Getting the Covid Vaccine

[SoCalDukeFan]

In Los Angeles you must be over 65 or a health care and one way to prove that is a photo id. My 18 year old granddaughter volunteers at a helpline run by a major hospital. She has a hospital id with her picture just like ICU nurses. I am pretty sure she could it to get vaccinated.

[nmduke2001]

Just a quick tip. My father-in-law was drawn from the 1B list (age 75 and older). My mother-in-law (also a 1B) went with him to the pharmacy . She asked the pharmacist if they had any cancellations and they did. They gave her the vaccine at the same time.

Yesterday, the local health clinic was vaccinating some of their older patients. I know the medical director, so I asked him to call me if they had any cancellations because my parents could be there in a few minutes if they could get it. Sure enough, I got a text, and both parents were vaccinated.

I have several clients that also were vaccinated due to cancellations, so it’s worth a try.

[SoCalDukeFan]

Just a quick tip. My father-in-law was drawn from the 1B list (age 75 and older). My mother-in-law (also a 1B) went with him to the pharmacy . She asked the pharmacist if they had any cancellations and they did. They gave her the vaccine at the same time.

Yesterday, the local health clinic was vaccinating some of their older patients. I know the medical director, so I asked him to call me if they had any cancellations because my parents could be there in a few minutes if they could get it. Sure enough, I got a text, and both parents were vaccinated.

I have several clients that also were vaccinated due to cancellations, so it’s worth a try.

There are similar stories from Los Angeles. I think a lot depends on what is going on at the site that day. The wife of one friend rode along for his shot, and they had a form for her to fill out, entered her in the system and gave her a shot. Another friend tried it a week later and they would not give his wife the vaccine - same location, different day.

My granddaughter volunteered at that site. Was promised the vaccine for volunteering and the sign up process to volunteer required a lot of patience and such. Was there all day Saturday but they ran out of vaccine and no shots for volunteers. Called her yesterday and said come down and get a shot which she did.

SoCal

[Skydog]

I'm now 20 hrs post-2nd dose of Pfizer. I have a sore arm, otherwise feel fine. No fever, chills or body aches (except arm) so far. Knock on wood.

[aimo]

I'm now 20 hrs post-2nd dose of Pfizer. I have a sore arm, otherwise feel fine. No fever, chills or body aches (except arm) so far. Knock on wood.

Ditto for my mom. I am very relieved. And she is very relieved to have it behind her, for now.

[mr. synellinden]

Interesting NYT story speculating that those who have had the virus might only need one dose of the vaccine.

It also sheds some light on the different reactions people are having to the vaccine - it might suggest some people who are having more harsh reactions could have had the virus and didn't know it.

[SoCalDukeFan]

One of my brothers lives in a county where they are vaccinating according to their tier 1A which is


Coroner, Medical Examiner and Funeral Staff
EMS Providers
Healthcare Personnel
Long-Term Care Residents
Persons age 65 and older
Persons ages 16-64 with high-risk conditions*:
Cancer
Chronic kidney disease
COPD
Down Syndrome
Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant or from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)
Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)
Pregnancy
Sickle cell disease
Smoking
Type 2 diabetes mellitus

It seems to me that when you include obesity (about 30% of Americans) and smokers (14%) you have a very large group to vaccinate.
I think something like 30% of American adults are obese and 14% of American adults smoke. So in that county 100% of the people over 65, plus 100% of those under 65 in various jobs, plus about 40% of these between 16-65 are eligible. I feel sorry for a 63 year grocery store worker who watches his weight and does not smoke.

SoCal

[MChambers]

One of my brothers lives in a county where they are vaccinating according to their tier 1A which is


Coroner, Medical Examiner and Funeral Staff
EMS Providers
Healthcare Personnel
Long-Term Care Residents
Persons age 65 and older
Persons ages 16-64 with high-risk conditions*:
Cancer
Chronic kidney disease
COPD
Down Syndrome
Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant or from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)
Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)
Pregnancy
Sickle cell disease
Smoking
Type 2 diabetes mellitus

It seems to me that when you include obesity (about 30% of Americans) and smokers (14%) you have a very large group to vaccinate.
I think something like 30% of American adults are obese and 14% of American adults smoke. So in that county 100% of the people over 65, plus 100% of those under 65 in various jobs, plus about 40% of these between 16-65 are eligible. I feel sorry for a 63 year grocery store worker who watches his weight and does not smoke.

