The COVID Vaccination Thread (1 Viewer)

[Josh Steinberg]

If either of you is immunocompromised or immunosuppressed, that person is eligible right now. If not, it looks like the recommendation is likely to be eight months from last dose.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The Biden administration has decided that most Americans should get a coronavirus booster vaccination eight months after they received their second shot, and could begin offering third shots as early as the third week of September, according to administration officials familiar with the discussions.

Eight months won't come up for me until December, which is comforting news.

Given our current governor's... troubles, New York State is in kind of a limbo at the moment; there isn't even really clear guidance as to whether everybody should be back to wearing masks or not. In light of that reality, there is some reassurance in the idea that I'll still have significant immune protection even if I do end up contracting the delta variant.

 

[DaveF]

Eight months puts me in January next year. Which is fine, not having to think about this over the holidays.

My biggest practical, real concern, is being forced to take 2 weeks PTO if I get sick. The actually getting sick, as far as I can tell, is still very low risk for vaccinated people. So I’m largely trying to avoid the difficulties from office work.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Yeah, it's odd there's no way to track vaccinations in any kind of central database,

When I got my shot I had to provide insurance info even though the shot was free. Are the powers that be still asking for insurance?

I thought everyone had stopped that. When I had a covid test last Winter, it was just a simple nasal swab, no brain probe. I thought everyone had moved to that newer, more comfortable, test method?

“No brain probe.” I like that. I once knew a guy so stupid, if brains were dynamite, he couldn’t blow his nose.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Hmmm... hope they shorten the wait a bit by start of next year so I (and my youngest) can get the booster before a planned vacation to Florida. As it is now, 8 months would put my eligibility squarely in the middle of that vacation...

_Man_

 

[Clinton McClure]

When I got my shot I had to provide insurance info even though the shot was free. Are the powers that be still asking for insurance?

Depends on where you got your shots. I’ve been told some doctors offices, pharmacies, and hospitals would ask for insurance information. I received mine at a mass-vaccination event at the Don Owens sports complex in Conway. They never asked for insurance information there.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

They ask for insurance info, but you probably don't have to give it if you really don't want to -- I didn't for both the PCR tests and vaccines I (and my family) had...

_Man_

 

[Clinton McClure]

I had to get tested three times and my wife once. My tests were set up through my client’s on-site medical staff and my wife’s was through the county health unit. We never had to provide insurance info for any of the tests.

 

[Mark Booth]

If the 3rd shots start on September 20, as estimated, that will give my wife and I a month to observe how things are going before it's our turn.

BTW, now that the 3rd shot is approved for those with compromised immune systems, I reached out to our doctor to ask if my wife qualifies. His nurse responded to the email and said they are still trying to figure out what the hell's going on. So, my question didn't get answered. More like, "Wait awhile and we'll let you know."

Mark

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I am technically eligible for a third shot right now, but I spoke to my doctor about it, and her feeling was that I would benefit more waiting until I’ve reached at least six months from my last dose to take it rather than doing it now while I’m roughly at four months. Her reasoning was sound and unless the facts on the ground change I will heed her advice and wait until six months.

I had initially signed up for the third dose at CVS and then canceled after talking to her. The CVS website was easy to navigate and was already configured to schedule third doses. No prescription or doctor’s note was required; I just had to click “yes” when asked if I had one of the conditions listed. So if anyone is wondering where to go for #3, I can say at least that CVS already knows how to schedule them.

 

[Carlo_M]

Admittedly having zero medical training myself, Josh, your doctor's advice seems sound. I come up on my six months of Pfizer (from full vaccination date of 2 weeks after second dose) in mid-October. So hopefully the medical community figures out it's booster guidance by then, and also that a new variant that's resistant hasn't cropped up.

 

[Jake Lipson]

When I got my shot I had to provide insurance info even though the shot was free. Are the powers that be still asking for insurance?

