hours sleep plus two long naps. I’m feeling like the fatigue is finally over but the vacc spot is still achy. My immune system says keep-away-Covid!
My father had Spanish Flu and decades of a sinus infection that finally healed. Pandemic discussions were part of my childhood. We got every vaccine possible.
Kamala and Dolly would be nice.
WaterGirl
@jimmiraybob: I gave you the blue balloon as a placeholder until you tell me what sticker(s) you want.
Martin
@Monala: You’re fine.
People really misunderstand how this mechanism works. The efficacy is not really focused on protecting you, but on protecting us. So let’s look at the test positivity rate.
Let’s assume that right now it’s 5% nationally. So with nothing else going on, you would have about a 5% chance of catching it. If you put on a mask, that cuts it by 80%, so you’re down to 1%. Your J&J cuts it by a further 80%, so you’re down to 0.2%.
The idea is that as vaccinated you goes out in the world, you’re not a 5% risk, you’re a 1% risk because of the vaccine. Which means anyone you encounters you would be 0.2% thanks to the mask, then 0.04% if they are also vaccinated. It doesn’t happen right away, but if social distancing and mask wearing continues, then the virus basically can’t spread. That starting 5% will really quickly dive to 0%.
That’s the real point of the efficacy. It’s not to protect you personally (though it does that) so you can go out in the world with wild abandon, it’s to make it so that if someone does have it and goes to the grocery store and everyone is still distancing and mask wearing, that it won’t spread to anyone else, or spread so slowly that it dies out.
LeftCoastYankee
Took 4 days after eligibility, but got my first appointment setup today for next Wednesday, and the second to follow 3 (or 4?) weeks later.
I marked both dates and the 3 week wait period on my calendar. Should achieve “Covid Parole” last week in May.
I’m so excited, I think I need a nap.
Rusty
Had my first, Pfizer! Baby Champ please!!
Major Major Major Major
I’m really looking forward to the future of medical technology, by the way. For whatever reason my peers are less optimistic, but like, we figured out the API for the adaptive immune system! Amazing!
Monala
@WaterGirl: thanks for the sticker! It looks like my dog. :)
L&DinSLT
@Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman):
Mr. D got his 2nd Moderna at Reno VA on 3/24 & I go #2 Pfizer at Barton satellite office on 3/30. Chills, lethargy on second day. Tick Tock on the two weeks so we can…. continue what we’ve been doing for a year! Easy to distance if you know where the tourists congregate and don’t go there!
Biden please!
Leto
Avalune and I got our shots today! Dose #1 in the bag (Moderna). We got it through the VA. I received an email from them last Friday that the vaccine was open to all vets and their dependents, so yesterday I called and was told we could come today. Bingo bango, done. We picked up a nice lunch from a place we really like nearby, came back and had that, and watched today’s episode of Falcon & Winter Soldier. We’ll see those great people again Apr 30th.
My parents received their second dose last week, our good friends are getting theirs… another small glimmer of hope here. Really happy :)
Gimmie a Biden and Dolly please!
Brachiator
@Monala:
I can’t find the best non-technical discussion about it, but people misunderstand the percentage effectiveness stuff. This does not easily translate into an estimate of identifiable risk.
And if you got the J&J shot, there is no data anywhere that suggests that there is any point in adding any of the other vaccines.
The link I provided deals with some of your concerns, which are totally understandable. Whether this is sufficient, only you can decide.
PenandKey
I got the J&J vaccine this morning after spending five weeks trying to get one scheduled. I know the efficacy isn’t the best long term (so far), but my main concern wasn’t so much avoiding it entirely as avoiding the severe reactions. As an “essential worker” with high blood pressure and a family history of cardiopulmonary issues it’s been a major concern for me since this started.
WaterGirl
@Leto: Biden and Dolly, sittin’ in a tree…
Ivan X
@Monala: I looked into this quite a bit, thoroughly as a layperson as I know nothing about medicine, because I actually have a choice. J&J is much much much much better than nothing. “Lower efficacy” appears to be something of a misnomer; there’s a good Vox video on the subject.
