We're All Gonna Die

[PhillyPhreak54]

Anyone surprised?

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-team-suppressed-covid-tests-161314625.html

[Diomedes]

Got news a couple weeks ago that a friend of a certain age, the female cohort of a couple who became something like adopted parents to me during college, has pancreatic cancer.  An otherwise healthy 72 year old.  The cancer was caught as early as you can catch it without accidentally discovering the tumor by direct obervation during surgery, but it's bad bad news.  She'll have the Whipple procedure, and then 6 months of chemo.  Grim shtein.

I'm doing what I can to help them, of course.

The first tangible task I've been given is to help the husband get his vaccine.  He's not quite as together as the cancer victim, and she can't manage that for him given her condition and impending treatment. 

What a shteinfarg this rollout is.

Mr. Adoptive Dio Dad is signed up with his county health department, and also his hospital network, on a list that acts as standing request for an appointment.  Being of a certain age and health profile, he's emminently elibigle, but so are hundreds of thousands of others. 

But wait, vaccines aren't going only through the health department and hospitals.  They're also available through pharmacies.  Allegedly. 

I've just spent the day going down rabbit holes, trying to find out how to get him an appointment.  In short, it's a scrum not unlike the first 60 seconds of Ticketmaster sales for the Led Zeppeline reunion tour, with the remaining Beatles opening.  A tiny amoutn of appointments become available at each pharmacy that offers them, and if you happen to be online, in that particular pharmacie's system, different from all the others, and you have the kind of luck Sam Bradford's agent had...you get a date.

Everyone else, back to refreshing the screen compulsively....

More than 2M Marylanders currently qualify for the vaccine...the state gets about 11k shots per day.

FML

[General_Failure]

Makes me glad I'm not at risk and can wait it out in a rural area. Good luck to you guys.

[Eagaholic]

Got news a couple weeks ago that a friend of a certain age, the female cohort of a couple who became something like adopted parents to me during college, has pancreatic cancer.  An otherwise healthy 72 year old.  The cancer was caught as early as you can catch it without accidentally discovering the tumor by direct obervation during surgery, but it's bad bad news.  She'll have the Whipple procedure, and then 6 months of chemo.  Grim shtein.

I'm doing what I can to help them, of course.

The first tangible task I've been given is to help the husband get his vaccine.  He's not quite as together as the cancer victim, and she can't manage that for him given her condition and impending treatment. 

What a shteinfarg this rollout is.

Mr. Adoptive Dio Dad is signed up with his county health department, and also his hospital network, on a list that acts as standing request for an appointment.  Being of a certain age and health profile, he's emminently elibigle, but so are hundreds of thousands of others. 

But wait, vaccines aren't going only through the health department and hospitals.  They're also available through pharmacies.  Allegedly. 

I've just spent the day going down rabbit holes, trying to find out how to get him an appointment.  In short, it's a scrum not unlike the first 60 seconds of Ticketmaster sales for the Led Zeppeline reunion tour, with the remaining Beatles opening.  A tiny amoutn of appointments become available at each pharmacy that offers them, and if you happen to be online, in that particular pharmacie's system, different from all the others, and you have the kind of luck Sam Bradford's agent had...you get a date.

Everyone else, back to refreshing the screen compulsively....

More than 2M Marylanders currently qualify for the vaccine...the state gets about 11k shots per day.

FML

As vaccines become more available you might try talking to pharmacies to see what they would do with any waste of the vaccine, which can occur for a number of reasons (eg Pfizer's has a substantial amount of overfill built into the vials, Moderna's is only good for 6 hours at room temp after the first dose is taken out of the vial). Depending on what is practical for you and the short notice for MAD (Mr Adoptive Dad) they might be able to call on short notice if there is any pending waste. Kind of like flying stand by. I think going in person > calling, and talking the the pharmacist > than the tech. Depending on your sales skills you might be able to chat them up so they'd be willing to keep your card handy just in case, and you may get different answers from different chain stores unless maybe your state has universal guidelines. 

[Diomedes]

This is good counsel, thanks.  I've read about people hanging around mass vaccination sites at the end of the day to try to scoop up doses that would otherwise be wasted.  Unfortunately, I live about an hour away, and I've got my kids most days, so while I'm free to hit F5 and play the vaccine appointment lottery on their behalf online, I'm not able to jump up and be there if a call comes. 

I tried the usual suspect as midnight rolled over, hoping some appointments might reset on the clock...no luck.  There are millions of people doing the  same thing I am right now, in Maryland alone. 

[Diomedes]

And now, after all my caterwauling about how difficult it is to land an appointment, based on only one full day of trying....I got one this morning.

First attempt failed because it took me too long to enter all the details, by which time the slot I had selected must have been taken, because on my second attempt I selected a time slot later in the first available day, rather than the earliest available appointment listed...and jackpot.  Confirmation of appointment, including booster shot appointment....done.  Kinda hard to believe it worked.  Holding my breath until Mr. Adoptive Dio Dad gets email confirmation...

Oh and by the way, because this is how the world works:  first day slots are available is the day of Mrs. Adoptive Dio's Whipple procedure....of course.

Still, I'm relieved.

[Rome]

They did a study of 523,000 fully vaccinated Israelis.  Zero deaths and only (4) severe illnesses.

That is beyond incredible. 

Motherfarging science, bros.  That's our way forward in all things.   

[Diomedes]

Sheep trust the elites.  Drink bleach.

[General_Failure]

https://twitter.com/guardian/status/1360595747708809218

[General_Failure]

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1363970450381041665

USA! USA! USA!

[Munson]

Got my first jab yesterday. The state has been dragging its feet (though a lot of it is just not getting enough vaccines), and been concentrating on people 65*. They've allocated a small amount to teachers every week and it took them a month just to get through all the most vulnerable teachers. So instead of waiting around for my invite from DOE I've been searching the small mom and pop pharmacies and finally found one and me my wife and my mom all got in.

I feel kind of "blah" right now but I also only got about 5.5 hours of sleep so. Expecting to feel much worse on my 2nd dose considering what I've read from other people who got Moderna.

[Geowhizzer]

Not sure how it will work since I had the positive in December, but DeSantis supposedly said that the vaccine will be made available to teachers over 50 "very soon."

I've had no after-effects that I've noticed.  A friend of mine (early 40s) who had it a month or so before me had a mild heart attack this week, and the doctors said he had lung and heart inflammation from COVID.

[Eagaholic]

I feel kind of "blah" right now but I also only got about 5.5 hours of sleep so. Expecting to feel much worse on my 2nd dose considering what I've read from other people who got Moderna.

I got the Moderna. My first dose was fairly noneventful, just tired for a day but also had this weird scalding icy hot sensation when running my hands under hot water. The second dose kicked my ass though with full-blown flu type symptoms, 80% of which were gone within a day and a half. But it took a full 2 to 3 weeks for minor but annoying things like a bit of flushing, light sweats and joint aches to completely go away. I suggest to people to schedule the second dose for when they have the next day off if it's possible. The 18 to 55 group tend to get more severe symptoms.

[Munson]

Yeah my arm is hurting like a bitch right now. Def hurting worse than the flu vaccine, but otherwise no other side effects yet 24 hours later.

We scheduled our 2nd shot for a Friday so at the very least well have the weekend to hopefully recover

[Munson]

https://twitter.com/parkermolloy/status/1365707774643036160

Also a year ago today Saudi Arabia cancelled Hajj