Well, I’ve had the vaccine, anyone else?

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Agreed, and I certainly think that has been a huge problem. I have seen so much selfish behavior and lack of empathy that I am truly disgusted.

And yet i know you good people are kind and friendly and empathetic
Im sad to note this has not been your finest hour
But i lay the blame at the feet of your leaders not the people

 

[Matata]

But i lay the blame at the feet of your leaders not the people

Certainly lack of leadership made this entire mess much deadlier than it should have been BUT the only ones responsible for the surge that began around Halloween and continues (and will likely get worse with Christmas & New Year holidays) are the people who chose to ignore warnings not to travel, chose to forgo wearing masks, chose to fail to social distance. They are to blame for the increased incidents of illness and deaths that have befallen those with whom they came in contact and they are the only ones responsible for their own illness or death. At this point, I don't understand why people who continue to ignore safety protocols aren't arrested for criminal negligence or attempted manslaughter.

 

[SallyBrown]

Has this article been posted?
Ugh.

Men Aren't Planning to Socially Distance This Holiday Season. The Results Could Be Devastating

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Has this article been posted?
Ugh.

Men Aren't Planning to Socially Distance This Holiday Season. The Results Could Be Devastating

Stupid is an understatement

I read today about formula one world champion Lewis Hamilton saying he is grateful to be alive after contracting covid 19

if a (still youngish) man who risks his life everytime he goes out on the track for his sport feels grateful to have survived covid this should speak volumes to men who think they are invincible

Hamilton 'happy to be alive' after Covid - BBC Sport

Lewis Hamilton said he was "happy to be alive" after recovering from coronavirus to finish the Formula 1 season with a third place.

www.bbc.com

 

[whitewave]

DH sees covid positive patients at least 2-3 times a week. He needs the vaccine—
He doesn’t really have the luxury of having a choice or opinion on the matter.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

DH sees covid positive patients at least 2-3 times a week. He needs the vaccine—
He doesn’t really have the luxury of having a choice or opinion on the matter.

I hope he is able to get it asap and has no ill effects
And that his example encourages and reasures others to get it

 

[whitewave]

I hope he is able to get it asap and has no ill effects
And that his example encourages and reasures others to get it

First dose is scheduled for Tuesday evening

 

[MMtwo]

First dose is scheduled for Tuesday evening

FAA has authorized pilots to get the vaccine, but they cannot fly for 48 hours after the shot.

 

[LightBright]

84k doses is nothing, unfortunately. Each person needs two doses so it'll only vaccinate 43k people. We have over 10 million residents in LA County.

Yes, I actually heard it’s far more than 83,000 coming to Los Angeles. “After the initial distribution, the county expects to receive roughly 250,000 more doses the following week, and another 150,000 the week after that, with weekly deliveries of up to 250,000 doses anticipated beginning in the new year.

After the distribution to health care workers and long-term care staff and residents is completed, under "Phase 1A" of the plan, Priority will then move to "essential workers" and then people at highest risk of severe illness from the virus, such as seniors or those with underlying health conditions.”

Los Angeles is really big! For now we have hunkering down in our home quarantines. Our family has been socially isolated since early March.

 

[LightBright]

Has this already been asked:

I need a summary of all three vaccines, details about how they work. Documented side effects. And most importantly, can anyone tell me if all three vaccines will be available to Americans, or will “we get what we get”. Is there a place that discusses pros and cons of all?

 

[ForteKitty]

Yes, I actually heard it’s far more than 83,000 coming to Los Angeles. “After the initial distribution, the county expects to receive roughly 250,000 more doses the following week, and another 150,000 the week after that, with weekly deliveries of up to 250,000 doses anticipated beginning in the new year.

After the distribution to health care workers and long-term care staff and residents is completed, under "Phase 1A" of the plan, Priority will then move to "essential workers" and then people at highest risk of severe illness from the virus, such as seniors or those with underlying health conditions.”

