To Vaccinate or Not---The Rat Flu Odyssey Continues

[Tri-Ungulate]

So here in Montana the first phase of vaccinations aka "1b" includes "people of color". I can be considered a person of color. I was born in Colombia. I am not "white".

This puts me in kind of a weird place. I don't want to take advantage in any way. I also wonder if I really am more susceptible. I never really thought about it like that.

It's a euphemism for populations that are (often, not always) at relatively higher risk for transmission as well as more severe outcomes due to health inequities and/or social situation, i.e. "frontline" usually low-wage workers, multigenerational family units.

They just can't say that outright.

[old goat]

So here in Montana the first phase of vaccinations aka "1b" includes "people of color". I can be considered a person of color. I was born in Colombia. I am not "white".

This puts me in kind of a weird place. I don't want to take advantage in any way. I also wonder if I really am more susceptible. I never really thought about it like that.

It's probably better having people jumping the line (the expression from my elementary school days was "taking cuts") than vaccines sitting on the shelf while the powers that be try to figure out whose turn is next--ala California. Every possible interest group here is clamoring to be moved up the list. Once it gets too bad so that lots of healthy young people are getting it while older people die, they'll probably just start going by age at the mass sites and you'll have to show proof. (Imagine 60 year olds instead of 16 year olds getting fake drivers licenses.)

Young friend of ours living and working in Socal, born in Germany of a German father and American mother, 2 German grandparents, 1 Italian American grandfather, 1 New Mexican Spanish grandmother (not pure Spanish, one of her ancestors was Billy the Kid )supposedly), always lists herself as Hispanic on applications and stuff. People must wonder WTF when she starts speaking with her thick German accent.

[KQ]

It's probably better having people jumping the line (the expression from my elementary school days was "taking cuts") than vaccines sitting on the shelf while the powers that be try to figure out whose turn is next--ala California. Every possible interest group here is clamoring to be moved up the list. Once it gets too bad so that lots of healthy young people are getting it while older people die, they'll probably just start going by age at the mass sites and you'll have to show proof. (Imagine 60 year olds instead of 16 year olds getting fake drivers licenses.)

Young friend of ours living and working in Socal, born in Germany of a German father and American mother, 2 German grandparents, 1 Italian American grandfather, 1 New Mexican Spanish grandmother (not pure Spanish, one of her ancestors was Billy the Kid )supposedly), always lists herself as Hispanic on applications and stuff. People must wonder WTF when she starts speaking with her thick German accent.

I have a friend with a Hispanic last name who is actually Chinese/Caucasian.

Her father, a totally average white guy, was adopted by a Hispanic family and he married a Chinese woman. She checks all the boxes when she fills out forms.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Yeah, I assumed it was socio-economically related ie living with a large family in a smaller dwelling vs some sort of genetic predisposition of some kind.

That said, since this whole vaccine distribution thing is a cluster nationally/logistically, could I potentially be missing a vaccine that may actually end up going unused if I don't sign up for the early phase?

[S_jenks]

^ at this point it’s a combination of “the more the merrier” and “the sooner the better”. With restrictions starting to be lifted (too early IMO) and daily cases at a low point, we need to distribution the vaccinate as quickly as possible. It’s less about whether it’s going to be unused, but not getting it now when you are eligible might delay the rollout for someone else later.


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[concretejungle]

As someone who is a little older, lives in Montana, and won't be getting the vaccine until later I'd say you should go ahead and get it. I can't imagine it's not a cluster fuck and if you're planning on getting it anyway I'd just get it.

[Name Redacted]

NYT opinion: "If You’re Offered a Vaccine, Take It"

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/o...L6WcqBndWTxTNY

[prsboogie]

Yeah, I assumed it was socio-economically related ie living with a large family in a smaller dwelling vs some sort of genetic predisposition of some kind.

That said, since this whole vaccine distribution thing is a cluster nationally/logistically, could I potentially be missing a vaccine that may actually end up going unused if I don't sign up for the early phase?