SoCal

Interestingly and sadly, there is at least some question, based on immune responses to other viruses, as to how effective the vaccines will be in obese individuals. https://theconversation.com/will-the...obesity-152782

[budwom]

Interestingly and sadly, there is at least some question, based on immune responses to other viruses, as to how effective the vaccines will be in obese individuals. https://theconversation.com/will-the...obesity-152782

Ouch. I know just anecdotally from looking at the stories of death on TV that many victims seemed, at quick glance, to be substantially overweight...(I know that doesn't speak to the vaccine issue).

[nmduke2001]

Ouch. I know just anecdotally from looking at the stories of death on TV that many victims seemed, at quick glance, to be substantially overweight...(I know that doesn't speak to the vaccine issue).

Obesity is a real problem in this country. We just eat really bad food. I have a buddy that is a pediatrician. A while back he told me that he had an 8 year-old come in that was both clinically obese and malnourished. I guess cheetos don't make for a well balanced diet.

Unfortunately, COVID seems to be another issue for obese people.

[House P]

One of my brothers lives in a county where they are vaccinating according to their tier 1A which is


Coroner, Medical Examiner and Funeral Staff
EMS Providers
Healthcare Personnel
Long-Term Care Residents
Persons age 65 and older
Persons ages 16-64 with high-risk conditions*:
Cancer
Chronic kidney disease
COPD
Down Syndrome
Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant or from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)
Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)
Pregnancy
Sickle cell disease
Smoking
Type 2 diabetes mellitus

It seems to me that when you include obesity (about 30% of Americans) and smokers (14%) you have a very large group to vaccinate.
I think something like 30% of American adults are obese and 14% of American adults smoke. So in that county 100% of the people over 65, plus 100% of those under 65 in various jobs, plus about 40% of these between 16-65 are eligible. I feel sorry for a 63 year grocery store worker who watches his weight and does not smoke.

SoCal

According to the CDC, 42.5% of US adults over the age of 20 are obese.

[CameronDuke]

My wife is a high school teacher in Virginia and I am happy to report she will be getting her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine tomorrow through her school district. This is a big relief for both of us and our family.

[Skydog]

Since 2000 I've been a statistical analyst for a private company that works with gov't data (NIEHS, NHANES, NDI, etc.). For most of our models I have to calculate BMI. When running checks on the data I run freq distributions for BMI and it's been sobering to watch as the %'s of people with BMI>30 or >35 or >40 (wherever you want to cut it) increases year after year.

And for my final report on my Pfizer 2nd dose side effects - I'm now 48hrs post-injection and the only symptoms I experienced were a bit of lethargy and brain fog. My arm soreness was minimal. Easy peasy!

[Skydog]

According to the CDC, 42.5% of US adults over the age of 20 are obese.

I don't like the fact that CDC uses BMI>30 as their definition of obese. A 6'0" guy weighing 221 lbs has a BMI of 30 and is therefore "obese." 221 is clearly overweight and unhealthy (unless a body builder) but this is not nearly what the average person thinks of as "obese."

The CDC's "overweight" classification is problematic as well. It lumps together BMI's from 25 to 29.9. So a 5'7" guy weighing 159 is classified as unhealthily overweight and lumped in with a 5'7" guy weighing 190. That's ridiculous.

These classifications undermine CDC credibility and give ammunition to the skeptical. IMO much more realistic definitions would be something like BMI 28-34.9 = overweight, BMI of 35+ = obese.

(Actually the CDC sub-classifies obese as Class 1 =30 to 34.9, Class 2 =35-39.9, Class 3 ("severe" or "morbid") = 40+. My definition of obese would correspond to CDC Class 2+).

But whatever the classification system the conclusion is exactly the same - we were too fat as a nation from 1960 to 1980 but we were holding level. Every year since we've gotten fatter and now ~ one third of all Americans would now be what the average person thinks of as obese.

