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Vaccines are Coming: Sign Me Up!
If it were up to Zeke Emmanuel, were I to catch the coronavirus he’d probably just let me die. I am, after all pretty close to his cut-off date for saving old people who are ill. He might be skeptical about my receiving the vaccine, too, since it was developed under the Trump administration. Yet I am encouraged and excited about the prospects of this vaccine, and am hopeful that we can continue to get our arms around this disease. Our first responders and related occupations should be the first to get the vaccines.
Unfortunately, the vaccines for coronavirus have been so heavily politicized that I should have no trouble finding a place in line to get the vaccination; many people in this country want to take a wait-and-see approach to vaccinations since people like me might die from the vaccine. Or they are anti-vaxxers who object strenuously to vaccinations. Others are suspicious because vaccines are being developed under Operation Warp Speed, although the Pfizer vaccine was developed without government funds. Then you have the government leaders who are determined to make sure the vaccine fails. It’s difficult for me to believe that their resistance is all about Trump, since I’m fairly confident that he hasn’t interfered with the vaccine developers. But you won’t convince New York Governor Andrew Cuomo:
The government has sent states a data sharing agreement asking for information such as age, sex, and race of someone who gets the vaccine. While Governor Cuomo says the state will reveal that data, it won’t release the other details such as passport numbers and Social Security numbers. The governor believes that information would be used to deport undocumented immigrants, a claim the White House is denying.
Cuomo also said the following:
‘We can’t let this vaccine plan go forward the way Trump is planning it,’ Cuomo said. ‘We need to fix it or stop it before it does damage.’
If anyone knows what he is talking about, please let me know.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, recently of The French Laundry fame, commented, too:
Just a couple weeks after Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he would not automatically distribute a vaccine for the coronavirus if one is approved while President Donald Trump is in the White House, three more Democrat governors are putting politics ahead of public health in their states by also saying they don’t trust the Trump administration in the matter.
He’s appointed an 11-member vaccine review committee to analyze the safety and efficacy to determine if the vaccine will be safe for Californians.
The other governors challenging Trump’s initiative are Katie Brown in Oregon, Jay Inslee in Washington, and Steve Sisolak in Nevada.
If you are curious, you can review Pfizer’s release.
Both vaccines do have mild to moderate side effects. Moderna explains those as follows:
A review of solicited adverse events indicated that the vaccine was generally well tolerated. The majority of adverse events were mild or moderate in severity. Grade 3 (severe) events greater than or equal to 2% in frequency after the first dose included injection site pain (2.7%), and after the second dose included fatigue (9.7%), myalgia (8.9%), arthralgia (5.2%), headache (4.5%), pain (4.1%) and erythema/redness at the injection site (2.0%). These solicited adverse events were generally short-lived. These data are subject to change based on ongoing analysis of further Phase 3 COVE study data and final analysis.
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My husband and I don’t take lightly being injected with this vaccine. (I don’t like shots.) In his case, he has damaged lungs and would not fare well, at 75 years old, from contracting the disease. Part of my interest in getting the vaccine is to protect him; I’m also interested in taking back my life from the tyranny of fear.
The coronavirus has been one of the most destructive forces we have lived through in this country, and it isn’t over yet. Not only do people experience a daily fear for their lives and the lives of their family members, but they are being devastated by the distorted presentation of the data by the media, the threat of mandatory mask-wearing, the actual or potential loss of loved ones, and the threat of more lockdowns. In my own community, a 55+ community, people often have co-morbidities.
Although I know that each person has to make his or her own decision about receiving the vaccine in consultation with their doctors, I hope to be an example of a person who thinks that receiving the vaccine is a good idea. Even if I have side effects, I expect them to be temporary (as they are for most people). In part I hope to inspire others to consider the vaccine; it has been so difficult for me to watch my neighbors living their lives in fear.
At our ages, every day counts.
Our lives should not be dominated by fear.
