Finally, a place to vent and share your vaccination “why is this so fucking hard” woes!
It can also be a place where you can share any hot tips about how to locate the vaccine in your particular state or area.
Plus, *stickers!
If any of the stickers speak to you, let me know which one you want.
I’ll add this to the sidebar along with the I Got the Shot! threads.
*All hail MazeDancer for the stickers.
Update: for teaching and childcare-related jobs that President Biden has directed should be given at least their first shot by the end of March… that is part of the federal program that the administration controls. So even if your governor isn’t on board, you should be able to get a shot through the federal pharmacy program.
Here is the list of pharmacies in the federal program, listed by state. (from Scout211)
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/retail-pharmacy-program/participating-pharmacies.html
Geoboy
Just signed up for my first shot next Monday. Compared to most states New Mexico has been doing a great job. God bless Michelle Lujan Grisham!
Keith P.
Phase 1b….on 3 different waiting lists to get an appointment, over a month on one. Yesterday was the first time I went to the Houston vaccine site and even had the ability to get on the waiting list. FWIW, I had to change a car title late last year and had a similar experience – it was 6 weeks just to get an appointment to come in to change the title. I have zero faith on my local government’s ability to perform any kind of administrative task.
Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)
Pennsylvania’s system is still piecemeal searching and using out of date info from the Dept. of Health web site. I have started using findashot since reading about it in our dead tree newspaper yesterday. I have some hope now since it has access to CVS, RiteAid and Walgreens sites.
Freemark
I get my first shot Friday. Still haven’t been able to get my parents an appointment.
I’m in PA and the only people I personally know that have managed to get it so far are people who ‘knew somebody’. One couple went to a Rite-Aid and got it with no appointment and no waiting because they knew the pharmacist. Another somehow got it through their church which was NOT a mass vaccination site.
I got lucky with my appt at Rite-Aid because it appeared I was checking just after someone cancelled their appt.
Hungry Joe
Was supposed to get shot #2 Monday (Moderna, at Petco Park, San Diego), but they ran short of vaccine and pushed it back to Friday. Actually looking forward to having (mild!) flu symptoms. Weird.
Jimmy T
Got my first dose yesterday. No complications whatsoever. Oh wait, had to go to Salem fairgrounds to get it. Apparently the Portland response is still in the cluster-f*ck arena. Hoping that will soon change. Except for the drive, the Salem experience was wonderful. Mostly Natural Guard medic types given the injections…
Gin & Tonic
If I thought it was easy and almost painless, can I still comment? I’m in RI and over 65; sign-ups opened last Monday, I logged on in the morning, got my appointment for Wednesday, went and got the shot. Took about an hour of lines and registration (including the mandatory 15-minute wait after) from when I parked the car to when I got back in.
Brachiator
I am scheduled for the first jab tomorrow.
Hope it goes well. Am prepared to rest up the rest of the day, if there are residual effects.
NotMax
Looked at the state’s online site, which appears to have been designed by Escher on a day he was suffering a severe hangover. However, one can dial 211* and talk live to someone trained to handle the hoop jumping over the phone.
*service co-run by the state Health Department and United Way
Rand Careaga
I received the first jab of the Pfizer pflavor on Saturday. The operation was conducted in a vast parking lot near the racetrack in Berkeley, and was surprisingly efficient and well-organized. Pro tip: if you’re a side sleeper, go for the outboard shoulder. An informal survey of my circle suggests that most of us (Truman- and Eisenhower-era babies) have either had their shots or are shortly on track to receive these.
Benw
@Hungry Joe: same thing happened to my folks in SD. #2 at Petco pushed back from Saturday to tomorrow!
NY seems to be doing the best it can. The state website seems to be a little finicky, but with a bunch of steady refreshing I was able to get #1 (Pfizer) in Manhattan last Saturday, about two weeks after NYS opened up eligibility to under 65 with comorbidities. The site was well-organized and the whole thing only took ~45 minutes.
cain
Still waiting for the teachers and now 65+ people to get theirs. I’m hoping that the Feds will help increase supply and provide money to pay people on distribution. I hope we can get our act together.
Major Major Major Major
Getting my first shot on the 9th at the Javits Center. I signed up on the first day I could, and got super lucky I guess, and even then the first available appointment was three weeks later! What a mess.
Capri
I live in Indiana, where they started with 80+, nursing home residents plus essential workers and health care professionals. They’ve steadily droppied down the age and as of this morning it’s anyone 55 or older. When it hit my age group I tried registering through the local Meijer pharmacy but the links were broken and I couldn’t make it work so I went to the state site and got an appointment for April 1. Yesterday the health dept. called and said they could take me early so I got shot #1 yesterday afternoon. My arm is sore but otherwise feel OK. They scheduled the second shot when I got the first, and my booster is April 1
I was very impressed with the efficiency and organization, which, in a round about way is due to Mike Pence. When he quit being governor to become vice president he appointed his replacement. The current governor is not nearly nutso enough to make it through a GOP primary and is actually competent.
cope
If you are in or near Central Florida, Seminole County has a pretty easy appointment process. Also, the last two appointment blocks (usually opened every Tuesday) have not filled for 24 hours as compared to 30 minutes at the onset. The main jabbing place is in the eastern part of the county at the Oviedo Mall, just off the 417.
Here is a link if you haven’t yet looked into the process. The most recently eligible include those over 50 who are teachers or school employees, law enforcement officers, firefighters and health care workers who work with patients. You can also get an appointment if you are under 65 but have underlying conditions (doctor’s note necessary, form available online). You only need to be a Florida resident.
seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/county-managers-office/prepare-seminole/emergencyevent.stm…
piratedan
still waiting for my group to qualify here in Pima County, AZ… so we’ll continue to do the proper things like staying at home and masking up when out and about.
Old School
I’m just here for the “Make It Happen!” sticker.
counterfactual
Ohio. For my Dad it was straightforward, fill out a Google Docs form, then wait. He’s all done as of last week. Waiting patiently for Ohio to get to the 55+ group.
Ivan X
I just signed up for https://hidrb.com, which is a “standby list for leftover vaccines” — basically if a pharmacy is gonna toss ’em, they’ll text you (from random pool based upon qualification) and if you respond ASAP you can go get poked. Not real optimistic in Santa Barbara County where they’ve only had 10,000 vials total delivered, but who knows?
I didn’t have the heart to lie about my qualification status. My asthma is only moderate, not severe, and I ain’t over 65.
Benw
@Major Major Major Major: it’s a wild ride. I saw the Javits slots open up last Thursday, and snagged an appointment last Saturday. My friend in Albany finally got her appointment (at UAlbany) yesterday by clicking through even though the site said no appointments! Whee
ETA: the highlight of course was getting my smol Champ sticker!
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
I’m not eligible in Maryland. The only tip I have to offer is to register with Medstar if you’re in the DC area. My 81 year old mother in law has been living with us since the pandemic began. My wife and I debated whether that was best because my wife is a front line health care worker (not working directly with known Covid patients but any patient that comes in the door is a potential exposure because she’s an adolescent health specialist and those kids are often asymptomatic carriers).
