The vaccine train is still slowing down, but hopefully some of us, and our kids, are still getting vaccinated.
International peeps, how’s it going on the vaccination front?
Tell me which stickers you want, so I can sticker you!
ruemara’s kitties, Odoroki and Himesama:
Dr. Fauci and Nancy Smash:
Samwise, Baby Champ and Henry:
Rosie & Thurston, Lily, Tikka:
Balloons!
Green balloons!
Kamala and Joe!
One and done for Johnson & Johnson:
Now with Dolly, Penelope and ducklings!
Katalin Kariko who was laughed at her entire career for researching mRNA, and Kizzmekia Corbett. Two scientists who happen to be women, and saved our lives!
Stickers by MazeDancer!
Are any of you still unable to get an appointment? Find A Shot
If you are still waiting for access to the vaccine, these stickers may be for you!
All credit and thanks to MazeDancer for the various stickers!
Kristine
The Ensemble 2 clinical study got the go-ahead, so I received my second J&J shot on Friday. Had chills and aches that night through early morning and a sore arm for a couple of days. At this point, the only aftereffect is slight tenderness at the injection site. I need to submit daily reports via an app for the next week or so, but I’m not scheduled for any more follow-up visits until October. Overall, it was a pretty interesting experience. I’m glad I did it.
If I’m sticker eligible, I’ll take Hot-Rod Joe.
patrick II
Good news for me! I got my Grammarly weekly report and made fewer writing mistakes than 19% of the other Grammarly users. Much better than I did in high school.
And the other good news is that Pfizer is very effective against the Delta variation. Moderna probably is too, although not included in the study, since it also takes its immune signature from just the spike of the virus. Those vaccines that are not mRNA may be less effective since they may be fooled by the broader information they take as relevant information.
Is that affective or effective? Probably another point of my score.
MobiusKlein
My international co-workers (Guatemala) are just getting doses for the elderly. It’s going to be a long time till it hits the youth and older, and a long time before it gets into the country side.
Making things worse, I’ve heard stories about fake vaccines in prior campaigns. There is low trust in public infrastructure there, even in big cities.
WaterGirl
@Kristine: I think anyone who participated in a clinical trial is amazing! We owe all of you a huge debt.
WaterGirl
@MobiusKlein: That’s not good news. I can understand that there are greedy people in the world, who can make decisions solely about profit. But I cannot fathom people who will deliberately do things that may well lead to something terrible happening to other human beings. My brain just does not compute.
MobiusKlein
@WaterGirl:
It was for a flu shot, not Covid. How much was true versus rumor is unclear to me. But yeah, the cost of corruption is not hidden for them.
KM in NS
Up here in Canada, we’ve been told nationally and provincially that the 2 mRNA vaccines are interchangeable. Mr. NS is getting his second dose of Pfizer and I’m getting Moderna for my second dose (I had Pfizer for my first dose). He’s not worried, nor am I. Although looking forward to spontaneously breaking out into Dolly Parton songs and the Unicorn horn. ? lol.
WaterGirl
@KM in NS: Sounds like stickers are in order. What would you like?
Kristine
@patrick II:
I just looked it up. The single shot J&J is 60% effective against the Delta variant. The mRNA vaccines are 88% effective.
I’m wondering if the 2nd J&J shot boosts that at all. Won’t know for a while.
Mary G
@MobiusKlein: My housemate and her mom just came back from Guatemala and sad to say the right wing wurlitzer is playing loud disinformation on Spanish Facebook and her relatives there are very leery of the vaccine and feel they don’t have to bother since they’ve all had Covid. The shots aren’t available in their isolated town too.
KM in NS
@WaterGirl: lol. It’s premature but I’ll take a Samwise for inspiration. ?
Benw
Younger teen just crossed into fully vaxxed! We are 4/5 of the way there…
WaterGirl
@Benw: That’s so great!
WaterGirl
@Mary G: Ugh.
MobiusKlein
@Mary G:
One of my Guatemalan friends who came to the US has a family of Trump supporters. Stuns me.
Doug
Germany is chugging along at about a million vaccinations per weekday. Unf, not even a pandemic gets in the way of German weekends.