Published in Healthcare
We will not be first in line once a vaccine is approved. It will go to health-care workers first, first-responders next, and then maybe us old folks. I will gladly take whichever vaccine is approved first and available. With my state adding an additional layer of approvals due to TDS, it is just one more reason to leave the State for more-welcoming parts.
I need to correct my post, @rushbabe49. You are absolutely right and that’s the way it should be. Thanks.
Also, I expect getting the vaccine here in FL should not be too difficult to get if people sign up properly.
In the past our state has offered free first responder vaccinations early on, so I suspect it will again. We have to send one person in to the caller’s home first to check for COVID symptoms; since COVID started we have had two full arrests and basically everyone is in there with hands on the patient for a long time until it’s resolved. Being vaccinated will be a big relief in those high risk situations.
Its more along the lines of the risks associated with illness should outweigh the risk of vaccine. Since we don’t really know the risks of the vaccine and we do know the risks of the illness, it makes sense for lower risk people to not get the vaccine immediately while it makes tons of sense for people with higher risks associated with the illness probably would want to get it.
I’m not going to knock your choice. It’s your body, your choice, your risk assessment. Same with my in-laws (they are getting it, too). But there’s no reason for my kids to get it.
I’m not afraid of the vaccine killing you. That makes no sense for power hungry people to kill the peons. My conspiracy theories are a little less obvious than that =p
Actually, I believe the vaccines will be free for everyone. But I’m glad to know you’ll be safer, @tex929rr; you take enough risks out there!
That’s good to know, Stina! ;-) I agree with your assessment of who should get the vaccine, and we are in the higher risk group. But kids–that’s just plain silly. They’ve been through enough with this pandemic as it is!
Our dictator will not lift the restrictions until nearly everyone is vaccinated. Do the vaccine-refusers want their neighbors to know that they are the ones holding up the removal of restrictions on everyone? Those kids and other refusers may just be actually “killing grandma” if their refusal to be vaccinated prevents grandma from having visitors in the nursing home, and she dies of despair.
What? He’s actually said that? You have to get out, and soon, RB.
Sounds like those governors have volunteered their states to go last.
There is sound science behind this, I am sure.
Stab me, doctor!
Since I perceive the risks of the virus itself lower than the mental health risks of lockdown (partial or total) and complete barriers to real human interaction (for me anyway), I to some extent want to get the virus itself to get the antibodies. (I am a 64 year old man in generally good health.)
I am a 71-year old woman in good health and I am not afraid of the big, bad virus.
I’m vain enough to think I’d probably survive (as almost all in my age/risk group do) if I were struck by the COVID right now. 66 years old. Not quite within the bounds of a 5’10” person WRT weight, but not far off. No obvious comorbidities. I’d probably submit to the vaccine once it became generally available to people in my age/risk group.
As for Zeke Emmanuel, I wish he’d stick to his advocacy for appropriate long-term treatment for the long-term mentally ill, where I think he’s had one or two “stopped clock” moments; and I wish he’d refrain from contemporary political suggestions for generational engineering. Bio-ethicism is as bio-ethicism does, and it strikes me that he doesn’t do it all that well.
And as for Governor Cuomo, words fail. (If you think that means there’s a post upcoming, you’re probably right.)
Except the taxpayer.
Doesn’t the vaccine take away most of the risk, @fullsizetabby?
Great! I’ll watch for it!
Here is Gov. DeSantis’ announcement regarding the state’s recommendations for use of new treatments and vaccines for COVID-19.
Edit: DeSantis and his folks have been making plans for how to handle distribution of the vaccines since July. They are well-prepared.
I just heard Biden say that everyone in this country, “all 330 million,” will get the vaccine. Was that an implied, whether they want it or not?
What do you all think?
He probably wants to mandate it. Our governor on the other hand, says the vaccine will be available to all “who want” it. He is not going to mandate it.
I agree with you. We are up for taking the vaccine. I would rather not get the virus than recover from it.
