Covid-19 Vaccine Development

[anneg]

Thanks, @margarita25 ! I appreciate the the smiley and your congrats. I was really on the fence. I didn’t expect to get the vaccine until summer. I work in health care and was deemed essential. Had I not worked for a major health system it may have been summer before I qualified. My health system is really hoping we take the vaccine. It is difficult to run a hospital with 30% absentee rates due to Covid. ( that is what we were running as of a couple weeks ago).

That said, my dear 80+ year old parents still await theirs. Skipping this vaccine would not have given them one any sooner, I know this.

I was also scared! This type vaccine, the speed or roll out...I am still scared. I swore up and down that I was waiting until a few months passed to see how the vaccine was tolerated. To bring it back to relevance for this thread, I was hoping to wait for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine or another type. Maybe one that only required one shot. There are many vaccines in development and I hope I made the right choice by not waiting.

In the end I did it. I was offered and felt it wrong inside not to do my part to stop this awful virus.

With all that is happening in the country, I have been a little down. Your congrats and smile made me feel good. Thank you!

DH and I both received emails from Beaumont Health this morning indicating that we are eligible for the Covid vaccine. Beaumont is the largest hospital group in Michigan, so there were likely thousands of email recipients who are now trying to access their current Beaumont charts or set up a Beaumont chart which is the only way to schedule an appointment for the vaccine. We want to discuss the vaccine with our respective primary care physicians before we set up appointments. We both have previously-scheduled appointments with our doctors at which time we will seek their advice on which vaccine would be best for each of us.

Let me also congratulate you, Yesiam! I'm sure you made the right choice. I hope your parents will be able to get the vaccine very soon.

And BDE, I hope your doctors will give you and your husband the green light on vaccination.

My husband and I have appointments to be vaccinated on Wednesday. We are both over 75 and in group 1b, but I was surprised that the opportunity came up so soon. Our UNC Health system is providing the vaccines at a special clinic.

Our DIL is an infectious disease specialist and a vaccine researcher, and she told us weeks ago to take whichever vaccine we are offered. She received her first shot on December 28 (Moderna, and she also didn't know in advance which vaccine she would receive). So I'm confident that either vaccine will be fine. She also told us not to worry about possible allergic reactions for my husband, and we will remain at the clinic for 30 minutes to ensure all is well.

Hurray for science!

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

...I was also scared! This type vaccine, the speed or roll out...I am still scared. I swore up and down that I was waiting until a few months passed to see how the vaccine was tolerated. To bring it back to relevance for this thread, I was hoping to wait for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine or another type. Maybe one that only required one shot. There are many vaccines in development and I hope I made the right choice by not waiting...

DH and I are hoping that we're able to get a vaccine that doesn't require a second dose. Based on what we've read, we're leaning towards the J & J if given the choice.

We received another email from Beaumont Health this morning providing a few more details about scheduling appointments for vaccination. At the outset, there will be only one local facility where folks can get the shot, and Southfield isn't exactly convenient for us. Neither of us will schedule a vaccine appointment until we've spoken with our respective physicians. Hopefully, both will have had experience with other geriatric patients getting the vaccine by the time we see them later this month (DH) and early February (me).

 

[margarita25]

 

[margarita25]

 

[MimosaMornings]

U.S. will require negative COVID-19 results from all incoming travelers — Condé Nast Traveler

“Ten months into the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. will begin requiring all international travelers—including returning U.S. citizens—to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test in order to a board a flight to the country. The move will go into effect on January 26, according to a new order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Travelers coming into the U.S. from international destinations will now need to get a viral test within three days of departure and share their negative results with their airline before a flight (antibody tests are not accepted). The CDC says that documentation showing that you've recovered from COVID-19 will also suffice for those who continue to test positive after recovery. Airlines will be in charge of verifying this documentation, and if you decide not to test or provide your results, “the airline must deny boarding,” according the the CDC.”

 

[IceIce9]

Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker

This site has information on vaccines in use and in development to date.

 

[margarita25]

 

[margarita25]

(Via @sds71 )

• J&J scientists randomly assigned healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 55 and those 65 and older to receive a high or low dose of its vaccine — called Ad26.COV2.S — or a placebo.
• Most of the volunteers produced detectable neutralizing antibodies, which researchers believe play an important role in defending cells against the virus, after 28 days, according to the trial data.
• By day 57, all volunteers had detectable antibodies, regardless of vaccine dose or age group, and remained stable for at least 71 days in the 18-to-55 age group.

Covid vaccine: Johnson & Johnson one-shot safe, generates immune response (cnbc.com)


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[margarita25]

 

[margarita25]

3 weeks ago

 

[Warwick1991]

Here in South Florida, I was able to make an appointment for the Pfizer vaccine for my 91 year old mother before the appointment system crashed. There’s no more vaccine available for now... She had her first shot on Monday, with no side effects except for a sore arm for about a day.

 

[margarita25]

 

[anneg]

Story from Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/01/15/trump-vaccine-reserve-used-up/

When Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced this week that the federal government would begin releasing coronavirus vaccine doses held in reserve for second shots, no such reserve existed, according to state and federal officials briefed on distribution plans. The Trump administration had already begun shipping out what was available beginning at the end of December, taking second doses directly off the manufacturing line.

Now, health officials across the country who had anticipated their extremely limited vaccine supply as much as doubling beginning next week are confronting the reality that their allocations will remain largely flat, dashing hopes of dramatically expanding access for millions of elderly people and those with high-risk medical conditions. Health officials in some cities and states were informed in recent days about the reality of the situation, while others are still in the dark.

 

[CCJD]

When Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced this week that the federal government would begin releasing coronavirus vaccine doses held in reserve for second shots, no such reserve existed, according to state and federal officials briefed on distribution plans. The Trump administration had already begun shipping out what was available beginning at the end of December, taking second doses directly off the manufacturing line.

Now, health officials across the country who had anticipated their extremely limited vaccine supply as much as doubling beginning next week are confronting the reality that their allocations will remain largely flat, dashing hopes of dramatically expanding access for millions of elderly people and those with high-risk medical conditions. Health officials in some cities and states were informed in recent days about the reality of the situation, while others are still in the dark.

From NPR 1/8/2021

Instead, the Biden administration plans to send most of the currently reserved doses out right away, allowing more people to get first doses. For people who've gotten initial shots, the Biden team is making a bet that new doses could be manufactured in time to keep booster shots on schedule.

Biden's Plan To Release More Vaccine Is A Gamble. Is It Worth The Risk?

 

[anneg]

From NPR 1/8/2021

Instead, the Biden administration plans to send most of the currently reserved doses out right away, allowing more people to get first doses. For people who've gotten initial shots, the Biden team is making a bet that new doses could be manufactured in time to keep booster shots on schedule.

Biden's Plan To Release More Vaccine Is A Gamble. Is It Worth The Risk?

So that was the plan, but now it turns out there are no doses in reserve. This is criminal!

Now I'm worried whether DH and I (and many others) will be able to get our second dose as expected.

 

[Yesiamapirate]

So that was the plan, but now it turns out there are no doses in reserve. This is criminal!

Now I'm worried whether DH and I (and many others) will be able to get our second dose as expected.

I received my first through my employer, large medical center. They have set aside (themselves)the second doses for those of us that got the first. They will not schedule any more first doses until more vaccine arrives.
ETA...we were receiving vaccine each Friday since it rolled out. This is the second Friday in a row now that we didn’t get a single dose.

 

[margarita25]

 

[margarita25]

 

[margarita25]

 

[margarita25]