Los Angeles is really big! For now we have hunkering down in our home quarantines. Our family has been socially isolated since early March.

I am familiar with the process. I am an "essential worker" for LA County. Even so, I would feel lucky if I am vaccinated before June 2021. It'll be a long process.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

The people recruited for the trials were mostly healthy.

I do recall our very own @Arcadian heroically enrolled in one study , precisely because they needed volunteers who had some risk factors.

 

[Arcadian]

I do recall our very own @Arcadian heroically enrolled in one study , precisely because they needed volunteers who had some risk factors.

Yep, they actually wanted people who had co-morbidies to enroll in the Moderna study here. I'm more than just old, so...lol I was perfect Testing Rat for it.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I think I’m tentatively approved to get it next week! Yay!

I hope all adults who have no contraindications get it if they can. The more adults who do, the less pressure there will be on kids to get it to prevent spread. If numbers are to be believed then we will need 70% or so of the population in the US to vaccinate to get to herd immunity. That includes children. So if we want to get to that while minimizing the number of children we vaccinate then the adults will have to step up.

I don’t think not taking the vaccine is selfish as long as people who choose not to get it then also continue to not travel, wear masks, limit social gathers etc at least in the US where the spread is much too wide. Not vaccinating but then going back to “life as normal” makes no sense unless the argument is “everyone else should have, so I don’t have to”. For many people who aren’t frontline health workers, they likely won’t even have access to the vaccine for months anyways. So hopefully they will be reassured by then once millions get it and very few have adverse effects.

I work with patients in a hospital setting so I am eager to get it and protect myself and my family. I’d feel so bad if I got it at work and transmitted it to my spouse.

 

[Matata]

I am eager to get it and protect myself and my family.

Studies of the new vaccines only measured whether vaccinated people developed symptoms, not whether they got infected. It's still unknown whether the vaccine stops infection so it's possible that even those who are vaccinated can transmit the virus to others. The vaccine is definitely a good thing but it is not a panacea for covid-19 at this time. Much won't be known about its total effectiveness until a lot more people are vaccinated and the results are studied.

 

[m-cubed]

Has this already been asked:

I need a summary of all three vaccines, details about how they work. Documented side effects. And most importantly, can anyone tell me if all three vaccines will be available to Americans, or will “we get what we get”. Is there a place that discusses pros and cons of all?

So the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are mRNA vaccines. mRNA is packaged in little fatty bubbles to get into your cells, where the cell then translates it into a portion of one of the virus proteins. It only makes that one protein, which serves as an antigen for your immune system to raise a response to. The vaccine does not have the instructions to make all the other proteins in the virus, so you can’t “get COVID” from the vaccine.

Based on a large scale trial, the Pfizer vaccine is quite safe. Vaccine side effects are expected to start and be identified within weeks, not months or years after injection. with a median follow up of 2 months for close to 35,000 people, the Pfizer vaccine induced common side effects such as headache, fatigue, joint pain, etc. the only “ severe adverse event” that was seen and judged to be likely due to the vaccine was a very low incidence of enlarged lymph nodes. The trial did exclude people with known histories of severe allergic reactions to vaccines - those people are generally advised to not get other vaccines anyhow. And there were some allergic events identified after the first general population vaccinations in the UK, so I would talk to your doc if you have a history of severe (anaphylactic type reactions) before getting the vaccine. Other than that safety profile is really excellent.

FDA analysis for Moderna vaccine will be out tomorrow. if I have time, I will report back once I’ve read the materials (50+ pages).

I am not as familiar with the Oxford/AZ vaccine, and that has not yet been submitted for an emergency use authorization in the US. NY Times vaccine tracker has solid info on all though.

I expect Moderna vaccine to likely get authorized for emergency use.

will you have a choice? Maybe. I personally will take whichever one is available to me first, assuming there’s no surprise reason it would be contraindicated for me. So you may have a choice if you are willing to wait. Right now, it is your choice to be vaccinated or not (unless your employer requires it), but we do need to reach threshold levels of vaccination to get life back to normal.

