2019–20 Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) Thread

[liv]

I got my Pfizer shot yesterday. It went well, although my deltoid is sore... but comparable to a flu shot if your nurse is a little rough, lol!

 

Our local hospital was very efficient and organized with their vaccine delivery. We were all quite impressed.

 

My LTC home has been in outbreak since before Christmas, with 3 positive staff tests, although they all turned out to be false positives. However, even 1 positive test (in either staff or resident) is considered an outbreak. It's a bit misleading when they talk about all the Homes in outbreak. In Ontario they said that over 200 homes were in outbreak, however about 140 of them had no resident cases. I think that's an important distinction. When people look at 200+, they think it's terrible, but if you see that it's staff, that means that the staff testing, ppe/procedures in place to keep residents safe, is working. As soon as we found out about the positive tests we all had to go into full PPE and staff and residents were restricted in movement. Despite all staff and residents subsequently testing negative, we are still considered in outbreak and continue to wear shields/masks and will do so indefinitely. However, sometimes luck is a big thing. An LTC near to my facility is in outbreak with numerous staff/residents ill and some deaths... were we more careful? Or was it just luck? I"m just glad LTC residents in the province are starting to get the vaccine. I knew getting the Pfizer vaccine was not going to be used for them because of the limitations on its movement etc., but hopefully with the rollout of Moderna things will start to move more quickly....

[holina]

I work as an inpatient hospital pharmacist and I just got my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine today!  On my drive home from the vaccine clinic, I got a bit emotional and shed a tear thinking back to the hard work that frontline health care workers and first responders have put in this far, how COVID has taken so many lives, how COVID has taken away our social lives, Yuzu’s message to health care workers....and how this vaccine could be the beginning of the end to all of this. 😭

 

The vaccination clinic was well run and very efficient.  I got in and out in 30 minutes (which included 15 minutes of sitting down and waiting to ensure I don’t have any serious reaction).

 

My coworkers who got the vaccine a few days ago report just having sore arm for 1-2 days and no other symptoms.  They said the sore arm is a bit worse than the flu vaccine but not too bad.  

 

  

[barbara]

1 hour ago, holina said:

I work as an inpatient hospital pharmacist and I just got my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine today!  On my drive home from the vaccine clinic, I got a bit emotional and shed a tear thinking back to the hard work that frontline health care workers and first responders have put in this far, how COVID has taken so many lives, how COVID has taken away our social lives, Yuzu’s message to health care workers....and how this vaccine could be the beginning of the end to all of this. 😭

 

The vaccination clinic was well run and very efficient.  I got in and out in 30 minutes (which included 15 minutes of sitting down and waiting to ensure I don’t have any serious reaction).

 

My coworkers who got the vaccine a few days ago report just having sore arm for 1-2 days and no other symptoms.  They said the sore arm is a bit worse than the flu vaccine but not too bad.  

 

  

The more reports about vaccines being administered, the more hopeful I become.

[rockstaryuzu]

2 hours ago, holina said:

I work as an inpatient hospital pharmacist and I just got my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine today!  On my drive home from the vaccine clinic, I got a bit emotional and shed a tear thinking back to the hard work that frontline health care workers and first responders have put in this far, how COVID has taken so many lives, how COVID has taken away our social lives, Yuzu’s message to health care workers....and how this vaccine could be the beginning of the end to all of this. 😭

 

The vaccination clinic was well run and very efficient.  I got in and out in 30 minutes (which included 15 minutes of sitting down and waiting to ensure I don’t have any serious reaction).

 

My coworkers who got the vaccine a few days ago report just having sore arm for 1-2 days and no other symptoms.  They said the sore arm is a bit worse than the flu vaccine but not too bad.  

 

  

 

16 minutes ago, barbara said:

The more reports about vaccines being administered, the more hopeful I become.

My sister-in-law the ER nurse got her first dose this week. And then was told they're not sure if the hospital will have enough vaccine to give the second dose in 3 week's time. Still, something is better than nothing. her only side effect was feeling super-tired the next day. 

[barbara]

Biden has released a statement saying they will send out every available dose of vaccine immediately.  I would be concerned about people getting their timely second doses, too, but I also think that this wouldn't be the plan if there wasn't some level of certainty that production of vaccines will be way ramped up and that the new administration must have a detailed distribution plan already developed.  Of course, I could be wrong, they could be wrong.  In this astonishingly awful week here in the states, I'll cling to something hopeful.

[holina]

The hospital that I work at (in downtown Toronto) actually ran out of vaccine and had to cancel a bunch of vaccine appointments for the weekend.  (It was actually in the news and my hospital’s

CEO as well as Ontario’s premier were on TV and Twitter expressing their dismay).  

But somehow last evening they learned that another hospital that is around 1 hour drive from downtown had unfilled appointment slots and contacted us to tell us to get the vaccine there.  I live in between downtown and the other hospital, so it ended up being a 30 minute drive for me which worked out super well.

