Getting my 1st Covid vaccination Tuesday

[Punching Bag]

So the 142 shots you stated are distributed between different pharmacies and hospitals?

[DrW]

17 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

So if vials get punctured then vaccine remains, as 6 hrs approaches they either go in an arm or go in the trash.  Ideally it's minimal, but at mass vaccine events to speed things along they may have one crew of people drawing doses into vaccines and another crew vaccinating, so if they get "no shows" they get shots in syringes that either go in an arm ASAP, or go to waste.

 

 

Here locally they recommend that you show up at the mass vaccination site one hour before closing. If they have shots left, you will get one, regardless of age, co-morbidities, etc. Of course, it is possible that there are no shots left - that is your risk. My daughter (who is 20) git her first shot last Saturday. She actually ran the 10 miles from our home to the vaccination site (she is training for a half-marathon).

[Punching Bag]

With all of the fatigue symptoms I am guessing that Fridays are more popular shot days.

My work week ends on Wednesday so planning on getting my shot on a Thursday to give me rest of day and Friday before my 12 hour work day on Saturday.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, Limeaid said:

So the 142 shots you stated are distributed between different pharmacies and hospitals?

No, they were actually wasted.  Some were  6th doses where they ran out of special syringes.  Rest way too hard to explain without going into MO politics.

 

The 1,200 shots that were left over were used in a “pop up clinic” somewhere else 4 days later.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

5 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

We need to be better at getting the vaccine into the arms of people who are at higher risk whether or not they can "navigate the maze".

 

I see it two ways.  On the one hand, Don't Lie, Don't Cheat. 

 

On the other hand, out-state in MO, there are mass clinics and pharmacies that are struggling to find enough arms for their supplies of vaccine.   We had one event where at 3:30 pm they had 1,500 out of 2,000 doses remaining and threw it open to all comers.  Still had more than 1,200 doses remaining and wasted 142 shots.  It's hard to be a line-jumper when there is no line.

 

 

that’s really how everyone I know is getting shots— open clinics where they couldn’t find anyone high priority to vaccinate.
 

i do conceptually agree with the priority lists though, and I think they have worked at vaccinating many high risk folks and health care workers and teachers.  

[ChevyVanMiller]

Got my second Pfizer shot today. I had no symptoms from the first shot and nothing so far from the second.

 

Interestingly, I stood in line for over an hour for the first shot (there was about 2,500 people there). Today I was in and out in 25 minutes (including the 15 minute safety wait following the inoculation). I thought it was quite odd, though welcomed, as the second appointment was 3 weeks to the minute of the first.

 

Not sure what that means. Perhaps, many people aren’t returning for the second shot for whatever reason.

[Just Jack]

10 hours ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

I had a debate with my wife about this. She has a really moral objection to line jumpers. I view it as: we just need to maximize shots at this point.

 

My attitude is, that if you can get the shot without "cheating", go right ahead.  If you're a 30 yo dressing up as a 75 yo grannie, that's not right. Myself, I was offered the opportunity to get mine in late December, though they could have made me wait another month.  The hospital was pushing to get everyone vaccinated, so even though I'm a vendor, they let me in with the regular employees. No one even questioned why my ID badge was a different color, just looked to see if it was a hospital badge. 

 

 

3 hours ago, ChevyVanMiller said:

Got my second Pfizer shot today. I had no symptoms from the first shot and nothing so far from the second.

 

Interestingly, I stood in line for over an hour for the first shot (there was about 2,500 people there). Today I was in and out in 25 minutes (including the 15 minute safety wait following the inoculation). I thought it was quite odd, though welcomed, as the second appointment was 3 weeks to the minute of the first.

 

Not sure what that means. Perhaps, many people aren’t returning for the second shot for whatever reason.

 

Maybe they are just more efficient now, or that more places are open to give shots.  

[Gugny]

12 hours ago, ChevyVanMiller said:

Got my second Pfizer shot today. I had no symptoms from the first shot and nothing so far from the second.

 

Interestingly, I stood in line for over an hour for the first shot (there was about 2,500 people there). Today I was in and out in 25 minutes (including the 15 minute safety wait following the inoculation). I thought it was quite odd, though welcomed, as the second appointment was 3 weeks to the minute of the first.

 

Not sure what that means. Perhaps, many people aren’t returning for the second shot for whatever reason.

