MAC and getting the COVID vaccine

@jocrane Fran...I think you may have lost your way. This is a health site, not for political rants. No thanks for the angry vitriol.

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Im glad there's not a federal standard. I very much disagreed with the CDC's proposed allocation guidelines, which put 65+ and medical conditions AFTER essential workers-- (which consists of just about everyone with a job, and a good lobbyist that argues their work is essential.). I testified in our state hearing in favor of keeping 65+ as cutoff and serious medical conditions getting priority, and it was adopted.

This isn't related directly to the vax, just to Covid for MAC patients-- but there was a doc (from Chicago) at recent videotaped MAC conference that said she had had MAC patients get COVID, and they did OK, which was a relief to me.

@goddard Thanks for the info on MAC and COVID 19. That is reassuring!! Kate

I'm in Virginia where our governor is a doctor. It has been a major mess here. We've been supplied with the vaccine but the "distribution plan" has been non-existent for the most part. Some cities have done an outstanding job. Many other, no. I don't see what the big deal is all about. Pharmacies do this every single year, administering the flu vaccines, done! Why the same protocol isn't being applied is beyond me. Not to mention the PCPs haven't been supplied......?????

Toni - I understand everyone's frustration, but it is not the same as the flu vaccine. As for massive vaccination clinics through pharmacies, none of ours have space or staff to do it. Even our major medical center staffs are stretched to handle the extra task. And remember Covid precautions need to be followed at every site.

Covid vaccine is under "conditional" approval so extra monitoring is required, and requires 2 doses of the same vaccine, so every injection is tracked and reported to CDC.

Remember, there was no advance notice of the vaccine approval, no nationwide database or rollout plan and no resources were provided for states, clinics, or hospitals to accomplish these. The Federal government just shipped millions of doses to thousands of locations, changed the rules for priority several times, and magically expects it all to work. As a former software developer and project manager, I guarantee that is a recipe for failure.

The CDC and states are working hard to catch up, but even that is difficult when priorities seem to change every day. And the vaccine is so new, production will take time to catch up with demand.

Covid 19 is still very new, and more is being learned every day. So as with all things in this pandemic, stay tuned for further developments and stay safe.
Sue

My husband is getting the vaccine tomorrow through a drive through clinic. He is 71. I am 64 and cannot get it. My status is 1C and they are only doing 1B. I am taking him (he is partially sighted) and see if they have extras. A girl can hope! I had a pulmonologist appointment Friday and he didn't say yea or nay. I asked him if he could speed up the process for me. He just laughed. My doctor is in Iowa and I live in Illinois. Illinois seems to have more vaccine at this time than Iowa.

Tina - Warn him in advance that you will be doing this, but try pleading your case as his "caregiver." Here in MN, they are very conscious of using up every vial they thaw so there is no waste, and working hard to get 6 doses from each vial (which leads to a 20% increase in the number of shots that can be given.) This weekend, our largest medical center ended up with 800 soon to expire doses, and quickly opened a clinic to all over 65 to sign up & get injected on Saturday.
Everyone on a wait list should be alert to these announcements, often made on email or social media.
Sue

I'm in Chicago which gets its allotment of vaccine separate from the rest of Illinois. I believe that is true for all big cities. We were scheduled to start inoculating phase 1b which includes everyone over 65 and essential workers on Monday January 25. About a week before that date I received a note through mychart offering me a vaccination at the University of Chicago Medical Center which is where my pulmonologist is. Unfortunately I had a run in with a kidney stone and spent 3 days in the hospital waiting for it to pass. The hospitalization triggered an exacerbation of copd and I could barely make it to the kitchen let alone to the medical center. Also all of my other doctors are at Northwestern and I am not very familiar with all the buildings that make up the U of C center so I would be reluctant to go there right now. I didn't follow up.

On Friday, 1/22, my cousin texted me that she had an appointment for Saturday at Walgreens and her husband had an appointment for the following week. She included a link and sent the same message to my sister in law who immediately made an appointment at the same Walgreens. The day before my sister in law's appointment she received an email from Walgreens canceling her appointment. We told her to go anyway and not mention the email. She did that and got her vaccination.

I did not want to go into Walgreens little room for a shot. I have been so careful and the risk of going there is too much for me. Also my breathing was still bad so I didn't try to get an appointment.

On Thursday, 1/29, I received an invitation from Northwestern to make an appointment for the vaccine. There were three days of appointments 15 minutes apart available. The invitation said that if there were no appointments available, to try again because they would be adding more dates as more vaccine became available. I spent hours trying to decide if I could go. The vaccine is being given in Prentice, the woman's hospital and I have been there for mammograms. Will I be able to walk from the parking lot through the 2d floor bridge to the elevator to the third floor where C the shots are being given? My breathing is still pretty bad.

By the time I decided that I HAD to do it, only one day was left. I have an appointment for Thursday 2/4. I was so excited and anxious that I mentioned it to my dog walker and he's going to take me there. He'll drop me in front and pull over somewhere waiting for my call to pick me up.

I hope to have immunity by the middle of March but I still will stay at home most of the time and 6 feet + away from everyone until the health experts say that we can burn our masks. Thanksgiving?

I hope everyone who wants the vaccine can get it soon.