outbreak! (ebola, sars, coronavirus, etc)

Younger kid now vaxxed. I think we are about to see an even bigger social disjunction than we did with adults. It seems like in my social group every single person is climbing over themselves to get their 5-11s vaccinated. But what proportion of kids in that age group are actually going to get vaccinated in the next few months? Maybe a third?

I'm volunteering at a vax clinic for 5-11 today, I'll report back any observations.

Got my own booster yesterday, a mix-n-match Pfizer shot to bolster my two previous Modernas. More or less the same side effects as before but somewhat more mild. Just some aches and pains and tossing and turning at night, but more or less back to normal this morning.

I mentioned above that our school system was distributing vaccinations. However, both times I tried to sign my youngest up, all appointments had been filled by the time I got to the registration website. I eventually found a Target pharmacy that had an opening about 2 weeks from now.

Each of our 8 elementary schools gets its own pop up clinic. I heard that the entirety of Chicago public schools got a mere *4* clinic locations.

My son's first appointment is set for next Monday. Was hoping to go through the district's thing (early rumors were that it was going to be at each school, but in the end only 1 for the whole district) here, but ours also filled up very quickly (which is an encouraging sign, overall).

It's astounding how many of the kids in my regular social group have been vaccinated already or are scheduled to get one this week. But it probably will be every single kid in our particular demographics getting shots within two weeks and then nobody else.

Mine got his on Sunday after someone discovered a ton of openings at the local Wal-Mart pharmacy, so a bunch of people have gone there now possibly for the first time. The venn diagram of 'regular walmart shoppers' and 'want kids vaxxed ASAP' does not seem overlap at all here.

Oh yeah, if I had to bet, 25% of the kids in my town got their first shot already, and I would not be shocked if you told me it was higher. My kids both got it already. They were ecstatic about it, presumably because they see it as the path back to normal life.

i am disappointed to learn that you all hate our freedoms so much

daily US vax numbers have gone up significantly, probably due to arrival of kid shots plus boosters, but I do like that Bloomberg is at least trying to keep track of booster numbers now, even though they're probably unlikely to be accurate as some people have done it off the books or got theirs by telling a tale to the pharmacist months ago. right now estimates 7.5% of population has gotten boosters, which is higher than I expected.

It's another big difference between my social world and the US -- the proportion of people I know who've gotten boosters (mostly middle-aged people) feels like more than half.

But what proportion of kids in that age group are actually going to get vaccinated in the next few months? Maybe a third?

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, November 9, 2021 9:27 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

it's going to be a requirement to attend schools in person in many states, so 1/3 seems low.

Why is it going to be a requirement to attend schools when it's not a requirement for kids over 12 now?

1) California has announced that it will be
2) many vaccines are already required to attend schools
3) it is likely that this one will be required once it is approved for all school-age children, because of the ongoing global pandemic

xxxpost i assume we'll have a good portion of fully-vaxxed people whose opinion is "why do I have to do this AGAIN? that doesn't make sense" reaction, which I can't entirely blame them for because we had scientists and doctors arguing with each other on whether we should do them or not.

and I think that's what moved the needle more than the ethical debate (which was a valid one, but is the debate that really never resolved nicely amongst the experts). I think there was also debate of whether the waning immunity was due to legit waning or whether it was due to Delta and its evasive properties.

Why is it going to be a requirement to attend schools when it's not a requirement for kids over 12 now?

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, November 9, 2021 1:32 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

it will be. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/10/01/california-becomes-first-state-in-nation-to-announce-covid-19-vaccine-requirements-for-schools/

i posted that link last time you were saying no kids were going to get vaccinated.

CA is requiring vaccination for all kids who are eligible from the start of the following school year they become eligible. for all kids over five that will be next summer.

local school districts are free to implement more aggressive timelines, which many are. e.g. LAUSD is requiring all 12+ to be vaccinated by jan 10.

I have to admit I'm not rushing to get a booster at this point. As long as cases keep falling and hospitalizations and deaths are pretty low in my area, it kind of feels like overkill, and we know that T-Cell immunity is longlasting even if some of the antibody immunity wanes.

I heard something interesting about China and Covid on the radio yesterday, that they've done such a good job stopping the spread of it through restrictions and regulations and no doubt plenty of draconian stuff that they reportedly really don't have good data about its spread in the country or the effectiveness of their vaccine, and for that reason have to maintain various restrictions for fear of sparking an outbreak they may or may not be prepared to control.

(If anyone else heard this, correct me if I'm wrong!)

Me, I'm just going to keep getting boosters every few weeks. Even if I don't get magnetic powers I'm bound to get *something* special eventually. Anti-covid breath?

my neighbor says the vaccine makes men go sterile

has anyone looked into this?

yes, aaron rogers, nfl qb and reseacher extraordinaire

China's vaccine (Sinovac) is actually pretty awful, something like 51% efficacy (and I doubt that's adjusted for Delta)

I have to admit I'm not rushing to get a booster at this point. As long as cases keep falling and hospitalizations and deaths are pretty low in my area, it kind of feels like overkill, and we know that T-Cell immunity is longlasting even if some of the antibody immunity wanes.

― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Tuesday, November 9, 2021 2:01 PM (thirty-two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

pretty sure this decision is going to be made for you if you want to travel to europe or israel again.

meh

i am definitely getting one, cases are going up where i am and i keep hearing breakthrough stories

Got mine yesterday!

If you work in an office or from home, I can understand the lack of urgency. If you've been jabbed for more than two months and deal with the public, I suggest you do.

two = six

I'm tentatively planning to get one in January, but will change plans if clearer guidance comes out

I need to make an appointment for my booster now that I've got my kid's appointments locked in.

I'm waiting for an appointment with my oncologist next week, but sort of want to get one earlier. I should message him.

it will be. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/10/01/california-becomes-first-state-in-nation-to-announce-covid-19-vaccine-requirements-for-schools/

― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Tuesday, November 9, 2021 12:40 PM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

i posted that link last time you were saying no kids were going to get vaccinated.

― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Tuesday, November 9, 2021 12:40 PM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Oh I know what California is doing! But I'm not really aware of other places that have required vaccination for high school students, even places which have been quite vigilant with mask-wearing and vaccination mandates for staff; and all high school students have been vax-eligible since last spring. It seems like most places chose not to do it for high school this fall, and I don't really understand what the difference between this fall and next fall is.

Just a wild ass assumption on my part, but I imagined most districts were/are probably waiting until full approval for all school age kids to incorporate the vaxx into their requirements at once, rather than trying to piecemeal it in for the various age groups.

correct.

xp Could be, we'll see! I mean, assuming endemicity as seems safe it's hard to see why it doesn't eventually go in the rotation with all the rest.

xxp is your point "i don't think schools are going to mandate vaccinations because if they were, they would have done so already?" or are you really asking why they haven't done so already?

It was the first, but I think jvchi2.0's proposed explanation is certainly plausible.

going to say it:

i don't think mask mandates make a ton of sense in public health terms or are very sustainable politically once kids are eligible for vaccination AND basically everything is open at capacity.

neither of those things are true yet, but they're coming.

you can argue that everything should not be open at capacity, but once you take that step, masking is kind of beside the point in public health terms.

(might ask a mod to delete this post, depending on how the winter goes.)

― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Wednesday, November 3, 2021 10:08 AM (six days ago) bookmarkflaglink

tend to agree with this myself, tbh

i got my booster (healthcare worker, pfizer) and it definitely made me feel a little crummy (moreso than the first two) but not too bad. my elderly mom just got hers and bopped over to the UK, so please keep an eye on her thx

xp. right. waiting for the EUA to become legit is reasonable, and then waiting for the start of the subsequent academic year after that is probably simpler as a practical/administrative matter. and that's how you end up with "no later than summer 2022" in CA.

in any case, a lot of school districts (and especially those more likely to enforce vaccine mandates) were closed when the vaccine started rolling out to teenagers around april.

Vax clinic tonight was a rousing success. I worked it for about five hours, every slot filled with 5-11 year olds, all troopers. And Pawfficer Howie, the service dog, was there, too.

Christ

My dad died of COVID on Friday, just as I warned he would. My fury over his refusal of the vaccine is hammered by a sorrow drawn thicker by this fact: my brother did not take him to the hospital. Blames our father's death on "you vaxxed ppl & your "shedding."

— Rachel McKibbens (@RachelMcKibbens) October 27, 2021

My brother died of COVID on Monday. I've learned he left the hospital early, against doctor's recommendation. He never told me that part. He let me think he was getting better. For 9 days, I did what I could to help him. In the end, he died alone. I'm on another planet now. https://t.co/sPLMSKTlzW

— Rachel McKibbens (@RachelMcKibbens) November 11, 2021

Then you have these people

https://news.yahoo.com/covid-vaccine-holdouts-caving-mandates-110008317.html

Just got boosted in a Rite Aid that has not yet updated its design and looks straight out of 1995. Very surreal.

this is starting to hit home a bit now. over the last week I've heard of like a dozen cases among people close to us, including a co-worker in an induced coma (most likely, she will not make it out...out of curiosity I looked her up on FB and yes, her PFP has "I don't care if you're vaccinated" on it), and my 91-year old grandma, who is vaccinated but hasn't had the booster.

so I decided to schedule the booster for yesterday. didn't feel any side effects the first time but I'm definitely a little off from it this morning. unless one 16oz Coors Lite gives me a hangover these days :)

i'm sorry to hear about your grandmother, frogbs, and i hope that the first vaccination is enough to help her.

Best of thoughts for your grandmother, frogbs.

I’m really sorry frogbs, hoping for the best for your grandma

Thanks - I should mention she is in a home, so there’s an outbreak within. I guess a bunch of the residents have it and the admin is pulling 16 hour shifts right now. So far no news so I guess that’s good. Funny thing is I felt kinda guilty cuz I didn’t visit her last week, guess I dodged a bullet

if anybody wants to talk to real people on twitter (for real - not being sarcastic), check the replies to that McKibbens tweet. so much of twitter is full of covid-denier idiots. it's nice to just see real people in the replies

McKibben has limited who can view her tweets, so I guess that the wrong people found it soon enough.