Vax Whalloped

[denibug72]

4 hours ago, RememberSchiff said:

Good point. I recall the swine flu fiasco of 1976.. 

https://www.history.com/news/swine-flu-rush-vaccine-election-year-1976

Due to the incomplete ( and wrong) science at that time and fear of unexplained possible side-effects such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome , I and 80% of the US did not get the flu shot that year. Here's a photo of one of few, an unidentified Eagle Scout, who did get a swine flu shot.

We're not vax deniers, but our family has dealt with vax reactions in the past.  My oldest had a major reaction to his 6 mo shots, to the point that we stopped all his shots.  Years later we found out that Guillain-Barre Syndrome is a horrible disease to go through.  My oldest son contracted a rare variant of it (Miller-Fischer) as a young teenager.  We still don't know how or why he got it, and probably never will.  So thankful for IVIG plasma treatments, and a neurologist that had a pretty good guess as to what it could be (since the spinal tap & blood workups took weeks to come back).  At the time, the doctors told him never to get a flu shot, and because of that, he's leaning towards opting out of the covid shot.  It's just hard to make that decision when there's no data available for cases like that.   

[scoutldr]

No medical professional or researcher would claim that ANY drug or vaccine is "100% SAFE".  All risk is relative.  We have risk factors and comorbidities.  We have personally seen at least 5 friends and/or loved ones die from COVID.  My wife is a cancer survivor. We have 2 close family members who are currently fighting stage 4 cancer.  My son and his wife are "COVID deniers" and have been banned from several stores for refusing to wear masks.  Our grandson was moved to a private school that did not enforce precautions, then had to close for 2 weeks when ALL of the teachers had positive tests.  We are old enough to remember children living in iron lungs and seeing our little classmates trying to walk in leg braces and crutches from polio.  

Dose 2 is due on March 1 and we will be there.  I am more afraid of the idiots, than I am the vaccine.

[SSScout]

18 hours ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Not everyone who does not want the vaccine is a denier. A lot of folks in the medical field have reservations about the vaccines.

I would never say that medical considerations, allergic reactions etc. to include Covid deniers.  Forgive me if I gave that impression.  I have a personal mild reaction to some skin tests, nothing life threatening but still there.   The unfortunate folks that try to rationalize their desire to not be inconvenienced by masks,  restaurant closings, church attendance limitations ("personal freedom"). . .  The 1918 Liberty Loan Parade comparisons between Boston, Philadelphia  and St. Louis are educational.   St. Louis Medical director convinced the city to close public gatherings and canceled the parade.  Philadelphia went ahead some days later and the number of influenza cases sky rocketed in the days to follow.   Google is your friend.  

Philadelphia Threw a WWI Parade That Gave Thousands of Onlookers the Flu | History | Smithsonian Magazine

[HICO_Eagle]

My mother, sister, and 2 nephews all received the Pfizer vaccine with no ill effects.  My brother-in-law was laid low for a day or two after each shot.  The brother-in-law is probably the fittest person in the family (he's a physical therapist and physical conditioning counselor by trade) with about 3% body fat but the vaccine just hammered him.

[HICO_Eagle]

On 2/15/2021 at 2:10 PM, Eagle94-A1 said:

Not everyone who does not want the vaccine is a denier. A lot of folks in the medical field have reservations about the vaccines. One of them stated that they had serious questions about one company's study methodology after reading a peer reviewed  medical journal article on the vaccine. Others have questions about the efficacy of the vaccine, and whether it will really make a difference or not based upon their reading of the ongoing research of the virus. I have read of hospitals offer bonuses in the form of cash and extra days off as an incentive for their staff to get the vaccine.

 

Trust me they know it's real. They know they have to be cautious. But they have legitimate concerns because these vaccine have been fast tracked. They do not know what long term effects the vaccines will have.

I am not a doctor but I am an engineer and used to dealing with tests and data analysis.  I took the flu vaccine every year when I was on active duty because I was required to.  I probably caught the flu every 2 or 3 years despite that.  When I retired over 10 years ago, I stopped taking the flu vaccine because I'd read how it's created and was appalled -- haven't had the flu since.  My clinic asks me about it every year and every year I tell them I'd be happy to take it if someone has a study showing it's more effective now.

I intend to take the CV-19 vaccine when offered but there are very real reasons to have qualms about various products or procedures without being a "denier".

[MikeS72]

I got my first dose of the Moderna vaccine last month, with no symptoms other than serious pain in my left arm the next day.  Got the second dose a week ago today, and had much milder arm pain last Sunday, but did run about 100.2 most of the day, which was handled with Tylenol.  Got up Monday morning feeling fine.