The issue is that the clinical trials of the vaccines are quite different in terms of both timing, geography, and focus groups, and there has not yet been head to head testing (though there probably will be at some point).
Pfizer and Moderna were tested during an ebb in overall cases. J&J was tested during a swell in cases. Without being tested with similar groups during the same period of time, we can’t really know the relative effectiveness; Pfizer and Moderna may look better than they would, and J&J might look worse.
Further, J&J, being newer, was tested specifically in places where there are COVID variants, so it is the only one that has been demonstrated to be effective against them (Pfizer and Moderna may well also be, but they weren’t tested one way or the other).
Also, it appears J&J specifically tested a greater number of higher risk individuals, which would likely bring their overall efficacy numbers down.
All three vaccines have been shown to be 100% effective at preventing hospitalization and death, which is kind of the main thing. Yes, there exists a theoretical greater possibility (though maybe not a significant one, given the differing trial groups and periods) of contracting COVID with J&J, but it will be more akin to catching a cold than risking your life or having long term damage.
J&J has a 72% efficacy in the US (66% is worldwide). For an ordinary flu shot, the epidemologists are happy if it has 45% efficacy. In other words, it’s still a really good vaccine. (The 80% number I think refers to its overall effectiveness relative to itself two weeks after delivery, versus four weeks to get to 100%, so it’s got a longer “kick-in” time than the others, though it’s a wash since it’s only one shot.)
Side effects are said to be less with J&J.
Finally, Pfizer and Moderna use the new miracle science mRNA delivery (DNA reprogramming) mechanism, and we may well look back and see it as a medical revolution, much as we did when vaccines were first invented.
J&J, instead, uses a very well established delivery mechanism — inactive virus — that vaccines have been using forever. Personally, I like the comfort of hacking my own system by a method proven over time to be safe, and for that reason, I think I’m actually going to choose the J&J, since I happen to be fortunate enough to have a choice. (Though I don’t think there is actual risk with the Pfizer and Moderna; there’s just less data.)
TL;dr: J&J is great. Be super happy you got the vaccine!
laura
Spouse and I got our second Pfizer shots yesterday at a well organized, well run drive thru vax clinic here in Sacramento. 5 hours in our arms were sore and increased every 15 minutes or so. It hurt so bad we had to laugh doing range on motion exercises. Last night was miserable. Spouse had aching arm and chills and I had sudden full intestinal double reversal of fortune. Spouse is puttering about today, I’ve got a headache slight fever and sad, sagging dragging ass. There’s a nap in my immediate future after a ginger ale.
May I please have a Rosie and Thurson?
Ruckus
@Monala:
If the choice is J&J or waiting a lot longer, I’d take the J&J in a heartbeat. It seems that the overall resistance takes a bit longer to take hold but the level measured, in groups that differ from some of the higher numbers of Pfizer/Moderna, is seemingly not that significant overall. And the fact that you have to actually wait for the second shot with both mRNA vaccines, that you then have to wait for total effectiveness, I’d say it’s not nearly as cut and dried as it sounds. Remember that a good part of the effectiveness of any vaccine is the number of people who get vaccinated so that the exposure vector goes so low that your exposure level to any of the disease is very, very low.
If you are uncomfortable with J&J then get either one of the others. But get vaccinated as soon as you can. The worst vaccine is when you don’t take one at all. This is my position for flu vaccine. I’ve gotten very ill from the flu vaccine and been hospitalized over others, and I wanted Pfizer because I like the approach of it and Moderna, but if all I could get was J&J, I’d have taken that for just the reason you mention. Any of these 3 is very dramatically better than nothing.
