COVID-19

[ab2cmiller]

COVID cases have dropped 76% across the country over the past 6 weeks. I've been a Biden skeptic but I have to hand it to him, his plan has worked incredibly well and quickly since being in office.

Wut? What has changed other than more things reopening?

I assumed it was sarcasm. Good news is everything is going in the right direction Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings prolonged things by about a month or so.

In Indiana cases and deaths are about at levels they were 5 months ago prior to the big spikes. Average deaths at the peak was around 100 a day and now we are down to 15. Positivity rates and ICU usage for COVID are at all time lows.

[IrishLax]

I assumed it was sarcasm. Good news is everything is going in the right direction Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings prolonged things by about a month or so.

It was definitely sarcasm given the poster. Most of the decline is natural coming off the holiday spike. Some of it is undoubtedly vaccine rollout, especially given results from Israel. We're at a point where at least 60 million people have some sort of immunity either from contracting the disease or being vaccinated. It's probably much more than that, given that the estimate of Americans with antibodies was 9.3% in September pre-spike and we've quadrupled our case count since then. At this point you could comfortably estimate something like 50% of Americans had antibodies or immunity of some sort at some point, though natural immunity wanes relatively quickly so no one is going to be able to pin down a precise number of what percentage of the population currently has immunity.

Regardless, ignoring the very rocky start to vaccine rollout, the vaccination rate was 512k/day in Trump's last month as President and it's currently 1.38 million/day. Some of that is increased production, but most of it is streamlined logistics and increased distribution. With our current rate of distribution and considering the percentage of people who want the vaccine, everyone who wants a shot will have gotten one by June and everyone will be fully vaccinated by mid-July. That doesn't account for children, who aren't currently eligible, nor the large percentage of people who have said they do not intend to et the vaccine.

[PANDFAN]

I was fortunate enough to get the vaccine through work......i got the pfizer one....no issues w/ the first shot and the 2nd one i got a bad headache and fatigue and some mild stomach issues(just was not hungry for the day) but otherwise nothing significant.

[Irish#1]

Felt fine after getting my shot on Wednesday. Then late Saturday afternoon, I started getting some chills and a real sore back. Woke up Sunday and the chills were gone as was most of the backache. I'm guessing a delayed reaction to the shot. The wife had no reaction.

[ab2cmiller]

Pleasantly surprised that Merck is going to help manufacturer Johnson & Johnson's vaccine.

[Cackalacky2.0]

As a whole, we're doing a really good job of vaccinating people relative to Europe and Canada. Our vaccination rates are much higher and we've vaccinated a larger portion of the population at this point. With that being said, Cuomo is a proven idiot at this point has has horrible mismanaged everything to do with COVID in New York (possibly criminally) and despite increased Federal help in the vaccine rollout there is still a wide disparity between states that have their shit together and those that don't. This is a nifty tracker -- https://www.npr.org/sections/health-...-in-your-state

On the low end, only 11% of people in Texas and Georgia have gotten a shot. On the high end, it's near 20% in some states. And you can see how New York is 41st in the country and lags behind the rest of the Mid-Atlantic and New England.

But relative to peer countries, the United States is second only to the UK in the amount of doses administered as a percentage of the population -- https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2021...-vaccinations/ -- so for as much as people talk about "terrible" healthcare in the United States we have quadruple the vaccination rate of Canada at the moment and about double that of Europe at large.

Is there any reason to think the US is commandeering a large portion of the available supply thereby keeping other countries rates low? Is there a priority to which countries get a vaccine? Id think that countries like New Zealand who did a great job getting the infection rate down to zero would be a low priority to get a vaccine. As opposed to the US's path.

My wife was able to the get the Pfizer (two shot) through her work but neither me nor my child have been able to get it. First shot was not much of a issue other than sore arms for multiple days. Second shot was worse fatgiue and joint and muscle aches but otherwise bounced back after a few days.

My boss is back (thank God). Ran a fever for 12 straight days. Steroids got him over the hump after finally being given to him by his doctor. He is still not 75% and is unable to get the vaccine yet.

[MJ12666]

Is there any reason to think the US is commandeering a large portion of the available supply thereby keeping other countries rates low? Is there a priority to which countries get a vaccine? Id think that countries like New Zealand who did a great job getting the infection rate down to zero would be a low priority to get a vaccine. As opposed to the US's path.