 

8 hours ago, Just Jack said:

 

My attitude is, that if you can get the shot without "cheating", go right ahead.  If you're a 30 yo dressing up as a 75 yo grannie, that's not right. Myself, I was offered the opportunity to get mine in late December, though they could have made me wait another month.  The hospital was pushing to get everyone vaccinated, so even though I'm a vendor, they let me in with the regular employees. No one even questioned why my ID badge was a different color, just looked to see if it was a hospital badge. 

 

 

 

Maybe they are just more efficient now, or that more places are open to give shots.  

 

I stood in line for 45 minutes for my first jab.  Second one is this Sunday and I hope it's faster.  For my first shot, I know that it was set up/coordinated a day or two before it happened; was very fast.  They did a fantastic job and the 45 minute wait didn't bother me.  I agree with Jack; the second go around is three weeks later and they're probably just more efficient.  Let's hope!

 

And I was told to wait in my car for 15 min., after the first shot.  I didn't and nobody was monitoring.

[Canadian Bills Fan]

I am so jealous of how well the States are doing in regards to getting their citizens vaccinated

 

Canada needs to take notice

[BringBackFlutie]

On 3/20/2021 at 12:42 PM, Mr Info said:

I was too young in my state (VA) to qualify. So, I searched CVS states and TX allowed my age range & out of state residents. The only state that met that criteria at the end of Feb. Found a CVS outside of Dallas taking appts. Got an inexpensive flight to DFW from RIC in the morning, got the vaccine, headed back to the airport and was back to VA late that afternoon. 
Because CVS is national, I was able to reschedule my 2nd vaccine for this Monday (22 Mar) at a CVS near me. It was important to me to be vaccinated. We are headed to Kauai in 2 weeks.

 

...wait, so, you got your first one out of state and they let you schedule the second one in state, even though you're too young?  I'm also young, in VA, and have to go out of the country in May.

[Patrick Duffy]

Getting mine tomorrow morning. Been told that they have all 3 vaccines available where I'm going. Wonder if you can request which you'd prefer? Guess I'll ask and see.

[Mr Info]

5 minutes ago, BringBackFlutie said:

 

...wait, so, you got your first one out of state and they let you schedule the second one in state, even though you're too young?  I'm also young, in VA, and have to go out of the country in May.

Yep, I qualified for vaccine in TX for two reasons: they were vaccinating my age range and allowed out of state residents. I went through CVS and scheduled 1st shot at a pharmacy in TX near Dallas. DFW is easy to fly to from anywhere. I just got my 2nd yesterday in Ashland VA. The Chickahominy Health District set up a mass vaccination site at a closed Food Lion near us. I just went over there, showed my card, and they hooked me up for the second shot. They are doing Moderna which matched with my first CVS shot.

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

Got Moderna.  First had a Doc inject it, no pain and not much for side effects.  Felt dizzy for 10 minutes about a half hour after we were allowed to drive away.  Beyond feeling like I got punched in the arm for a couple days it was easy. 
 

  Second shot, nurse.  Don't know where she injected it but felt like a wasp sting on contact.  Didn't get dizzy the second time, but at night had shooting pains around my left ear for about 20 mins.  Then the arm- also left... had 2-3 days where it felt like it got worked over by a jackhammer. Major muscle aches throughout my bod, and it felt like it ran its course through my kidneys for several more days. 
 

But Now!!  Feeling fine and if that was the reaction I got from the vaccine, I am soooo glad to be protected from the real thing.  
 

Life/travel/the good stuff in general feels a lot less risky, and I'm trying to abuse my hands with all the washing/sanitizing a lot less.  I got pretty psycho about that haha

[Irv]

Just got my first Pfizer this morning after they lowered the cutoff age to 50 in NY.  Close friend's son is a Pharmacist and told me they had 50 shots available.  Drove down when they opened.  Filled out some forms.  Done.  Pharmacist didn't even know the age had dropped yesterday.  No side effects so far.  Arm feels fine too.  

 

 

Edited March 23, 2021 by Irv

[DrDawkinstein]

19 hours ago, Just Jack said:

 

My attitude is, that if you can get the shot without "cheating", go right ahead.  If you're a 30 yo dressing up as a 75 yo grannie, that's not right. Myself, I was offered the opportunity to get mine in late December, though they could have made me wait another month.  The hospital was pushing to get everyone vaccinated, so even though I'm a vendor, they let me in with the regular employees. No one even questioned why my ID badge was a different color, just looked to see if it was a hospital badge. 

