Covid vaccination status?

[vdeane]

As for wasting doses, why take a vial out of the freezer if you don't have the appointments to use it?

A vial is 5-15 doses depending on the vaccine. Unless your number of people showing up is divisible by the number of doses in a vial, you're going to have extra. Once a vial is opened, it needs to be used in entirety or discarded.

When did 15 dose vials start being a thing?  I've only heard of the 5-6 dose ones.  I could see how 15 dose vials would create a much bigger issue than the 5 dose vials.

[cl94]

As for wasting doses, why take a vial out of the freezer if you don't have the appointments to use it?

A vial is 5-15 doses depending on the vaccine. Unless your number of people showing up is divisible by the number of doses in a vial, you're going to have extra. Once a vial is opened, it needs to be used in entirety or discarded.

When did 15 dose vials start being a thing?  I've only heard of the 5-6 dose ones.  I could see how 15 dose vials would create a much bigger issue than the 5 dose vials.

Moderna is 15 doses. They started out at 10, but increased to 15 a month or so ago.

[jeffandnicole]

The vaccination is a giant mess in the Philly suburbs. As far as I know we're still in the first phase; I have no idea when I'll be able to get my shot because I am in phase 2, which is back of the line in PA terms. Phase 1 is broken into 1A, 1B and 1C, and we're still in 1A. I don't know how we messed it up this badly, but the three major Philly suburb counties (Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware) bungled up this entire thing pretty badly.

https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/covid-vaccine-pennsylvania-coronavirus-tom-wolf-appointments-1a-philadelphia-suburbs-20210325.html

For those of you who are getting shots, if you're taking the Pfizer or Moderna ones, are you getting them in the same arm or different arms?

I believe the same arm.  They track it on the card.

Where I went, we get our card at the end, so at that point they don't know what arm had the injection. Heck, we even write our own name and birthday in!

Which arm? Seems like there's a bit of mis information with what arm is best, and the info is 50/50.  Doesn't really seem to matter in the end. Some people say they can work out the pain from their dominant arm; others have no pain whatsoever regardless of the arm jabbed.

[ET21]

First shot completed, go back in 3 weeks for dose 2. Got the Pfizer version, so far only mild discomfort by the shot area. Pretty similar to how a post flu shot felt

[Rothman]

The vaccination is a giant mess in the Philly suburbs. As far as I know we're still in the first phase; I have no idea when I'll be able to get my shot because I am in phase 2, which is back of the line in PA terms. Phase 1 is broken into 1A, 1B and 1C, and we're still in 1A. I don't know how we messed it up this badly, but the three major Philly suburb counties (Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware) bungled up this entire thing pretty badly.

https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/covid-vaccine-pennsylvania-coronavirus-tom-wolf-appointments-1a-philadelphia-suburbs-20210325.html

For those of you who are getting shots, if you're taking the Pfizer or Moderna ones, are you getting them in the same arm or different arms?

I believe the same arm.  They track it on the card.

Where I went, we get our card at the end, so at that point they don't know what arm had the injection. Heck, we even write our own name and birthday in!

Which arm? Seems like there's a bit of mis information with what arm is best, and the info is 50/50.  Doesn't really seem to matter in the end. Some people say they can work out the pain from their dominant arm; others have no pain whatsoever regardless of the arm jabbed.

On my card, the nurse put an L in a circle to denote the left arm after I got the first shot.

[SSOWorld]

The vaccination is a giant mess in the Philly suburbs. As far as I know we're still in the first phase; I have no idea when I'll be able to get my shot because I am in phase 2, which is back of the line in PA terms. Phase 1 is broken into 1A, 1B and 1C, and we're still in 1A. I don't know how we messed it up this badly, but the three major Philly suburb counties (Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware) bungled up this entire thing pretty badly.

https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/covid-vaccine-pennsylvania-coronavirus-tom-wolf-appointments-1a-philadelphia-suburbs-20210325.html

For those of you who are getting shots, if you're taking the Pfizer or Moderna ones, are you getting them in the same arm or different arms?

