COVID-19 vaccine discussion

26 minutes ago, HookEm said:

Does anyone know if it is possible to get a vaccine in Texas if you are long-term visiting from another state and 1b qualified under our policy?

Go back to California dude. 

1 hour ago, bschoolprof said:

Go back to California dude. 

That's harsh. Actually asking for a friend whose parents can't get a vaccine in Tennessee yet because they are 74 and 1B is only for 75+.

3 hours ago, HookEm said:

That's harsh. Actually asking for a friend whose parents can't get a vaccine in Tennessee yet because they are 74 and 1B is only for 75+.

There isn't a formal list so I doubt they need to visit Texas to get the vaccine. They just need to persevere.

BTW, Texas is changing protocols for vaccine delivery. Texas Governor Abbott announced the new hub system COVID-19 vaccine distribution program on Monday. Austin Regional Clinic was notified that healthcare organizations in Austin will NOT be designated as hubs. And ARC for example is expecting NO NEW SUPPLIES of COVID-19 vaccine in the near future.

It sounds like the "password doesn't work" issue is a common symptom for many trying to get a vaccine through the APH website.  I'm shocked, shocked I tell you, that a city as well run as Austin is running into these kinds of issues.  

Edited January 15, 2021 by bschoolprof

6 hours ago, Bevo said:

There isn't a formal list so I doubt they need to visit Texas to get the vaccine. They just need to persevere.

BTW, Texas is changing protocols for vaccine delivery. Texas Governor Abbott announced the new hub system COVID-19 vaccine distribution program on Monday. Austin Regional Clinic was notified that healthcare organizations in Austin will NOT be designated as hubs. And ARC for example is expecting NO NEW SUPPLIES of COVID-19 vaccine in the near future.

So, where/whom are the Central Texas hubs?

3 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

So, where/whom are the Central Texas hubs?

https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/immunize/vaccine-hubs.aspx

The Austin website works about as well as shaggy did during a coaching change.  

 

2 minutes ago, bschoolprof said:

https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/immunize/vaccine-hubs.aspx

The Austin website works about as well as shaggy did during a coaching change.  

 

Already tried to register there for an appointment, but it just said I’m eligible to get a Covid test. fml

 

Where are the vaccination places in Austin? One is Delco. Where are the other three?

Got my 2nd Pfizer dose yesterday around 2pm.  Last night, had the same pain at the injection site as I did with the first dose. By this morning, pain has largely subsided and no other effects as of yet.

Just now, bschoolprof

It sounds like the "password doesn't work" issue is a common symptom for many trying to get a vaccine through the APH website.  I'm shocked, shocked I tell you, that a city as well run as Austin is running into these kinds of issues.  

Those who were able to make an appointment for vaccines the other day, everyone's appointment time was 2pm.. This obviously resulted in everyone showing up at 2, leaving hundreds of old people to stand around outside for several hours.

Good job, good work Austin.

My dad's got one in the arm.  Huge relief. 

It's crazy that I have to come to surly to get the latest and greatest vaccine info.  Thanks for nothing ausitn.gov texas.gov  

55 minutes ago, XYZ said:

Where are the vaccination places in Austin? One is Delco. Where are the other three?

It’s kinda like the amazon treasure truck.

You won’t know until you get a text the morning of.
You won’t know the “morning of” until the morning of.

You won’t get the text unless you’re already signed up. 

oh, and don’t contact us to sign up. We’ll contact you.

 

 

...at least I think that’s how all of this works.

Is HEB going to be carrying anymore?

18 minutes ago, SubliminalHorn said:

Is HEB going to be carrying anymore?

If APH is considered a hub but not HEB that is a fucking travesty. 

Is HEB going to be carrying anymore?

I don't think they're open

This makes me angry.

https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-city-covid-19-vaccine-rules-non-residents-2021-1

This makes me angry.
https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-city-covid-19-vaccine-rules-non-residents-2021-1

Kinda meh on this. I just want shots in arms. And I’m assuming the out-of-towners work in the city so residents are still benefitting.