Anyway, incidence rates are way, way down. Many states have 7-day rates in the single digits per hundred thousand population, and no state has a rate above 20. Late last week (on the former Day of German Unity) the country passed 50% of the population with at least one dose. And there’s very little variation in uptake. Even states where the far-right share of the vote is higher are showing similar desire for doses.
Racing against the variants now.
JoyceCB
Ontario, Canada, here. Much frustration with getting second doses because the province has basically thrown the eligibility open to anyone who wants a second shot. Or even a first shot for that matter. The on-line booking sites are getting slammed, because everyone wants their jab. My husband and I will get our second doses on July 3. I nearly wept with relief at the first dose, I wonder how excited I’ll be for the second one?
JMS
Baby Champ, please on behalf of my 17 year old son who was vowing to hold out until suddenly he agreed as long as it was far away enough that nobody he knew would see him waiting with me in the school supply aisle. Sigh…this parenting thing isn’t easy.
Doug R
My wife and daughter got their second shot of Pfizer on the weekend. I had the first shot Astra Zeneca in April and Moderna this past weekend so I guess Thanks Dolly!
WaterGirl
@JoyceCB: You guys are apparently smarter than some of us are in the U.S.
eclare
@JMS: I think most teenagers pretend their parents don’t exist. He’ll come around in a few years. At least that’s how it was with my mom and me.
WaterGirl
@JMS: When my mom and I took the train to Champaign for me to have a school visit (probably my junior year?) I refused to sit with her.
Transition to adulthood is complicated.
NorthLeft12
My wife and I are three weeks past our second vaccinations, but we are continuing with all recommended precautions.
Our two daughters and one son-in-law have had one jab and will be getting their second within two weeks.
My side of the family is all fully vaccinated excepting two or three nephews that should be getting their second doses soon. My wife’s side of the family has at least one dose except for a bil that is still collecting data, and two nephews who are just plain clueless. These three holdouts were easily predictable. It will make for slightly smaller get togethers this year and next if nothing changes.
Overall, things are looking pretty good here in Canada. Vaccinations are at high levels across the country. Alberta looks to be the lowest vaccinated province at just over 70%, while most other provinces are headed to over 80% participation levels.
Our challenge is getting the second doses done ahead of the Delta variant. Here in Ontario the first dose coverage of over twelve years old people (our eligible age) is 75%, and our fully vaccinated is 25%. Feeling good about this!
Kim Walker
I’m scheduled for a second AZ in August. The powers-that-be have been touting that anyone in Quebec can get their second shot sooner. However, there are no appointments available. Typical and annoying – biting off more than can be chewed. I would certainly like even a AZ before August.
WaterGirl
@NorthLeft12: Interesting, and good news!
Some folks on the morning COVID thread were frustrated with Canada – is it like the US in that it depends on where you live?
WaterGirl
@Kim Walker: Frustrating! Seems like you could use one of the other stickers. Do any or all of those appeal to you?
Jack Canuck
Got my first Astra Zeneca shot a couple of weeks ago down here in Melbourne. Unfortunately they’re recommending twelve weeks between first and second for that, so it’ll be mid or late August before I can finish. Still, at least it’s a start.
I’ll take the balloon with the blue background please!
SiubhanDuinne
@JoyceCB:
My cousin (lives in Owen Sound) and his wife got their first Pfizer shots in mid-April and at the time were scheduled for the second dose in August! Since Ford opened things up, they’ve been online every day for a week or more just trying to set up an earlier appointment. Must be so frustrating!
Royston Vasey
Pretty chilled here in NZ (chilled penguin please).
Single digit cases are confined to the border. There are no cases in the general populance.
No cases whatsoever in Wellington for at least a year.
However, there seems to be no rush for vaccine rollout. I’ve had no shots, and might be able to get one (when they are available) later in the year (maybe September).
Unique uid
@Kristine: I’m also in Ensemble2 (sort of), I had the first shot the day before it was approved for general use. But I received the placebo.
I was talking to them later, apparently they pivoted soon after I had the shot. I was in the group they were randomly giving J&J or placebo. As I understand it, later people all received J&J for first shot, then a random one for second. (Does that make sense? Did they let you know the first shot was real J&J?)
Several weeks later I was eligible to get a mRNA shot in my state, so I called them to be unblinded. Very sad to find that I had placebo. They agreed to give me J&J a few weeks later. Then J&J ended up being on hold, so I ended up at Kroger for Moderna.