 

 

Same.

There are already a handful of states that are fully open. Anyone and everyone over 16 qualifies.

 

Then you have places that have "restrictions" but the guidelines open it up to pretty much everyone. Take here in GA for example. They recently opened it up to "Obesity", but they define obesity as anyone with a BMI of 26 or above. That is pretty much the entire population.

 

Additionally, at this point, any of the essential/front line/first response type workers, teachers, etc have had ample opportunity to get their shots.

 

In discussing with not only our GP, but also a number of friends and family in the healthcare industry, ALL of them advised to "just go get one". The goal at this point is to get to that 60%-70%+ vaccination rate anyway possible, as QUICKLY as possible.

 

Edit: 2 hours after I made this post our Gov just announced GA is open to everyone 16+ as of Thursday. LETS GOOOO!

 

 

Edited March 23, 2021 by DrDawkinstein

[transplantbillsfan]

On 3/19/2021 at 7:14 AM, DrDawkinstein said:

Got the J&J one-shot this past Sunday. Had a bad "hang over" on Monday, but feeling better than ever now, and ready to get back to life.

 

Got the J & J one about 2 weeks ago.  I just wanted the one n done shot.  Thought I got away with no side effects but then woke up in the middle of the night with a headache and low grade fever, but it went away by the end of the next day.

 

Got my good ole vaccination card!  Is anyone clear on whether we should laminate those or not?  I'm guessing they'll be used for different things moving forward, but the people who gave me the shot actually recommended against laminating it.

[transplantbillsfan]

On 3/19/2021 at 1:19 PM, SinceThe70s said:

 

#metoo

 

I'm curious whether anyone cares which vaccine they get. And if so why. 

 

Personally I'm not in a rush to get vaccinated.  But very happy that my mom is only a few weeks away from the second dose (Moderna). 

 

I wanted the J & J one as opposed to the Moderna or Pfizer.  I wasn't absolutely opposed to getting either of those, but just preferred the J & J for 2 reasons really:

 

1) One n done shot.  There have been some scheduling issues in terms of the 2nd shot.

 

2) The mRNA vaccines are brand new technology whereas the Adenovirus Vector Vaccines have been around since the 70's.  Not saying anything nefarious is going on with the mRNA vaccines, but I just prefer going with something that's been used for half a century already.

[DrDawkinstein]

On 3/19/2021 at 7:19 PM, SinceThe70s said:

 

#metoo

 

I'm curious whether anyone cares which vaccine they get. And if so why. 

 

 

 

My wife's original appt was for the J&J single-dose, but she re-scheduled until she found the two-dose available. She wanted the additional efficacy.

 

I believe it's 70% for J&J and 95% for the two-dose.

[Augie]

10 hours ago, Gugny said:

 

 

I stood in line for 45 minutes for my first jab.  Second one is this Sunday and I hope it's faster.  For my first shot, I know that it was set up/coordinated a day or two before it happened; was very fast.  They did a fantastic job and the 45 minute wait didn't bother me.  I agree with Jack; the second go around is three weeks later and they're probably just more efficient.  Let's hope!

 

And I was told to wait in my car for 15 min., after the first shot.  I didn't and nobody was monitoring.

 

I got both shots sitting in my car. The second one was after a 2 hour wait with thousands of cars in multiple lines. My buddy just walked in yesterday to get his first shot in some building. He was done in 17 minutes. I’m happy to get it done, so it’s not a complaint. I’m just surprised how much the experience varies from site to site, and from state to state. 

[Augie]

On 3/22/2021 at 1:33 PM, Limeaid said:

With all of the fatigue symptoms I am guessing that Fridays are more popular shot days.

My work week ends on Wednesday so planning on getting my shot on a Thursday to give me rest of day and Friday before my 12 hour work day on Saturday.

 

Timing is EVERYTHING! Did you know it’s Vasectomy Season? It’s also known as March Madness. Get your bag of frozen peas and watch some hoops! That’s how I did it! 

 

My wife actually chose a Thursday and let everyone know she might have to miss a Friday. All she does is work, so nobody would blame her for missing some time. I think she was a tad disappointed to feel just fine after the second shot. Maybe the only person hoping for a reaction? 

[LewPort71]

I am scheduled for my first shot on Wed at a Mom & Pop pharmacy that has been a leader in shot distribution in my neck of the woods.

My much better half gets her 2nd shot on Thursday at drive through event at the National Guard  Armory.