My wife was able to the get the Pfizer (two shot) through her work but neither me nor my child have been able to get it. First shot was not much of a issue other than sore arms for multiple days. Second shot was worse fatgiue and joint and muscle aches but otherwise bounced back after a few days.

My boss is back (thank God). Ran a fever for 12 straight days. Steroids got him over the hump after finally being given to him by his doctor. He is still not 75% and is unable to get the vaccine yet.

My understanding is that Pfizer is manufacturing the vaccine in Michigan and that the US government has ordered a significant quantity, so no, the US is not commandeering the vaccine but is more likely purchasing it based on a contract. For example , initially the government had contracted with Pfizer to purchase 100 million doses (see attached article). No idea it they have an agreement to purchase. more.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-...vid-19-vaccine

[calvegas04]

Parents both got their first shot and no issues or soreness, they are in their late 60's

[IrishLax]

Biden announced that given the increased distribution rates and the what they're going to be doing with rollout of the J&J vaccine that there will be enough supply for every American by the end of May. They are a full two months ahead of the July target now.

[GoldenToTheGrave]

Is there any reason to think the US is commandeering a large portion of the available supply thereby keeping other countries rates low? Is there a priority to which countries get a vaccine? Id think that countries like New Zealand who did a great job getting the infection rate down to zero would be a low priority to get a vaccine. As opposed to the US's path.

The US threw a boatload of money at the problem and locked in orders for vaccines very early, and also has a lot of the manufacturing done domestically so I don't think it's totally outrageous. At the rate we're going the US is going to have anybody who wants a shot being able to get one in a matter of months, at which point I can see a lot of vaccines being shared with neighbors/allies/low income countries.

Protecting those countries from COVID also protects us long term and any breeding ground anywhere puts us at risk. Most likely the J&J vaccine will be sent elsewhere due to its minimal logistical footprint while the MRNA vaccines will be focused on domestic use or shared with 1st world countries.

[notredomer23]

Is there any reason to think the US is commandeering a large portion of the available supply thereby keeping other countries rates low? Is there a priority to which countries get a vaccine? Id think that countries like New Zealand who did a great job getting the infection rate down to zero would be a low priority to get a vaccine. As opposed to the US's path.

My wife was able to the get the Pfizer (two shot) through her work but neither me nor my child have been able to get it. First shot was not much of a issue other than sore arms for multiple days. Second shot was worse fatgiue and joint and muscle aches but otherwise bounced back after a few days.

My boss is back (thank God). Ran a fever for 12 straight days. Steroids got him over the hump after finally being given to him by his doctor. He is still not 75% and is unable to get the vaccine yet.

Happy to hear about your boss, and also about your wife being able to get it.

A US recovery is a global recovery. Given our pre-existing contracts, we will have 300MM doses of AstraZeneca when that eventually gets approved. I suspect the US will want to hang onto most of their Moderna, Pfizer, JnJ, and Novavax supply as COVID ain't going anywhere, but would give away almost all those AZ doses to Mexico and other countries that need it.

[notredomer23]

Cackalacky2.0

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/04/ital...d-vaccine.html

relevant to your post the other day.

[IrishLion]

Just got my first shot... I guess as an 'essential' worker in the state of Kentucky, I qualified as group 1C. I'm scheduled for dose #2 in three weeks. I'm excited to be fully vaccinated, and hopefully part of the movement towards having life return to a more normal place for summer and fall '21.

I didn't know I would qualify, but my wife got us signed up. I'm not sure if Kentucky is ahead of the game in terms of vaccine availability, or if other states are being more cautious with their supply.

[Cackalacky2.0]

Anyone see the normal flu rate as of week 7

[Irish#1]

They’re opening up a super vaccine center at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Shots given at 235mph!

[ulukinatme]

Just got my first shot... I guess as an 'essential' worker in the state of Kentucky, I qualified as group 1C. I'm scheduled for dose #2 in three weeks. I'm excited to be fully vaccinated, and hopefully part of the movement towards having life return to a more normal place for summer and fall '21.

I didn't know I would qualify, but my wife got us signed up. I'm not sure if Kentucky is ahead of the game in terms of vaccine availability, or if other states are being more cautious with their supply.

