Mostly Apolitical Thread for Discussing/Venting our Rational/Irrational COVID-19 Fears and Experiences in 2020

I am of two minds about this -- obviously I don't like lying, but on the other hand: I am eligible and got vaccinated because of essentially arbitrary decisions my state made about occupations; I'm healthy and work from home and I don't think there's any public-health sense in which I "should" be in line ahead of other people. And yet there is no part of me that thinks I should have eschewed the shot I was legally eligible to get, even though just like the NYC liar I took a spot at Walgreen's and thus might have prevented an older / less healthy / more exposed person from getting a shot that day.

FTR, I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with anyone cutting the line here. The quicker more people are vaccinated the better. This is all about me being anal.

Yeah, I mean it's all a bit fuzzy and everyone has different comfort levels. But I 100% don't think being made eligible through the arbitrary decisions of your state/county is worth feeling guilty about at all!

WaPo had an article about this today

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/03/25/vaccine-line-jump-lie-coronavirus/

I'm going to continue being honest about my medical status, which is probably dumb, but seems like the right thing to do. Every day that appointments get released here, there are more than enough people to get them 100% booked, so I have to assume that most, if not all, of those people qualify. OTOH, "game thoery" suggests that I'll be the last person to get vaccinated as everyone else magically discovers medical conditions to get them bumped ahead.

This is all about me being anal having personal standards of conduct I feel uncomfortable discarding in this case.

fixed

I'm sure supply-demand issues vary a lot from place to place, but when I went to get my leftover shot at Walgreens, they were saying that they had one more left that they were struggling to dispense — none of the other people on the waste list answered I guess — until someone just called out of the blue to ask if they had any left.

So basically, it's a messy system and I think anyone should get vaccinated however they can work it. I know people who got vaxxed just because they had a friend who worked at a hospital. Whatever, it's about as many people getting the shots as possible.

Heh, "just knowing a friend that works in a hospital" is the crux of the current Loretto Hospital scandal in Chicago, where the administrator in charge actually did redirect vaccines earmarked for low income communities toward his friends.

I am eligible and got vaccinated because of essentially arbitrary decisions my state made about occupations; I'm healthy and work from home and I don't think there's any public-health sense in which I "should" be in line ahead of other people.

This is another reason I've seen reported for why there is sometimes unclaimed or surplus vaccine, folks eligible but feeling guilty for being put ahead of folks they deem more worthy who then skip their turn.

Also, I've got to assume shots are distributed in part based on some estimate of how many people fall in each of the categories, but if the (say) county knows there are 1000 (for example) hospital employees eligible yet only 600 take the vaccine, I don't think those shots automatically go to the next group in line. It probably just shows up as 400 people in that category still not vaccinated, which no doubt affects orders and distribution of vaccine the next time around.

ha, well my friend who knew somebody at a hospital was in a rural county where they literally couldn't give the stuff away. so he drove over there to get one of the surplus shots they always had left.

I just want to raise the point that there are plenty of people with pre-existing conditions who don't show it, and which they might not feel comfortable sharing-- being immunocompromised isn't necessarily something people bring up around the water cooler, even if it's a Zoom water cooler or slack channel or whatever.

I mean, I rode my bicycle the 4.4 miles each way to get both of my shots. But I also am immunocompromised and shit in a bag, so...there are a lot more people like me than one would think.

I should say then, too, that I got my second shot. My arm hurts a wee bit and I feel like I'm recovering from a night of heavy drinking and carousing, but otherwise, I'm okay and feeling pretty joyous.

congrats! I'm at two weeks past and ready to lick random peoples' faces

Minnesota is opening vaccination to all interested adults next week, and even though this likely means hellacious scheduling I am very excited to be able to get it done.

wouldnt say i lied but used a generous interpretation of my job to score an appointment in May, which is after most ppl are expecting it to open up to all adults in my state anyway, so i dont feel ive put my morality at hazard too much. i also feel ok about it because supply doesnt seem to be a major issue where i am.

i respect folks who dont feel comfortable jumping the line, i was pretty annoyed when a few people i know got hooked up like 2 months ago, but at least where i am the requirements seem pretty arbitrary at this point

Table brings up a good point, that there are all sorts of reasons someone might be eligible for a shot that we don't know about. Some of them could be more dubious (former smokers, for example), but many of them could be serious, or at least serious enough to qualify (for example, my goofball younger cousin, who after he got a relatively early shot as a seemingly healthy 30-something explained to me that he got hit in the head with a softball a few years ago, got a concussion, and somehow developed an early case of hypertension).