It’s amazing how the hospitals work together to help vaccinate as many people and not waste any vaccine.  I have hope that everything will work out in the end because we are all so resilient!

 

[river]

I got my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday and the only thing this time around is a sore arm and some mild body aches. Every time I have a twinge in my arm, I'm honestly just thankful for it, because it means I'm having an immune reaction.

 

@barbara I do share your worries that people in the US will have a hard time getting their second dose of the vaccine on time when more doses are released immediately. Hopefully there will be a more concerted federal coordination effort shortly. (In about, oh, eight days or so...)

[liv]

I'd read that after the 2nd shot was when people seemed to have some issues. Glad to hear, @river that you felt fairly ok afterwards. And, yup, it means it's working. I've had to educate so many people about that! I get my 2nd shot 2 weeks from today.

 

Tomorrow is a big day at my Long Term Care facility... it's resident vaccination day! They're bringing in the vaccine and everyone is getting their shot, en masse. They're starting early in the morning and going straight until they're finished. Exciting times! Just a few more weeks and everyone will be as protected as they can possibly be, short of putting them into giant plastic bubbles!

[barbara]

2 hours ago, river said:

I got my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday and the only thing this time around is a sore arm and some mild body aches. Every time I have a twinge in my arm, I'm honestly just thankful for it, because it means I'm having an immune reaction.

 

@barbara I do share your worries that people in the US will have a hard time getting their second dose of the vaccine on time when more doses are released immediately. Hopefully there will be a more concerted federal coordination effort shortly. (In about, oh, eight days or so...)

I'm glad to hear the side effects were minimal. And that your antibodies will be in full swing soon.  I continue to have faith in what will be the new Covid team, though I'm not entirely sure they have everything they need to actually have a supply chain and distribution plan ready to go since they have been deprived valuable info.  I have read we can expect our total dead to be 400K by inauguration day, which can't come soon enough.  In Pima Cty, their still trying to get all the group 1a's done (first dose!). 1B was suppose to start today but has been pushed back a week.  And i'm not even in that group so am both clueless and hopeful. Maricopa County is way ahead of us - I don't know why.  But I'll keep masking and washing and spending way too much time home alone (with dogs).

[rockstaryuzu]

4 hours ago, liv said:

I'd read that after the 2nd shot was when people seemed to have some issues. Glad to hear, @river that you felt fairly ok afterwards. And, yup, it means it's working. I've had to educate so many people about that! I get my 2nd shot 2 weeks from today.

 

Tomorrow is a big day at my Long Term Care facility... it's resident vaccination day! They're bringing in the vaccine and everyone is getting their shot, en masse. They're starting early in the morning and going straight until they're finished. Exciting times! Just a few more weeks and everyone will be as protected as they can possibly be, short of putting them into giant plastic bubbles!

That is really good news! 

[yude]

Happny new year, everyone And congratulations to all of you who got vaccine! Japan also has been preparing for it and they say it will start in February, but I take it with a grain of salt since I have lost trust in them. The country has declared the second state of emergency applies to 11 prefectures so far, but Miyagi is not included at this point. I hope Yuzuru is healthy with his family!

[barbara]

7 hours ago, yude said:

Happny new year, everyone And congratulations to all of you who got vaccine! Japan also has been preparing for it and they say it will start in February, but I take it with a grain of salt since I have lost trust in them. The country has declared the second state of emergency applies to 11 prefectures so far, but Miyagi is not included at this point. I hope Yuzuru is healthy with his family!

Does Japan have criteria set up for who or what group will be receiving vaccines first?  For instance, do they put all the medical personnel in a first group and then older people followed by people with underlying conditions (such as Yuzu)?  In the states, it's different criteria based on state and county - nothing uniform across the ocuntry.

[yude]

16 時間前, barbaraさんが言いました:

Does Japan have criteria set up for who or what group will be receiving vaccines first?  For instance, do they put all the medical personnel in a first group and then older people followed by people with underlying conditions (such as Yuzu)?  In the states, it's different criteria based on state and county - nothing uniform across the ocuntry.

 

Yes, according to this article, we'll have the criteria just like you said-first: medical personnel, second: people over 65 years old, third: people with underlying conditions and personnel in nursing home for the elderly. And I think it is going to be the same nation wide but nothing is official yet. 