I’m still working with the study people, they are taking blood samples and checking antibody levels. They actually sent people out to my house ten days ago to pull more samples, since I had a few COVID symptoms. (Most likely a tick bite, test results back a few days ago confirmed Lyme)
Kristine
@Unique uid: I got my first shot in early March. I was pretty sure I had received the real thing given how I felt afterwards. After the general approval, we were all unblinded and I learned I had indeed received the real thing. Folks who had received the placebo were offered one shot of J&J.
I was originally scheduled for shot #2 in mid-April, but the pause messed that up. Since I was already considered fully vaccinated, I just waited it out. I did receive the real thing for shot #2–they filled out my vaccination card and I did have a reaction. It didn’t sound as though they would be giving anyone a placebo for a second dose. They already have so many folks who have received the single shot that they should know how it will work. But I honestly don’t know.
Are you in the Chicago area? If we’re in different states/different clinical sites, maybe the protocols are different.
Ugh–so sorry about the Lyme diagnosis. Hope it was caught soon enough for the round of antibiotics to handle it.
NorthLeft12
@WaterGirl: Kind of, sort of. In Ontario you can get vaccinated through the provincial sites, pharmacies, and through family doctors and unfortunately they don’t communicate with each other.
You need to work the phones and/or computer some to get a jab….quickly.
If you are in an identified “hot zone” there are more vaccines and methods of getting it…..which is only logical, right?
My area is not a hot zone so my wife had to work harder to get us vaccinations this quick. We had to drive ninety minutes from our home to get two AZ jabs. Not complaining, as we were vaccinated ahead of almost everyone in our county.
While I’m here please give me the hedgehog sticker. Thanks.
WaterGirl
@Royston Vasey: That is simply amazing.
WaterGirl
@Unique uid: It’s great that they caught the lyme so early. Small favors. I truly admire everyone who participated in a study.
Jay
Got my second shot in Coquitlam last week, so end of the first week in July, I will have the best protection the Moderna/Pfizer jabs can offer.
I’ll take a hot rod President Joe Biden for sending vaccines North and South.
Jay
Thanks, Watergirl.
rikyrah
Peanut is past the 14 day antibody countdown.
Can she have the scientists, please ?
Thor Heyerdahl
I get my second shot on Tuesday. A Canuck with an Astra/Moderna mix. (one Dolly for me please!)
An incredible site for Canadian COVID stats is https://covid19tracker.ca/vaccinationtracker.html (run by second-year University of Saskatchewan anatomy and cell biology student Noah Little).
As of writing this post, 66.039% of the Canadian population has received at least one dose (or 75.851% of Canadians 12+). 19.420% of the Canadian population is fully vaccinated (or 22.305% of Canadians 12+).
https://vaccinehunters.ca have been a literal lifesaver. For tracking down vaccine appointments I will personally vouch for their discord site…but it can be intense. Their Twitter feed is also a great help.
Jane2
Double AZ here, which means I can’t go to Bruce Springsteen’s Broadway show, even if I wanted to, which I do not.
Premier here is doing a deSantis and throwing off the masks July 11 based on a made up something something benchmark. The Delta variant is taking hold at the same time.
Good times!
Jay
@Jane2:
Saskistan or Albertistan?
Jane2
Haha Sask, the home of Kenney’s Mini-me. @Jay:
Unique uid
@Kristine: I’m in Michigan, about 90 minutes drive from the Detroit study hospital. I got the impression that the study guidelines come down from some central HQ, but probably aren’t implemented 100% identically. (and boy, that Iqvia app needs some work)
I started the Lyme drugs about 8 days after noticing symptoms, so I’m hopeful it will be fine. (Ticks have been crazy in my area, seen more this year than my previous ~60 years total)
fun with duct tape
Spain here. In my region (Catalonia, pop. approx. 7,727,000), the health department reports that 49% of us have received one dose of vaccine and about 30% are fully vaccinated. (The percentages would be bigger if I knew how many kids to subtract.) In the last week, 378,000 people got their first dose and 196,000 their second dose.
I’m one of those 196,000 people! I got a shot of Pfizer on Friday; my first dose was AstraZeneca, at the end of March.
Tikka, please, and thanks.
WaterGirl
There is a more recent version of this linked in the sidebar.