Anyway, having made the decision we discovered within a couple weeks that it was the right one. One, my mother in law is terrible about feeding herself, and our primary concern was that she would literally starve herself living on her own for months. Secondly we quickly discovered that her memory issues (we were aware of them but hadn’t realized the implications vis a vis the pandemic) were preventing her from taking the necessary precautions. She would wander into stores even though she’d promised not to go inside anywhere because she just plain forgot. So, basically, we had to ban her from even leaving the house without one or the other of us. Had she been on her own down in Georgetown we would have had no way to enforce precautions and she was lying to us about not going in anywhere (she would lie to us when she got back from a walk and say she hadn’t gone inside anywhere, then forget all about the pandemic and tell us about going in someplace and chatting up the cashier or whatever later that day). Anyway, she would have been exposed in a matter of weeks if left to her own devices.
We were having no luck registering her with the DC city vaccination program – every appointment was booked within seconds of them opening up. We signed her up for Medstar too though because her PCP is at Georgetown and out of the blue got a text from them that they had a dose and she needed to schedule her appointment. That was at the point where my wife was pretty much ready to yell at her hospital administrators about their lack of support for getting family members vaccinated. Well, she could yell at them on my account still but at least we got the high risk person vaccinated.
I myself am registered with Medstar and Adventist hospital systems but am too young and not in an occupation that makes me eligible so for now I’m just waiting my turn. When my turn approaches I will avail myself of any and all options. CVS, Wallgreens, the hospital systems, the County/State. My guess is Medstar will come through first but we will see.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Gin & Tonic:
Same. I got lucky because the pharmacy at my workplace needed to get rid of shots and gave them to employees. I was seriously getting frustrated at what I perceived to be a slow roll out in Ohio. I still think DeWine is screwing over most essential workers (he’s not alone unfortunately). Hopefully that will change with greater vaccine availability
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Major Major Major Major:
Congratulations!
mrmoshpotato
@Geoboy:
Probably should build a wall on the TexASS border for safety. Also, fuck Texas.
Kent
Just got vaccinated first shot yesterday (Pfizer) through Kaiser Permanente here in SW Washington State.
Anyone who is a Kaiser member can use their regular appointment system to schedule vaccine appointments (they have a phone app and web site kp.org). You just have to know when the new appointments get populated. My wife who works for Kaiser says that they normally do it on Sunday at noon, so that would be the time to check for open appointments.
Teachers and some other essential workers are now eligible in WA due to Governor Inslee’ announcement yesterday. So the numbers of eligible individuals just went way up, which could affect how easy it is to get an appointment.
By the way, the entire qualification process through Kaiser was entirely honor system. You just clicked the button stating that you met the eligibility requirements (which they link to) and that is it. No one at the Kaiser shot clinic asked for any verification. It was just an assembly line. Maybe 75 people ahead of me in line when I got there for my appointment winding through the hallways of the Kaiser clinic following taped mark on the floor. Took about 25 minutes from arrival to get my shot so not bad really. I was technically eligible but was not asked to provide any proof or verification. They do, of course, know your age if you are a Kaiser member, but they don’t necessarily know anything else about you in terms of eligibility
After I got my first shot I got an email with a web link to a back door into the appointment system for priority scheduling of my second shot, which I scheduled for 1 day after the 3-week waiting period.
JMG
First shot last Friday at the gym of Worcester State U. Very efficient and pleasant process. All the workers were so happy and jolly. During the waiting period after the shot (which was 30 minutes for me because I have a severe allergic reaction to Brazil nuts) a young man came around and made my second appointment, which is March 19. It’s still far too hard to sign up in Mass. but if you are lucky enough to do so, everything flows smoothly from there.
PS: My son got his first shot in NYC yesterday. He’s an MTA employee, so qualified under essential worker guidelines. He felt somewhat guilty as his job does not involve contact with the public, but decided to go ahead when they opened a mass vaccination site near his apartment. I told him the more people who get the shots the better.
Butch
Upper Peninsula of Michigan – vaccines have been slow to arrive and there aren’t many places that can meet the storage requirement for Pfizer. I got the first round of the Moderna Fauci Ouchie on Monday, with minimal (although not none) effects; really having trouble getting partner signed up for anything, though. I’m hoping the Johnson and Johnson vaccine will improve the situation here.
Ten Bears
Was informed Monday to hold off on the shot as the steroids the spousal unit is taking to suppress other maladies would suppress the vaccine’s effectiveness (I should qualify sometime this summer).
We’re so locked-down the most dangerous place we go is the hospital.
LeftCoastYankee
Not eligible in Oregon until the end of the month. Sounds like the actual shot-giving is getting better, now that there’s a known pipeline of doses coming in.
The sign-up process looks kloogey, but maybe it’ll improve in the next month.
Work takes time, and it’s human nature to wonder why someone else is so slow at it. When I get impatient I imagine me having to do all that stuff, and it helps me be more patient.
Still, can’t wait!
NotMax
@Major Major Major Major
#7 train there and back?
FYI (yesterday’s NY Post, so grain of salt).
mali muso
Here in Virginia, I expect to be eligible in the next round (anticipating that university faculty/staff will be in the next tier). Currently, eligibility categories are 65+, medical conditions, first-responders, medical workers and K-12/childcare workers. I’ve been volunteering at a local mass vaccination clinic, so it’s also possible that I could get one of the “end of the day leftover” vaccines at some point.
BruceFromOhio
It’s hard because the GQP wants everyone dead.
Ohio has done the old folks homes and front line workers, then 65+, and are now working on the teachers. Hopefully the next cohort includes my age group.
Very glad to see so many juicers in line or already done!!! Yay!!!
FUCK COVID
evap
Our wingnutty governor is opening up vaccines to K-12 teachers next week, although with Biden’s announcement it may be a moot point. Meanwhile, the local county (I’m in Atlanta) is making teachers go back to in-person instruction next week. They’re not even waiting until the teachers get vaccinated! Alabama is vaccinating teachers and a bunch here have gone to Alabama to get vaccines. Apparently, AL doesn’t care whether you live there or not. I think some have gone to Tennessee as well, same story.
We really need federal coordination! Looks like it’s coming.
Cheryl from Maryland
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: That’s reassuring regarding Medstar. Maryland is extremely problematic thanks to Hogan, who is rewarding counties who supported him and shortchanging those who didn’t. Hogan has also set up his own criteria, not following the CDC’s eligibility rules. So my spouse on dialysis doesn’t qualify under Hogan’s rules, cutting him off from the mass vaccination sites, pharmacies and grocery stores. We are uncertain about the criteria used by Medstar and Hopkins, where he is registered. He is eligible with the MoCo Health Department as they follow CDC rules, but Hogan doesn’t send much vaccine there. So we wait and wait and have vaccine envy.
dmsilev
Got my first yesterday, through the local Public Health department and a clinic they set up in a hospital. Pretty smooth, both on the sign-up and the actual administering of the jab. The nurse giving the jab said that she was running about 70 or so shots per day with the whole clinic processing about 560 per day. It’s not a stadium or amusement park parking lot set up for several thousand people a day, but every bit counts.
Judging by the snapshot of people waiting with me for the 15 minute post-jab observation, most of the local senior population has already been through and the majority of people were qualified on a job-based category
Post-jab (Pfizer), I have some soreness in the upper arm and I had a teeny tiny bit of fever this morning (about 0.5 degrees above my normal temperature).
WaterGirl
@Old School: I do not think I would say no to the make it happen bird.