 

https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/medical/20201223-OYT1T50286/

[Umebachi]

Japanese government's response to Covid has been outdated and lacking in any strategic thinking.  Just old fashioned track and trace using the very limited Public Health capacities - which long ago lost the ability to keep up with the community-wide infection.  The authorities have also been very slow and late in preparing for the vaccination.  PM Suga has just woken up to the dire situation in this front, and appointed Kono Taro as the one in charge of vaccination strategy.  Kono is US educated and often appears on CSIS (American DC based think tank), was most recently Minister of Defense under Abe.  He has generally progressive ideas and is know to be sharp, strategic and pragmatic (also a Mr Know-it-all) and was assigned by PM Suga to be a cabinet minister in charge of "fix-it"- addressing all types of inefficiencies in the government bureaucracies.  After just a few months in this position, he is now being brought in to "fix" the vaccination strategy - which Min Health, Welfare and Social Affairs has been bungling around for months.  I don't understand why they were so late in starting the Phase I trials in Japan, and why they aren't willing to use some form of emergency declaration to push for an earlier approval for vaccination to start.  Initially, Suga was bumbling about the vaccine approval happening "as early as" end of February - which meant that actual vaccination wouldn't start until well into March.  In the midst of surging infection rates and looming Olympic events, I have been clutching at my heart as the citizens watched in horror at this slow-mo train wreck.   Well, with Minister Kono in charge, I thought at least he will be able to crack the whip to get the reluctant agencies to start moving and coordinate logistics with the local governments.   But just one day into his assignment, I find this twitter on Kono Taro's tweet (yes, he tweets often and is quite entertaining):

 

うあー、NHK、勝手にワクチン接種のスケジュールを作らないでくれ。デタラメだぞ。

 

Translation:  WAAAH, NHK, Please don't publicize the vaccination schedule on your own!  This is all fake news!

 

 

 

However, upon closer examination it seems Min Health had indeed put out some slides that show some sort of schedule of vaccination (of all those above age 16!?? I thought Pfizer/BionTech Phase III was done on population above 18, not 16!).  Minister Kono's twitter is going wild - everyone is commenting, some telling him that he should get the Min Health under control, others blaming NHK for irresponsible news coverage and should not be charging public fees, etc. etc.  

 

The bottom line:  it's a chaos in Japan at the moment.   In a few months (more likely end of summer), when Canada gets its vaccination going and achieved high level of coverage, I would think it might be safer for Yuzu to make his way back to Canada rather than stay in Japan under these conditions.   I am so disappointed in Japan's public health system - but sadly not surprised given what I saw five years ago when I was doing an in-depth review of the Japanese health system for the World Bank...  They were actually staffed by competent professionals but badly underfunded and under-staffed.  And still using fax to communicate with the Ministry of Health...  argggh!! 

  

 

[yude]

On 2021/1/20 at 午前11時23分, Umebachiさんが言いました:

Japanese government's response to Covid has been outdated and lacking in any strategic thinking.  Just old fashioned track and trace using the very limited Public Health capacities - which long ago lost the ability to keep up with the community-wide infection.  The authorities have also been very slow and late in preparing for the vaccination.  PM Suga has just woken up to the dire situation in this front, and appointed Kono Taro as the one in charge of vaccination strategy.  Kono is US educated and often appears on CSIS (American DC based think tank), was most recently Minister of Defense under Abe.  He has generally progressive ideas and is know to be sharp, strategic and pragmatic (also a Mr Know-it-all) and was assigned by PM Suga to be a cabinet minister in charge of "fix-it"- addressing all types of inefficiencies in the government bureaucracies.  After just a few months in this position, he is now being brought in to "fix" the vaccination strategy - which Min Health, Welfare and Social Affairs has been bungling around for months.  I don't understand why they were so late in starting the Phase I trials in Japan, and why they aren't willing to use some form of emergency declaration to push for an earlier approval for vaccination to start.  Initially, Suga was bumbling about the vaccine approval happening "as early as" end of February - which meant that actual vaccination wouldn't start until well into March.  In the midst of surging infection rates and looming Olympic events, I have been clutching at my heart as the citizens watched in horror at this slow-mo train wreck.   Well, with Minister Kono in charge, I thought at least he will be able to crack the whip to get the reluctant agencies to start moving and coordinate logistics with the local governments.   But just one day into his assignment, I find this twitter on Kono Taro's tweet (yes, he tweets often and is quite entertaining):

 

うあー、NHK、勝手にワクチン接種のスケジュールを作らないでくれ。デタラメだぞ。

 

Translation:  WAAAH, NHK, Please don't publicize the vaccination schedule on your own!  This is all fake news!

 

 

 

However, upon closer examination it seems Min Health had indeed put out some slides that show some sort of schedule of vaccination (of all those above age 16!?? I thought Pfizer/BionTech Phase III was done on population above 18, not 16!).  Minister Kono's twitter is going wild - everyone is commenting, some telling him that he should get the Min Health under control, others blaming NHK for irresponsible news coverage and should not be charging public fees, etc. etc.  

 

The bottom line:  it's a chaos in Japan at the moment.   In a few months (more likely end of summer), when Canada gets its vaccination going and achieved high level of coverage, I would think it might be safer for Yuzu to make his way back to Canada rather than stay in Japan under these conditions.   I am so disappointed in Japan's public health system - but sadly not surprised given what I saw five years ago when I was doing an in-depth review of the Japanese health system for the World Bank...  They were actually staffed by competent professionals but badly underfunded and under-staffed.  And still using fax to communicate with the Ministry of Health...  argggh!! 

  

 

 

Plus, they are sleeping in the Diet. I am speechless with disappointment. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Geog_RqSQ20