I could be wrong because I'm not by any means an expert in these matters, so I wouldn't swear to this. But I think the purpose of asking for insurance is so that the insurance is billed for some of the costs incurred in giving out the shots (like paying staff who actually work at clinics giving them out and for overhead costs and such) even though the shot itself is free. I don't remember where I heard this though since I got my vaccine a few months ago. Therefore, I would not take this as gospel.

My second dose was April 30, which would make me eligible again on December 30. That basically means I'm good for the rest of the year. I am certainly happy to go get another dose when it is my turn.

My family took whatever was available at the time when our turn came up. The vaccination site where I got my doses happened to have Moderna on hand on the day of my first appointment, so that's what I received. Other members of my family eded up with other manufacturers. One of them got the single dose J&J vaccine. Even though I expect to continue with Moderna, I will be interested to see what the CDC comes out with in regards to a plan for boosters for those who got the J&J.

 

[Malcolm R]

Not sure on the insurance thing. I provided my info when I signed up for my vaccine, but never received any notice or statement from my insurance company that anything was charged to them. I usually get a notice anytime they process a claim, so I don't think anyone submitted any claims related to the vaccine.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Take with a boulder of salt, but it seems I read somewhere that some experts thought it would be good to get a booster consisting of the other vaccine. I.E. you got Pfizer, get a booster of Moderna.

 

[Carlo_M]

Take with a boulder of salt, but it seems I read somewhere that some experts thought it would be good to get a booster consisting of the other vaccine. I.E. you got Pfizer, get a booster of Moderna.

Speaking of experimental...I wonder what happened to that one woman (was she in Italy?) where they didn't realize the vial contained six doses, not one...so she got them all. She could probably swim in covid and be fine lol.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Take with a boulder of salt, but it seems I read somewhere that some experts thought it would be good to get a booster consisting of the other vaccine. I.E. you got Pfizer, get a booster of Moderna.

I saw Dr. Fauci on the news at some point and he suggested staying with the same manufacturer. Of course, I can't find that clip now.

 

[Mark Booth]

This article touches on the effectiveness of vaccines against the Delta variant and explains why fully vaccinated persons can get infected, not have symptoms, but still spread the virus. This is one of the better articles I've read on this subject. I hope I am not in violation of the spirit of this thread by sharing it. I feel it contains information that everyone should read and make their own decisions.

What we now know about how to fight the delta variant of COVID | Column

An expert explains why vaccines — and masks — are so important, and why delta is different and more dangerous.

www.tampabay.com

Mark

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Not sure on the insurance thing. I provided my info when I signed up for my vaccine, but never received any notice or statement from my insurance company that anything was charged to them. I usually get a notice anytime they process a claim, so I don't think anyone submitted any claims related to the vaccine.

From what I understand, the federal government paid for the actual vaccine doses and is distributing those free of charge. There are costs associated with administering the vaccine, and health care providers are allowed to bill a small fee to your insurance to cover that overhead. But if you don’t have insurance, the providers are supposed to provide the shots free of charge and the government gets the administration fee billed through Medicare. So the pharmacy or whoever needs to know who they’re sending their bill to but the patient isn’t supposed to see a dime of that expense. I think there is a hotline setup to call if you get a bill because that’s not supposed to happen.

When all of this is over and there’s the inevitable postmortem about what worked and what didn’t, they really need to look at how a lot of communications had unintended consequences - in this case, I think a greater-than-zero number of people hesitated to get vaccinated because they incorrectly believed they’d incur a bill or that not having insurance would make it cost prohibitive. Similarly, I don’t like how the text of the EUA literature is written out because it can lead the reader to believe that the vaccines haven’t been studied for safety (they have been!) or aren’t proven to be effective (they are!) because it’s written in legalese and medical jargon rather than layman’s terms, but it’s a document intended for laymen to read.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

My second dose was April 30, which would make me eligible again on December 30. That basically means I'm good for the rest of the year. I am certainly happy to go get another dose when it is my turn.

My second was April 9th and I totally agree with you.

 

[usrunnr]

Eligibility doesn't mean your provider will be willing to administer it.