I am a scientist involved in research in this area, and I am happy to answer questions.

 

[SallyBrown]

@MakingTheGrade Do you know where we can find out which medical conditions make someone eligible to get the vaccine sooner than the general public? The info I’ve read is a bit vague.

Also, does having a scheduled surgery (1 day in hospital) make someone eligible to get the vaccine sooner? (In my case it’s a cholecystectomy).

Finally, do you feel there are more medical errors occurring in U.S. hospitals now because of worker burnout, cross-coverage, understaffing, etc.?

Sorry for so many questions. I need to decide about my surgery in a week but understand if you don’t feel comfortable responding (or don’t have time).

Thanks,
Sally

 

[MMtwo]

So the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are mRNA vaccines. mRNA is packaged in little fatty bubbles to get into your cells, where the cell then translates it into a portion of one of the virus proteins. It only makes that one protein, which serves as an antigen for your immune system to raise a response to. The vaccine does not have the instructions to make all the other proteins in the virus, so you can’t “get COVID” from the vaccine.

Based on a large scale trial, the Pfizer vaccine is quite safe. Vaccine side effects are expected to start and be identified within weeks, not months or years after injection. with a median follow up of 2 months for close to 35,000 people, the Pfizer vaccine induced common side effects such as headache, fatigue, joint pain, etc. the only “ severe adverse event” that was seen and judged to be likely due to the vaccine was a very low incidence of enlarged lymph nodes. The trial did exclude people with known histories of severe allergic reactions to vaccines - those people are generally advised to not get other vaccines anyhow. And there were some allergic events identified after the first general population vaccinations in the UK, so I would talk to your doc if you have a history of severe (anaphylactic type reactions) before getting the vaccine. Other than that safety profile is really excellent.

FDA analysis for Moderna vaccine will be out tomorrow. if I have time, I will report back once I’ve read the materials (50+ pages).

I am not as familiar with the Oxford/AZ vaccine, and that has not yet been submitted for an emergency use authorization in the US. NY Times vaccine tracker has solid info on all though.

I expect Moderna vaccine to likely get authorized for emergency use.

will you have a choice? Maybe. I personally will take whichever one is available to me first, assuming there’s no surprise reason it would be contraindicated for me. So you may have a choice if you are willing to wait. Right now, it is your choice to be vaccinated or not (unless your employer requires it), but we do need to reach threshold levels of vaccination to get life back to normal.

I am a scientist involved in research in this area, and I am happy to answer questions.

This is fabulous information. Thank you for what you do. <3

 

[MMtwo]

This video explanation was helpful to me to see how it worked.

 

[OoohShiny]

I am 43 with a co-morbidity. Even if I were 20 and completely healthy, I would take this vaccine. IFR is not the only thing to look at - you are completely missing long term impacts in those who do survive.

We do not yet have solid data on whether the vaccines reduce transmission, but that is the hope. As I’ve said before on this board, vaccines protect in two ways. They protect the individual from developing disease and they reduce transmission, protecting others, particularly vulnerable people for whom the vaccine does not work or who cannot take the vaccine because it is medically contra-indicated. We don’t yet have good data on whether these vaccines reduce transmission (and we do need to be careful in our actions until we have more data on this), but that is the hope. If the vaccine(s) do reduce transmission, it will be up to all of us who can get the vaccine to do so.

In my opinion, people (at least in the US) are overall focusing too much on themselves in this pandemic and not enough on others and society. And I will call a spade a spade - I think it’s selfish for those who do not have real medical contraindications to refuse to take the vaccine.

Thank you for your reply!

If a person has comorbidities and considers themselves at risk then it makes good sense to take up the options available that may reduce that risk.

