General COVID vaccination thread

[PedroDaGr8]

I figured I would create a general thread since a number of us on here are eligible or will be eligible

In my case, my work just moved myself and a couple others to supporting a COVID-related project. This means I may encounter and have to handle confirmed COVID positive samples. In my state, this moved me into the top tier for receiving the vaccine. Unfortunately for me, my state has already opened it up to anyone age 65. As such, all appointments (based on the current allocated supply) are booked through the beginning of April. Thankfully, I heard about a clinic 30 minutes away that accepted walk-ins (the only one in the state). So I spent this morning standing outside in the cold at 6:30am waiting in a well-distanced line waiting for the clinic to open at 8am. Thankfully, I came at 6:30am because I was #37 in line and they ended up only receiving 100 doses for the day.

Overall, in spite of the cold, the experience was quite good. The people waiting in line were amicable, the staff were super kind and empathetic, the injection was totally painless (to the point I didn't even feel the needle go in), and right now my arm is less sore than when I got the flu vaccine a couple months ago. In three weeks, I will head back to hopefully get my second dose.

[Darrell KSR]

Middle daughter (Birmingham) has received both her doses (Pfizer), oldest daughter (Cincinnati) gets her 2nd dose of Moderna next week, SIL (also Cincinnati) gets his 2nd dose of Moderna in 2 weeks.

MIL and FIL, both who will be 90 on their respective birthdays in May, (New Orleans) received their first dose last week, but I don't know the type.

No idea when my wife or I will be eligible to get ours or our other 3 children. Alabama is currently 50th (worst) in the country in vaccine distribution, per a Fox news article I read, so we need to do better.

[KSRBEvans]

The good news for me: For some reason those in the legal profession are defined as "other essential workers," and our sign-up window opens 1 Feb.

The bad news: the waiting list in my area is already about 40,000 people long and they estimate it will take "months" to vaccinate that group in my area.

https://www.wave3.com/2021/01/20/wai...rs-louisville/

[blueboss]

My dad and his wife get round two tomorrow. All children and relatives in health care are all one to three weeks away from round two.... states where they live include AZ, VA, IN, and KY....


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[CitizenBBN]

This whole thing is such a cluster-f***. we had a year to get everyone signed up, give everyone a number, know where they are going. Everyone should have already been able to sign up and be assigned their group, and then all you have to do is tell that group when and where to show up.

I signed up with UK, and the state of Ky is STILL working on some kind of sign up I think to go live around the first of February. Everyone who wanted to sign up should have been able to do it months ago, and by now we just text people or email or whatever and we'd be getting people stuck.

It still wouldn't be optimal, people would miss their notice, or not show up, but we would be getting lots more through and doing it with better priority.

Unless I find another avenue I assume I may get this vaccine somewhere around the time the Chinese unleash their next variation on the world, given how long we've had between SARS, MERS, and Covid. lol.

[catmanjack]

Wife gets hers on Tuesday here in Louisville not sure when I will sign up.
Has anyone heard of anyone getting Covid after their first shot?
My mother in law did.

[Catfan73]

Wife gets hers on Tuesday here in Louisville not sure when I will sign up.
Has anyone heard of anyone getting Covid after their first shot?
My mother in law did.

Sorry to hear that. It depends on which vaccine it is but with the Pfizer for example they say the first shot is only about 50% effective at first but after a couple of weeks that goes up to about 90% as your body has time to build up antibodies.

[catmanjack]

Thanks, I am not sure which one she took, she is actually doing well and getting better.

[PedroDaGr8]

Wife gets hers on Tuesday here in Louisville not sure when I will sign up.
Has anyone heard of anyone getting Covid after their first shot?
My mother in law did.

The vaccine offers near zero protection until about 7 days after the first shot. From there, efficacy begins to rise to around 50+% after 14-21 days. At 21-28 days, the booster is administered and after the same (roughly) 7 day lag, efficacy rises day by day to its final maximum 90+% value. Due to this slow process, it is very possible to contact COVID while incompletely protected. That being said, even partial immunity has the ability to dramatically reduce symptoms.