There was a huuuuge influx of vaccine appointments here next week, btw, something like a wave of 500,000 around Chicago (quickly claimed). But fwiw, we are going to be distantly downstate (ugh) next week, and they are apparently awash in vaccine appointments there, so my wife's considering getting her first shot while we are traveling through Redneckistan.

dan m - if you can travel, try cash wise pharmacy in outstate, I got a march 30th appointment in Moorhead last night

Also ThriftyWhite

again, not trying to pretend this isn't still a big problem or a big deal but it's seeming more and more like everyone on this thread at least is likely to be fully or half vaccinated before June and that's frankly a big relief

wouldnt say i lied but used a generous interpretation of my job to score an appointment

same

(if you get vaccinated before this thread hits 10k posts, you get a free doughnut)

doesn't everyone who is vaccinated get free Krispy Kreme?

then next year we'll all get free insulin

still waiting on my free dr pepper from when chinese democracy came out

I was prepared to lie in order to see my kids sooner but then I realized that while children in general are less susceptible to this, they both have asthma and that even vaccinated the information I've found to date on whether you can still get someone else sick who hasn't been vaccinated has not been conclusive.

second round of under 16 testing is happening now so hopefully that'll speed up the timetable for you

as it happens KK is giving a free doughnut to antivaxers too:
https://www.grubstreet.com/2021/03/how-to-get-free-krispy-kreme-doughnuts.html

Choosing to receive the vaccine is a highly personal decision,” the company’s small print explains. “If you have made the personal decision to not receive the COVID vaccine, please visit us on Mondays, 3/29/21 – 5/24/21, to receive a free Original Glazed® doughnut and a medium brewed coffee to get your week off to a good start.”

wtf

(It's secretly a vaccine-filled donut, shhh.)

In this case “vaccine” is a euphemism for “poop”

It really is the most spineless form of 'w-w-well, we don't want to offend any of our valued customers!' equivocating bullshit. 'One free donut to everyone participating in this anti-fascist rally! But we understand that opposing fascism is a difficult choice, so also one free donut to everyone decked out in full SS regalia.'

I don't know why I'd expect a corporation to take a (righteous) moral stance on any issue.

And also, yes, I recognize the valid reasons why certain people won't or can't vaccinate. But something tells me Krispy Kreme's stance isn't that nuanced.

Tempted to agree with that OL, but at the same time I'm hoping this keeps their employees from having anti-vax, anti-mask blowhards from indignantly rage-screaming in their faces.

Meaning, yes, I'd wish they'd stick to their guns, but at the same time it's the underpaid people manning their stores that are going to suffer from the ragey "where's mah donut" crowd.

This is strictly a legal "if you offer something, you must offer it to everyone" thing AFAICT; this is the same reason why all sweepstakes have "No purchase necessary" disclaimers on them.

oh right, thanks

dan m - if you can travel, try cash wise pharmacy in outstate, I got a march 30th appointment in Moorhead last night

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, March 26, 2021 9:13 AM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Also ThriftyWhite

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, March 26, 202

I'd been looking at some of these, yeah. Driving more than about an hour from the cities really isn't an option for me, but there was a ton of availability at metro Walgreens early this morning and the site crashed for me as I was about sign up. Hopefully that's the case going forward and I just need to get up earlier to schedule.

oh also j/v/c

Big @Walgreens vaccine appt. drop in Chicago. Now.

— Brad Edwards (@tvbrad) March 26, 2021

xpost - there's a Minneapolis Vaccine Hunters group on FB that's pretty helpful

Cool that pandemic vaccinations are basically being run like a PlayStation launch

xpost yeah, there are a ton of appointments here next week. My wife got one, working on getting my daughter one right now.

It'd be pretty cool if the Walgreens website would stop telling that I need to fill out the profile information that I've already filled out before I can proceed to making an appointment. Doubly cool that the state of public health depends upon the efficacy of their web dev team.

^^^that's what it did to me this morning, right before it crashed

Ours sent my daughter an identity verification code that it then doesn't accept, been on hold forever to hopefully clear it up.

Oh never mind, didn't realize they still weren't allowing appointments in the future.

Note that I ended up having to clock out of work early...feel like I was hit by a bus. Going to lay in bed and read for the rest of the day

the "profile not updated" thing happened with me here in AZ, was able to get it, though the absolute panic I felt at (temporarily) not being able to book my vaccine appointment because their record of my gender was blank (I'm trans) was AWFUL

still, getting vaxxed on Sunday, wooooo!

Just scheduled Pfizer for Tuesday.

too much vaccine

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/26/us/biden-coronavirus-vaccine.html

Hooray for everyone getting vaxxed! Mr. Jaq and I are eligible on Wednesday, very excited!

Surely the US buying and giving away vaccine worldwide complete with freezer trucks and American flag stickers would be the diplomatic coup of the millennium. A lay-up.

whoa change of plans instead of 5 weeks from now i have an appointment tomorrow holy shit, what do i wear

barely enough time to figure out the nearest krispy kreme location

Go nekkid, more options for shots.