Take the shot, take the shot!! Seriously everyone knows when the gov is involved, everything is f#@ked! And we need as many willing people to get vaccinated asap, honestly no matter who they are.. Yes there are demographics who should get it first but again see above.

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[old goat]

Unfortunately, at this point, outside of the CA clusterfuck and maybe some other states, the main problem is lack of production. As the smart people were predicting while the govt was saying we'll all be vaccinated by spring. Keep in mind that mRNA vaccines are much harder to make and much harder to ship than toilet paper, and we all know about toilet paper.
I notice that we're not hearing too much wailing and gnashing of teeth about people refusing the vaccine. The general feeling seems to be we'll worry about that when there's enough vaccine.

[MakersTeleMark]

Yeah, I assumed it was socio-economically related ie living with a large family in a smaller dwelling vs some sort of genetic predisposition of some kind.

That said, since this whole vaccine distribution thing is a cluster nationally/logistically, could I potentially be missing a vaccine that may actually end up going unused if I don't sign up for the early phase?

I know that you don't drink anymore, but son, take the fucking shot.

[teledad]

I applied to the county to get a vax yesterday because I work/volunteer at “mountain safety” under NSP. Not sure if that’ll work (the ski hill is in a different county). I do not think my direct supervisor will be an advocate.

Are you at SB? I know that patrollers there are getting it (including NSP) since they're considered first responders. I don't know if that extends to mountain safety though. My son is on voly patrol there but missed out on the vaccine since he needs to be back at college (out of state) by the time he would be able to get the 2nd shot.

[yeahman]

I notice that we're not hearing too much wailing and gnashing of teeth about people refusing the vaccine. The general feeling seems to be we'll worry about that when there's enough vaccine.

Truth.

Apparently they are inviting 7,500 vaccinated health care workers to attend the Superbowl. That's cool but why not pack the place with vaccinated people? Give folks a glimpse of what going back to normal life looks like if people get the shot.

[MakersTeleMark]

Health care workers are people too.

[yeahman]

Health care workers are people too.

So find 50,000 of them, fly them in, and let them enjoy the game. God knows they need a vacation more than most.

[old goat]

So find 50,000 of them, fly them in, and let them enjoy the game. God knows they need a vacation more than most.

Except I doubt you could find 50,000 front line HCW's that could be spared at work. Maybe some plastic surgeons whose cases have all been canceled.

[yeahman]

Except I doubt you could find 50,000 front line HCW's that could be spared at work. Maybe some plastic surgeons whose cases have all been canceled.

Maybe, but there are 21 million healthcare workers in the U.S. so 50k could be spared for a couple days. My theory is HC workers probably swung the election. Half of them likely voted Trump in 2016, but only 5-10 percent stuck with him in 2020 after he shit all over them pretending the virus wasn't any big deal and promoting spreader behavior among his followers. There's 8 million votes going the other way.

Yeah I know not everybody votes but it could have made a difference.

[bigdude2468]

Unfortunately, at this point, outside of the CA clusterfuck and maybe some other states, the main problem is lack of production. As the smart people were predicting while the govt was saying we'll all be vaccinated by spring. Keep in mind that mRNA vaccines are much harder to make and much harder to ship than toilet paper, and we all know about toilet paper.
I notice that we're not hearing too much wailing and gnashing of teeth about people refusing the vaccine. The general feeling seems to be we'll worry about that when there's enough vaccine.

Reading Bloomberg news it seems states having vaccine and not administering them quickly is more of a problem. Pfizer has upped the ante with increased production and will deliver 120 million doses by the end of March. If Moderna can come close to this and J&J's vaccine get approved we should have more than 1/3 of the population vaccinated. Assuming we have everyone over 65 vaccinated deaths are going to crater.

[bigdude2468]

Reading Bloomberg news it seems states having vaccine and not administering them quickly is more of a problem. Pfizer has upped the ante with increased production and will deliver 120 million doses by the end of March. If Moderna can come close to this and J&J's vaccine get approved we should have more than 1/3 of the population vaccinated. Assuming we have everyone over 65 vaccinated deaths are going to crater.