That's crazy. My dad is 60 and super high risk, he just got access in Ohio recently and got his first shot today. No idea how long it'll be before it'll be available to me. My wife couldn't get it working in Kroger's Clinic, even though she's doing nothing but running Covid tests all day on people (15-20 positives a day through the winter). At her old job in assisted living she was still tight with the director and they got her the hookup. She got her 2nd shot yesterday.

[ulukinatme]

Anyone see the normal flu rate as of week 7

I saw it was ridiculously low. There's probably a lot of factors in play, but it would be safe to assume that the lockdowns, masks, and social distancing would be major factors. Probably a number of things in play, could be a down year too, but flu isn't a big concern. I never get the shot personally.

[NDdomer2]

Just got my first shot... I guess as an 'essential' worker in the state of Kentucky, I qualified as group 1C. I'm scheduled for dose #2 in three weeks. I'm excited to be fully vaccinated, and hopefully part of the movement towards having life return to a more normal place for summer and fall '21.

I didn't know I would qualify, but my wife got us signed up. I'm not sure if Kentucky is ahead of the game in terms of vaccine availability, or if other states are being more cautious with their supply.

Indiana is 50+ and all teachers I believe

[GoldenToTheGrave]

I saw it was ridiculously low. There's probably a lot of factors in play, but it would be safe to assume that the lockdowns, masks, and social distancing would be major factors. Probably a number of things in play, could be a down year too, but flu isn't a big concern. I never get the shot personally.

What happens with the flu every year is that while the northern hemisphere flu season ends and goes to near zero, we see it through international travel back up in the southern hemisphere. Southern hemisphere flu season was crushed this year with social distancing/international travel being shut down. Same happened in reverse, sick people weren't traveling from the southern hemisphere north into our flu season, so it barely got started on the first place.

[irishrb]

Thoughts on Johnson and Johnson vaccine? I've been 100% in person teaching since day 1 back in September, and they are finally offering us a vaccine, but it's J&J. Wait for Pfizer, or make the jump with what appears to be the least effective one?

[NDdomer2]

Thoughts on Johnson and Johnson vaccine? I've been 100% in person teaching since day 1 back in September, and they are finally offering us a vaccine, but it's J&J. Wait for Pfizer, or make the jump with what appears to be the least effective one?

I'm no doc but "least effective" is still like 90% effective vs serious illness/hospitalization.

Also, 1 shot > 2 shots.

I, personally, would say it's worth it.

[notredomer23]

Thoughts on Johnson and Johnson vaccine? I've been 100% in person teaching since day 1 back in September, and they are finally offering us a vaccine, but it's J&J. Wait for Pfizer, or make the jump with what appears to be the least effective one?

JnJ is definitely the move. 1 shot, less side effects, full effectiveness against severe illness and pretty effective against all illness.

[IrishLax]

Thoughts on Johnson and Johnson vaccine? I've been 100% in person teaching since day 1 back in September, and they are finally offering us a vaccine, but it's J&J. Wait for Pfizer, or make the jump with what appears to be the least effective one?

If your goal is to avoid dying or getting seriously ill, JnJ is going to get you to that goal a month sooner than following another vaccine path. With that being said, Pfizer has better overall effectiveness if you're willing to do the two shot regimen.

[irishrb]

If your goal is to avoid dying or getting seriously ill, JnJ is going to get you to that goal a month sooner than following another vaccine path. With that being said, Pfizer has better overall effectiveness if you're willing to do the two shot regimen.

I have no problem with the 2 shot regimen....Will probably just have to wait another two months to get the Pfizer, as PA sucks with distribution. (They put teachers in a "special group" for J&J vaccine.) Flip a coin I guess.

[ab2cmiller]

I will choose the J&J vaccine. I’m uncomfortable taking an mRNA vaccine plus it seems like the J&J may do better against variants. Yes I know the J&J vaccine may be the least effective against preventing COVID, but it is still very effective and 90% effective in preventing serious cases. The one shot regimen is an added bonus, but has zero impact on my choice.

[IrishLax]

I will choose the J&J vaccine. I’m uncomfortable taking an mRNA vaccine plus it seems like the J&J may do better against variants. Yes I know the J&J vaccine may be the least effective against preventing COVID, but it is still very effective and 90% effective in preventing serious cases. The one shot regimen is an added bonus, but has zero impact on my choice.

Jokes on you, when I get turned into a zombie I'm coming after your brain first.