If I make it that long without suicide or mental breakdown.
@fullsizetabby, I took your comment as in jest, but I realized you might be serious, if mildly so. So many of us are stressed. Are you okay?
Likely if you do not take the vaccine when generally available you may not be able to travel internationally. Maybe even nationally in certain places. If the Supreme Court does not start slapping down unconstitutional actions imposed for “ public health” reasons, we will not have a constitution in short order.
@rodin, I hadn’t heard about the potential travel restrictions. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, though. The prohibitions just keep piling up, don’t they?
I don’t know which thread to put this question on, but I’m wondering about this new break-through technology called the mRNA vaccine. I will state my vague understanding of mRNA and hope for correction and clarification.
1- mRNA is created by protein enzymes (these enzymes are created and tasked by a process I don’t know) entering the cell membrane of a specific cell, and then entering the cell nucleus and activating a specific portion of the DNA strand to unzip itself. (Perhaps the mRNA vaccine skips this process.)
2- A portion of one side of this unzipped DNA strand accumulates amino acids that lock together into forming another mRNA strand and floats outside the cell. (Perhaps the mRNA vaccine skips this process as well.)
3- More amino acids accumulate onto the mRNA strand.
4- The new amino acid strand then breaks loose from the mRNA and folds up by weak atomic attraction into a complex 3D protein molecule, creating certain active catalytic sites. In this case making an antibody with at least one active site that adheres to a portion of the covid virus.
5- The antibody circulates in the blood stream and by chance encounters a virus, attaches to it, and nullifies the virus’ ability to latch onto healthy human cells, enter them and reproduce.
I don’t know what initiates this process, and don’t know what stops this process. Mostly, I’m concerned with what stops this process, and with what other healthy cellular structures these antibodies ultimately adhere to.
Does anybody have any information on how this vaccine actually works? I’m very interested to know.
My basic test for real world risk is this: do all the healthcare workers, police, firefighters line up for it, and does the U.S. military order all their uniformed personnel to line up and take it? That is good enough for me. However, given the politicized nature of the DOD and many healthcare entities/ professional organizations, I’m not so sure that is such a good test this time around.
I got my flu shot early, as I do every year, and I expect to get the first available vaccine for this bug, as I can no longer take the usual OTC flu medication (messes with my AFib pill).
Yeah, that’s the one thing that makes me nervous about them. I don’t see why they need to be “free” for everyone. I’d be glad for the government to keep cost from being an obstacle, but I don’t get “free for everyone.”
Oh, you might be surprised. Trink was in line in front of a woman who said it will all be over in a month when the vaccine comes out — thanks to Dolly Parton.
I have two friends in the hospital right now with COVID, one as a precaution due to comorbidities and the other an otherwise healthy 40-something in ICU with COVID pneumonia. This virus is no joke, but my concern with the vaccine is unforeseen long term effects given the speed with which this has all been developed and tested. I’d like to give vaccine recipients 6 months before I get mine to see if anything “develops.” I am not in a risk category, though.
I’m 62 and I won’t be getting the vaccine. Like the virus, there is too much fear-mongering surrounding it. What especially irks me are the (perhaps) restrictions surrounding it: travel, not lifting lockdowns until 100% compliant, etc., etc. The mRNA stuff creeps me out, too. I suppose I’m in the camp of seeing government trying to control us through fear of a virus and then controlling us through non-compliance orders and restrictions if I don’t take the vaccine. There is not much I trust about the government anymore.
And why would I risk taking the fastest-ever developed vaccine for something I have a 99% chance of recovery from?
Too many red flags that… ummm… are apocalyptic in a Christian sense.
I can understand your hesitation, @westernchauvinist. I liken the usual development time for vaccines to the extreme amount of time to approve drugs: ridiculous. I think viruses have taken that long due to difficult government regulations that served no purpose except to make them look like they were doing something. The streamlining doesn’t concern me for that reason.