7 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

Kinda meh on this. I just want shots in arms. And I’m assuming the out-of-towners work in the city so residents are still benefitting.

NYC has 8.5M residents and has given out 246k shots.  As far as I am concerned, those additional people are taking shots from residents.  Further, based on projections, NYC is going to run out of supply in a week to 10 days.  As someone who is at the very back of the line, and was hoping for a vaccine by end of summer, I will be lucky to have one by the end of 2021 at this rate.  It is fucking ridiculous, especially since I pay the higher taxes as I live in the city.  

1 hour ago, Anastasis said:

If APH is considered a hub but not HEB that is a fucking travesty. 

I got my first dose at HEB. Now I’m wondering if they’re even gonna get more. My parents also got their first dose at an Urgent care clinic where they live. Now do they have to scramble to find the second dose? What a fucking cluster

I think one of the mentally stressful parts of this was caused by the "Phase 1B" shift making almost one third of Texans eligible to sign up at the same time.  Obviously the state and counties had all summer and fall to think of how to do this and either failed to act or failed to come up with a good plan.  But, they seem to be reacting in real time towards a solution.

Eventually the line will die down a bit and we'll talk about the next phase.  IMHO, it would be nice if they just kept us in 1B but lowered the age limit little by little.  So maybe one week it's 63 and over, or those with co-morbidities ... next week it is 61 and over or co-morbidities, and so on.  Try to manage it so that once you are eligible you have a pretty good chance of getting a first shot in the next two weeks.

People would know the current age limit and have some idea of how fast it is coming down.  They would be able to project when they might get it.  And it would look like progress was being made as the age limit comes down.

Otherwise we are going to argue about who goes next and have these giant scrambles each time a new large group is eligible.

 

So the governor of Oregon is claiming that they asked for second doses from the national stockpile and were told that there is no national stockpile as claimed. Oops.

Lulz.

Good luck to those of you needing your second shot.

This is what happens when all 65 year olds who are not in a nursing home are not considered equal. Imo they need to make 1B over 65 only. No under 65 at all until we get enough on the pipeline.

1 minute ago, Texas Jeff said:

I think one of the mentally stressful parts of this was caused by the "Phase 1B" shift making almost one third of Texans eligible to sign up at the same time.  Obviously the state and counties had all summer and fall to think of how to do this and either failed to act or failed to come up with a good plan.  But, they seem to be reacting in real time towards a solution.

Eventually the line will die down a bit and we'll talk about the next phase.  IMHO, it would be nice if they just kept us in 1B but lowered the age limit little by little.  So maybe one week it's 63 and over, or those with co-morbidities ... next week it is 61 and over or co-morbidities, and so on.  Try to manage it so that once you are eligible you have a pretty good chance of getting a first shot in the next two weeks.

People would know the current age limit and have some idea of how fast it is coming down.  They would be able to project when they might get it.  And it would look like progress was being made as the age limit comes down.

Otherwise we are going to argue about who goes next and have these giant scrambles each time a new large group is eligible.

 

I think the "single hub" approach that Travis County is taking is a mistake.  Want to have central REGISTRATION, and assignment of ability to get one in a certain window?  Sure.  But then, once you get a message that you can get the vaccine in the next week, you should get to select a location that will have doses -- if the Hancock HEB will have 200 doses next week, then 200 people can register for that location.   Maybe even add another 10% as "standby," in case some folks don't show up.  

So, you get a notice that you can get a vaccine next week (if there are 10,000 doses available next week, then 10,000 people get the email).  You agree to do so, then you pick a location - first-click, first-served.  If I want HEB Hancock, but they're full up, then maybe I try the nearby CVS, or the Delco Center, or Tarrytown Pharmacy.  