Dan B
We went to friends to offer advice on hiding their newly elevated, and highly ugly, gas meter at their entry. Then we went INTO their house!! To see the new waterproof doors to their deck (lower deck – lucky devils). Then we had nibbles, beer, and wine in their two story living room, whoopee! It was sharing breaths and celebrating the 34th anniversary of their meeting. Three of us have had two shots and K is two weeks out from Pfizer 1. We’re on the state system, thanks tech giants, that tracks 8f you’ve been near someone contagious. None of us have so we discussed parties, Woo Hoo again!
2020 was a tough year with cancer, TFG, and conspiracy nuts.
WaterGirl
@PenandKey:
You didn’t say which sticker you wanted!
Major Major Major Major
@Ivan X:
Rrrrggggh no no no! mRNA is eaten by ribosomes and translated directly into the spike protein, which your body then reacts to. I only say this because this is a common misconception that scares some people
gwangung
@Monala: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/how-effective-johnson-johnson-vaccine-what-know-n1259652
https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/johnson-johnson-vaccine-efficacy-improves-over-time
Ruckus
@Ivan X:
I see that while I was writing you posted basically the same message but with a differing personal choice. Interesting.
Maybe it is our personal experiences with vaccines that gives us differing choices, which I find interesting. And I still say, same as you, any of the 3 is far, far better than none. And my looking at what I would have to do if I wasn’t in the VA, to get vaccinated, I notice that in my area, all three are available in differing locations, it’s getting any shot that is difficult, so most are taking what they can get an appointment for.
tom
@Monala:
A 66% efficacy rate means that your chances of getting COVID are reduced by 66%. So if, say, your chances of getting COVID is 10% without a vaccine, a vaccine with a 66% efficacy rate will reduce your chances by 66%. 10% – (10% X 66%) = 3.4% chance. So pretty good odds.
ETA: Martin beat me to it.
Snarlymon
Got the first jab on January 21, which I took as a good omen for the year. 2nd jab on February 18. My arm was sore and I was lethargic and fuzzy brained that next day although at my age it could have been a normal day. This shots were at Kaiser and both times they seemed nicely organized. Still wearing masks although I am looking forward to having some outdoor gatherings in the summer. Could I have the dude in the classic Corvette please?
Squeaky
Got my second shot March 25. Spousal unit got her second yesterday and reported the place full of youngs getting their first. Offspring got his first last Friday and DIL got her first today. We all got/are getting Pfizer. So far I’m the only one to have anything other than a sore arm; laid up for a day with chills, shakes and fever after both shots. That’s the report from Green Bay. Biden sticker please.
Misterpuff
Got my second Pfizer jab last Sunday. The organization at the Cal State Los Angeles site was impressive, although I’m glad my appointment was late in the day as the lines (and wait) were much shorter.
Give me a Steve….
realbtl
@Pinkpuppy: Between your nym and story I had a flash of the Far Side cartoon with the dog driving and the human drooling out the window. Congrats.
eddie blake
still trying to get an appt for the pfizer.
ot-laptop is dead. all hail the new laptop, hopefully arriving tomorrow.
Leto
@WaterGirl: Def an old school power couple there ;)
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
I THOUGHT you promised an “I can’t get the shot” gripe thread for those of us who despite being a half century old, have not become eligible yet in our benighted State (cough*Maryland!*cough). I’m still waiting on that. Until then I’m going to keep ruining these until I no longer have to deal with vaccine envy.
L85NJGT
Every J&J shot opens a slot for someone else. The two shot vaccines crimp clinic capacity by 50%. The goal is herd immunity, this is not an exercise in consumer choice.
Ivan X
@Major Major Major Major: well then thank you for clarifying!
West of the Rockies
@Dan B:
2020 was INSANE. I suspect books and dissertations will get written in regards to the wild impacts of “the year of our Lord” 2020. Congratulations on face time with friends/chosen family!
J R in WV
I am glad to have had both Moderna vaccinations! The relief from worrying that I will contract a viral disease with unknown effects is wonderful. Especially since Wife (also fully vaccinated! Yay) is more vulnerable than most.