WeimarGerman
I signed up to be notified on California’s web site. My wife is a UC professor so as an Educator she’s able to get vaccinated despite UC being all virtual until Fall. I work in health care but in a administrative role so I didn’t feel it fair to use the health worker label. I wound up using ‘other’ as the only label that was appropriate but I could have used Finance. Not sure where I’ll be on the list.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Looked at the eligibility for a shot, it says “Yeah, Wait”.
Old School
@WaterGirl: Thanks WaterGirl!
WaterGirl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I’ll see if Maze Dancer can fit “I am so fucking tired of waiting” on a tiny little sticker.
gratuitous
Living in Oregon, where we’ve had a balky roll-out (to put it mildly), exacerbated by delivery hold-ups, confusion about who’s eligible where, and so forth. I’m 62, so still waiting for my turn, and I’m actually fine with that. I’m working remotely from home, and while I’d dearly love to get back to a semblance of a normal routine, I’m safe where I am. My wife, who is older and a cancer survivor, has had her two shots. Stepdaughters have both had their two shots, one is a nurse and the other is an in-home caregiver. Wife of one stepdaughter is an ESL and special needs teacher in a small school district and has also had both shots. I’m fine with all of them getting in line ahead of me, as they are far more essential or at greater risk.
It’s just not in the cards right now for me to get a shot, but more vaccine is becoming available all the time, and I figure I’ll get vaccinated by the end of April. My Tigger-like mantra is “Waiting patiently is one of my best things.”
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@Cheryl from Maryland: Yes I’m in MoCo and it’s extremely frustrating. I’m also frustrated that the State is shortly starting to let adults “16 -64 with comorbidities” be vaccinated and some of those comorbidities are like high blood pressure, asthma, and obesity. It’s insane that a chubby adolescent is going to be prioritized for vaccination over my 51 year old ass. I mean, I know obesity is a risk factor but age is also a risk factor, and one to some degree independent of other risk factors.
Plus, I think there a bunch of wealthy hypochondriacs in Potomac and Bethesda who are about to obtain letters from their doctor claiming they have asthma or hypertension or whatever so they can cut the line. Preexisting conditions of some sorts I get prioritizing but those are so generic and easily fudged that my guess is lots of folks will use them to jump the line. Age is much easier to verify and is probably the risk factor most closely correlated to all the other ones and to likelihood of a severe case.
taumaturgo
About a month ago out of the blue, I received a text from a neighborhood hospital that sometime back I had occasion to visit for a checkup. They had me on their patient’s list and invited me to make an appointment for the 1st shot vaccine. The text pointed to the appointment site, I selected the date and time and, done. I went for the first shot and the organization was commendable, it took maybe 5 minutes plus the mandatory wait of 15 minutes after the shot. The 2nd shot was scheduled for the same time and day of the week in three weeks’ time. The day after the shot another text followed up my condition and asked if I needed to consult with a nurse, which I thought was thoughtful. For some reason, I felt like shit for the subsequent 24 hours after each shot, but all was well after that. Done with the vaccine, not with wearing a mask or social distancing.
Kathleen
I had no luck with the web sites and I work all day so I couldn’t sit and refresh all day to find an open slot. A friend of mine called Cincinnati Board Of Health and got an appointment so I called and got an appointment also (I’m 71). Had my first shot last week at a Cincy Rec Center site which was extremely organized. The personnel were all so sweet and helpful. It was a great experience. BOH will be contacting me in a couple of weeks to schedule my second appointment. Luckily I had no reactions. Not even a sore arm!
Major Major Major Major
@NotMax: Looks like it’ll be a nice day for it, cloudy with a high of 58!
Jamey
Jersey: Total shit-show. Minimal supplies made available to municipal vaccination sites. A handful of “super center” facilities, most a long drive away. Private vax appointments at CVS, Walgreens, etc are endless hours of “hit refresh and hope, hit refresh and hope.” I estimate that I–not 65 and with no real health complications–will maybe have an appointment by May 1. Or I can force-feed myself till I reach 30 BMI…
Am heartened that NYC seems to be breaking the log jam; maybe that will spread across the River Hudson.
Cermet
In parts of Maryland, near to Baltimore, the system is a cluster Fu*k; one has to wait till just after midnight (which night is improtant but not always the same) and click every few seconds for twenty minutes to score a appointment; however, you have to enter required data really fast or one loses said appointment. Within twenty more minutes all slots are filled (and this is for a mass vaccination site.) To really know the ins and outs one needs expert advice from others on the method, day, time and also, fast typing skills and the right speed to click – too fast and it ignores the person.
My daughter did it for me since those skills are beyond me; as someone on the “essential” list, I can get a slot (but one year short of 65; I debated if I should since I wasn’t 65 but I qualified by their rules but frankly, I have mixed feelings about that) – what was so very wrong I discovered is that there are so many twenty year olds (no medical issues and work at military related companies – not DoD) that are also considered essential and can get a shot
Also, for those not including the where/place for your stories on how aren’t gonna help anyone. Remember it’s location, location, location!
?BillinGlendaleCA
On the good news side of things, we’re getting much needed rain right now.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@WaterGirl: “Yeah, Wait”, would work.
WaterGirl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: But it doesn’t even have the words “fucking tired of waiting” in it! :-)
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@Cheryl from Maryland: To be clear, dialysis is definitely a preexisting condition that deserves special treatment. What is insane is that in group 1C tier 2 they seem to be giving equal access to the obese 20 year old as to a 60 year old dialysis patient – there’s no age or condition based tiering of the people with comorbidities that qualify, as far as I can tell.
Then I’m in group 3 (which, given that my wife has had multiple known exposures and I feel like I’m basically once removed from constant exposure, which is nearly as bad as constant exposure, I’m a little bitter about) and there appear to be no plans to tier that huge group of “everyone else” by age either. So for all I know I’ll be scrapping for a dose with healthy 20 year olds when my time comes. I did email all of my State Assembly reps about this yesterday – encouraging them to tier each sub-group by age and asking them to prioritize the family members of essential workers. Might be worth it for you to do the same if you haven’t already. I have not heard a peep back from any of them.
Also you could go outside the county if you have the means to get yourself and your husband there and he qualifies as eligible – look for an appointment in Frederick or one of the benighted Eastern Shore communities.
HinTN
Tennessee has a web portal (covid19.tn.gov/covid-19-vaccines/county-vaccine-information/) where you can use a map to locate sites for appointments.
I got the first dose (Moderna) last Friday. Mild ache in arm over the weekend. They send an email with a link that allows you to schedule the second dose.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@Cermet: This is exactly how it was working in DC and we did it week after week for the first few weeks until Medstar came though. Register with Johns Hopkins and the other hospital systems – they don’t make you re-enter your data on a weekly basis – they screen it constantly to prioritize who is eligible and then text or email when they have an appointment for you.
rikyrah
@Cheryl from Maryland:
Lowdown, no-good muthaphucka
ljdramone
@Cermet: Baltimore resident here. I’m not eligible yet, waiting for Maryland to go to Phase 2 (under 65 w/ comorbidities; I have Type 1 diabetes). But my wife, a librarian, is apparently essential to the continuity of government, and we managed to schedule appointments for both her and my 82-year-old mother yesterday at Walgreens. The process in Maryland is a gigantic pain in the ass, hoping things will get easier as vaccine supplies ramp up.
trollhattan
Home from Pfizer #2 and had the same quick and well-organized experience as #1 @ CSU Sacramento, so if there’s a HallePfuckingLujah sticker, I’ll take one of those.
