The Covid19 thread

[Falcon Horus]

So I was vaccinated with the Pfizer shot 3 days ago. So far, so good. Had one day of dull pain at the injection site, limited mobility in that arm and slightly elevated temperature, the next day everything was normal again. Second shot March 2.

Our government decided today to re-open hairdressers after all, going against the advice of the scientists to wait at least for 2 weeks longer, but nope. Strict protocols are a must but they can re-open.

Zoo's and holiday parks, and campings can re-open as well.

And when general vaccinations start, we can have paid leave for the day we have to go in for our shot. But by the time it's my turn, around summer time it'll probably happen just when I have my paid leave off for the summer. Darn it, I so wanted to put "vaccination leave" in my schedule.

[Falcon Horus]

Had to cancel my trip to Ohio in July due to no vaccines available in Arizona. Weather is hampering UPS and Fedex ground deliveries. And, Biden said Covid vaccines won't be available until July. Wow, what a President!

Can't blame Biden for that... There are vaccine-delivery troubles everywhere, which isn't that unexpected really.

[Falcon Horus]

Apparently you haven't heard the latest. Biden is sending Covid vaccines, that we made, to other countries.

Might want to check where Pfizer's vaccines come from before you complain about that.

Because I distinctly remember Pfizer's Belgian plant sending shipments to other countries, including the US.

It should be noted that only about 230,000 (of 11 million) have so far been fully vaccinated in our country.
Approximately 400,000 have received their first shot so far.

Considering the problems with AstraZeneca and Moderna, I don't expect to be lucky enough to go into the summer with even 1 shot in the arm.

[Womble]

Had to cancel my trip to Ohio in July due to no vaccines available in Arizona. Weather is hampering UPS and Fedex ground deliveries. And, Biden said Covid vaccines won't be available until July. Wow, what a President!

Biden can't conjure vaccines out of thin air. There is a shortage in the EU right now to the point that they are considering limiting export (EU is the main manufacturer). We here in Israel have a vaccine surplus because our Prime Minister was quick to sign purchase contracts with anyone who claimed to have a working vaccine.

We have some 100 000 doses of Moderna that might expire before they're used, so the Prime Minister tried to give them away to other countries to score political points; how he is in hot water for it because he made the decision single-handedly like it was his property.

[Falcon Horus]

I feel I must report you. You're mocking a US citizen who's in the age group that must be vaccinated NOW.

Why would I be mocking you -- we're all in the same boat of perhaps a seriously flawed vaccine strategy.

On paper it all looked like 2021 was going to be the year we were gonna beat this thing, but due to shortages, supply-troubles, political BS, ... it doesn't look like anyone can say for certain whether life will be back to "normal" come 2022. Not at the rate we're going.

I'm referring to Womble's post about shortages in our part of the world, and the absolute chaos this has been causing in our vaccine strategy.

How it currently stands, and this is just best-case scenario, the general population over (18+/-65) will not get vaccinated until (maybe) June 2021.

I'm hoping the Johnson & Johnson vaccine gets approved here before then so that it might speed things up. But the first 200 million of their production is exclusively meant for the United States market so should I be resentful of that then... you get first dibs.

I'm not by the way... it's just what it is.

Biden can't conjure vaccines out of thin air.

Not even Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna or J&J can do that apparently.

There is a shortage in the EU right now to the point that they are considering limiting export (EU is the main manufacturer).

The AstraZeneca shenanigans are still going strong.

[Falcon Horus]

Dammit, I hate to say it but Annoyed was right... (I'm never living this one down)...

Our vaccination chaos continues, now with the added bonus of who goes on the backup-list. Every vaccination center has a backup-list of people to call when invitees neglect to show up, for reasons only known to them. Some centers put everyone on it, others only those who respond to a call to be put on it -- through social media or media channels.

And in the meantime, infections continue to climb -- deaths are down and continue to be down so at least that's good. People admitted to hospital are mainly between the ages 18 and 60 -- you guessed it, the working half of the population. One report from a hospital in Brussels mentioned the youngest covid-patient in ICU is 35.