I know I have bitched about my side effects, partly because I was glad to see others had similar side effects, but I am totally together with getting vaccinated, and would do it again in a heart beat~!!~ Two weeks ago yesterday, so should be relatively immune by now. Wish the rest of the country was right there too!!
I see where the CDC has announced that fully vaccinated people can travel freely now, but wife and I plan to wait until most people at any destination we would travel to will also be vaccinated. Can’t wait, though!
That Enderville person from before
I still haven’t found a handle that I prefer and it probably doesn’t matter as long as I don’t use the time here to spam people into buying timeshares at a soon to be completed Ayn Rand inspired condo unit on Clipperton Island no one else does either. The parental units received their second dose of Moderna in March. Getting their first shots was an ordeal, a mad scramble to snag a coveted slot before they filled up online. The second not so much. My brother could qualify as the state now includes homeless people in the current phase. He basically is that if not for sharing a room at the parents. The pressure was for me to get one. Sure yeah whatever. I was running errands and stooping pick up a container of salt I heard over the grocery loudspeaker there was a “single dose of Pfizer available for anyone who hasn’t had one yet. Check in at the drop off for the pharmacy.” Do I? Should I wait this one out? Defer for another deserving individual? Food service now counts but? I scan aisles. The shoppers consisted of retirees who likely had theirs as no one was racing to the back of the store. So I got the first shot.
Ivan X
@Ruckus: agreed on all points. It’s kind of remarkable that I was actually able to find multiple choices in different places near enough to where I live and made me excited that we’re all going to get where we need to be sooner than later. I think ease of distribution and lower quantity needed of J&J will be the real game changer.
mkd
Husband and I were fully vaccinated by last Thursday, Moderna flavor. Had a few hours of chills and low fever the day after the second jab, husband experienced nothing. Dolly for me and Biden for him, tx! ( went into a local Big Box store this morning and 70% of the shoppers were masked but about 30% had either no mask or the mask under the nose, I was so happy for us to be vaccinated against fools.
gwangung
Got the second Pfizer yesterday….right now, I have a little achiness, a little fuzziness around the edges and a SLIGHT temperature bump.
That’s pretty mild for side effects….and compared to the alternative…..well…..
planetjanet
Just returned from getting my first Moderna shot. Since I am in the general population group, I really did not expect to get my vaccine until June and was not stressful about it. For some reason, I trusted that it would happen when it needed to. Last night I received an email saying on short notice there were appointments between noon and 3 pm and provided a link to acknowledge. I thought it was spam, since the link did not go to the health department and the whole thing might be a hoax. After thirty minutes of googling, the health department confirmed the email would be from this third party. FEMA did start a mass vaccination site this week and we are a hotspot in the state. Test positivity has been climbing all week and now up to 10.5%. Since Governor Northam announced all groups would be eligible on April 18th, I expected I might actually get my shot in May. So I am unexpectedly grateful. May I please have the Dolly sticker as an acknowledgement of the Moderna now coursing through my veins. Most looking forward to the new prehensile tail.
Ken
@Major Major Major Major: I’ll just repost this excellent primer on how the mRNA vaccines work.
PS “Screaming Eagle” make-it-happen sticker please. Here in Illinois, I’ll become eligible on April 12. Curse this relatively young, relatively healthy body, and my career choice which means I can work at home in absolute safety!
Ken
“… as it was once known, was designated ‘Year 0’ of the new calendar, marking the last year of the Age of Insanity. Year 1 is thus the start of the Psaki Consensus, as it was first called in year 2 by ….”
opiejeanne
@gwangung: We got our second Pfizer yesterday too. Hooray for you and us!
Inventor
@Ken: Later generations would give their leader the title Psupreme Psaki.
Brachiator
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
I understand how you feel.For a while, it seemed that the vaccine was easily available everywhere except where I was.
But things started to ease up sooner than I had expected. We have some good people in charge, now. Hopefully, it will soon get better where you are.