I believe the same arm.  They track it on the card.

Where I went, we get our card at the end, so at that point they don't know what arm had the injection. Heck, we even write our own name and birthday in!

Which arm? Seems like there's a bit of mis information with what arm is best, and the info is 50/50.  Doesn't really seem to matter in the end. Some people say they can work out the pain from their dominant arm; others have no pain whatsoever regardless of the arm jabbed.

On my card, the nurse put an L in a circle to denote the left arm after I got the first shot.

You sure they didn't mean Loser😶

[Rothman]

The vaccination is a giant mess in the Philly suburbs. As far as I know we're still in the first phase; I have no idea when I'll be able to get my shot because I am in phase 2, which is back of the line in PA terms. Phase 1 is broken into 1A, 1B and 1C, and we're still in 1A. I don't know how we messed it up this badly, but the three major Philly suburb counties (Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware) bungled up this entire thing pretty badly.

https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/covid-vaccine-pennsylvania-coronavirus-tom-wolf-appointments-1a-philadelphia-suburbs-20210325.html

For those of you who are getting shots, if you're taking the Pfizer or Moderna ones, are you getting them in the same arm or different arms?

I believe the same arm.  They track it on the card.

Where I went, we get our card at the end, so at that point they don't know what arm had the injection. Heck, we even write our own name and birthday in!

Which arm? Seems like there's a bit of mis information with what arm is best, and the info is 50/50.  Doesn't really seem to matter in the end. Some people say they can work out the pain from their dominant arm; others have no pain whatsoever regardless of the arm jabbed.

On my card, the nurse put an L in a circle to denote the left arm after I got the first shot.

You sure they didn't mean Loser

You hurt my feelings.

[catch22]

Pfizer shot #2 this morning for my wife and I.  No side effects yet except for some arm soreness (same as last time).

[kphoger]

A close friend just got his first (second?) shot, and he is in really bad shape, sick as a dog from it.

Well, this has now been explained.  It turns out he has COVID-19, and he was probably just asymptomatic when he got his shot.  He also has bronchitis.  He thought it was just seasonal allergies at first, which often turn into bronchitis for him, but now he's laid up in bed.  Meanwhile, his wife has already been fully vaccinated.

I wasn't quite a close contact.  Before he knew he had the virus, he forced himself to come to band practice at church Wednesday night (thinking he just needed to push through his annual allergy-related bronchitis).  Fortunately, I'm the drummer, so I sit more than six feet behind everyone–including him–and I'm half-shielded by plexiglass back there.

The irony is that he is one of the most COVID-careful people I know.  He was/is a math major, and for the longest time he kept his family home from church activities based on various rate trends in our area.  It's only been in the last few weeks, with rates declining sharply here, that he's come back for the first time since June or something like that.

I consider my own likelihood of having caught the virus from him to be quite low but not entirely outside the realm of possibility.  Knowing the exact time of potential exposure, and since it was less than two days ago, and because the virus's incubation period seems to be around 2-3 days before shedding, I'm going through with my scheduled first-dose vaccination today after work.  That way, even on the off-chance I do have the virus, I won't yet be contagious and the vaccination might get ahead of the replication process.

Fun times, boys and girls...

[hbelkins]

How about needle size? The photos I've seen seem to show really long needles. But I've heard people say the needles with which they were injected were very small.

(From my comments, you can probably guess that I haven't had the vaccine yet. And I probably won't take it, for a variety of reasons.)

[Max Rockatansky]

How about needle size? The photos I've seen seem to show really long needles. But I've heard people say the needles with which they were injected were very small.

(From my comments, you can probably guess that I haven't had the vaccine yet. And I probably won't take it, for a variety of reasons.)

The needle I got was probably among the smallest I've ever had used on me for an injection.

[catch22]

How about needle size? The photos I've seen seem to show really long needles. But I've heard people say the needles with which they were injected were very small.

(From my comments, you can probably guess that I haven't had the vaccine yet. And I probably won't take it, for a variety of reasons.)

