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My healthy 24 yo daughter who falls into 1A was vaccinated this afternoon. Made us miss the Inauguration. Even so, I strongly disagree with the CDC approach to prioritize by vocation (outside of HCRs directly exposed to patients). This pandemic has reached the stage where covid is no longer found primarily among the socially and vocationally active. If anything, they are statistically more likely to have already had covid with some degree of immunity in essence 'wasting' those vaccines.
That's certainly true for some of her co-workers.
Covid is now so widespread that those most likely to be hospitalized should be prioritized. Few elderly outside of nursing homes are being vaccinated in our County. The recent change to more highly prioritize the elderly just added them on the earlier priorities but not stopped the emphasis on the vocational categories.
Here, too, teachers are now being prioritized with our schools also closed for the entire semester. Again, that helps me personally - my DD's BF with whom she lives is a teacher - but it's inane for there's plenty of time to allocate later vaccine shipments to that category prior to the fall 2021 semester.
Given the earlier snafu's with passed-around vocational links, it was interesting to see how it's now being handled. DD needed more than her link-generated appointment, personal photo ID, work photo ID. The County now, in addition, requires a letter on letterhead to her specifically from the agency covid coordinator that lists her appointment day & time.
I understand your desire to minimize deaths. To do that, however, requires that the people who support the critically ill must not only be well, but in sufficient numbers to perform the proper care. It is a form of triage. On a battlefield hospital ward, you might hear this: "OK, we know this patient with a mangled hand will die if we do nothing. We also are about to have another hundred battlefield casualties come in. Rather than try to save the hand, we will cut it off so that he will survive and we can tend to other more seriously injured patients." That roughly translates to "We know 100 doses of vaccine may save 30 elderly. We also know that those same 100 doses, given to health care workers, can keep 10 or more of them working when they would otherwise be out for a minimum of two weeks, with each worker able to keep 10 people alive during that two week period." 10 x 10 = 100 - vs. only 30 lives saved by vaccinating the elderly. Again, that is just as an example, and actual figures are better left to hospital administrators.
The same doesn't appear to apply to teachers, but it does to first responders. With teachers, I suspect that other factors are at play, not the least of which is warehousing children so that parents in the healthcare and first responder groups can work, rather than tending kids.
The mobility of traveling nurses and some health care workers worked when the hot spots were localized. When the entire nation is involved, there isn't that reserve.
I understand your desire to minimize deaths. To do that, however, requires that the people who support the critically ill must not only be well, but in sufficient numbers to perform the proper care. It is a form of triage. On a battlefield hospital ward, you might hear this: "OK, we know this patient with a mangled hand will die if we do nothing. We also are about to have another hundred battlefield casualties come in. Rather than try to save the hand, we will cut it off so that he will survive and we can tend to other more seriously injured patients." That roughly translates to "We know 100 doses of vaccine may save 30 elderly. We also know that those same 100 doses, given to health care workers, can keep 10 or more of them working when they would otherwise be out for a minimum of two weeks, with each worker able to keep 10 people alive during that two week period." 10 x 10 = 100 - vs. only 30 lives saved by vaccinating the elderly. Again, that is just as an example, and actual figures are better left to hospital administrators.
For sure. I wrote but buried in parentheses: "Outside of HCRs directly exposed to patients." First responders and others exposed to people ill with covid should take priority over potential patients for the reasons you mention.
Quote:
Originally Posted by harry chickpea
The same doesn't appear to apply to teachers, but it does to first responders. With teachers, I suspect that other factors are at play, not the least of which is warehousing children so that parents in the healthcare and first responder groups can work, rather than tending kids.
The mobility of traveling nurses and some health care workers worked when the hot spots were localized. When the entire nation is involved, there isn't that reserve.
I'm concerned we're responding to the pandemic we had last spring - meat processing plants with then unprotected workers. Not the one that we may have in two months if the variants prove problematic and there's an even worse surge in hospitalizations.
The larger issue is planning. The current move to a greater prioritizing of seniors is a positive but, at least in our state, we have the governor saying one thing and the county seemingly taking steps that undercut it. With less transparency than ever.
I am personally pleased, of course, that DD was vaccinated for she was at high risk of getting covid when dealing with her clients. Some of her co-workers have not been as fortunate as she. But she was not at high risk of needing that hospital bed.
Teachers I know tell me the County couldn't begin to set up a dual track program at this point. The schools almost certainly will remain closed throughout the remainder of the school year. Still prioritized & assuming the vaccine supply picks up, a substantial numbers will be vaccinated in February-March with second doses a month later and full immunity two weeks after that. The timeline just doesn't work for there to be a high societal payback on those doses. With, like I just said, teachers not at risk for the schools are closed.
After frustration with the Eventbrite system, our county implemented a registration system through Everbridge which is also used for county emergency notifications. 40,000 registrations were made within the first 1/2 hour it opened today. I registered for both of us. So now we wait to be notified. They had staff for phone registrations also.
I just received an automated call and text to confirm our vaccine appointment for tomorrow afternoon. FL changed requirements yesterday to restrict vaccines to part or full time residents. Now a FL driver’s license or a utility bill needs to be shown along with the consent form.
I just received an automated call and text to confirm our appointment for tomorrow afternoon. FL changed requirements yesterday to restrict vaccines to part or full time residents. Now a FL driver’s license or a utility bill needs to be shown along with the consent form.
That’s good to hear! I’m sure residents were giving them an earful! I would have been!
I've been wondering if mail delivery people are supposed to wear masks? Mine doesn't. He's mostly outdoors but will have conversations with other people not wearing masks, while he is handling the mail he's delivering. They are often closer than 6' from him.
I've been wondering if mail delivery people are supposed to wear masks? Mine doesn't. He's mostly outdoors but will have conversations with other people not wearing masks, while he is handling the mail he's delivering. They are often closer than 6' from him.
There are jerks everywhere, I'm afraid.
I'm sorry. We were told a few months ago that it would probably be March or April before we'd get our shots. So February looks good to us. DH turns 70 in a few days.
I told my husband to call his doctor back and let him know that our son and grandson are living with us, they gave him an appointment for tomorrow for his first shot! On the other hand, my doctor told me that since I'm 74, I may have to wait until June because they aren't 30% of the amount of vaccine they were promised.
Vaccination in MA is actually moving across the entire phase 1 as planned, and phase 2 is starting in Feb, making it actually realistic to expect that the general population will get vaccinated between mid-April and June. Yet, not that many doses of vaccine have been given, which can only mean that a lot of people in phase 1 did not want the vaccine. That is favorable for me personally (since it seems I'll be able to get the vaccine earlier than it looked a couple of weeks ago), but certainly not favorable for ending the epidemic.
I told my husband to call his doctor back and let him know that our son and grandson are living with us, they gave him an appointment for tomorrow for his first shot! On the other hand, my doctor told me that since I'm 74, I may have to wait until June because they aren't 30% of the amount of vaccine they were promised.
I understand California has been sitting on hundreds of thousands of doses of vaccine. That must be frustrating.
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