Wapiti
@Leto: That’s good info; I don’t get my normal health care thru the VA so hadn’t thought of checking their eligibility rules. I was able to sign up; maybe I’ll get an appointment for the jab before I’m eligible under WA State rules, which is April 15th.
Cacti
MLB is pulling the All Star Game from Atlanta over Georgia’s attack on voting rights.
Good for them.
WV Blondie
Ha! Everyone crows about being first on a thread – I’m tickled to have been last on the previous thread (got my second shot today). I still enjoyed my ducklings!
trollhattan
I might be the last person on my block to hear this excerpt from Boehner’s narration of his book. Regardless, best laugh I’ve had in weeks. Likewise, the printed excerpts–wowzers. As Nixon once noted re. Barbara Bush, the man really knows how to hate.
Barbecue Swinger
I got my second dose of Moderna Wednesday, ran a low fever with chills and all-over muscle aches for 24 hours after, then all was back to normal. I’m grateful, happy, and frankly surprised by how well the vaccine roll-out seems to be going in my part of Texas. Oh, and I’ll take Tikka.
opiejeanne
@WaterGirl: Hi! I got my second shot yesterday. May I please have the Tikka sticker?
mr opiejeanne got his too. I think he’d like the Old Handsome Joe sticker.
Thanks.
barbequebob
@JMG: Got mine at CVS Hyannis. First was at end of February
Nancy
Nancy got the first Pfizer on March 11 and the second on April 1–it was not a joke. I’ve been tired both times. Pretty spacey today. Not good for much but futzing around. Not a problem I can futz with the best of them.
I plan to fall asleep on the couch before the solution to the murder mystery is revealed. Might as well be realistic.
May I have a Steve please? He might be my spirit animal, but he is all John’s in reality.
Tenar Arha
? ? it makes me happy to see so many people getting vaccinated
MC
I got my first dose of Moderna today.
WaterGirl
@Snarlymon: Love “the dude in the classic Corvette”!
Rob
I just got back from getting my first shot. It was a 3 pm appointment but the site was slammed. I got stabbed, finally, at 3:50. Then we stopped on the way home for curbside pickup: brisket, collard greens, mac & cheese.
Could I have the kitten sticker please?
Humanities Prof
I got dose #2 of the Pfizer vaccine today! No reaction yet, but lying down to sleep tonight will probably be an adventure.
Leto
@Wapiti: Sorry I’m a bit late responding; PA is the same regarding general population (Apr 15th or so). Def check with the VA to see if you can grab it through them. Take advantage of those benefits :)
WaterGirl
@eddie blake: Thought you might need one of the frustration stickers, then.
WaterGirl
@Leto: Absolutely!
WaterGirl
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: Thanks for the reminder!
I just put up the Vaccine Venting thread for you and others who are in the same boat.
But for the record, you aren’t ruining these threads.
WaterGirl
@That Enderville person from before: Yay, yay, yay!
What sticker would you like?
Mike E
I got my 2nd Pfizer dose on Monday, exactly 3 weeks after the 1st at the same county-run site. (Can I get a woof woof!) Kind of sparse tho it wasn’t jammed the other time either… I had Tuesday and Wednesday off and I am glad I did since my reaction was like last time except 50% more intense (site soreness, joint aches, fatigue and some skin irritation) and I’m still a bit under the weather so this holiday weekend is special ordered. Miss E gets her 2nd dose tommorow!
Kathleen
I got the second Pfizer dose 2 weeks ago and have felt crappy ever since, though I don’t know if it’s because of vaccine.
WaterGirl
@Kathleen: Henry is sorry you feel crappy.
WaterGirl
@Mike E: You guys can come back tomorrow or a sticker for Miss E.
WaterGirl
I think I have everyone “stickered” up to here. Let me know if I missed anyone.
Also, if you didn’t specify your sticker, you can still let me know which one you prefer.
jimmiraybob
@WaterGirl:
Thanks. I will go with a “woof, woof!”