NH bro just got his Moderna #1 in Cow Hampshire yesterday, administered by National Guard in a parking lot. His oldest buddy, literally from Cub Scout days in Seattle, can’t even get an appointment and thinks he’s looking at April-May even though he’s old as dirt and works in retail.
Where you live REALLY makes a difference, and that stinks.
Anotherlurker
I’m getting my 2nd jab of Moderna at 2:45 pm PST. Venue is my local Safeway in Walnut Creek. I am glad to be reaching this milestone .
It’s funny, my attitude toward the future is getting better.
If only we could vaccinate against fascists, I’d be over the moon!.
RandyG
@piratedan: Vaccination sites may become more available — notably pharmacies — in Pima County in the coming weeks and months, but for now I’ve found the best online sites to register/look for appointment openings are — if you haven’t already registered, do so — Banner Hospital/Kino (Pima Cty CMS webcms.pima.gov/cms/One.aspx?portalId=169&pageId=669257 ) and Arizona Dept of Health Services locations (podvaccine.azdhs.gov/). I constantly checked these sites and was able to grab spots at Banner for my wife and myself as soon as they popped up. Second Pfizer dose a week from Monday!
Also good to know that once your group becomes eligible in Pima County, you can go to any of the more numerous AZ CMS sites in the Phoenix area. (At least that’s true now.)
Oh, also MHC Healthcare in Marana has had appointments here and there… and you don’t need to be an otherwise MHC patient: mhchealthcare.org/covid-19/
trollhattan
@rikyrah:
It seems like racketeering to me but Trump did it so brazenly through four years everybody who wants to be a don, goes and behaves like a don.
rikyrah
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
You don’t sound like you know it’s a risk factor.
I love that.
“Risk factor”
It means the person is a walking underlying condition and catching COVID means almost certain death.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@WaterGirl: I had a roommate from Indonesia my second year of grad school and when he’d answer the phone and it was for me, he’d say really slow…”Yeah, Wait”. My friends, many who were undergrads had a field day with this, including an Alaska Airlines commercial at the time where the passenger would say “I hate to wait” and the gate attendant would say “You’ll just have to wait”, that became “Yeah, Wait”.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@trollhattan: I figure I’ll have to wait until May, by which time I’ll be living in a Prius down by the river.
trollhattan
@Anotherlurker:
Shopping list:
Ice cream
Champagne
Salmon fillet
Swiss chard
Fuji apples
Coffee beans–espresso roast
Ice cream (2nd flavor, of course)
Covid-19 vaccine
Colgate (the whitening stuff)
Bourbon–largest jug available
Who knew Safeway could be so useful?
Celebrate!?
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@rikyrah: I don’t know what your point is…are you saying that obesity doesn’t raise your risk of severe Covid? Or that I’m saying it doesn’t? Or that I should be calling it a comorbidity and not a risk factor? Obesity raises the risk of a severe case of Covid, and I know that. But, there are other risk factors that are as or more important, including age. There are plenty of obese people who have had mild cases. There are plenty of non-obese people who have had severe cases. On average obesity raises your risk of a severe case, but so does being 60 rather than 30. I don’t understand why the State is not tiering by age in addition to other risk factors.
MazeDancer
Stick with the pharmacies. Their websites work.
CVS.com
Walgreens.com
Upstate NY is a mess. County by county terrible websites. No doses.
But CVS.com delivered.
ET
This was always going to be hard from a purely logistical standpoint. That the tRump admn seemed to have washed their hands of any involvement beyond that first vaccine buy, meant there were months that were underutilized in terms of planning. This is where we are right now, a full year of this has passed and only recently was the Defense Production Act invoked related to vaccine distribution (I know his defenders, enables, and those with their heads in the sand would say he would have done the same but I doubt it, because he got his vaccine and he only ever had to be prodded to do more related to COVID and it was never enough).
mrmoshpotato
@trollhattan: What kinds of iced cream?
Another Scott
My J and I don’t qualify yet, so we haven’t been trying to get an appointment.
Virginia recently set up a state-wide system for appointments, but for some reason our county, Fairfax County, heavily Democratic and one of the richest in the country, decided to keep using its own system. It has been going, er, poorly.
TysonsReporter from yesterday:
We’re “Phase 2”.
Lots of people are rightly pissed off about the way the appointment rollout has been going…
Cheers,
Scott.
bupalos
Ohio seems pretty damn slow. Just starting on 60+ tomorrow, and if this is the rate it’s moving at it’s going to be a while to get to this 50 year old.
Half tempted to try and power-eat my way to obesity. Shouldn’t all these martini’s I’m drinking count for something?
JaneE
Deleted duplicate post. ???
JaneE
We are getting our shots through our health provider (Kaiser in SoCal). They are using a special version of their normal scheduling system and my husband’s second dose is this coming Tuesday along with my first dose. I would have scheduled mine sooner, but a case of shingles got in the way. I don’t know about the other scheduling options, other than there are several – state, county, commercial drugstores. Vaccinefinder.org has data on locations reporting availability of vaccines by location by zip. It may not be complete in all areas. It shows drugstores etc, and you can select which vaccine you are looking for. It does not show health providers for the most part.
M. Bouffant
Can’t believe I live in a vaccination desert in dense central L.A. just west of downtown, but I do. The two closest locations are drive-up only, there are almost no community health clinics or the like, & none of the pharmacies have any vaccines yet.
It’s a complete fucking joke. No one in this shithole country gives one shit about the poor or aged.
Mike in Oly
I am so disappointed with the vaccine roll out in my State (WA). I know very few people that have managed to get the vaccine and hear nothing from our local health dept. about when and where they will be offered. WA is normally ahead of the curve in competence so I am mystified why it feels like nothing is happening here yet. Did read this morning tho that 94% of the wealthiest ZIP code in the State is vaccinated. Wonder how that happened?
Scout211
Things are much better in California right now, but it depends on where you live just how easy or hard it is to find an appointment.
The state is moving to a statewide sign-up system myturn.ca.gov/
They are asking all Californias to register on the site even if your group is not yet eligible, as it will give the state a better idea where to send the doses and how many. The system (administered by Blue Shield) will be phased in by county groups.
What I found out on that site is (at least currently) they don’t list the all of the retail pharmacies for available appointments. Some pharmacies have been contracted with counties as part of the public health program but many pharmacies are not tied into any county programs.
If you are now in an eligible group, check every pharmacy near you to see if they have their own sign-up process that is separate from the county public health program. CVS near me is making appointments for eligible people and sign-ups are not tied to the county program. So I found an appointment for my neighbor at a CVS in the next county. He is over 75 and was still on the wait list for our county public health program.
Annie
I’m in California and over 65 years old. At first it seemed like there was no way to get a vaccine, but now I’m starting to think the problems were the same as with any rollout of a new process. Once we started to get more vaccine, the process got off the ground, and after that it was easy, at least in San Francisco.
The easiest path is vaccinateca.com. Enter your zip code and you will get a list of places to get the vaccine. Each place has information about how to set up an appointment. I have now gotten Pfizer, both injections, at Moscone Center, the convention center in San Francisco. It’s set up as a mass vaccination site and only takes half an hour, including the 15-minute wait for anaphylactic reactions.
