I went to Walgreens during lunchtime yesterday and got my first vaccination. They gave me the Moderna vaccine, so I wasn't obligated to Google the USCCB website for any moral guidance. (That's tongue in cheek.) My arm is a little sore, and I've been draggy and headachy all afternoon and evening, although it's quite possible the latter two symptoms are more from this past weekend's "spring forward" time change than the vaccine.
I confess I'm relieved.
Clergy haven't stopped ministering during the pandemic, and probably interact more with the public than most people do (at least most people who are taking reasonable and recommended precautions). During the past year, our parish also has continued its ministry to homeless persons, who are thought to be a vulnerable population, and I'm among those who have continued to have face-to-face interaction with them. Yet despite the risks of clergy getting infected and possibly infecting many others, in Illinois clergy are not deemed essential workers, so as a class aren't eligible yet for vaccines. Of course, many (most!) priests, and a hefty chunk of deacons, are age 65+, which in this part of the state continues to be the age-based demarcation point to qualify for getting vaccinated. I am not yet that old, but am able to qualify because of the homeless ministry (shelter workers are considered essential workers around here).
But qualifying for the vaccine isn't the same as being able to actually get a time slot to receive the vaccine. Vaccinations are by appointment only, and the number of slots (driven, we are given to understand, primarily by the available supply of vaccine) hasn't been adequate even for the relatively small fraction of of Illinoisans who currently qualify.
So, like rats in a maze trying to get to the cheese, we qualifiers all have been learning how to navigate the systems for signing up. All sorts of advice is proliferating among seniors and essential workers around here. Our county, Cook County, has a web site as well as a toll free number to get appointments at the county-administered sites. Many seniors are a bit tech-challenged when it comes to using the web, and some even struggle with the telephone, so I've observed that getting grandpa and grandma vaccinated has become a family project, with children and grandchildren waking up early every morning and scouring websites in search of the elusive open time slots. Some of my siblings and I have done this for our parents.
I don't think I'm particularly tech-challenged, at least when it comes to filling out a form on a website, but despite trying both the county website and the toll free number for the better part of two months, I never found any availability. I was advised by friends to try looking at the end of the day, when spots can be left over from cancellations and no-shows, and to try weekends - some friends were able to get Sunday afternoon appointments. But it never worked for me.
In addition to the county-operated vaccination sites, the primary private provider of vaccines around here is Walgreens, the large national pharmacy chain. To sign up for vaccines, Walgreens wants us to use its website, now supplemented by their toll free customer service telephone number. I wasn't having any luck finding open slots on the Walgreens site, either. So friends advised me, with the same fervor and conviction with which they advise a person struggling to sell a home to bury a St. Joseph statue upside down in the backyard, to hit the Walgreens site at 6 am. Not 5:59. Not 6:01. Precisely at 6 am.
So every morning for the last few weeks, I would roll out of bed at 5:50 am, grab my cell phone from the charging station, and put earbuds into my ears. The earbuds are connected to an old portable radio which has an AM band. One of our local AM radio stations, WGN, plays a tone at the top of every hour. I used earbuds so the sound of the radio wouldn't wake my wife, who doesn't check off any of the boxes yet to qualify for the vaccine and so sleeps the blissful slumber of the not-yet-qualified. By 5:59 am I'd be back under the covers, with the Walgreens website pulled up on my cell phone, ready to hit the Search button to find available slots. At the precise moment the radio station transmitted the beep signifying 6 am, I'd hit the Search button.
Most mornings, the Walgreens site would respond, in a red box, "There are no appointments for the next three days within 25 miles of your zip code." But one morning a couple of weeks ago, I actually got a green box instead saying "Appointments are available!" The exclamation point was apt; it perfectly captured my mood. After answering a few perfunctory questions about my health and vaccination history, the site ascertained that I needed a first dose, and offered me a Walgreens store in the next county with an array of time slots.
As my schedule is fairly busy, I paused for a moment to consider which time slot was optimal. That pause, it turned out, was fatal to my chances that day. I touched the section of the screen with my desired time, only to be told, Sorry, that time slot no longer is available. And in fact, in the passage of those 3-4 seconds of thoughtful pausing, all the available time slots had evaporated. So I was still out luck.
