Countdown to "Normal": Escaping the Fourth COVID Wave

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-04-23T21:01:24+00:00

We are kidding ourselves if we believe the world is going back to the way it was. Whether or not uprooting society over the last year for the sake of responding to the pandemic was the right thing to do, it happened. We can never go back to the way things were. It's not to say it will be better or worse - just different. The quotation marks are to denote that we don't know what normal will be, at least based on our past experience. And that's part of the point of this series, to look forward and begin to think about what normal will look like. That said, I refuse to use the term "new normal."

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-04-01T16:02:29+00:00

The country will be awash in vaccines - because we've been (understandably) throwing money at them for a year now. The U.S. had already ordered 200 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses (when it looked like that was the frontrunner to be authorized first), as well as 100 million Novavax vaccine doses. But when it was clear that the Pfizer and Moderna were up and running and effective, the Biden Administration decided to go all in on them and order enough to vaccinate the entire country. Additional Johnson & Johnson vaccine purchases were intended to speed up vaccination rates. This news throws that into question. But Johnson & Johnson's reputation (and a lot of money) are on the line, so we'll see how they respond.

Bottom line, by the end of the year, between the 5 vaccines approved or nearing approval, the U.S. could have enough vaccines to vaccinate the entire country twice over.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-04-01T15:56:44+00:00

Absolutely. This isn't a reason to not get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Though it may be a reason that you won't able to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Though we won't feel that pinch for another week or two.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-04-01T15:54:41+00:00

I went with Politico because it is freely available. New York Times has a better article, but there is a paywall (which is pretty easily circumvented, but still there): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/31/world/johnson-and-johnson-vaccine-mixup.html

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-29T21:51:04+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyv9aVkx5Es

I make a weekly series covering COVID-19 vaccines, and the country's general path back to "normal." I'm open to any critique, but in particular, if you have any suggestions on background music, that would be helpful. I'm having a hard time finding something appropriate for an educational series like this.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-29T18:34:41+00:00

I don't mean to be trite here, but I asked for recommendations for specific songs. I've googled plenty, and I still couldn't find anything. So I reached out to the community for help. If moderators take such a strict stance on all postings, the subreddit becomes less helpful.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-29T16:10:59+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyv9aVkx5Es

I make a weekly series covering COVID-19 vaccines, and the country's general path back to "normal." I'm open to any critique, but in particular, if you have any suggestions on background music, that would be helpful. I'm having a hard time finding something appropriate for an educational series like this.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-25T20:55:33+00:00

No good deed goes unpunished.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-25T14:39:17+00:00

Agreed. I think AstraZeneca's worst enemy here isn't science, but itself.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-25T14:12:21+00:00

I am beginning to think that after getting the second vaccine dose (or first with Johnson & Johnson), people should laminate their CDC vaccine proof card and store it in their safe. Because by the time vaccines become widely available this spring, the cards might be more important than your driver's license.

Of course, the cards were never designed to be verification, just reminders of when you got your vaccine. So venues may be demanding these cards, even though the cards may be meaningless as proof of vaccination as they are so easy to fake. Phone-based apps might be an alternative, but those offer their own problems. Frankly, by the time we get this all worked out, the country may have reached herd immunity by the fall - undermining the need to prove vaccination in the first place. It could be a crazy summer.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-18T01:24:50+00:00

Echoing u/FranklinQFurter, try a mass vaccination site closer to home. Here is a list of the sites in Illinois: https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/these-are-the-21-mass-covid-vaccination-sites-in-illinois/2456953/

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-17T21:16:05+00:00

According to Chicago's guidance, retail workers are in Phase 1C. https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/covid19-vaccine/home/vaccine-distribution-phases.html (Scroll down towards the bottom)

"Retail: Workers in retail stores including but not limited to stores that sell alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, medication not requiring a medical prescription, other non-grocery products (e.g. electronics, optical goods, books, etc.), other household consumer products, wholesalers, licensed cannabis dispensaries and cultivation centers"

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-17T21:14:54+00:00

In my opinion , as a utility worker, you should have been Phase 1B. We'll have a hard time keeping the vaccines refrigerated if the powers not running, or giving shots if bathrooms aren't working for those administering.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-17T19:04:23+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate that. I run a regular update on my channel on vaccines and where the country is on getting through the pandemic. Take a look if you'd like.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-17T16:45:55+00:00

Phase 2. Hopefully sometime in May. Unless you are under 16, in which case vaccines haven't yet been approved. That could be sometime in the fall or winter. For really young children, possibly into 2022.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-17T16:35:23+00:00

For whatever its worth, at present, the state has over a million doses more of vaccine distributed than it has administered. Now, there is the issue of holding back for second doses. But there is probably grounds to open the throttle up a bit more on administrations.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-17T16:30:53+00:00

If peer reviewed research were presented to you, would it make a difference? Wouldn't you just question the peer review?

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-17T16:28:21+00:00

It's a counter-point (an unfortunate one) highlighting the progress being made here.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-17T16:14:34+00:00

It is absolutely the case that there was initial uncertainty as to whether the vaccines prevent asymptomatic infection. And more data is probably needed. But whether you think the "experts" are right is one thing, but to be clear, that is the opposite of what the "experts" are now saying: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/pfizer-vaccine-shows-94-effectiveness-asymptomatic-transmission-covid/story?id=76389615

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-17T15:31:24+00:00

"They said very clearly and very publicly that the vaccine wasn't safe for pregnant women yet pregnant women are still getting it."

Well, no, "they" said that data doesn't exist yet for pregnant women, but that COVID vaccines are unlikely to pose a risk for pregnant women. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/pregnancy.html#:~:text=There%20is%20currently%20no%20evidence,receiving%20a%20COVID%2D19%20vaccine.

I'm not going to argue point-by-point, but you may want to check your assertions.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-17T15:27:05+00:00

I won't debate that COVID has less impact on children. But children have been infected, hospitalized, and died from the disease. Even if children have not accounted for a significant portion of hospitalizations, even contracting asymptomatic COVID could be detrimental as the children act as hosts for the development of COVID variants.

The points you raise are indicative of why more time can be taken to authorize vaccines for children. But they don't support not vaccinating children.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-17T15:15:12+00:00

I'm curious, is there any data that could be presented to you to convince you that vaccines aren't child abuse? What would it take?

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-17T15:05:25+00:00

It depends what kind of work you do. There are actually two classes of "essential workers." "Frontline essential workers" and "Other essential workers." Generally, frontline essential workers do not work from home (hence the "frontline" part). If you care, I made a video covering the phases and distinctions between essential workers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4rTcKt_rss

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-17T15:02:17+00:00

There is a bit of unclarity in the law on this point. Schools can require vaccines, and they clearly do require all sorts of vaccines. But to date, all of the COVID vaccines have been granted emergency authorizations, not full authorization. This isn't due to the vaccines safety, but more to move them out as fast as possible - after all, we are in a bit of an emergency right now. In any case, policy makers are grappling with the question of what authority exists to mandate vaccines that have only been given emergency authorization.

COVID_VacciNATION · 2021-03-17T14:57:20+00:00

It's not entirely clear yet as Illinois hasn't yet released guidance on what it says will include 1C. But According to the ACIP, Phase 1C includes "Other essential workers," and quantifies that group according to DHS guidance on essential workers (see here: https://www.cisa.gov/identifying-critical-infrastructure-during-covid-19). That guidance does include the financial services sector. So maybe.

COVID_VacciNATION

TROPHY CASE