[IrishLax]

I have no problem with the 2 shot regimen....Will probably just have to wait another two months to get the Pfizer, as PA sucks with distribution. (They put teachers in a "special group" for J&J vaccine.) Flip a coin I guess.

If I was in your shoes, and one vaccine is going to take 2+ months longer to get, I'm taking the one I can get my hands on first.

[ab2cmiller]

Jokes on you, when I get turned into a zombie I'm coming after your brain first.

Well then you should know, my real name is Koonja, not sure if you still want to eat my brain.

[irishrb]

If I was in your shoes, and one vaccine is going to take 2+ months longer to get, I'm taking the one I can get my hands on first.

Most likely what I am going to do. Been playing with fire all school year..currently have 3 families in my homeroom that have it.

[Irish#1]

If I was in your shoes, and one vaccine is going to take 2+ months longer to get, I'm taking the one I can get my hands on first.

Agree, get earliest available.

[GowerND11]

I have no problem with the 2 shot regimen....Will probably just have to wait another two months to get the Pfizer, as PA sucks with distribution. (They put teachers in a "special group" for J&J vaccine.) Flip a coin I guess.

As a fellow teacher in PA, I was able to get my first dose of Moderna 2 weeks ago through Rite Aid. If you go on their Covid schedule site, they update it at midnight every so many days. I was able to schedule mine in the beginning of February. Might not work for you now, as you may be able to quickly get the J&J, but definitely look into those options as well.

[Irish#1]

I don't know if it's been discussed and I missed it, but do the developers know if this is along the lines of a one and done or will it be annual like the flu shot with variations?

[notredomer23]

I don't know if it's been discussed and I missed it, but do the developers know if this is along the lines of a one and done or will it be annual like the flu shot with variations?

COVID mutates significantly slower than the flu so we maybe could eradicate at some point, but doubt it is within the next couple years. My $0.02, which probably is really only worth $0.01, is that we will likely be dealing with COVID in some capacity for the next few years until the globe is vaccinated. Probably have to get a couple more shots the next few years, hence the US starting to stockpile. No one really knows how long the shots last for at the moment, but early returns are promising. Merck drug similar to Tamiflu coming this summer should also lower risk from the virus even more.

Historically speaking, there was a coronavirus pandemic in 1889-1890 that was near identical to what is going on today... We still get that coronavirus every year, OC43, which mutated to a common cold. Could the vaccines simply get us over the immunity hump of severe infection to something manageable yearly?

[irishrb]

As a fellow teacher in PA, I was able to get my first dose of Moderna 2 weeks ago through Rite Aid. If you go on their Covid schedule site, they update it at midnight every so many days. I was able to schedule mine in the beginning of February. Might not work for you now, as you may be able to quickly get the J&J, but definitely look into those options as well.

They are still only in the 1A phase though, so I don't qualify....Now I could say I was a smoker and get it, but I'll take the high road for now.

[IrishLax]

I got my second shot of Pfizer on Monday. Felt like absolute dog shit on Tuesday but fine today.

The United States continues to crush the rest of the first world in vaccinations and we should be “done” with this by the summer.

[notredomer23]

What a pathetic, strange speech from Biden

[Irish#1]

Didn't watch. I figured whatever he was going to say, we already know.

1. More people than ever getting vaccinated.
2. Infection rates are continuing to decline.
3. By June or July everyone will have had an opportunity to get vaccinated.
4. Keep wearing a mask.
5. Together we'll beat this.

[Irish#1]

I got my second shot of Pfizer on Monday. Felt like absolute dog shit on Tuesday but fine today.

The United States continues to crush the rest of the first world in vaccinations and we should be “done” with this by the summer.

Glad you bounced back quickly. We get ours Wednesday. I'm guessing since I briefly had the chills from the first one, I'll feel like crap from the second one.

[IrishLax]

What a pathetic, strange speech from Biden

Which part was "pathetic" or "strange"? The part where he said everyone will be eligible for vaccines by the start of May? Or the part where he laid out concrete steps to have everything fully open by the summer?

[GowerND11]

Which part was "pathetic" or "strange"? The part where he said everyone will be eligible for vaccines by the start of May? Or the part where he laid out concrete steps to have everything fully open by the summer?

Or the part he asked all Americans to help the country in achieving these goals?

[Cackalacky2.0]

I found his speech compassionate, reassuring and competent and walking the talk.

[Cackalacky2.0]

Or the part he asked all Americans to help the country in achieving these goals?