[SoCalDukeFan]

I don't like the fact that CDC uses BMI>30 as their definition of obese. A 6'0" guy weighing 221 lbs has a BMI of 30 and is therefore "obese." 221 is clearly overweight and unhealthy (unless a body builder) but this is not nearly what the average person thinks of as "obese."

The CDC's "overweight" classification is problematic as well. It lumps together BMI's from 25 to 29.9. So a 5'7" guy weighing 159 is classified as unhealthily overweight and lumped in with a 5'7" guy weighing 190. That's ridiculous.

These classifications undermine CDC credibility and give ammunition to the skeptical. IMO much more realistic definitions would be something like BMI 28-34.9 = overweight, BMI of 35+ = obese.

(Actually the CDC sub-classifies obese as Class 1 =30 to 34.9, Class 2 =35-39.9, Class 3 ("severe" or "morbid") = 40+. My definition of obese would correspond to CDC Class 2+).

But whatever the classification system the conclusion is exactly the same - we were too fat as a nation from 1960 to 1980 but we were holding level. Every year since we've gotten fatter and now ~ one third of all Americans would now be what the average person thinks of as obese.

I agree completely with you on this. But more important if you use BMI >= 30 as a criteria for the first tier and add age, smoking etc than your first item is like half the population. Whats the point of the tier? To exclude non smokers who watch their weight?

SoCal

[Deslok]

One of my brothers lives in a county where they are vaccinating according to their tier 1A which is


Coroner, Medical Examiner and Funeral Staff
EMS Providers
Healthcare Personnel
Long-Term Care Residents
Persons age 65 and older
Persons ages 16-64 with high-risk conditions*:
Cancer
Chronic kidney disease
COPD
Down Syndrome
Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant or from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)
Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)
Pregnancy
Sickle cell disease
Smoking
Type 2 diabetes mellitus

It seems to me that when you include obesity (about 30% of Americans) and smokers (14%) you have a very large group to vaccinate.
I think something like 30% of American adults are obese and 14% of American adults smoke. So in that county 100% of the people over 65, plus 100% of those under 65 in various jobs, plus about 40% of these between 16-65 are eligible. I feel sorry for a 63 year grocery store worker who watches his weight and does not smoke.

SoCal

Not referring to you, but as a type 1 diabetic, am wondering why I, with no chance of controlling my condition, would be not on that list while a type 2 person, who has a decent chance of controlling the condition only through diet is on the list. But I guess that's just the way of things(smoking and obesity raise similar issues, just diabetes if it affects type 2, it usually affects type 1 as well)

[Nrrrrvous]

My wife is a high school teacher in Virginia and I am happy to report she will be getting her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine tomorrow through her school district. This is a big relief for both of us and our family.

My wife, who is also a high school teacher here in VA, will also get her first dose on Feb. 20th. Assuming they don't run out by then.

[Tooold]

Not referring to you, but as a type 1 diabetic, am wondering why I, with no chance of controlling my condition, would be not on that list while a type 2 person, who has a decent chance of controlling the condition only through diet is on the list. But I guess that's just the way of things(smoking and obesity raise similar issues, just diabetes if it affects type 2, it usually affects type 1 as well)

Maybe Type 1 diabetes is included with the “high risk conditions” up higher in the list. Otherwise it makes no sense. Diabetes is a significant risk factor, according to my doctor friends.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I am super excited. Found out yesterday that my parents (late 70s, many risk factors) will be getting Round One on Friday. Their PCP had previously told them it might not be until April.

[Tooold]

Gov of NJ was on CNBC this morning and was asked specifically about smokers being given priority. He answered by basically saying they are part of a larger group of at-risk people who are being prioritized. He had no response to Becky Quick’s response that some might become smokers just to cut the line, except to say that “we hope most people will be honest.”

This still makes no sense to me. Smoking alone should not, IMO, allow anyone to jump the line. Nor should obesity on its own. Not only because those are often the results of personal choices, but for the reason someone stated up-thread...this suddenly turns the priority group into a much larger, and much less manageable, percent of the population.