Also, have a general "standby" list of folks who can sign up if there are still open slots available next week.  And have a standby list behind them, to ensure that every vaccine is taken.  If I'm on the standby for HEB Hancock next Tuesday, and it turns out that they have some unused doses, I get a text that says "dose available in next two hours - reply "yes" if you will come by and get it."

For fuck's sake, a LOT of people should have been thinking of and building functioning systems WELL before any vaccines arrived.

Just now, Brisketexan said:

For fuck's sake, a LOT of people should have been thinking of and building functioning systems WELL before any vaccines arrived.

Did you really expect anything else? 

Just now, Deej said:

Did you really expect anything else? 

ME?  No.  You know, because The Ledge and all that.  I assume a continuing toxic stew of incompetence and evil, and it's proven to be a bottomless bowl.

27 minutes ago, SubliminalHorn said:

I got my first dose at HEB. Now I’m wondering if they’re even gonna get more. My parents also got their first dose at an Urgent care clinic where they live. Now do they have to scramble to find the second dose? What a fucking cluster

How did you become aware of HEB dosages available and get scheduled?

1 minute ago, Brisketexan said:

I think the "single hub" approach that Travis County is taking is a mistake.  Want to have central REGISTRATION, and assignment of ability to get one in a certain window?  Sure.  But then, once you get a message that you can get the vaccine in the next week, you should get to select a location that will have doses -- if the Hancock HEB will have 200 doses next week, then 200 people can register for that location.   Maybe even add another 10% as "standby," in case some folks don't show up.  

Yeah, I agree.  Ideally there would be one place to submit your info and then some kind of green light when it is time to go get your shot, and a choice of locations.  It would be nice if you know about what date you would get that green light.  You want to have more than one location, to spread people out, but you don't want to have 1000, since you have use up a whole vial once you open it.  You could have drivers shuttling vaccine from the central location to the satellite locations as needed.

I keep coming back to the early voting model.  30 or so places around town that look mostly the same.  You want some set of places to get it, but you all want them working about the same way so that you can allocate resources and track results.

Wouldn't a model like that create a situation where every no show ends up as a wasted dose?

^^ That would be covered by Brisket's 10% standby list

6 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Wouldn't a model like that create a situation where every no show ends up as a wasted dose?

Well, that's a fair point that I hadn't considered.  Hopefully these centers would not open up a vial until they needed it.  I wonder how long it takes to open a vial, thaw it out if needed, mix it up, and get it into arms.  Ideally they would waste only a partial vial each day, but some kind of standby list for the centers around closing time might be helpful.

A realize we don't have a functional federal government right now, but this is a bigger cluster than I imagined. We have pilots in other states that are considered 1B because of the transportation destination getting shots. I have no idea when or where I'll get this shot in TX. Taking all of February off and that will be my mission for the month.

31 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

So the governor of Oregon is claiming that they asked for second doses from the national stockpile and were told that there is no national stockpile as claimed. Oops.

Lulz.

Good luck to those of you needing your second shot.

Tim Walz said the same thing over the noon hour. He was hopping mad.

One of the other sites for Austin is Dove Springs recreation center.  It is smaller and very efficiently run.  My mom just got through it in 1 hour including the 15 minute allergy wait.

10 minutes ago, Catpfish said:

One of the other sites for Austin is Dove Springs recreation center.  It is smaller and very efficiently run.  My mom just got through it in 1 hour including the 15 minute allergy wait.

Did they check if she had an appointment?

38 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

How did you become aware of HEB dosages available and get scheduled?

My company let us know that HEB was offering them. So I called and scheduled it. I’m due for my second dose on 2/1. HEB’s website has their scheduler ready, but it says they are waiting for additional doses. 

10 minutes ago, XYZ said:

Did they check if she had an appointment?

Yes.  You had to show the paperwork to get into parking lot.

 

 

Just checked with mom because I dropped her off then waited parked on the street.  They did come by and check to see if you had paperwork while you were standing in line.  She's not sure how closely they read it, but they making some attempt to make sure that you had an appointment.

