Covid Vaccinations

[Elkman]

There are supply and distribution problems. There is half the supply available to the states that they were told would be coming. Los Angeles County shut down its vaccination program and is waiting for new supplies of the vaccine.

My wife and I are over 70 and we have no expectation of getting our two shots before April. Only need to do the math if 1 million doses protect 500K people in a country of 331 million to realize that it is going to take until late 2022 to vaccinate everyone in the USA.

It is regretable that we have such bad actors in this country that refuse to wear a mask or restrict their travel or to social distance. It is why out death toll is literally 1000 times higher per capita than in countries like Taiwan or South Korea or New Zealand where the people have been acting in a responsible manner. What is unconscionable is that our miscreants have destroyed millions of lives and put so many small businesses out of operation forever.

The new variant of the coronavirus has already popped up in more than 20 states and this happened in matter of a few weeks. The virus did not travel from Europe to these states but was spread by infected people who continue to fly into the USA and those who continue to travel from one hot spot state to the next.

[Wayne M]

Since the PC Police (PC = Political Correctness) have determined that you cannot confront someone not wearing a mask, I abide in this way. If I see someone in the grocery store without a mask I say to my wife, "Honey, did you know that not everyone has to wear a mask?" One person, not wearing a mask, started responding and I said, "Excuse me, I was talking to my wife!"

I guess that is confrontation but it gets the idea across. If people don't want to wear a mask to protect other people they can order on-line and stay in the car for a pick-up at curbside.

I also have heard from several that they will not get vaccinated. They use the old saying that the flu shot gives them the flu. Well, there is NO live virus in the COVID-19 vaccine.

From the CDC (Trust the science)

"No. None of the authorized and recommended COVID-19 vaccines or COVID-19 vaccines currently in development in the United States contain the live virus that causes COVID-19. This means that a COVID-19 vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19."

[theSane]

Originally Posted by Wayne M

I also have heard from several that they will not get vaccinated. They use the old saying that the flu shot gives them the flu. Well, there is NO live virus in the COVID-19 vaccine.

I get the flu shot every year, and my kids get their vaccines. This new one concerns me because it does not contain the virus. It contains mRNA instructions for our body to make the COVID-19 spike protein in the hopes it triggers an immune response.

This is all brand new (>10 years) technology with precious little science behind it compared to your standard vaccines. It should work, but the long term affects are completely unknown, and unpredictable.


I see this new genetic manipulation and am reminded of the guy experimenting on himself with CRISPR technology. What will happen? We have a good idea, but no one really knows.

[Morich]

The big point on rolling out the vaccine instead of preventing the initial spread is what it allows the virus to do in the meantime. It not only kills lots of people but it also has time to adapt. We read often that we should not pour meds down the drain as it tends to let virus, etc. adapt to become resistant to the meds.

If we know it tends to build drug resistant virus if we pour meds in the drain, does it not also make sense that gradually exposing portions of the sick population to the drugs will also tend to make the remaining virus adapt and change to be a more resistant form?

Darwin's theory of evolution only quicker? I'm thinking the drug designers are going to be busy for a very long time on this one as we are seeing it adapt and change already.
Being 70+ on this one may be good as we don't have to stay around and watch the world go down??

Any old farm folks out there who can tell us what happens when you put too many chickens in the hen house?

As a person who bred and raised tropical fish ( before RV) I can tell you definitely what happens when I put too many fish in the tank!

[theSane]

Originally Posted by Morich

If we know it tends to build drug resistant virus if we pour meds in the drain, does it not also make sense that gradually exposing portions of the sick population to the drugs will also tend to make the remaining virus adapt and change to be a more resistant form?

The good news with the mRNA vaccines is that if the production delivery methods are proven to be effective, why would we need another testing cycle to approve changes to the mRNA string being delivered? Just insert a new mRNA set for your cells to produce, and go straight to production and delivery.

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by Morich

If we know it tends to build drug resistant virus if we pour meds in the drain?

Ah, that’s really not a thing. Bacteria maybe, viruses no. We don’t dump drugs to keep them from contaminating the ground water.

Your body attacks the virus and that’s what “makes” mutations. There are no drugs in your medicine cabinet that kill viruses. Only drugs that help your body defend against a virus.

A virus requires a host... human or animal. A virus outside of a host can be killed by Lysol but the virus can’t mutate itself outside of its host to be Lysol resistant.

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by theSane

This is all brand new (>10 years) technology with precious little science behind it

Newer yes, but “precious little science behind it” is not really accurate.

mRNA research began at the Salk Institute in 1989 and has had a tremendous amount of study worldwide.

It is new in widespread usage but it doesn’t modify DNA or do anything other than trigger a specific immune response inside a body.

[Wayne M]

i remember as a young child, man, how information was passed. We would read the newspaper, and that was the Gospel of information. Now, with the advent of the Internet we can search and search and search and find all kinds of "different" information and then find the information we want to hear, see, read. Sometimes I wish "the good ol' days were here."