J&J has said they will have 100 million doses by end of April. Being a one dose vaccine that will be a huge benefit. So yes, most people that want the vaccine will have end it by the end of spring.

[old goat]

Moderna is finding greatly reduced antibody levels against the South African variant. It says the levels are still protective but it is working on a booster against the variant. One would assume that Pfizer's vaccine has the same problem.

[XXX-er]

turning 65 in june so I might jump an age group

looking at the schedule for up here i probably won't get it till aug-sept

would waiting mean I get a more up to date better shot ?

or are things just changing so fast who knows by then ?

I'm doing fine in an case

[MultiVerse]

In Israel three-quarters of people over age 60 have gotten their first dose. Everybody who wants a shot will be vaccinated by March.

They are already experiencing impressive results: Israel sees a 60% drop in hospitalizations for age 60-plus 3 weeks after 1st shot.

The full effects of Pfizer’s vaccine are only slated to kick in around a month after the first shot, but data from Israel, home to the world’s fastest vaccination drive, has already shown that there is a stark drop in infections even before this point.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel...r-vaccination/

[huckbucket]

turning 65 in june so I might jump an age group

looking at the schedule for up here i probably won't get it till aug-sept

would waiting mean I get a more up to date better shot ?

or are things just changing so fast who knows by then ?

I'm doing fine in an case

Moderna's revision of the current vaccine to accomodate the South African variant is projected to be ready mid-summer according to their CEO. A lot has to happen between then and now to get it right of course.

[old goat]

Will moderna have to go back and revaccinate everyone who got the original shot, and one dose or two? Obviously by mid summer there may be other variants to be more worried about.

[XXX-er]

do you pay $ for it down there, I'm pretty sure it s free up here ?

[MontuckyFried]

But earlier on, as above, and with other posts, you've consistently appeared to fall more into the fatalistic "gonna git us anyway and I gotta have muh freedumbz" camp than in the "let's actually try to engage in responsible public health behavior, much like we're seeing in other countries that have far lower transmission rates" camp.

Which is why you're getting shit from plenty of folks here. And your insistence on digging deeper while trying to change the subject into some kind of unnecessary wellness campaign is, uh, kinda embarrassing.

This is where you've gotten me wrong. A year ago. Sure. But then again, I was just repeating what ALL the major news outlets were parroting at the time in Dec '19/Jan '20. WaPo, NYT, pretty much everyone was saying things like "It's pretty much like the flu." So yeah. I didn't take it too seriously. CDC/WHO/Fauci said "No need to wear masks. Save 'em for the health care workers." So I went along with that narrative. Then everything started flipping quickly as we learned more, and I'll admit I was hesitant to change as I was skeptical, but I was willing to adapt as time marched on. And even through THIS conversation, I've been willing to adjust my position just as you would with a normal human in-person dialogue. That's the annoying thing about the internet. Your posts are like some sort of permanent opinion. "WeLL oN JUnE 12th 2004, yoU SaiD, AND I QUOTE 'blah blah blah.'" Whereas in the real world, when talking to someone, during the course of a normal conversation, you're allowed to be like "Huh. That's a good point" and pivot your position slightly as you learn more from each other. But not allowed here apparently!

As to me wanting us to get back to business, I NEVER said in this thread to just throw off the masks, take no precautions, or not follow safety measures cuz "muh freedumbz" as you all like to saying I am being like. I simply think that our society CAN safely reopen nationwide, so long as we do it in as safe a manner as possible. Gyms can safely opened with a few tweeks, like limited capacity and good sanitation practices, as some states HAVE effectively done. I maintain that people getting/staying fit is more beneficial than not, especially when done smartly. I really don't understand the binary thinking everyone does online. It doesn't have to be everything's open with zero disregard for safety -OR- everything's shut down completely. There's a solid middle ground to be found.