I will say that I had a much stronger reaction to the second shot — the day after I got it my body ached and I was exhausted all day. The day after that, the second day after Shot #2, I was fine.
RobertDSC-Work
Both parents have their second shots in the bag. I’m not eligible yet for mine here in southeast LA County.
Geoduck
Mike in Oly and I live in the same county, so see his comments above. Still, Washington state has been better than some, I guess, at least there’s a central website you can visit that tries to list available sites. Limited right now to 65 and over, medical workers, older folks living with kids. As noted, our county in particular has been really spotty, it took weeks of checking to finally get shots for my elderly parents, hopefully tomorrow if all goes well. Some of my relatives had to go to the next county over to get jabbed.
The DoH website, for any Washingtonians: doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/Immunization/VaccineLocations
There’s this site, too, a volunteer effort, which is where I snagged my appointments: covidwa.com/
xephyr
Anyone waiting to be contacted for an apt. via email should be checking their junk mail folder. If I’d been doing this I could have had an apt. a couple weeks ago.
GregMulka
Missouri still appears to be a mess. At least from where I’m sitting. Because I work in IT I’m supposed to be eligible on the 15th but the STL region has already said they won’t move on to vaccinating that range until they’ve completed the previous tier. I live in St Charles county which has been useless. I’m signed up with the state and the four hospital systems in the area. We shall see.
Scout211
@Geoduck:
All pre-K and k-12 teachers and staff are now eligible to vaccinated in Washington so that will add much more demand to that limited supply. I hope the state gets more doses soon. The schools are already open and kids are already in the classrooms in most of the state.
lowtechcyclist
RIGHT NOW, Walgreen’s in Prince Frederick, MD is showing vaccine appointments available.
So if you live in or near Calvert County, get on their site tout suite.
HeleninEire
I’m not eligible yet. Under 65 with no co-morbidities. But my Dad (86 yrs old) and my sister Mary (lives in a group home) have both gotten 2 jabs. So I can breathe easy. I figure that by the time I’m eligible NY will have worked out all the kinks.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: Jen Psaki made it clear that teachers, teacher’s aides, etc are covered by the Federal program rather than an individual state’s program, and said that the federal program is through the pharmacies.
Scout211
cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine
walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid-19?ban=covid_vaccine_landing_schedule
riteaid.com/Covid-19
Jackie
@Mike in Oly: I’m in SE Washington (Tri-Cities) and our fairgrounds are doing a wonderful job with vaccinations! I’m scheduled for #2 this Fri. All in all, at this time, even shutting down a week due to winter weather, I read our fairgrounds are #1 in the state for most vaccinations at large event locations.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@M. Bouffant: My wife has a friend – late 40s, no comorbidities – who got vaccinated in Palm Springs. She lives in the Bay area but is down there on and off helping her husband care for his mom who is dealing with end stage lung cancer. She’s not an essential worker and doesn’t qualify for a vaccine for any other reason but her Dr. wrote her a note to get her vaccinated because she’s a “caregiver” for a high risk individual. IMO she cut the line (I did not say that to her on the zoom call my wife had with her and a couple other friends, but I definitely thought it). I mean, my wife is potentially exposed every day she’s in clinic and I live with an 81 year old who survived ovarian cancer (granted it’s been 15 years but still)…seems like her claim to a shot is on shakier grounds than mine but whatever. It’s no use being bitter. I’m just going to hope I hold out sans infection until my turn comes. I’ll do all I can short of lying to someone to cut the line to get vaccinated ASAP and that’s all I can do. I know how the DC area works though and am guessing there’s a lot of connected people jumping the line in the same manner my wife’s friend did but probably on even shakier grounds. I mean, yes, if this woman got Covid and passed it to her mother in law her mother in law is toast, but her mother in law is soon to be toast anyway, and she’s in a job and living situation where she can avoid exposure as well as anyone.
Anyway, it doesn’t sound like you can probably get to Palm Springs, but if you can it might be worth looking into whether there are appointments available there.
Quicksand
Ohio. I’m highly irritated that the priority tiers are emphasizing age and a very few occupations over pretty much everything else, including significant chronic illnesses, disregarding the CDC guidance. (The state has prioritized a few categories of health issues, in particular congenital/childhood diseases, maybe because they are afraid of moral hazard for later-life illnesses? That sounds nuts but I honestly have no idea why.)
My wife has a significant auto-immune disorder and is waiting for the age threshold to drop, just like the rest of us.
Eunicecycle
I have been very frustrated here in Ohio. I have signed up for lists and go to the pharmacies’ websites many times a day. I have used some of the vaccine finder websites, find appointments, and they are gone by the time I get there. I called the Stark County Health Department today, where we have been on the list for over a month. The nice employee there said they aren’t done with the 80 and up yet, so we are way down on the list (65 and 68). I thanked her for being honest with me. It’s emotionally exhausting. Thanks for the ability to vent.
Timurid
The good news is that my state (Louisiana) will move to the next phase in a few weeks, and that will include university employees. The better news is that my school will be holding vaccination events on campus.
The bad news is that I could be excluded. I am teaching online this semester, although I normally teach in person and am already scheduled to return to in person teaching this fall. A number of states have already added exclusions for educators currently teaching online. There’s no indication yet that Louisiana will do so, but all we know so far about the next phase is a one paragraph press release. There will be more details to come. What really concerns me is the anonymous online survey my school conducted to plan for vaccinations. The questions were basically ‘Do you want to be vaccinated?’ ‘Are you old and/or have one of these conditions (people who’ve been eligible for a while) and ‘Are you teaching/working in-person this semester?’ It sounds a lot like they’re trying to figure out a count based on ‘Who can’t be vaccinated’ ‘Who’s already been vaccinated’ and ‘Who shouldn’t be vaccinated.’ At least they’re trying to figure out the bare minimum number of doses they need… they would accept more but can’t count on that happening. They may also have already been told that the number they get is based on those criteria.
As now I have no potential for priority other than my job. As of now there are no age-based priority triggers in my state below 55 (I’m 52). My one possibly relevant medical condition (high blood pressure) is not on their list. So if people teaching online are excluded, I won’t have any more priority than one of my 20 year old students. I’m about to come to a fork in the road. Either I’m vaccinated in the next month or I’m likely waiting until the summer (my only hope then would be the state adding more age/medical tiers simply to throttle demand).
The thought of still being stuck in this apartment through spring and ,much of summer is maddening. But, of course, I’m not completely stuck in here. I still need to shop and run other errands. Being unprotected when this next wave hits scares me. I really, really don’t want to be the last soldier to die in the Covid Wars. Seeing a possible end to this in the distance has only increased my stress…
Scout211
@WaterGirl:
Yes. Good point. The teachers are getting their vaccinations through pharmacies. Thank you for clarifying.
However, most states allow anyone who is in an eligible group to get their vaccinations at pharmacies as well as the state and county public health sites. So there will be some overlap.