Did you see the story regarding antibody injections for those unable / unwilling to tolerate a vaccine? IIRC they would last six months and its an established procedure, therefore any risks are more widely known - that could be an option for those more vulnerable individuals until 'herd immunity' is gained, whether by vaccination, exposure or a combination of both.


WRT the younger generations with very low risk, I have seen discussions about whether or not it is something they may wish to participate in. Personally speaking, I believe many will be cautious during these initial stages due to lack of data on any impacts on fertility and pregnancy - I am sure that it will all be just fine, but the potential risk of not being able to have a child in the future is a strong argument against taking the (Pfizer, at least) vaccine until any risks are more widely understood.

 

[OoohShiny]

That gets sadder the more i think about it

I think one can also consider it from the opposite viewpoint - if dying at 60(?) is 'standard' for countries with low availability / quality of healthcare, we Developed World countries should be consciously grateful of the extra years our fortune and geographic location in the world is bringing us!

IIRC it is only in the last 100 years or so that us humans have started living to a considerable age in any great number - we forget that it is not really 'normal' to do so in purely biological/evolutionary terms!

 

[OoohShiny]

Canadians are getting vaccinated starting this week. Elders and front line workers. Big roll out in spring with majority of our population (who want to get vaccinated) getting 2 doses by September 2021. Vaccinations being done by our Military. The logistics of doing this is staggering, ergo the military.

This is interesting. Not mandatory but you won't be able to live a 'normal life' if you don't take it:

 

[OoohShiny]

Has this article been posted?
Ugh.

Men Aren't Planning to Socially Distance This Holiday Season. The Results Could Be Devastating

Is this 'all 100% of men within the country'? Bit of a sweeping statement if not, lol.

(I can't see the whole article but the first section doesn't have a link to the dateset details.)

I think it probably is just a reflection of the different sex's different viewpoints on risk - as I would postulate may always have been the case through a lot of history, if the stereotypes are to be believed!

 

[MMtwo]

My husband...bless him I love him so much, but unfortunately he believes some alternative news sources that have told their readership that the vaccine will have dyes, tracking devices and all sorts of nefarious things *sigh*. Maybe he doesnt believe exactly, but he is uneasy.

I told him I intend to get the vaccine (over 55, fat, diabetic) ASAP. He was genuinely worried that if I take it, something bad will happen to me. I went through the odds of something happening (0 vaccine deaths) vs getting COVID (maybe 3-5% death rate for my age and comorbidities).

There are so many like him....due to the proliferation of misinformation. If the US makes it mandatory, he will NOT get the vaccine. However, if those around get the vaccine and he sees it is harmless, he may get it.

This year has been complete suckage. I am so tired of fighting misinformation.

 

[mom2dolls]

Thank you for all of the information in the thread!!

I think the focus of Covid being it's just like the flu and it is survivable is such a blanket statement. Yes, it is mostly survivable but the long term issues young healthy people are experiencing are debilitating. Nerve damage, brain issues, vision problems, heart issues. Yes, you can survive Covid but you are likely to be left with long term damage to your body.

 

[Arcadian]

My husband...bless him I love him so much, but unfortunately he believes some alternative news sources that have told their readership that the vaccine will have dyes, tracking devices and all sorts of nefarious things *sigh*. Maybe he doesnt believe exactly, but he is uneasy.

I told him I intend to get the vaccine (over 55, fat, diabetic) ASAP. He was genuinely worried that if I take it, something bad will happen to me. I went through the odds of something happening (0 vaccine deaths) vs getting COVID (maybe 3-5% death rate for my age and comorbidities).

There are so many like him....due to the proliferation of misinformation. If the US makes it mandatory, he will NOT get the vaccine. However, if those around get the vaccine and he sees it is harmless, he may get it.

This year has been complete suckage. I am so tired of fighting misinformation.

The government already tracks you, its too late. They don't need to "embed you with a microchip" for that. You'd have to hide underground and get rid of every known electronic way to get a hold of you, and that includes going to the Dr.

