Joshua, why can’t these pharmaceuticals produce vaccines at a much faster rate? It seems nothing but shortages everywhere. I’m beginning to wonder now if President Biden should have stuck with his original timeframe of July when everyone can get vaccinated. May isn’t all that far away…month after next.
Joshua, could all 50 states mass produce their own vaccines 24/7 like factories during WW II?
At this rate, it’s going to be more like May…2022 before everyone gets vaccinated. Maybe that’s what Biden was thinking??
Actually, looking at the big picture nationwide, we’re doing pretty well on the vaccine rollout at the moment. Better than expected. The 100 million doses in the first 100 days of office (Biden) will be met very soon, ahead of schedule. The rollout was very bumpy to begin with, but has improved since. This is not to say there still aren’t issues in individual states like Massachusetts, because there are. But the issues have had less to do with supply than the logistics of meeting demand and administering shots.
This said, you make a valid point that May is probably not a realistic goal for being able to vaccinate all Americans – that is, having sufficient supplies.
I am not an expert on manufacturing of vaccines but do know it’s complex, including the storage component, and needs to be carefully monitored to ensure optimal quality and safety. I am sure the drug makers are doing their best to boost supplies. Again, the U.S. is doing a better job in increasing supplies than many other countries, including most of Europe (U.K. is the exception).
My concern is that Fenway, Gillette and Reggie Lewis Center will be shutting down as vaccination sites due to shortages, so I am assuming there is a “supply” issue here in this state. Or am I misunderstanding?
You’re not misunderstanding. There have been and continue to be local shortages. Massachusetts has been especially affected by this.
The issue, however, is not in manufacturing supply – except for the newest vaccines from J&J – rather it’s in getting the vaccines from the manufacturing facilities to the administration sites around the state and country.
You mentioned the possibility of doing more local manufacturing. That could be done in Massachusetts, as we have quite a number of biopharmaceutical plants that could churn out vaccines without much repurposing of the factories. I’m a little surprised that this hasn’t happened. Having manufactured vials of vaccines right here in the Bay State would help.
Does that leave more room for variations in the vaccine or are there specific guidelines that must be followed.
Actually,,that may be a silly question. Thought just popped into my head
Just this morning, a coworker went down to a local church on her break to get a vaccine with an appointment and paperwork, only to find the facility CLOSED.
We need more of a “WW II” type effort on these vaccines. We can get the latest iPhone into the hands of every man, woman, child in every demographic by the end of the weekend if necessary but I guess it’s too much to ask to get vaccines into even “some” arms of select demographics.
Frankly I’m surprised at some of few successes we have had so far, given the very poor distribution.
Hopefully my rant isn’t out of line. 🙂
No it isn’t out of line. It is a sad state of affairs
I know many many teachers who have gotten appointments through CVS in the last 3 days–a number of them got the J&J vaccine as quickly as today after booking this morning. Granted we still have many more to do,(I believe there are 400,000 across the Commonwealth) but earlier this week teachers weren’t even eligible. I’m optimistic….
Sadly, many seniors have not been able to get appointments.
I agree that day care teachers should absolutely be vaccinated. I do not agree that the rush to get kids back in school at the expense of our seniors is the right thing to do.
Last spring the majority of schools focused on getting kids in school. Because of that many schools were ill prepared for remote. I absolutely know a focus on remote works. It has in Sutton, other school systems in MA and throughout the country
So what are we doing now? We are focusing on getting kids back now rather than the program we will need in fall. Sound familiar? No wonder we continue to fail.
As an aside …I’m wondering how many know some younger kids are afraid to go from the playground back into the school. So afraid they stand on the playground and cry. How is this better for our children?
Dave this is not aimed at you. You are as entitled to your views as I am mine. My frustration is at our remarkably messed up plan
Philip, your rant is not out of line at all. There have been and continue to be issues with vaccinations. I think the biggest one lies ahead: Vaccine hesitancy.
But, we’re doing a much better job than practically all of Europe, except the UK. I’m shocked at how poorly they are doing with vaccinations. They’re really good at immunizations, preventive care, and the like. Their healthcare systems are better than ours with respect to many indicators. Yet, they’ve dropped the ball on vaccinations, which I believe is contributing to yet another wave in some countries.