TomatoQueen
I have been scheduled once, at an unfamiliar pharmacy with a line outside, just in time for our first snowstorm. My son has been scheduled once, just in time for our second snowstorm. No way to cancel or even communicate with either site. Both of us are wheelchair users, dependent on local paratransit. In the middle of our coldest winter weather, the state of Virginia decided that local scheduling was borked, so everybody went into a state database instead of relying on the rickety local health departments. The state database has waved at me once, but so far nada for my son. Meanwhile, my best friend of 50 years, a type 1 diabetic, has had a flare of her retinopathy, which involves a tiny blood vessel deciding to bleed inside her eye. She’s had episodes before so knows what to expect, and sho nuff her opthalmologist wants to make with the laser–after she’s vaccinated. She’s in Fairfax County, which alone of all the Virginia counties, decided to forego the state database, at least for now, so she must continue to deal with the local health dept, which I hear just got done scheduling everyone who had signed up through Jan.18th. She signed up on January 19th.
My son’s caregivers, direct line folk, with two little ones at home, are in the state database as far as I know. Their employer has done the square root of f all to help them.
Alexandria gets 2000 doses per week. We all live within shouting distance of a CVS, which is booked solid.
I think there could be a sticker with either the This Is Fine doggie or a cat with kaleidoscope swirly eyes.
Kent
What’s the wealthiest zip code? Mercer Island?
Down here in Clark County (Vancouver) we were getting shorted by the state in terms of vaccine. About 25% less than other equivalent counties. After local pols raised a shit storm we suddenly got a massive infusion this week and a bunch of spots opened up.
I got my first shot through Kaiser which is a closed ecosystem. I think they are only vaccinating Kaiser members. You can’t even get into the appointment system on the web site unless you log in with your Kaiser ID and then it is like making any other appointment for an office visit or whatever.
WhatsMyNym
@Mike in Oly: Sorry to hear about that. Here in the N. Olympic Peninsula we just cranking the shots out, mostly through large drive thru sites. We have a lot of old folk so still in the 65+ tier in both counties (have to be a resident).
I think they’re planning on using the J&J shots to target the transient population, easier to take it out to them and no follow up shot needed.
Timurid
Registration and scheduling are the one bottleneck nobody seems to have planned for. And the gridlock will only get worse as the amount of vaccine available and the number of people eligible increases tenfold. We’re hearing a lot about how we’re going to drain Lake Erie and fill it with Moderna but nothing about how we’re going to stand up the IT and clerical infrastructure to handle the demand. I have no doubt that Biden is right about having enough vaccine by late May, and I’m guessing it will happen even earlier than that (his stated timeline is likely quite conservative for very valid political reasons). But between having all the vaccine on hand and getting everyone actually vaccinated there will be, in aggregate, centuries spent waiting on hold and billions of presses on the F5 key…
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
@Cheryl from Maryland: My husband got his call from MoCo Health Dept, got his Faucci ouchi at Richard Montgomery HS on Monday. He’s 75. He said it was the most exposed to the virus he’s felt since this all began. The serpentine lines in the hallways reminded him of Disneyworld, and it took about an hour to get to the gym (or cafeteria, he didn’t know where he was) where they administered the actual vaccine. Once there, however, it was very efficient.
I signed up with MdReady to get notifications when appointments are available at mass sites. Marylanders can text 898211 and enter MdReady. I got a text Tuesday evening that appointments were available at the new Waldorf mass vax center, so I hopped on it and booked an appointment for next Wednesday. It’s a 2 hour drive each way, but I don’t care, at least I can stop worrying. Unfortunately the appointments were all gone by the time my son, who qualifies as a food service worker, got home from work. I guess now I’ll turn to scouting frantically for appointments for him.
A Guy in Denver
I’m 66 and in Colorado. Just got my first Moderna shot at a nearby King Soopers. Very easy. Was on a wait list at Kaiser, my primary provider, and had signed up at three other health systems. The same day I got the appointment at King Soopers I got another appointment..
Based on vaccine availability and Colorado’s priority system, I wasn’t planning getting vaccinated until April or May. So to get the first shot in February feels like a real victory to me.
WhatsMyNym
@Kent:
Probably Medina, but they would be an older population as well, so not surprising.
ETA: very small population and most don’t live there all year round. No idea why they have their own zip code.
rikyrah
@MazeDancer:
Sign up with every pharmacy in the area
CVS
Walgreens
Walmart
Target
If you have a store associated with Albertsons
Rite Aid
Folks say try at midnight for the appointment.
NeenerNeener
The web site for my local Wegmans started allowing appointment sign ups just before noon today. Unfortunately they were only taking patients 65 and older and I’m a few years too young so I’m going to have to keep my appointment next month in the town 25 miles away. After that I made arrangements with a co-worker/neighbor for ride alongs. She’ll go with me when I have mine, just in case I have a bad reaction, and I’ll ride along with her when she gets hers.
Mo MacArbie
I’m early 50s, hypertension, unemployed and living with a vaccinated parent. Just sitting tight for now; a lot of folks need this worse than I. I’m also a big ol’ introvert, so my feelings about being isolated are a bit like this.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: I was just happy to hear that the governors couldn’t just say FU to Biden and *not* vaccinate teachers.
Federal sites, federal rules. Works for me.
Steve in the ATL
@Geoboy:
BTW kids, if you must post “first” this is the way to do it!
HRA
May be late here now. I get my 1st shot on March 9 and Gary (my husband) gets his on March 10 both at the University of Buffalo South Campus. He is getting wimpy about it and I keep reminding him about when he was getting vaccinated while in service.
e julius drivingstorm
Got my second dose of Pfizer last Friday. I’d just like to give a shout-out and say thank you to all involved in getting the job done at my local church. The Florida National Guard, the CDC, the Pastor and his staff and volunteers, and the man that bought all the pizza when we were rain-delayed for two hours or so. Everyone so cheerful and helpful, it probably even rubbed off on most of us cantankerous relics.
mali muso
@TomatoQueen: That is so frustrating. :( Not sure if it would be helpful, but if you or any of your eligible friends can drive about 90 minutes away, you can check this website for appointments. It refreshes at noon daily.
Vindibunny
CVS appears to refresh their vaccination appointments at 6am EST. That’s how I got one for my husband in NJ.
Jeffery
The Philadelphia health department put a vaccine interest form on the city covid page in late January. I signed myself and a couple of neighbors up. Last Thursday my 86 year old neighbor call to say the local pharmacy we used called him to set up a time for him to get his first shot tomorrow.
This past Monday I got a robo call from the city health department telling me I could get a shot today, tomorrow or Friday. I was shocked that it was happening this fast. In Philly they are doing 75 and up first. I’m 73. I booked for today.
Getting home told my neighbors republicans aren’t running this program it was very well organized. There was a very long line to get in but it moved very quickly.
National guard people gave the shots. Seem to be lots of non army people doing the directing where to go and second appointment scheduling.
The convention center in Center City Philadelphia is where it took place. They expect to do 6,000 people a day.
Beth
Unofficial site put together by WA state techies, bc the state site is a mess.
This worked for me!
covidwa.com/
Kent
Age is easily verifiable. It is on every piece of ID you have. On the other hand, there is pretty much zero way to verify chronic medical conditions unless the vaccine clinic you are going to is your regular medical provider and they have access to your medical records. HIPAA privacy protections means that pharmacies and other public shot clinic locations would not have the means or ability to access your medical records to verify.
So any standard that used chronic medical conditions as a criteria is essentially going to be 100% on the honor system and people who don’t really qualify will just crash the system. No way to avoid that honestly. You could come up with some system in which you had to have a referral from your doctor, but that would just privilege white middle class folks who actually have doctors and all the poor people of color who have itinerant medical care at best and no doctors to write letters would be left out.