A few days later, I got the longed-for green box again. This time, when I was presented with the time slots, I didn't pause to consider - I just stabbed my finger as quickly and hard as I could at the screen, hoping it would grab a time slot before they were all gone. It worked! - the site told me I was booked. Then it asked me to choose a time slot for a second vaccine. Another quick stab of the finger - but, alas, too late. All the second-vaccine slots had vanished between the screen popping up and the milliseconds it took my finger to hit the screen. And because I couldn't get a second vaccine slot booked, the site also took away my first time slot. I was back to square one. Usually I am not one to throw things in frustration, but at that moment I was ready to launch the cell phone across the room, and swore never to buy so much as a box of Tic Tacs at Walgreens ever again.
Anyway, not to prolong the suspense, the third time I got the green box, it worked. I was able to get both slots booked. My assigned Walgreens wasn't even very far away from my home. Being a little OCD about some things, I obsessed about following the preparatory instructions to a tee, getting all the paperwork lined up and filled out just so. Turned out, they barely glanced at it at the pharmacy - didn't even ask to see my driver's license to confirm I was who I claimed to be. They took me into a private room, I took off my sweatshirt, the guy stuck a needle in my arm, and then kicked me out of the room so he could sanitize the chair for the next appointment. It took less than a minute. I sat around for a few minutes afterward, decided I was going to live, and left.
And that is it, so far. I am given to understand that I don't have antibody superpowers yet, but they'll be cranking up over the next couple of weeks, until I'm actually fairly protected, even with just the first dose in my system. I get my second dose in about four weeks. By May 1, I should be as protected as any American can be.
Congrats, Jim! I'm glad you got vaxed, and didn't have major side effects. It does make one breathe a partial sigh of relief.
ReplyDeleteI have been a critic of our governor, but I have to say I think he is doing well with the vaccine roll-out in our state. You only have to register online at one site, and you don't have to hunt around for appointments. Someone calls you when your turn comes up, tells you when your appointment is and where to show up. If you're on for the Moderna or the Pfizer, they also set up your second appointment at that time. I was very impressed with the professionalism and courtesy of the nurses and volunteers at the vaccination clinic.
I think clergy ought to get an expedited place in line, because of their exposure. Our priest is in his 50s, so hasn't had an appointment yet. But he is doing sick calls again, and the archdiocese lifted capacity restrictions, because the governor did. He has asthma, but I guess that in itself doesn't get you ahead in the line.
Both my daughter in laws have gotten the first shot. One works at UNO and the other is a day-care provider. Actually that one got the Johnson and Johnson, so won't need a second dose. It's still luck of the draw as to what you get. The J&J made her feel ill for about a day and a half. I guess that one is more "concentrated". We got the Moderna, and I'm kind of glad it is divided doses. My younger son also got the Moderna because he works at a school. The older one is still waiting. Slowly but surely more and more people are getting it. We are a pretty red state, but I know of no one (except my dad, and that isn't to do with politics) who is declining to be vaccinated. So I don't know where they are getting the statistics that a third of Republicans are refusing the vax. My guess is that some of them are talking tough, but when it comes right down to it, their sense of self preservation kicks in.
I think they are striking the right note to tell people that they aren't bullet proof yet, but that they can relax a lot once they get vaccinated I'm looking forward to seeing family more, or at all.
Hi Katherine, yes, it's pretty much a free-for-all around here in terms of getting vaccine appointments. Our local community hospital has announced it is reaching out to seniors on its rolls to schedule appointments, but apparently it is a huge list (100,000+) and will take them a long time to work through it. And I'm not a senior, so who knows how long it would have taken before they got around to me.
DeleteMy parents live in a county which has said it will contact people for an appointment, just as is happening in your state. I signed my dad up on his county's website. But after a few weeks passing without his getting a call, a couple of my sisters decided they didn't want to wait, and they did the check-Walgreens-at-6-am thing for a couple of weeks until they were able to get him an appointment. I think he has received both doses now. My mom is waiting just a little longer, because she was COVID-positive earlier this year, and her doctor advised her that she'll have natural antibodies for at least a few weeks.
I don't think I know anyone who out-and-out refuses to get vaccinated, but I've talked to a few people who don't want to get vaccinated right away. They claim not to consider that the vaccine approval process was rushed and the vaxxes not fully vetted. I've tried to explain to them that they've all been through clinical trials with tens of thousands of testers, but so far, that factual observation doesn't seem to have changed many hearts. The fact is, I'm not an expert on that topic - and neither are they. But if they won't listen to the Dr. Fauci's of the world, to whom will they listen?
Sorry, didn't say that quite right: I have spoken with a few people who don't trust the vaccines because they believe a few corners were cut in the approval process.
DeleteI think the Russians cut some corners with their Sputnik 5; releasing it when it was still in phase 2. I have a lot more confidence in our three approved vaccines than I would in theirs.