In my case, short and thin.  I hardly felt it at all.

[kphoger]

All this info helps me, by the way.  I have vasovagal syncope, which means I get light-headed in medical situations.  Knowing what to expect when I get there should help.

[Mapmikey]

How about needle size? The photos I've seen seem to show really long needles. But I've heard people say the needles with which they were injected were very small.

(From my comments, you can probably guess that I haven't had the vaccine yet. And I probably won't take it, for a variety of reasons.)

Didn't feel shot #1 at all and barely felt #2

[Rothman]

How about needle size? The photos I've seen seem to show really long needles. But I've heard people say the needles with which they were injected were very small.

(From my comments, you can probably guess that I haven't had the vaccine yet. And I probably won't take it, for a variety of reasons.)

Not sure why anyone wouldn't.  You should get vaccinated.

I didn't even feel the first shot.  It was great.

[oscar]

How about needle size? The photos I've seen seem to show really long needles. But I've heard people say the needles with which they were injected were very small.

I felt just barely enough to tell that I had been injected.

I didn't look at the needle. Maybe on Monday morning, when I go back for my second shot.

[kphoger]

Just got home from getting my first poke.

Paperwork:   I had my print-out, a copy of my paystub, and my wallet with DL inside.  The lady directing 'traffic' told me to get out my ID because they'd be asking me for it.  Then, when I started to pull it out of my wallet, she said "Oh, you don't have to get it out if it's in something.  Here, let me see your papers.  I'll fast-track you."  So I never showed ID, never proved eligibility.  But other people probably did.

Needle:   Not bad of a needle prick.  Nothing to fear.

Observation:   Because I said I have a known reaction to the -myacin group of drugs, they told me to stay in observation for 30-40 minutes.  I'm guessing they say that to anyone who has any reaction to any drug, just in case.  So I went in and sat down, and shortly thereafter an 'observer' came by and asked if I was doing OK.  I was, so I said yes.  Then, five or ten minutes later, I got up to stretch my arms and legs, and my vasovagal syncope kicked in.  For those just tuning in, vasovagal syncope is a situation-triggered sudden drop in blood pressure.  My trigger is medical situations.  So I got clammy and queasy, and my fingers started tingling.  Fortunately, I know what it is (thanks to a chiropractor at our church who explained it when it happened after a chest X-ray at her clinic a couple of years ago), so I knew to put my head down between my knees.  I sat like that for some time, with my head between my knees.  Slowly, gradually, my blood pressure returned to normal.  That whole time, though, not a single worker noticed or came by to check on me.  Well, I already knew that 'observation' is kind of a joke.  More like self-observation.  I texted my mom (a retired nurse) about it later, and she replied that at least I didn't pass out and cause a scene–but if I had, maybe it would have spiced up their day. 

Side-effects:   None so far.  My arm isn't sore.  As I mentioned earlier in the thread, there's a remote possibility that I picked up the virus two days ago, so I'll be paying really close attention to how I feel for about the next four days.

(From my comments, you can probably guess that I haven't had the vaccine yet. And I probably won't take it, for a variety of reasons.)

Not sure why anyone wouldn't.  You should get vaccinated.

People have various reasons.  I know people who are skeptical about how the development process was fast-tracked, so they worry about unknown long-term side effects of the vaccine.  I know people who consider themselves to be young and healthy enough that they'd rather everyone else get vaccinated first, and then just wait and see if there's even a pandemic anymore by that time.  I'm sure there are other people who figure their risk of having an adverse reaction to the vaccine is greater than their risk of catching and getting sick from the virus itself.

Obviously, I decided to get my vaccine.  But, honestly, I was kind of meh about it, until forum members mentioned the possibility that not having it might inhibit international travel.  I had always been on the side of the fence toward getting vaccinated, but just barely on that side of the fence.