I'm in 1B and just registered via APH so now I guess I just wait for them to contact me to set up appointment?  Anyone have any experience on how long it takes from registering to getting contacted to make an appointment?  I don't understand why they took it out of HEB's hands.  Seems like a lot more folks were getting shots when they were involved and now all I read about is appointment cancellation, long lines, etc.  

So it looks like they are all over the place with this.

Delco: no computer, no checking for anything

Dove Springs: check paper. I wonder what happens when they ask to see proof of appointment and the person says “I made an appointment, I just don’t have proof with me, look it up on your damn computer”

It could be a matter of numbers.  I bet Dove Springs had maybe 150-200 people in line when we got there. This was right before they opened so it's a lot easier to check things than at Delco.  My mom had a 1:30 appointment but we didn't really have anything going on, so I told her we'd get there early and see what happened.  Got in line at 11:15 and she walked out of the waiting room door at 12:25.  The line was getting shorter as the day went on.  By the time we left, there weren't more than 50 people in line.

14 minutes ago, Gale Snoats said:

I'm in 1B and just registered via APH so now I guess I just wait for them to contact me to set up appointment?  Anyone have any experience on how long it takes from registering to getting contacted to make an appointment?  I don't understand why they took it out of HEB's hands.  Seems like a lot more folks were getting shots when they were involved and now all I read about is appointment cancellation, long lines, etc.  

I'm also 1B, and registered with APH on Tuesday morning.  I still haven't been contacted for an appointment.  However, I know four people over the age of 75 who registered at the same time I did and they all have appointment for this weekend.  Anecdotally, it seems like they are vetting the applications at least to some degree and starting with the eldest first, which is a good thing.

1 hour ago, DaysOff said:

A realize we don't have a functional federal government right now, but this is a bigger cluster than I imagined. We have pilots in other states that are considered 1B because of the transportation destination getting shots. I have no idea when or where I'll get this shot in TX. Taking all of February off and that will be my mission for the month.

Username definitely checks out.

1 minute ago, Samson's Wig said:

I'm also 1B, and registered with APH on Tuesday morning.  I still haven't been contacted for an appointment.  However, I know four people over the age of 75 who registered at the same time I did and they all have appointment for this weekend.  Anecdotally, it seems like they are vetting the applications at least to some degree and starting with the eldest first, which is a good thing.

the 1B designation is gonna cause problems, the qualifying conditions are too broad.  just say over 65 "yes" and under 65 "no" for now until it gets smoother.

18 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

And this is why lawyers in contract law will always have work 

You must not be familiar with how contracts in pharmacy (independent pharmacy) work. It’s take it or leave it. No negotiation. You don’t like it? Fuck you. 

Here, sign this contract that’s says I can reimburse you whatever the fuck I want and you can’t fight it. I can throw you out of network for whatever the fuck I want. You have to fill every script that one of our members brings in no matter how much fucking money you’re going to lose. 
Without some meaningful reform you’re going to be left with Cvs and Walgreens as your options. 

The same companies who Texas is using for long term care Covid vaccination who have only given 25% of the doses allocated in 5 weeks. Giving that contract to companies whose business model it is to purposefully understaff their pharmacies was a death sentence for thousands in LTC. 

When you register with APH, make you you select the income under $50K and no insurance choices. Low income and uninsured are prioritized for reasons.

So APH is racist?

8 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

So APH is racist?

I'm sure they aren't racist but there is a reason the Delco clusterfuck happened.  

I walked in and got dose 1 of Pfizer in Killeen. Someone that used to work with my SIL gave us the heads up that there were a bunch of no shows today and to come down. I think there were as many walk-ins as appointments while we were there (two different check in stations). It’s pretty weird that I’m getting a shot before my 65 YO mom (her appointment is tomorrow).

The second dose stuff is a little sketchy. They said to call in a week or two to make an appointment, because the number isn’t working yet, and they don’t know when they will have their second doses available.