DeleteI am following a confusing story about a bunch of Astra Zenica doses which we are holding up pending approval. If we're not going to use them (which is doubtful, because the ones we have are rated better), we should release them to countries where they are approved, and are needed.
I've also seen a news item about those AstraZeneca doses that we're warehousing. Although that vaccine's reputation now has taken a hit in Europe.
DeleteOverall, we've ordered far more doses than we're going to need. I'm not entirely sure why. I hope we don't end up hoarding vaccine that can be put to good use elsewhere in the world. I work with many people from India, which is having its own set of issues in getting its vast population vaccinated. I am sure that an extra hundred million or so doses could be put to good use there, and many other places in the world.
We've ordered them, but are they actually made yet? I think we've been burned a few times operating on a "just in time" basis, which is probably why we are ordering safety stock. But yes, if we do end up with surplus, we should give them
Deleteaway or at least sell them at cost.
My husband spent most of his professional life in purchasing and inventory control. He wasn't impressed with the "just in time" system, calling it "just say a prayer", or OSWO, " oh s*%t, we're out!"
WHO investigators have determined that the coronavirus came from the wildlife farms in China, an economically successful government promotion.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/03/15/977527808/who-points-to-wildlife-farms-in-southwest-china-as-likely-source-of-pandemic
They closed them down. All I can see is hundreds of new zoonotic pathways. I guess Trump was right about this one. It is the Choyna virus.
No better blinders than economic ones.
The wildlife link is kind of what's been said all along. Though the wildlife "farms" were news to me. What could possibly go wrong?! I never did believe that the virus was lab-created. Mother Nature can hammer us on her own.
DeleteI did read about the mink farms in Denmark getting shut down because of virus cases.
Occasionally we get burned farming normal domestic animals (such as "mad cow" a number of years ago). But the ones we've been living with for thousands of years are the safer bet, especially if we don't crowd them into insane conditions.
China's state capitalism started the stupid thing and then shut it down. If we had such enterprises, I don't think we would shut them down because anything that generates profit is sacrosanct.
DeleteJim, I'm glad that you were able to snag an appointment. It shouldn't be so hard. As you note, a lot of people are not tech savvy and can't game the system the way you did.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised though that you weren't told that the second dose appointment would be scheduled automatically. Everyone I know so far who has gotten the vaccine (in California, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona) was told that they would be notified about the second dose about 7 days in advance and given a link to change time/date if necessary. And that's exactly how it worked for us in California. Ours was delayed by the severe weather - the vaccines didn't get to LA on schedule. But it was only a 3 day delay, so not too bad. We got email saying that the dose 2 had to be postponed due to the delivery problem and that we would be notified as soon as we could get it. And we were.
We got our second appointment on the same phone call that notified us of our first one.
DeleteAnne, I'm pretty sure that in this, as in so much else, Illinois is more screwed up than the rest of the country. I did get both appointments at once. But it wasn't the nice, orderly way that it worked out for you, and for Katherine.
DeleteI have had 2 jabs of the Pfizer vaccine. No negative reactions to either one. In talking with friends who are already vaccinated, it seems the (1) women tend to have more negative reactions than men, and (2) the Moderna 2nd jab seems to have more negative effect than does the Pfizer. Don't know anyone who has had J&J yet.
ReplyDeleteQuestions: when did the plural of "person" stop being "people" and become "persons"?
"People" sounds more commie, more solidarnoszcz. "Persons" sound like a collection of individuals who may never unite or unionize or cause trouble.
DeleteJimmy, the only person I know who had the J&J was my daughter in law, and she had "flu type" symptoms for about day and a half. It just seems to me that a divided dose, such as Moderna and Pfizer, would be less likely to cause symptoms than one like J&J where you got all of it in one shot.
DeleteThey scheduled my second appointment for the Pfizer vaccine automatically for the same place at the same time three weeks later.
ReplyDeleteThe fine print on the disclosure form for the vaccines say, e.g
"The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is an unapproved vaccine that may prevent COVID-19. There is no FDA-approved vaccine to prevent COVID-19.
The FDA has authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 16 years of age and older under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine has not undergone the same type of review as an FDA-approved or cleared product. FDA may issue an EUA when certain criteria are met, which includes that there are no adequate, approved, available alternatives. In addition, the FDA decision is based on the totality of scientific evidence available showing that the product may be effective to prevent COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic and that the known and potential benefits of the product outweigh the known and potential risks of the product."
So people have some basis for the idea that the full procedures for a vaccine were not followed in the EUA.