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[Darrell KSR]

That being said, even partial immunity has the ability to dramatically reduce symptoms.

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Could be important for many. Pretty doggone contagious disease; lot of people will be exposed after being vaccinated.

[Catonahottinroof]

I had my follow up visit with my neurologist last Thursday. We discussed this topic. His advice was for me to get it since the MS med I’m on leaves me more vulnerable to COVID. So, when it’s my time I will take it.

[dan_bgblue]

Read a report today that those getting the Moderna vaccine will need 2 booster shots instead of just one. Apparently the African variant of the virus is not taken care of by the Moderna vaccine so they will have to tinker with it for the 3rd shot.

I have no proof this is true, so just take it as coffee shop conversation

[Darrell KSR]

From my local epidemiologist:

Less potent but still protective. We are cautiously optimistic that available COVID vaccines will confer immunity to new COVID strains, but we will need to follow this data closely as we learn more about emerging strains.

"Moderna said that despite the reduction in neutralizing antibodies against B.1.351, the antibody levels generated by its vaccine 'remain above levels that are expected to be protective.' Still, it said it was going to start testing whether adding a booster dose to its existing two-dose regimen could increase the levels of neutralizing antibodies even further, and that it was going to start investigating a booster specifically designed against B.1.351.

“These lower titers [of antibodies against B.1.351] may suggest a potential risk of earlier waning of immunity to the new B.1.351 strains,” Moderna said.

https://www.statnews.com/2021/01/25/...ctive-variant/

[MickintheHam]

The good news for me: For some reason those in the legal profession are defined as "other essential workers," and our sign-up window opens 1 Feb.

The bad news: the waiting list in my area is already about 40,000 people long and they estimate it will take "months" to vaccinate that group in my area.

https://www.wave3.com/2021/01/20/wai...rs-louisville/

The process for defining people as essential is a joke. It is all way too political. It as become haphazard. Our city PIO bragged on getting the vaccine. It is because he was once an EMT. He hasn’t touched a stethoscope in 15 years. Just about every politician has been vaccinated. John Kincade, a broadcaster in Philly says media members there can cut the line.

[kingcat]

"Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine protects against two variants of the coronavirus that have emerged from Britain and South Africa, according to a company study.

In a statement Monday, Moderna said the vaccine triggered an immune response to “all key emerging variants,” including B.1.1.7 and B.1.351, which were first identified in the U.K. and South Africa, respectively.

While the study showed no changes in immune response to the U.K. variant compared to the original coronavirus, the vaccine produced a weaker immune response to the South African variant.

Stéphane Bancel, chief executive officer of Moderna, said "out of an abundance of caution," the company is developing a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine that could combat the South African variant and future emerging ones.

“As we seek to defeat the COVID-19 virus … we believe it is imperative to be proactive as the virus evolves,” he said in the company news release"

[catmanjack]

Thanks.

The vaccine offers near zero protection until about 7 days after the first shot. From there, efficacy begins to rise to around 50+% after 14-21 days. At 21-28 days, the booster is administered and after the same (roughly) 7 day lag, efficacy rises day by day to its final maximum 90+% value. Due to this slow process, it is very possible to contact COVID while incompletely protected. That being said, even partial immunity has the ability to dramatically reduce symptoms.

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[PedroDaGr8]

"Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine protects against two variants of the coronavirus that have emerged from Britain and South Africa, according to a company study.

In a statement Monday, Moderna said the vaccine triggered an immune response to “all key emerging variants,” including B.1.1.7 and B.1.351, which were first identified in the U.K. and South Africa, respectively.

While the study showed no changes in immune response to the U.K. variant compared to the original coronavirus, the vaccine produced a weaker immune response to the South African variant.