Enderville Something I dunno
Samwise. Comment in moderation and then I left as computer froze while trying to mention sticker.
evodevo
@Major Major Major Major:
Yeah…I don’t know how many times I have had to explain this to people…I blame the education system lol
Kathleen
@Kathleen: Aw, thank you WG! Perfect sticker!
Kathleen
@WaterGirl: Thank you!
rikyrah
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
YEAHH!!!!!!!!
And, you thought you’d be waiting until June
Benw
@Tenar Arha:
me too! I love how happy people are, not just for themselves, but for others. Everyone working at both my wife and my vaccine sites – the intake volunteers, the NG soldiers, the nurses – just radiated!
There are those who call me...tim... (Still posh)
The DME company I work for hooked us up with Moderna, which is sentimental for me, having grown up on The Porter Wagoner Show, so, you know.
WaterGirl
@Enderville Something I dunno: Got it, thanks!
MoCaAce
Fourteen days out from Moderna #2. Here in NE Wisconsin getting the jab is now easy peasy!
Badger Me!
km
I got my first Pfizer shot yesterday at CVS – first day I was eligible in CA. :) Super easy and no problems, just slight local soreness.
Baby Champ for me!
ColoradoGuy
Hi, Watergirl! Give me the “Ridin’ with Biden” sticker. Got Moderna #1 on the 21st of January, which I felt was a good omen. Moderna #2 on February 18th, plenty of side effects on that one. But very very glad I had it. Even though I have a strong shot phobia, I didn’t feel either one, just felt the bandage going on afterward.
WaterGirl
@ColoradoGuy: Proud of you!
rikyrah
@Tenar Arha:
Me too ???
I love these threads
currants
@currants:
Thank you, WaterGirl!! These are great.
WaterGirl
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: Wow, that was a good call on your part. We really did need a vaccine venting thread!
maeve
Got my 2nd Pfizer shot today! Mass vaccine clinic at our local community center. Really smooth and easy. There was a trio (two fiddles and a banjo) playing in the afterwards waiting area
Steve sticker if you still have time!
REinAZ
Just got my second shot at Walgreens.
Would like to commemorate with a Steve sticker please!
Another Scott
@trollhattan: Meh.
Cruz is in “the other body”.
Let me know when he cusses out a Teabagger in the House.
Cheers,
Scott.
Lyrebird
Phew, phew,
I’ve had shot #2!
They still have lots of signs up so it was easy to find, the soldiers were very efficient, the shot hurt but so what, and tomorrow I take the day off.
Please put the sticker with the duckies here if it’s convenient.
Avalie
Got my second Pfizer shot last week in San Diego at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. A little tired the next day and my arm was sore for a couple of days, but otherwise no side effects. All of my family fully vaccinated! Tikka, please!
hugely
I got my first Pfizer shot 2 weeks ago in a Sharp Health Care run clinic in the Grossmont mall (adding these details for those in San Diego Area). I made an appointment online. Once I arrived at the mall it was very quick, no wait – all the staff were friendly. You just have to wait 15 minutes after the shot to leave. I signed up for a simple CDC monitoring app afterwards which I think is great – actual data on the vaccine and any side effects direct to the CDC
barely any side effects – the only painful part was reloading the crap application someone stood up for taking online appointment reservations (grrr)
Samwise 1 dose done for me please!
hugely
@L85NJGT: I agree with that comment – though my shot was picked for me based on what the provider had. I did not shop for any particular brand.
Zinsky
Got my first Moderna jab three weeks ago. No side effects whatsoever. Next Friday I get #2 and my peace of mind back. I love everything about Dolly, so give me Dolly please!
kmax
My son was qualified for a jab. He asked me tonight if I could get him an appointment. Just as I was getting started an email came in from one of the local pharmacies. We were still on their email list from back when we were searching for a shot.
They had openings. Bang! 5 minutes after my son called I had his appointment.