 

[Punching Bag]

Been comparing vaccines and one seems to react more with obese recipients. 

I have gone from 265 down to 240 but hard to do any exercising with my bad feet (no I will not post a picture, last time I did some lost their lunch),

Shot may make a difference in side effects.

[transplantbillsfan]

2 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

My wife's original appt was for the J&J single-dose, but she re-scheduled until she found the two-dose available. She wanted the additional efficacy.

 

I believe it's 70% for J&J and 95% for the two-dose.

 

So this is actually a fairly common misconception about the J&J vaccine

 

Here's a good video on the vaccines:

 

Basically, Pfizer and Moderna was tested earlier when there was less of a spike and was more restrictive geographically when it tested.

 

Johnson and Johnson was tested during the Fall/Winter peak of the disease in multiple countries where variants were the most common disease.

 

That's not me saying J&J is better (though I personally chose to get that one over the other 2)... it's me saying it's really not an apples to apples comparison because of the differences in the trials.

[Process]

One week since I got the first shot. Getting antsy for the second and for this to be over with. Want to get back to the gym so I can start losing all this quarantine weight I've put on. 

[Chandler#81]

🎼Hit me with your Rhythm Stick. Hit Me!

[Mr Info]

Upthread I spoke about my vaccine.

 

A day after the second vaccine, I did not feel well and found I had a fever of 99.5. Went to bed and felt fine with no fever the next day.

 

Found this explanation in NEXSTAR:

‘It’s widely known that the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccines tend to come with more side effects than the first, including tiredness, headaches, chills, fever, nausea and muscle pain.

Why is that?

According to Dr. William B. Greenough III, a professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine who’s known for his work on cholera, there’s a simple explanation for the increase in side effects.

With the first dose, your body begins building its initial immune response, including producing antibodies. 

But with the second shot — a.k.a. the second exposure to the virus — “the big guns” of your immune system react. 

“Once your immune system recognizes the virus [after the second dose], it’s going to have a greater reaction to it,” Greenough said.‘

https://www.wfla.com/community/health/coronavirus/why-does-the-second-covid-vaccine-shot-have-more-side-effects-than-the-first/

[Gugny]

@Chandler#81, et al.

 

Feel free to watch the whole thing, but starting at the 3:00 mark, Dana Carvey does a awesome impersonation of Paul McCartney talking about getting the vaccine.  He follows it with a conversation between Dr. Fauci and McCartney, which is good, too.  Great stuff!!

 

 

[4_kidd_4]

Just took the first jab, moderna.

 

Healthcare worker, they offered it thru the office here.

[DefenseWins]

Wife and I got our 1st dose of Moderna vaccine 9 days ago. 2nd dose scheduled for mid April. Only side effect was some slight tenderness at the injection site for about a day afterwards.

 

[SinceThe70s]

Upthread I asked whether anyone cared which vaccine they got and why. Appreciate all who answered.

 

I was just talking to my sister and she said something that I hadn't heard before. It's anecdotal, second hand and I'm highly skeptical but I thought I'd pass it along anyway.

 

The claim is that someone she knew got the vaccine and was subsequently exposed to someone who tested positive.  Sisters friend calls the CDC (they're taking calls?) and in the course of conversation was told that all 3 vaccines will (to some extent) prevent you from getting Covid but Pfizer will also prevent you from transmitting it.

 

Like I said, sounds like BS to me, thoughts?

 

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

On 3/23/2021 at 4:15 PM, transplantbillsfan said:

 

Got the J & J one about 2 weeks ago.  I just wanted the one n done shot.  Thought I got away with no side effects but then woke up in the middle of the night with a headache and low grade fever, but it went away by the end of the next day.

 

Got my good ole vaccination card!  Is anyone clear on whether we should laminate those or not?  I'm guessing they'll be used for different things moving forward, but the people who gave me the shot actually recommended against laminating it.

 

I took pics of mine and scanned to a pdf.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

14 minutes ago, SinceThe70s said:

Upthread I asked whether anyone cared which vaccine they got and why. Appreciate all who answered.

 

I was just talking to my sister and she said something that I hadn't heard before. It's anecdotal, second hand and I'm highly skeptical but I thought I'd pass it along anyway.

 

The claim is that someone she knew got the vaccine and was subsequently exposed to someone who tested positive.  Sisters friend calls the CDC (they're taking calls?) and in the course of conversation was told that all 3 vaccines will (to some extent) prevent you from getting Covid but Pfizer will also prevent you from transmitting it.