Stéphane Bancel, chief executive officer of Moderna, said "out of an abundance of caution," the company is developing a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine that could combat the South African variant and future emerging ones.

“As we seek to defeat the COVID-19 virus … we believe it is imperative to be proactive as the virus evolves,” he said in the company news release"

To be clear, the Moderna vaccine shows an immune response against the B.1.351 variant on par with a natural infection. As such, it is expected to still provide full immunity. The issue is that the Moderna vaccine regularly provide 5-6x the immune response of the immune response to an infection. There is some worry that this could compromise duration and/or B.1.351 could further mutate and immunity would drop below this threshold.

That being said, this is the beauty of the mRNA technology. In the past, creating a vaccine against a new strain meant isolating the variant, developing a construct to express the protein, scaling up a cell culture process, etc. Now, they can quickly tweak the mRNA formula to address these variants and combat the problem head on. This easily saves years of work compared to the old process.

Thanks.

Glad to help.

[PedroDaGr8]

Pfizer to deliver doses quicker than expwcted:
200 million doses delivered by May instead of July.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...n-expected-ceo

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[CitizenBBN]

Pfizer to deliver doses quicker than expwcted:
200 million doses delivered by May instead of July.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...n-expected-ceo

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Should have them administered by August, 2035.

First question is if all 200m are for the US. If so then maybe by mid to late summer we can have most of the country vaccinated.

[KSRBEvans]

Should have them administered by August, 2035.

First question is if all 200m are for the US. If so then maybe by mid to late summer we can have most of the country vaccinated.

Yeah, there's definitely been a "last mile" problem so far. Maybe they should get Chik Fil A involved.

After a computer glitch caused a traffic gridlock at a South Carolina COVID-19 vaccination site last week, one South Carolina mayor called upon a Chick-fil-A manager for help.

Mount Pleasant mayor Will Haynie received a call that a technology issue plagued the vaccination site at the Seacoast Church site on Friday, leaving individuals stuck waiting for up to an hour, according to Fox 13.

Thinking fast, Haynie contacted Chick-fil-A manager Jerry Walkowiak and asked for help, with the latter happy to abide. Fox 13 reported that Haynie already had the manager's number from a friend, who also worked for the fast-food joint.

"I called him [Walkowiak] on my way over and he actually got there before I did," Haynie told FOX Television Stations on Monday. "He was standing there. He was moving people along."

Chick-fil-A Manager Called in to Save COVID Vaccine Drive-Thru Struggling with Long Wait Times (not a parody)

[PedroDaGr8]

Yeah, there's definitely been a "last mile" problem so far. Maybe they should get Chik Fil A involved.




Chick-fil-A Manager Called in to Save COVID Vaccine Drive-Thru Struggling with Long Wait Times (not a parody)

This isn't uncommon.

Washington State has enlisted the assistance of Starbucks, Costco, Microsoft, etc. to assist in vaccine distribution. It isn't as absurd as it sounds as these companies have a depth of experience when it comes to addressing that "last mile" problem meaning getting product from DCs to the people in a rapid and controlled manner. Additionally, they have extensive experience in training personnel on how to handle difficult "customers', how to efficiently move customers through the process, etc.

https://stories.starbucks.com/storie...tion-delivery/

[catmanjack]

If you get the first vaccine is there a timetable that you must get the second in the series?

[kingcat]

If you get the first vaccine is there a timetable that you must get the second in the series?

I think I read 28 days.

But I'd rather hear it from Pedro.

[dan_bgblue]

I read 21 to 28 days, but if you miss the deadline do not have a stroke, just get it asap.

[CitizenBBN]

Depends on the maker of the vaccine. One is 21, one is 28. I think Pfizer is 21 days. I don't know how they are doing scheduling but when my GF got her first one they scheduled her for her 2nd so they can space those out and keep things orderly.

[PedroDaGr8]

If you get the first vaccine is there a timetable that you must get the second in the series?