SOCIALISM BLUR LBARGH BLAH MAGA!!!!!!!

[NDBoiler]

SOCIALISM BLUR LBARGH BLAH MAGA!!!!!!!

When I saw that, the first thing I thought of was “ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country”. I know that probably isn’t what Biden meant in this scenario, but that’s probably what needs to be said more often. We seem to have that backwards in society today fairly often when it comes to government expectations on a federal level. JFK was way ahead of his time.

[NDBoiler]

What a pathetic, strange speech from Biden

I honestly don’t know what else to expect other than the standard, boiler plate presidential speech from Biden. He’s not exactly a charismatic speaker in his current state. Add in the internet media, and speeches like this are pretty much obsolete today anyways, as we already know all the key points.

[GowerND11]

When I saw that, the first thing I thought of was “ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country”. I know that probably isn’t what Biden meant in this scenario, but that’s probably what needs to be said more often. We seem to have that backwards in society today fairly often when it comes to government expectations on a federal level. JFK was way ahead of his time.

Well, you're right. It's actually the opposite of socialism; calling on your fellow American to do the right thing, not forcing them. Being good citizens, proud of their country, and fighting for what's right, and opening our country back up. Couldn't be more 'Murican than that.

[Cackalacky2.0]

When I saw that, the first thing I thought of was “ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country”. I know that probably isn’t what Biden meant in this scenario, but that’s probably what needs to be said more often. We seem to have that backwards in society today fairly often when it comes to government expectations on a federal level. JFK was way ahead of his time.

I'd honestly have loved a cohesive united response to this pandemic but instead it became The US Gov pitting state against state for supplies and response and individuals fighting over needs/jobs when we could have been united and worked together. The differences in response between Biden and Trump could not be more apparent. I have even heard people in my day to day orbit saying what Biden is doing is socialism. He is overstepping his authority and using ht epower of the Federal Gubment by homogenizing a response and getting the vaccine to us by May. LMAO. ITs insane

[notredomer23]

Which part was "pathetic" or "strange"? The part where he said everyone will be eligible for vaccines by the start of May? Or the part where he laid out concrete steps to have everything fully open by the summer?

I missed the first half so maybe that part was much better, but his whole phony unity thing is getting tiresome. Him saying maybe if things go well, we can have small get togethers July 4th. But only if you get vaccinated. And if you exercise your freedom in the mean time, god forbid, we will take those rights away again if we have to.

If you were on the fence about getting the vaccine, now you're definitely not going to. Additionally, it's another example of setting terribly simple goals to the point of absurdity. The demand for these vaccines is going to dry up soon and everyone would be eligible by mid-April anyway. I feel like he squandered a serious opportunity to motivate people to get it when they can.

As someone who did not vote for Trump, and did not vote for Biden but in hindsight would have, we should hold our politicians to a higher standard than what would be happening anyway if you put fricken Koon in charge of the country.

[GowerND11]

I'd honestly have loved a cohesive united response to this pandemic but instead it became The US Gov pitting state against state for supplies and response and individuals fighting over needs/jobs when we could have been united and worked together. The differences in response between Biden and Trump could not be more apparent. I have even heard people in my day to day orbit saying what Biden is doing is socialism. He is overstepping his authority and using ht epower of the Federal Gubment by homogenizing a response and getting the vaccine to us by May. LMAO. ITs insane

Do... do they not know how we eradicated smallpox, or how polio is almost entirely gone?

[IrishLax]

I missed the first half so maybe that part was much better, but his whole phony unity thing is getting tiresome. Him saying maybe if things go well, we can have small get togethers July 4th. But only if you get vaccinated. And if you exercise your freedom in the mean time, god forbid, we will take those rights away again if we have to.

If you were on the fence about getting the vaccine, now you're definitely not going to. Additionally, it's another example of setting terribly simple goals to the point of absurdity. The demand for these vaccines is going to dry up soon and everyone would be eligible by mid-April anyway. I feel like he squandered a serious opportunity to motivate people to get it when they can.

As someone who did not vote for Trump, and did not vote for Biden but in hindsight would have, we should hold our politicians to a higher standard than what would be happening anyway if you put fricken Koon in charge of the country.

Solid post, respect your opinion.

[Irish#1]

Got shot #2 yesterday at 5:30PM Waiting for the side affects. So far so good.