Sometimes it’s easy.
mvr
Got my second Pfizer yesterday in a large utilitarian building at the county
fairgrounds“event center” expecting no big deal and went back to work teaching class. This morning the shoulder I got the shot in hurt slightly, but this afternoon I’m having the bodily sensations (mostly aches in my limbs) I have when I have a fever and am pretty darn tired. No fever though. I guess this means the first dose did its work priming me for an immune response. I expect to be back to normal tomorrow after I sleep overnight. Two weeks from now I’ll be as immune as I’m going to get for a while and the next week Jenny will be, so I’m happy.fun with duct tape
Got my first AstraZeneca on March 31. The regional health department sent me a text message letting me know that my cohort was eligible, and through their website it was easy to make an appointment at my local primary care center, which is where I receive all my routine health care through the national health service.
Baby Champ, please, and thanks!
Princess
Second Pfizer shots for us yesterday, among the 4 million (!!!!) or so Americans to get shot. Done by the 101 Airborne at the United Center. Half an hour beginning to end, including the wait. I feel like hell this morning. I’d like a Biden sticker because no way Trump would send the army to Chicago and if he were still president the whole country would look like Brazil right now.
KatieK
Tikka please. My arm was sore the day following my first shot. Yesterday, I had my 2nd shot and they told me to move my arm a lot and drink more fluids. I followed orders. My arm doesn’t hurt to move it this morning and I feel fine so far!
Nutmeg again
Numero Uno Pfizer, done! Noon-thirty today! In my car, in a parking lot in a general aviation area, or what looked like one, in East Hartford CT.
My only (only!!) gripe is that it seems the system is too overburdened to help you make the appointment for shot #2, so that’s up to me and my abilities to navigate the VAMS system, again :( Grumble Grumble. When my sister got her (Moderna) shots starting about 2 months ago, they booked her second dose when she got the first
(I’ll be happy with any woofing dog sticker, thx!)
WaterGirl
@Nutmeg again: Take two, they’re small! :-)
I’m very pleased with myself because – when you hadn’t said which stickers you wanted – I was trying to decide between Henry and Lily, and had decided on Lily. I came back to put Lily in, and I saw your edit about the woofing dogs.
I’m psychic! :-) Who knew?
Baquist
I got the first shot -Pfizer – on March 30th. Champ sticker please!
Keithly
Got the second Pfizer shot today. No side effects yet. I can haz Tikka 2 shots, plz? kthxbye.
Original Lee
I got my first dose of Pfizer today!
Thanks, Dolly!
mazareth
I got my first Moderna dose last week Saturday March 24th. The needle was so thin, I didn’t feel the stick from the needle. I get my 2nd dose April 24th. The side effects were relatively mild for me – some soreness at the site of the shot, fatigue, and a little achy on Sunday and Monday.
If you’re in Central or Northern Wisconsin, the Marshfield Clinics seem to have a lot of capacity. I applied for a spot on Monday. Was sent an email appointment link on Wednesday, and got an appointment for that same Saturday.
**NOTE: You need to be an established patient with the Marshfield Clinic system, as you need to have a Medical History number to complete the online form. You also need to be in an eligible group – 65+, or 16+ with an eligible underlying medical condition.
Comrade Colette
I’m sitting in the parking lot of the vax drive-thru, waiting out the 15 minutes until I can get a donut. Moderna, first dose. Hallelujah!
I’ll take baby Champ, please.
Mike E
Miss E got her 2nd Pfizer dose yesterday and is recuperating… usual reaction this time tho she had some difficulty breathing a day after her 1st shot so mebbe a calming Penelope pic if you please!
Mike in Oly
I got my first dose of the Pfizer today. Next one in 3 weeks. Will put me two weeks fully vacc’d by the time I go on vacation second week of May. SO HAPPY! I am facing ‘use it or lose it’ with my vacation leave so have got to take a big chunk of time off. I chose May when the irises are blooming and plan to drive to a friend’s place in CA to see her collection and photograph it. I feel so much safer doing that now. Plus my mom is coming to visit so it will feel so much safer having her here and heading out to do things in the region.