[Womble]

Getting my second Pfizer shot today. Some people told me it's nothing to worry about, others say it was pretty rough for a few days. Wish me luck.

[Who Knows]

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[Who Knows]

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[mad_gater]

Dammit, I hate to say it but Annoyed was right... (I'm never living this one down)...

Our vaccination chaos continues, now with the added bonus of who goes on the backup-list. Every vaccination center has a backup-list of people to call when invitees neglect to show up, for reasons only known to them. Some centers put everyone on it, others only those who respond to a call to be put on it -- through social media or media channels.

And in the meantime, infections continue to climb -- deaths are down and continue to be down so at least that's good. People admitted to hospital are mainly between the ages 18 and 60 -- you guessed it, the working half of the population. One report from a hospital in Brussels mentioned the youngest covid-patient in ICU is 35.

I joked with co-workers that since I hardly ever get sick that maybe I've got little mini-Daleks in my immune system....like "Foreign cellular bodies are detected"...."Exterminate them!"

[Falcon Horus]

Getting my second Pfizer shot today. Some people told me it's nothing to worry about, others say it was pretty rough for a few days. Wish me luck.

Yup, some have a stronger reaction to the first one while others don't. Same with the second shot.

I'm secretely hoping the J&J vaccine gets approved here in a timely fashion so that I only have to go in once.
But I'm definitely hoping my time slot is during office hours so that I can put "VACCINATION TIME" in my schedule. We can ask for official leave but our company doesn't need us to put in paid leave for it, we just have to tell our teamleads we have to go in and be back in a jiffy.

Drove past our vaccination centre yesterday and it was pretty quiet there.

[Falcon Horus]

I joked with co-workers that since I hardly ever get sick that maybe I've got little mini-Daleks in my immune system....like "Foreign cellular bodies are detected"...."Exterminate them!"

[Falcon Horus]

Easing of the COVID-rules as of... (Belgium)

Monday the 8th of March

* we can gather outside in groups of 10 people maximum, keeping a safe distance and wearing facemasks.
currently limited still to 4 people
* 50 people may attend a funeral but the capacity has to take into account 1 square meter per person

Monday the 15th of March

* college and university students may attend in-class lessons one day a week
currently only first years have in-class lessons, everyone else has online classes
* students in technical schools and those attending special needs schools can go back to in-class learning
* one-day schooloutings in both primary and secondary schools can happen again

Thursday the 1st of April

* events and religious services can restart in a controlled area outside with a maximum of 50 people attending -- keeping social distancing and facemasks in mind
* 18+ can go back to practicing their sports in an outside environment and with a maximum of 10 people attending
* amusementparks can open, since most are outside anyway

Easterholidays from the 5th to the 18th of April

* anyone under 18 years of age can attend camps with overnight stay, with a maximum a group of maximum 25 people -- everyone will be tested at the start of the camp and at the end of it
* travelrestrictions remain in place until the easterholiday -- however a new meeting is set for the 26th of March where the government might decide on easing those restrictions if the numbers continue to go down (they are not at the moment -- hospital admissions have been going up)

Monday the 19th of April

* all students can return to in-class learning

Saturday the 1st of May

* cafes and restaurants can open again, as do theaters, cinemas and other cultural events -- these will be under strick regulation and tests will be mandatory at regular intervals

****

In the meantime, our vaccination continues to be spotty with AstraZeneca and Moderna not delivering the promised amounts which means our strategies are reduced to the speed slower than a snail.

[Womble]

So tomorrow our airport was supposed to be somewhat opened for returning citizens of our own country (to the tune of 1000 people per day), but the government cannot agree on the details so I'm going to have to deal with lots of desperate people. I think we are the only country in the world whose own citizens can't obtain permission to come home from overseas.

The government promised that everyone would be able to return before election day. That's why I'm terrified of election day even more than usual - in addition to everything else we will each run the risk of getting infected with a brand new foreign mutation. Lockdown number 4 seems inevitable.

[Who Knows]

How did your second shot go young Womble?

We Australians in the 'Lucky Country' are still waiting for our first