Considering that I am working with hundreds of elementary school children every day, most of whom are masked, but a fair number of whom are not, there was no question but that I would get vaccinated as soon as I was able.  I have talked with a number of Scouter friends who are in the same upper age range as I am who are online every day trying to get an appointment with no luck.  I was fortunate, in that our school district worked with the local health department to get a day set up for any staff over 65 who wanted the vaccine, or I am sure I would still be trying as well.

[John-in-KC]

I had Pfizer number 1 Wednesday.  By Wednesday night I knew it was there. 
 

Thursday, most of the day, a dull roar. 

 

Friday morning, life is good. 

[Eagle94-A1]

Moderna #1 yesterday. I too knew it was there by late afternoon.

Glad I work from home today because I hurt. 

Hope all is well tomorrow as I am back onsite.

 

 

[scoutldr]

WIfe and I both had Moderna #2 on March 1, around noon.  By 4 pm, arm was sore and temp started creeping up....1 degree elevation.  Felt hot and flushed, but otherwise ok.  Went to bed and slept well.  Next morning, back to normal.  Wife had sore arm and fatigue...slept most of the next day.  Our son, age 40, was hit hard with dose 2...temp of 101.7.  (Police Dept-"essential worker").  Lasted about a day, then fine.  By next Monday we will be considered "immunized"...but will continue to avoid crowds...which I would do anyway.  Sister in law who has stage 4 metastatic melanoma cannot find a vaccine because she is "only" 63.  That's all they care about.  But there were plenty of "youngsters" in the line with us.  The vaccine deployment in my state is seriously flawed.

Edited March 10, 2021 by scoutldr

[qwazse]

On 2/15/2021 at 7:51 AM, qwazse said:

... This is info beyond the clinical trial results, which could not test the “cluster efficacy” of a vaccine. If he gets it into open access, I’ll share. ...

Evidently my guy’s center wasn’t the only one, thus the CDC’s revised recommendation.

I kissed a toddler last night. Beat handing an Easter basket through a screen door.

[yknot]

On 2/27/2021 at 5:22 AM, MikeS72 said:

I have talked with a number of Scouter friends who are in the same upper age range as I am who are online every day trying to get an appointment with no luck. 

I don't know what it is like in your state but in my state we've had the best luck with the pharmacy program at CVS, Rite Aid, etc. CVS in particular seems to drop vaccine appointments at 4 a.m., 5 a.m., 5:30 a.m. We've been able to get multiple vaccine appointments for ourselves and others this way. I keep hearing people say they started checking early in the a.m. but in our neck of the woods even 6 a.m. can be too late to grab one. Just FYI for your scouter friends. 

I'm getting my second Moderna today. Hoping I'm functional tomorrow. Got a lot to do... 

[qwazse]

58 minutes ago, scoutldr said:

...  But there were plenty of "youngsters" in the line with us.  The vaccine deployment in my state is seriously flawed.

Quick note about “line jumpers.” The boots on the ground giving the mRNA had 5 days to dispense vaccine once thawed. Doses came in blocks (I think my guy said 947 doses per block), no were thawed one block at a time.

Clinics weren’t as concerned about lower risk folks getting vaxxed as they were about shots going to waste. Younger adults, like grocery clerks, have a tremendous number of contacts. So getting them vaccinated earlier makes some sense.

The reality is that there was no model in which 300 million vaccines would be produced — let alone distributed by June. When I get a chance to talk to some modelers, I’m going to ask if they considered a strategy of vaccinating entire counties with the highest mortality first and then as new vaccine became available working down the list in order of Pandemic mortality.

[TAHAWK]

Second Pfizer shot three hours ago.  1st shot three weeks ago caused ache in arm for two days.  This one- nothing.

[qwazse]

On 3/10/2021 at 2:15 PM, TAHAWK said:

Second Pfizer shot three hours ago.  1st shot three weeks ago caused ache in arm for two days.  This one- nothing.

Hoping you can still brag the same tomorrow.

BTW - waiting two weeks does not mean 12 days. A colleague of a former co-advisor was 10 days after her second dose when she brought COVID-19 home to the family. Looking at the “survival curves” of any of the vaccinated cohorts, they may start to break away from placebo after a couple weeks from the 1st dose but the marked differences aren’t evident until 30 days into the trial. After the 35th day, cases of the disease among vaccinated folks begin to become rare.

[MattR]

Had Moderna #1 yesterday. Had a bit of a headache last night. Coffee took care of that this morning. And suddenly I just don't feel like doing anything. It's really good I made all that chicken stock yesterday.