Anytime you go to a website, use your own internet service use your phone, and even drive your car depending on its model year, bits of you (literally) are left behind. The gov sings that song "Ready or not, here I come, you can't hide"

 

[MMtwo]

The government already tracks you, its too late. They don't need to "embed you with a microchip" for that. You'd have to hide underground and get rid of every known electronic way to get a hold of you, and that includes going to the Dr.

Anytime you go to a website, use your own internet service use your phone, and even drive your car depending on its model year, bits of you (literally) are left behind. The gov sings that song "Ready or not, here I come, you can't hide"

I did point that out Heck, he has clearances, so they definitely know who he is. I think that some folks are dealing with the unknown by trying to explain it away, deny it and pretend it's not happening. Any crazy dwarf circus train explanation that relives them will be great. A defense mechanism. I have no other explanation. Hubby is smart....except right here he struggles

 

[Snowdrop13]

Thank you for your reply!

If a person has comorbidities and considers themselves at risk then it makes good sense to take up the options available that may reduce that risk.

Did you see the story regarding antibody injections for those unable / unwilling to tolerate a vaccine? IIRC they would last six months and its an established procedure, therefore any risks are more widely known - that could be an option for those more vulnerable individuals until 'herd immunity' is gained, whether by vaccination, exposure or a combination of both.


WRT the younger generations with very low risk, I have seen discussions about whether or not it is something they may wish to participate in. Personally speaking, I believe many will be cautious during these initial stages due to lack of data on any impacts on fertility and pregnancy - I am sure that it will all be just fine, but the potential risk of not being able to have a child in the future is a strong argument against taking the (Pfizer, at least) vaccine until any risks are more widely understood.

Yes, we’ve been told not to have the vaccine if we have anaphylaxis as mentioned previously but also if pregnant or likely to be so in the next 3 months.

 

[Arcadian]

I did point that out Heck, he has clearances, so they definitely know who he is. I think that some folks are dealing with the unknown by trying to explain it away, deny it and pretend it's not happening. Any crazy dwarf circus train explanation that relives them will be great. A defense mechanism. I have no other explanation. Hubby is smart....except right here he struggles

Ok see

Yes, we’ve been told not to have the vaccine if we have anaphylaxis as mentioned previously but also if pregnant or likely to be so in the next 3 months.

Yeah the vaccine activates a pretty heavy immune response so if allergies are not well controlled, don't do it. They wouldn't let people in the study that had uncontrolled allergies (which makes sense)

 

[m-cubed]

Thank you for your reply!

If a person has comorbidities and considers themselves at risk then it makes good sense to take up the options available that may reduce that risk.

Did you see the story regarding antibody injections for those unable / unwilling to tolerate a vaccine? IIRC they would last six months and its an established procedure, therefore any risks are more widely known - that could be an option for those more vulnerable individuals until 'herd immunity' is gained, whether by vaccination, exposure or a combination of both.


WRT the younger generations with very low risk, I have seen discussions about whether or not it is something they may wish to participate in. Personally speaking, I believe many will be cautious during these initial stages due to lack of data on any impacts on fertility and pregnancy - I am sure that it will all be just fine, but the potential risk of not being able to have a child in the future is a strong argument against taking the (Pfizer, at least) vaccine until any risks are more widely understood.

I did not see a story around antibody injections, but I wonder if it is referring to the monoclonal antibody (mAbs) drugs. Realistically I think that’s a pretty terrible option compared to a vaccine. The mAbs require IV infusion of several grams of protein (this is a TON when it comes to protein) at a cost of probably $50K, and mAb drugs are known to have potential immunogenic side effects. Compared to a vaccine which likely produces durable immunity at a much lower cost and with a good safety profile? That is no comparison in my book.

I can understand people who are currently pregnant wanting to wait until delivery to get a vaccine. However that there could be a future effect on future fertility is fear-mongering based on no data or likely biological mechanism in my opinion.