Steve sticker please. I know he is a 2nd dose notice, not 1st, but I love him so much.
Eljai
Got my first Pfizer this morning! I’ll take the dashing and debonair Samwise!
@Comrade Colette:
We think alike!
Origuy
Got Pfizer #1 at Levi’s Stadium today. Very smooth operation, good signage, lots of helpful volunteers. The vaccination and observation area was in the stadium’s main lounge, too bad the bar wasn’t open. Stopped at Krispy Kreme for my free donut, the first donut I’ve had since July and I went on Keto. I figured that was a good reason to cheat.
Can I have a sticker of Badger, please? To go with my real one with the Levi’s logo.
trollhattan
Kiddo just got her J&J “Janssen” one-and-done shot. Yay, dad’s relieved, she’ll eventually feel relieved, plus it makes the rest of her spring track season a lot simpler.
I’m certain she’d like a noble boxer!
Weirdest Freshman Class Ever will end pretty soon and hopefully they can get a normal sophomore year. Normal yet to be defined.
JaneE
I got my second dose of Moderna yesterday. Sticker of lovely Lily please.
FWIW
My husband and I both got our shots through Kaiser and their program for members. His first dose was two months ago, then we both got shots last month, and my second shot was yesterday.
His first dose occurred in controlled chaos – it took about an hour after he checked in to fill out the questionnaire, wait, get the shot, and wait 15 minutes. The second time around it was busy and crowded, but half an hour or less total. Yesterday, I was the only person in the room, I was getting my shot within two minutes of checking in, including the time to walk over to the area where shots were being given. There were maybe 4 people waiting after their shots, and another 5 came in while I was sitting my 15 minutes, but never more than 7 or 8 in the waiting area total. We have much looser eligibility now, and half the people getting vaccinated looked “young” to me – probably 50s or 40s even.
Eric S.
Got my J&J Jab yesterday. I had to drive an hour to the south suburbs of Chicago to a pharmacy that had doses. It wasn’t run very efficiently but in the end I am one and done. The black kitty one and done, please.
hueyplong
Moderna #2 done this AM.
The extent to which Steve looks like our King Henry is borderline troubling.
Shakti
So yesterday, my brother and I got the first shots of the Pfizer vaccine. My brother had no effects, and I had a very sore arm, leg, a snotty nose and a fever, so I sat on the couch and rewatched Legally Blonde and took an aspirin before I conked out. The sore arm was not as bad as the time I had to get a tetanus booster as a child.
Not sure how much of that is muted because I daily take antihistimines for all of the multiple environmental allergies I have.
My arm’s still sore this morning.
My brother selfie’d himself across all of his social media with his vaccine card.
Samwise for me, and Henry for my brother, please!
Buckeye
I got my second Pfizer yesterday and I feel like I was dropped from an airplane.
I’d like a Steve, please.
NineJean
Got second jab this afternoon. At Walgreens, no muss no fuss. Given that they were a bit short of chairs in the afternoon, otherwise they did a pretty good job of getting folks in and out of there.
The needle jockey is really quite good – she did both of the shots, and I barely even felt either one of them. I had exactly *no* issues with the first one. I’m told, though that I might have issues with the second. Maybe.
Yay! I’ve been sooo isolated for thirteen months, two weeks and a day so far [ but who’s counting??]
Two weeks, now, to go … to hug my newest grand-niece, born march 13 2020.
[Sticker? Rosie & Thurston, please]
Timurid
Moderna #2 this morning.
Steve, please.
MomSense
Oldest got his pfirst Pfizer today. Yay!
Middle got an appointment for a J&J one and done for April 12th.
Youngest gets his first on April 17th.
arielibra
Pfizer #1 this afternoon. A little shaky and headachy, but not too bad.
Kamala please!
Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)
I got my 2nd Moderna shot today (4 hours ago) and so far only a slightly sore shoulder in exchange for much mental relief!
May I please have a ducklings doses done sticker please?
WaterGirl
@MomSense: Yay!!!