At age 79 I guess I'll be the guinea pig, get the shots, and if it helps humanity so be it. If not, thanks for trying science.

[creativepart]

It would be best if we limit our discussion to the mechanics of getting COVID vaccinations and be careful to not unintentionally spread incorrect scientific or medical opinions about the vaccine itself.

[Morich]

I'm all for getting the vaccine and not meant to say we should not line up as fast as possible, just that we may have started way too late.
I look at controlling the virus as much the same as controlling fleas!
If we notice a few fleas on the dogs and wait until they have taken over, we have a much bigger problem than if we take care of the problem when we see the first one!
Tenants got fleas in a rental house at one time and I thought we might have to burn it down to get them out!

[Morich]

My wife and I just played the waiting and watching game for vaccine and it is just a wonder how it is ever expected to work. We have four different sites to try to get scheduled and we have them set to do as quickly as we can jump through the hoops at each site but at about 4:30 I got a hit indicating there were appointments at one site, so I called the wife to try her laptop while I waited to get the 4:30 appointment for tomorrow 1-27.
She got no appointments available and my waiting for what they termed a possible "slow response" has lasted past 7PM, so I'm giving up!
Wonder what improvement in the computer response if they set a group of last names like A-D for Mondays, E-H on Tuesday, etc. to avoid everybody competing for the limited comm lines they have?
Just too simple, right?

[Wayne M]

I do believe it is the fault of each individual town, city, and county. Distribution varies considerably from one to the other. We didn't have to do anything. Well, I did. My wife got a Text Message about an appointment. Being concerned I called the number they gave in her Text Message and said I was wondering why I was not contacted. The looked me up and said we'll send you a text right now. Got the text and responded on the link they sent. So simple. I can't figure why there is so much trouble in other localities. We are scheduled for 2nd shot this coming Monday.

She got a notification for her second shot, I didn't but looking at the medical portal for me I see I am scheduled and I also have a card from the 1st shot with the appointment time.

[Kayak73]

I like this discussion because it shows great interest in stopping this virus spread.

It is difficult to comprehend the "mechanics" but this is a GLOBAL Pandemic. Every country, big, small and in-between, has to vaccinate toward herd immunity. BIG, very big, challenge.

Meanwhile the virus replicates myriad times while in the host body of each individual and this gives rise to flaws in the replication process or mutations. The successful "mutation" then is spread to another host etc. and the most dominant or successful mutation becomes the new strain in the area and on and on. This is normal behavior for a virus.

What is abnormal is the very contagion or stickiness or however you wish to envision the process - this virus is very contagious.

So far only a small percentage of those infected become seriously ill and smaller amount perish although the numbers are disturbing.

The best protection we have today is the same protection we had when it all started, social distancing, masking and hygiene.

This is not the "trial run", we have had pandemics before and the best protection then is still the best today. Fortunately science has provided a new way to fight the virus with mRNA. Now we must solve the mechanics of transportation, deployment, mass vacc sites and all in an orderly fashion. Whatever means the current administration finds to do this I trust we will get it all worked out because we must.

I'm sure many of us have tried to discuss prevention in a reasonable way to friends etc. and tried to explain why the vaccination is important and all that to no avail. In the end Hope lies within each of us and each one who understands will do proper things to reduce the spread and get the vaccination as available because it is the only way to win.

[Wayne M]

Very good post! Thank you.

[SeeTheUSA]

We both received our first dose today! It’s a good feeling (mentally that is, the actual inoculation felt like so many before).

[GaryS]

Originally Posted by Morich

Tenants got fleas in a rental house at one time and I thought we might have to burn it down to get them out!

Uh, the tenants or the fleas?

Originally Posted by SeeTheUSA

We both received our first dose today! It’s a good feeling (mentally that is, the actual inoculation felt like so many before).

When I got my first shot on Monday I told the nurse: "Wow, that hardly hurt at all." She replied: "Wait until tomorrow."

[LuvWildlife]

My husband and I also got our first shot, second in mid Feb.
I normally don’t believe it’s good for the immune system to get flu vaccines, but this is a different animal virus That our body does not know how to fight it.
I have asthma And am allergic to abxs, so this one is serious. I know 3 people who have died from it, 2 previously healthy mid aged.

What a relief! I can’t wait to do more with so much less worry. It’s like a dark cloud lifted from my life. From what I read, they do indeed believe this shot will stop the variant as well. I am wishing you all the best, and please stay safe! Pursue the shot if you can! Take care

[Al Humboldt]

Because we’re under 65 and healthy, at the current rate of vaccinations, we won’t get our shots until the end of the year. Ugh.

[creativepart]

I get my first shot on Saturday and the second in 4-weeks on my 71st birthday. My wife is 11-yrs younger so we have to wait for her to get a chance unfortunately.

It seems that there are a lot more appointments available this week. Like others I’m so looking forward to this being behind us.

[wyocamper]

The rate of vaccinations is about to ramp up very significantly. I'll be pretty surprised if anyone who wants to get vaccinated hasn't been been able to do so by the end of June, maybe July at the latest.