There really isn’t any good answer except make more vaccine and roll it out faster.
laura
Ugh! I received a letter from Kaiser yesterday informing me I qualify to make an appointment for the vax. The kaiser caller announcement stated if your in a group who’s now qualified OR you’ve received a letter of invitation to schedule an appointment. So I attempted to scheduled and was notified I’m not qualified. Maybe someday, but not today. ?
The Why So Hard sticker just “gets me.”
Spanky
@lowtechcyclist:
Thanks for the heads up. Sadly, they’re now booked up.
Kent
Probably because they have their own post office: goo.gl/maps/heztXyXfXe4qM5eH9
Nora Lenderbee
I’d like to vent about waiting, but complaining about my (relative) youth and good health is not a good look.
Ruckus
@Major Major Major Major:
What else have you ever done that likely well over half the population in your area felt the same urgency to get done and which is well outside normal in every way, shape or form and for which the necessary product is in short supply?
Scout211
@Beth:
Thank you! I sent my daughter that link. I hope she and her fellow teachers can find appointments soon. They’ve been back in the classroom a month and are really eager to get vaccinated.
Matt McIrvin
Since I got my knee replaced I’ve had about a gazillion potentially COVID-risky interactions with the healthcare system, including being in the hospital itself (where it was extremely hard for a patient to keep a mask on indefinitely–the surgical masks they gave us were the kind that tied in the back, which meant that you couldn’t even put them on without two free and functioning hands), nurses and PTs coming to my house, getting poked at by specialist doctors with offices that still have waiting rooms that people sit in, etc. In an ideal world this might bump people like me up the priority list, but I don’t see how you’d manage it. It’s not a listed comorbidity, of course.
gvg
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?: I don’t think she cut the line. I think she was meant to qualify.
There is no completely fair solution except having a lot more vaccine available and set up to be administered fast.
David Fud
Georgia is doing a bang-up job, as usual.
gvg
@WaterGirl: This is not true from what I can find. They all, Federal and pharmacies say they are following local rules. Sorry. That is what the sites themselves say.
gvg
@WaterGirl: The pharmacies are following local guidelines.
gvg
@Quicksand: In Florida, if you qualify based on underlying conditions, your physician has to sign you up, which actually makes sense, who else would know. I don’t know the details but I know someone who got it that way who has always had serious health issues…her doctor called her and told her to go somewhere. I didn’t feel I could ask too much more as it’s her personal business, but I was glad to know it was possible. Your doctor may need a certain form or something. It seems every state is different.
I would predict this becomes more common when the J&J vaccine arrives. If a regular doctor’s office can store it, they will start calling in patients.
LuciaMia
I know this a post for peoples frustration at getting the vaccine. Got my first jab this weekend and I know I should be grateful and I AM! My own small frustration is dragging my ass around with lingering side effects three days after the shot. I wonder if they slightly minimize the possible effects for fear of scaring people off. Right now Im not exactly looking forward to the second shot.
Scout211
@gvg:
It may take some states and counties to catch up, but local guidelines in all states should have teachers as eligible as of today. It may not be every pharmacy, as some pharmacies have contracted directly with counties or states.
abcnews.go.com/Politics/teachers-child-care-staff-nationwide-now-sign-vaccine/story?id=76224391
LongHairedWeirdo
I’m not sure if I can call it venting, but I did realize there’s a big hole in vaccine messaging, and it would be closed if we could say that there’s no reason not to be re-vaccinated once vaccines are plentiful.
I mean, if you told me “I have a dose of the Pfizer vaccine that’s about to go bad, or, I could give you the Johnson and Johnson”, you can bet your lunch I’ll take the Pfizer; that greatly reduces my risk of even noticing if I get infected, while the J&J leaves me open to more symptomatic infections, which could mean losing my sense of smell and taste, or just having a *horrible* case that’s akin to the flu, but without needing hospitalization.
From a public health perspective, if someone said “you want the J&J, or do you want to risk taking a dose away from a teacher, health care worker, essential worker, etc.?” I’d be glad to make sure I don’t die from Covid-19, and leave the better protection for someone who needs it more. But I’d make that choice a little more happily, a little more freely, if I knew “heck, I’m sure I can get the best vaccine available in 6-12 months”.
Major Major Major Major
@Ruckus:
I was reporting my experience, you don’t have to be weird about it
Omnes Omnibus
The vaccines are coming. I am not in any particular risk group, but I find myself a bit annoyed that there seem to be reasonably healthy, youngish people who aren’t in risky occupations who are getting the shots ahead of my late-70s aged parents. OTOH they are taking care of themselves and will get their shots. Honestly, I am pleased that there are multiple effective vaccines that have become available this quickly.
Scout211
@gvg:
cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/retail-pharmacy-program/participating-pharmacies.html
Here is the list of pharmacies in the federal program, listed by state.
debbie
I got my first jab on Monday. As I tried to explain to an unappreciative poster, it was a while before I could get an appointment. I couldn’t sit and refresh or redial endlessly because I work all day. So what I did was to bookmark links to the city, county, and state vaccination sites (they’re all separate) and then check them early every morning. If there were no appointments, there wouldn’t be any until the next day. This took less than a minute, and it also relieved a great deal of stress.
Actually getting the jab was absolutely smooth, speedy, and well run. I was done in less than 10 minutes, not including the 15 minutes you have to wait around to make sure you don’t die.
This is absolutely all due to Biden. Five different health systems (big ones all) were working side by side. The site ran with military precision (with no drill sergeants yelling out orders). Healthcare workers were kind, explaining everything, and the firemen gave really good shots.
My arm’s still sore, but overall, this was an incredibly positive experience.
Major Major Major Major
@gvg: My doctor moved out of the friggin’ state without telling me and I’ve been unable to get a note, go figure. NY allows you to sign an affidavit though. Friend of a friend says they aren’t even checking anything else…
Needless to say making your doctor sign you up will only get you people with doctors.
tokyokie
I’ve gotten my vaccinations already because after I was laid off from the newspaper business a few years ago, I went back to school and became a nurse. Sorta doubt that’s a viable option for most juicers at this juncture.
zzyzx
I’ve said it elsewhere, but I’ve been looking for friends and my experience in WA has been super easy really. I just got two teachers slots for next Monday and got some others openings.
On the other hand I’m a Phish fan and so I’ve had a lot of experience with fighting ticketing systems and learning how to get around them quickly.
Karen in SoCal
@Hungry Joe: I got my second Moderna yesterday and feel like absolute crap today. I hope this doesn’t last.
mrmoshpotato
@zzyzx:
Hahaha
nalbar
I used the County of San Diego system (I’m Oceanside, CA) on a Sunday night and there were 20 appointments open for the next day, starting at 9:30, and 22 open for Tuesday. Both my wife and I chose Tuesday at 9:30 for the first shot, and March 9 for the second.
Very easy, but I could see how someone not familiar with online stuff could struggle.
.
Mart
Think country is doing pretty damn well. Close to 80 million shots in ten weeks. Just stay safe, it is coming to you.
zzyzx
@mrmoshpotato: You laugh but it comes in really handy.
A friend in mine in PA who just got her appointment yesterday was all, “All of this training has finally paid off!!!”