[Scott5114]

Then, five or ten minutes later, I got up to stretch my arms and legs, and my vasovagal syncope kicked in.  For those just tuning in, vasovagal syncope is a situation-triggered sudden drop in blood pressure.  My trigger is medical situations.  So I got clammy and queasy, and my fingers started tingling.  Fortunately, I know what it is (thanks to a chiropractor at our church who explained it when it happened after a chest X-ray at her clinic a couple of years ago), so I knew to put my head down between my knees.  I sat like that for some time, with my head between my knees.  Slowly, gradually, my blood pressure returned to normal.  That whole time, though, not a single worker noticed or came by to check on me.  Well, I already knew that 'observation' is kind of a joke.  More like self-observation.  I texted my mom (a retired nurse) about it later, and she replied that at least I didn't pass out and cause a scene–but if I had, maybe it would have spiced up their day. 

Geez, that sounds like a really rough thing to have to go through. Out of curiosity, have you ever talked to a therapist or psychiatrist about it? They may be able to help figure out a way to keep your brain from reacting to the stressful situation (as the brain sees it) with a blood pressure drop. Of course, that might be enough of a medical situation to trigger it, which would make pursuing that avenue tricky.

Brains are really weird, and it's hard enough keeping the body's hardware running in good shape without the software interfering...

[kphoger]

I do better if there's a distraction.  So, while I was actually getting stuck with the needle, I just did people-watching in the other direction.  But after a while of just sitting by myself and thinking about how my arm felt, it crept up on me.  I might actually have been better off if I had walked outside to my family, who was waiting in the car, immediately.  But I thought it was a good idea to wait the full half-hour, just in case.  As it turns out, it took about 30 minutes to both experience the syncope and come out of it.

I had considered bringing a paper towel and a water bottle with me, just in case this happened.  Then, I could wet the paper towel and make a cool compress out of it.  Maybe I should have.  Oh well, it passed.

[Thing 342]

Got my first shot on this week at an open clinic that bypassed our state's massively overcomplicated prioritization/appointment scheme. Not sure how or why they were able to offer it to normies like me, but appreciative nonetheless. Moderna vaccine, no real side effects other than the standard shoulder soreness that I typically get from flu shots. The clinic was run with impressive efficiency, I was #113 in line and was in and out in about an hour. We were told in 28 days to show up at similar clinic to receive our second doses.

[interstatefan990]

Didn't feel anything after my first dose and felt moderately sick the entire day the day after my second. Nothing too horrible; it basically felt like when you've had the flu and mostly recovered but you're not quite fully back to normal yet. Just stayed home for the day and I was fine by the next morning. It's weird because some friends of mine that are around the same age said they felt nothing after their second shot. Maybe it varies from person to person. But just thought I would let anyone here getting a two-shot vaccine know what to expect.

If anyone has post-second-dose experiences, feel free to share if/when you get it.

[Frafra Zoomer]

I'm not taking experimental mRNA gene therapy from corporations that care more about profit than health

[ilpt4u]

I got my first shot on Wednesday of the Pfizer vaccine. In theory, there were still priority restricted groups (Illinois has "partially"  relaxed that as of Friday, and many county health departments are authorized for anyone 16 and older now), but there were zero qualification questions asked - just basic allergy questions and if I've had COVID. Just had to show an ID and a QR code from when I scheduled the appointment

Looked like there were college athletes, or at least students, from SIU that were getting the vaccine the same time I went to the site

[ilpt4u]

I'm not taking experimental mRNA gene therapy from corporations that care more about profit than health

You do realize there is an insane amount of profit involved in mass vaccination of world populations?

I understand cynicism towards pharmaceuticals - I have a fair amount myself. But in this case, the circumstances present enables profit maximization - a novel virus that has disrupted world commerce with billions of people and trillions of dollars affected. Large masses of people will ultimately be vaccinated - kinda works for the business model, for both profits and health (often times it does not - see chronic condidtions and focusing on treatments versus cures, but that is a whole different discussion, not for this thread)

[Rothman]

I'm not taking experimental mRNA gene therapy from corporations that care more about profit than health

The vaccine has gone through extensive testing.  It works.  Get vaccinated.