I think I read 28 days.

But I'd rather hear it from Pedro.

I read 21 to 28 days, but if you miss the deadline do not have a stroke, just get it asap.

Depends on the maker of the vaccine. One is 21, one is 28. I think Pfizer is 21 days. I don't know how they are doing scheduling but when my GF got her first one they scheduled her for her 2nd so they can space those out and keep things orderly.

The spacing between doses is 21 days for Pfizer and 28 days for Moderna. These days are based upon the time tables used during the Phase III studies for each vaccine. In reality, we have data which shows both are fine out to 6+ weeks between doses. We anticipate they are good out to 6 months (inline with other vaccines) but sufficient time has not passed to actually evaluate this.

So basically, the timing between the first and second dose are
Pfizer: 21 days to 6+ weeks
Moderna: 28 days to 6+ weeks

[dan_bgblue]

1C scheduling looks like it has been pushed back for a couple of weeks. 70 and over citizens are requested to visit the registration site and follow the instructions. Once they finish with the 70 and over vaccinations, they will begin assessing the vaccine supplies and go from there.

[KeithKSR]

My wife and daughter get their second doses on Sunday. They both work in a nursing home and the nursing home took care of administration of the vaccines.

Does anyone know if the vaccines contain albumen? I’m allergic to uncooked egg white and was advised against taking flu shots because of the allergy. I’ve not had an issue taking any other vaccine.

[PedroDaGr8]

Does anyone know if the vaccines contain albumen? I’m allergic to uncooked egg white and was advised against taking flu shots because of the allergy. I’ve not had an issue taking any other vaccine.

It doesn't look like there is any albumin in either vaccine:

Pfizer ingredients:

• mRNA
• lipids (multiple long names not worth listing and cholesterol). Lipids are used to encapsulate the mRNA which stabilizes the mRNA and helps the mRNA enter the cell.
• potassium chloride (sodium free salt) and sodium chloride (salt)
• monobasic potassium phosphate and dibasic potassium phosphate dihyrdate (phosphate buffer, good for around physiological pH)
• sucrose (sugar)

Moderna ingredients:

• mRNA
• lipids comprised of cholesterol and multiple long names not worth listing. Lipids are used to encapsulate the mRNA which stabilizes the mRNA and helps the mRNA enter the cell.
• potassium chloride (sodium free salt) and sodium chloride (salt)
• Tromethamine, Tromethamine HCl, acetic acid, and sodium acetate (tromethamine is commonly called TRIS. These components makeup TRIS-Acetate buffer, good for RNA/DNA near physiological pH)
• sucrose (sugar)

[Darrell KSR]

It doesn't look like there is any albumin in either vaccine:

Pfizer ingredients:

• mRNA
• lipids (multiple long names not worth listing and cholesterol). Lipids are used to encapsulate the mRNA which stabilizes the mRNA and helps the mRNA enter the cell.
• potassium chloride (sodium free salt) and sodium chloride (salt)
• monobasic potassium phosphate and dibasic potassium phosphate dihyrdate (phosphate buffer, good for around physiological pH)
• sucrose (sugar)

Moderna ingredients:

• mRNA
• lipids comprised of cholesterol and multiple long names not worth listing. Lipids are used to encapsulate the mRNA which stabilizes the mRNA and helps the mRNA enter the cell.
• potassium chloride (sodium free salt) and sodium chloride (salt)
• Tromethamine, Tromethamine HCl, acetic acid, and sodium acetate (tromethamine is commonly called TRIS. These components makeup TRIS-Acetate buffer, good for RNA/DNA near physiological pH)
• sucrose (sugar)

And here's an article that distinguishes both Pfizer and Moderna's Covid-19 vaccines from the egg-formulated flu shots.

(I wasn't going to post until you posted because it's a news story rather than a definitive source, but I feel comfortable with it in light of your explanation).

https://www.wthr.com/article/news/he...d-f5e63dcd306e