Ohio Mom
My 89 y.o. MIL got her first shot on January 7; next week, on March 11, 65 y.o. Me will get her second shot and 63 y.o. Ohio Dad will get his first.
So that is just under three months for the three of us, I think that is pretty fast. It helps to be old, I guess.
But while we were waiting for our turns, and not knowing when they would come, that was interminable.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: Remember, teachers get the vaccine as part of the federal program that goes through the pharmacies. So as of yesterday, I think that’s where teachers should start.
WaterGirl
@gvg: Then you should challenge them on that, because that is exactly what Jen Psaki said today in her daily press thing.
WaterGirl
@Scout211: Thanks for that! I added it to the post up top.
ema
Manhattan: Walgreens has appointments available, however do not try to make the appointment using their site. It doesn’t work. Just walk into the store, go to the pharma counter and ask them to make the appointment for you. I did this today (the one on 57th St./6th Ave.) and scored an appointment for tomorrow for an elderly neighbor. [Restriction: Only 65 and over.]
Redshift
I have no complaints with the administrative process here in Fairfax VA. I am able to very efficiently determine that I do not qualify to sign up yet.
I’m hoping that fact changes soon, but until then, the process is working fine.
Ruckus
@Major Major Major Major:
After I posted this I realized that I should not have directed it to anyone in particular. We all want to get vaccinated and it has to start somewhere, with no plan whatsoever. It is going to take time and not everyone is going to do that well.
SWMBO
Knowing how others here feel, I am hesitant to suggest Facebook. I found a Facebook site by searching Covid vaccine schedule or appointments. It gave me this for South Florida.
facebook.com/groups/217139443277661/announcements
It is an information site but it keeps up with local vaccine sites and rules. For example, you can only get the vaccine under 65 if you have comorbidities through the hospitals. The hospitals have their own criteria. Holy Cross hospital’s current requirement is 2 comorbidities from a list. Jackson U Miami are only taking their patients for now and from a list of comorbidities. Cleveland Clinic is only taking their patients for now. Each one has its own rules to follow. Holy Cross requires you to fill out your forms (they give you access to them online) and the doctor must fill out other forms. We asked at the endo today and it’s 10 pages for the doctor to fill out. About 30 minutes per patient.
My daughter is in the Central Florida Facebook group and she was notified about the FEMA sites.
orlandosentinel.com/coronavirus/os-ne-coronavirus-federal-covid-vaccine-site-orlando-20210219-h6tkrw…
Check your local paper for covid info:
sun-sentinel.com/coronavirus/vaccines/fl-ne-florida-covid-vaccine-shipment-march-1-20210226-pi3cmd6l…
Kayla Rudbek
@Another Scott: yeah, I signed up with the state and I’m debating whether to (and if I could) put myself onto the Fairfax County list.
debbie
@SWMBO:
NPR set up a national site also.
Hmm, while looking for the link, I see that Congress will not be in session tomorrow because of threatened militia attacks. Oh boy.
MazeDancer
Pharmacies post new openings everyday.
If you live in the boonies, you might have drive a bit. But just take whatever opening they got.
Without CVS.com, my immuno-compromised self, would right now, be living in abject fear that I would get no mRNA shot. Because rural areas are going to be saddled with e-z fridge, e-z transport J&J.
Uncle Cosmo
So at 4:40 PM I get a text saying that vaccine appointments for Six Flags in Bowie, MD, will be released as of 5 PM. 55 miles away, but what the hell! So I set everything up to sign on right at the stroke of 5. Literally clicked on “apply for an appointment” at 2 seconds after 5 PM.
Nothing. Nada, nichts, niente, rien. “There are no appointments in the area.” Tried over & over again.
And on the website, some sonofabitch is watching the traffic and laughing his fucking arse off: Look at those fuckers flailing for a jab! They fell for it! Whadda buncha suckers!
I am this far away (think Planck length) from driving down to Annapolis, tearing Hogan’s fat Thuglican head off his body and shitting down his esophagus.
Mike in Oly
@Kent: Vashon Island. Glad to hear you guys are getting more doses down there. I wonder if Thurston Co. isn’t getting as much action because we are the second lowest County in the US (if the news report I heard is right) for transmission. Would explain things better. My neighbor was able to get one as she lives with her elderly mother but it took another six weeks to get one for her mother. How does that make sense? Anyway, glad to see some folks in State are getting the vaccine and things are moving, even if it is not happening here yet.
Mike in Oly
@Beth: Thank you for that link!!
Mel
@Quicksand:
Ohio here as well. Two serious autoimmune disorders, immunosuppressant meds, clotting disorder, and mild asthma, 53 years old, and hubby is 59 and on immunosuppressants
But, we don’t qualify to get the vaccine.
Thanks, DeWine.
The only thing he seems to be competent at is passively killing the ill, the poor, and people of color.
LongHairedWeirdo
@Karen in SoCal:
It is expected; the vaccine is supposed to prompt an immune system response, and it’s surprising how many disease symptoms are from our body’s defense, not from the direct impact of the disease.
Messaging in December was “don’t be surprised if you need to take a day off from work”.
Jean
I had my first dose of Pfizer on March 1; the second will be March 22. My husband and I both found appointments through CVS in VA. The bad news is that we could not find appointments on the same day, and we had to drive to South Boston, VA, which, for us, is a two-hour drive each way. Some friends thought we were crazy for making that drive, but my rationale is: We’re tired of searching, calling, waiting, and we have the time. I’d rather do the drive than wait and risk exposure over, who knows, how many weeks or months. The VA Health dept, where we’re registered, said it could still take “weeks or months,” and we’re in Phase 1B. CVS has a very easy, quick process. DO the road trip, be happy for each dose, and pick up dinner on way home.
Comrade Colette
My younger brother in f’in Indiana has an appointment for the J&J vax this coming weekend. I can’t even sign up, because I’m not in any eligible category (I work from home full time and I’m “only” 60 and have no underlying conditions to speak of). I have severe vax envy. It’s absolutely humiliating to have Indiana beat California in any respect whatsoever.
Grrrrr. <—— Golden bear snarling.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
For what feels like a month but has probably only been a few weeks, Greece has been stuck at 60-64 for the Oxford/Astra-Zeneca shot and 75-and-up for the Pfizer and Moderna shots, plus health care workers, and nobody else is approved. My mom and dad are both here – essentially refugees from New York – and my mom was only able to get her first shot last Friday, despite being a Greek citizen. Dad? Forget it. He’s not a citizen, he’s not in Greece’s social-security system, so despite the fact that he’s 90 with health issues, he’s not getting vaccinated here. Me? I’ll be lucky if I’m vaccinated by midsummer, at the rate things are going.
Heck, my odds might be better returning to New York to get vaccinated. That’s what Mom and Dad are doing in April – Dad’s best chance to get vaccinated is back in New York, plus they’re planning to settle their affairs and come back here to Greece to retire.
Assuming the third wave doesn’t spiral out of control completely here in Greece.
MazeDancer
@Jean:
“Rather do the drive” is the mantra here in Upstate NY dose desert. CVS is rescuing a lot of people.
SWMBO
miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article249684158.html
Comrade Colette
I forgot to ask for a sticker. I’m feeling the “WTF” lady.
karen marie
I got mine this afternoon! Pfizer. One of the workers told me it’s the best of all. April 12 for shot 2. Whee! I made it!