 

Like I said, sounds like BS to me, thoughts?

 

The whole point of vaccines as an epidemiological tool is to prevent the spread of disease.  The problem is scientists hate to "cowboy up" and say they're sure when there really isn't direct data yet to say.  For logistical reasons, that wasn't part of the clinical trials - it would require testing everyone regularly and their contacts!  So that doesn't get done, and we wait until enough people are vaccinated that we can look at whether the disease transmission rate actually drops.

 

Pfizer, which was used extensively in Israel, has some of the better data - but that doesn't mean that the J&J and Moderna don't, just that the returns aren't in yet.

 

I put some stuff on this up in the locked "Facts only" thread.

 

[SinceThe70s]

3 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

The whole point of vaccines as an epidemiological tool is to prevent the spread of disease.  The problem is scientists hate to "cowboy up" and say they're sure when there really isn't direct data yet to say.  For logistical reasons, that wasn't part of the clinical trials - it would require testing everyone regularly and their contacts!  So that doesn't get done, and we wait until enough people are vaccinated that we can look at whether the disease transmission rate actually drops.

 

Pfizer, which was used extensively in Israel, has some of the better data - but that doesn't mean that the J&J and Moderna don't, just that the returns aren't in yet.

 

I put some stuff on this up in the locked "Facts only" thread.

 

 

Thanks for the response and info, I respect your opinion. Any opinion wrt the believability of a CDC hotline making the claim that Pfizer would prevent me from getting it and prevent me from passing it along whereas Moderna and J&J wouldn't? 

 

For the record, I haven't gotten the vaccine, afaik I'm not yet eligible and frankly I'm in no rush to get it, quite the opposite.  My personal opinion is that the facts about the vaccines remain to be seen.  But don't confuse me with an anti-vaxxer. I'll get one of them, just trying to make an informed decision on which one

 

[Just Jack]

On 3/23/2021 at 5:15 PM, transplantbillsfan said:

Got my good ole vaccination card!  Is anyone clear on whether we should laminate those or not?  I'm guessing they'll be used for different things moving forward, but the people who gave me the shot actually recommended against laminating it.

 

Staples is laminating them for free....

 

Staples will laminate your COVID vaccine card for free | Raleigh News & Observer

 

I laminated mine at work. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

10 hours ago, SinceThe70s said:

Thanks for the response and info, I respect your opinion. Any opinion wrt the believability of a CDC hotline making the claim that Pfizer would prevent me from getting it and prevent me from passing it along whereas Moderna and J&J wouldn't? 

 

Not believable, IMO.  Although I suppose any hotline can get an individual who goes "off the reservation"

Here is the official word from the CDC:

Quote

At this time, we do not know if COVID-19 vaccination will have any effect on preventing transmission. Some people can be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 but remain asymptomatic.  It is important to know whether COVID-19 vaccines can help reduce the number of people that have asymptomatic infection as these people can unknowingly spread the virus to others.

 

CDC will further assess the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines after they are approved or authorized for emergency use by FDA and recommended for public use. A special type of cohort study will try to answer the question about whether vaccinated persons can develop asymptomatic infections and spread the virus to others. People who agree to participate will be tested for COVID-19 every week, whether they have symptoms or not. Experts will then compare the proportion of people with infection who were vaccinated to the proportion of people with infection who were not vaccinated.

 

I'm really leary of putting too much information here because I don't want to back-door into a covid discussion thread.

 

[Chandler#81]

[Patrick Duffy]

Got my 1st yesterday at 9 a.m. Have sore shoulder today as if someone punched me in it hard. Also for me anyway, feels like I got the flu somewhat. Don't have the cold symptoms of the flu, but just the weak, tired feeling and whole body aches.

 

Anyways, that is my experience thus far. Hope it helps.

[NoHuddleKelly12]

Got first Pfizer jab yesterday at 3:45pm and felt only a slight arm twinge in the evening--today my arm is definitely more sore but no other symptoms yet to speak of. Fingers crossed. 

[BuffaloBud]

First Pfizer jab this morning.  EZ - PZ.  Halfway there.  No issues so far 🤞.

[PastaJoe]

Got second Moderna today. An hour later my face felt a bit numb like mild novacane. Now I fell a bit warm. My wife got second Pfizer yesterday but just had slight headache today.