I am skeptical about reports that a high percentage of Republicans are saying they don't plan to get the vaccine. I suspect they are just saying what they expect Republicans should say, but like Trump himself will go ahead and get the vaccine.
"DeWine announced today that starting March 19, individuals of any age with one of five medical conditions, and adults age 40 and older, can get the vaccine. The medical conditions are cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease and obesity.
ReplyDeleteThese two groups will open the way for an additional 1.6 million people to get immunized, DeWine said.
In addition, every Ohioan 16 and up can register for a vaccine starting March 29. Teens 16 and 17 can only get the Pfizer vaccine. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are for adults 18 and over.
The state expects to receive enough vaccine to immunize more people in the coming weeks. Ohio received about 400,000 vaccine doses this week, and expects the same amount next week, DeWine said."
Question: what constitutes "obesity" for these purposes? Is it just a clinical term meaning "overweight"? Is it a formal, diagnosed medical condition? Most of us who are overweight know we're, uh, fat. What if I'm five pounds above my ideal weight? (if only ...)
DeleteI am thinking that, if obesity means what those of us in the general public think it means, a huge percentage of adults would become eligible. Which is fine, if there are enough doses and appointment slots to accommodate all of them.
Jim, there are definitions based on the body mass index (BMI). Here's a link
Deletehttps://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/defining.html
Jim, a lot of us would fall in that category! Looking at the CDC chart, I'm thinking it would be more those who fall in class 2 or 3, what would be called "morbid" obesity. (I can tell myself that at least I'm not *that* bad.)
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ReplyDeleteJean, I thought that this article might be of interest to you.
ReplyDeleteI follow the work of a writer named Diane Butler Bass. Her weekly blog today talks about how differently many christians have responded to this pandemic than they did to some earlier pandemics, particularly one that occurred shortly after the advent of christianity in Rome.
https://tinyurl.com/j3vfpnhy
Since my training is in history, when people ask me about the future, I turn to the past. For months, I’ve been thinking about how Christians responded to previous epidemics and pandemics. There’s one historical episode that I can’t seem to get out of mind — the Antonine Plague (also called the “Plague of Galen”), a great epidemic that began in 166 C.E. and lasted for 23 years...Roman physician Galen (c. 129–199 C.E.), a skilled medical researcher, kept a record of the plague. His notes describe a disease with symptoms that resemble smallpox — and a possible mutant strain. Historians estimate that the plague killed 7–10% of the population; among armies and the densely populated cities, the mortality rate probably reached 13–15%. The robust Roman economy crashed, building projects across the empire ceased, and Rome’s enemies found it a good time to launch military attacks at the imperial frontiers.
Rich Romans fled to their countryside estates, quarantining themselves in relative safety away from crowded, stricken cities. Like our own time, the wealthy escaped the worst consequences of the disease, as millions of lower classes and the empire’s poor huddled in urban centers — fearful of illness, disfiguring disease, and painful death.
... historians of Christianity have suggested that this plague — and the subsequent Plague of Cyprian in the next century — was the context for the rapid spread of the Christian faith in these centuries following Jesus’ death. Christians didn’t flee the plague. Of course, many of them were poor and couldn’t. But they demonstrated rare courage caring for the sick and risking their own lives for the sake of their neighbors. ...It wasn’t the blood of the martyrs that grew the church — it was the heroic care practiced by regular Christians toward their pagan neighbors which convinced myriads of Romans to embrace the way of Jesus.
Instead of facing the pandemic squarely and doing the hard work of neighborly care (even in the simple act of wearing masks), a considerable portion of America’s Christian population has been in denial of the extent and danger of COVID, revealing a self-centered moral cowardice that is exactly the opposite reaction of their ancient ancestors when they faced the first pandemic following the birth of the church.
Indeed, because of their failure to attend to COVID realistically and ethically, Christianity may emerge from this pandemic in ever-greater decline.
Phew! Just got my first Moderna shot. Sitting in the waiting area just in case my head falls off.
ReplyDeleteYay!
DeleteAlmost 24 hours after my first Moderna with nothing more than a sore arm. MaryAnn got her second Pfizer and after almost 18 hours, no nasty side effects. Feeling like a successful escapee from the Berlin Wall.
DeleteThat is great news, Stanley! My arm soreness from the first Moderna shot subsided after two days. After the first day, it was just a minor nuisance.
DeleteJim, glad to hear yours was uneventful as well. The second shot is reputed to be the Doozie. But that varies. I know a 79yo lady who had no problem. A 30yo woman I know was hit pretty hard for a day. I plan to do nothing for two days after my second shot.
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