We’re not out of the woods yet, which is why I’m not pleased with the lifting of restrictions on indoor capacity limits. Frankly, I care less about the mask mandate than the capacity limits. The latter is absolutely crucial to preventing spread outside the household. More so than masks.
Then what are your thoughts on recent lifting of mask mandates in Texas and Mississippi?
Not happy about lifting the mask mandates, but my point is that it’s the reverting to 100% capacity in every indoor setting that worries me even more.
I have a young grandchild who asked recently why we are acting like children.
I’m a bit confused re masks. Aerosolized covid droplets can hand in the air up to three hours ….or so I understand from a Harvard document. Is that no longer a concern?
it is indeed the aerosolized droplets that are of concern, and masks help to prevent some of the particles from getting into our bodies. I’m not saying I am against masks. I just think that some think masks are a panacea. They are not. If, for example, if you have a restaurant at 100% capacity, even if there’s some mask-wearing it’s way too full to prevent potential spread should someone carry the virus. We need to be at 60-70% (at least) vaccinated before reopening to 100%. That’s achievable in a couple of months. Before then I would keep the capacity limits in indoor settings. So not a total lockdown by any means, but limits the potential spread by reducing the numbers of people in indoor spaces.
Thanks, Joshua, for unconfusing me. That makes perfect sense.
C-19 for 3-6 is ready.
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Joshua, why can’t these pharmaceuticals produce vaccines at a much faster rate? It seems nothing but shortages everywhere. I’m beginning to wonder now if President Biden should have stuck with his original timeframe of July when everyone can get vaccinated. May isn’t all that far away…month after next.
Joshua, could all 50 states mass produce their own vaccines 24/7 like factories during WW II?
At this rate, it’s going to be more like May…2022 before everyone gets vaccinated. Maybe that’s what Biden was thinking??
Actually, looking at the big picture nationwide, we’re doing pretty well on the vaccine rollout at the moment. Better than expected. The 100 million doses in the first 100 days of office (Biden) will be met very soon, ahead of schedule. The rollout was very bumpy to begin with, but has improved since. This is not to say there still aren’t issues in individual states like Massachusetts, because there are. But the issues have had less to do with supply than the logistics of meeting demand and administering shots.
This said, you make a valid point that May is probably not a realistic goal for being able to vaccinate all Americans – that is, having sufficient supplies.
I am not an expert on manufacturing of vaccines but do know it’s complex, including the storage component, and needs to be carefully monitored to ensure optimal quality and safety. I am sure the drug makers are doing their best to boost supplies. Again, the U.S. is doing a better job in increasing supplies than many other countries, including most of Europe (U.K. is the exception).
My concern is that Fenway, Gillette and Reggie Lewis Center will be shutting down as vaccination sites due to shortages, so I am assuming there is a “supply” issue here in this state. Or am I misunderstanding?
You’re not misunderstanding. There have been and continue to be local shortages. Massachusetts has been especially affected by this.
The issue, however, is not in manufacturing supply – except for the newest vaccines from J&J – rather it’s in getting the vaccines from the manufacturing facilities to the administration sites around the state and country.
You mentioned the possibility of doing more local manufacturing. That could be done in Massachusetts, as we have quite a number of biopharmaceutical plants that could churn out vaccines without much repurposing of the factories. I’m a little surprised that this hasn’t happened. Having manufactured vials of vaccines right here in the Bay State would help.
Does that leave more room for variations in the vaccine or are there specific guidelines that must be followed.
Actually,,that may be a silly question. Thought just popped into my head
Just this morning, a coworker went down to a local church on her break to get a vaccine with an appointment and paperwork, only to find the facility CLOSED.
We need more of a “WW II” type effort on these vaccines. We can get the latest iPhone into the hands of every man, woman, child in every demographic by the end of the weekend if necessary but I guess it’s too much to ask to get vaccines into even “some” arms of select demographics.
Frankly I’m surprised at some of few successes we have had so far, given the very poor distribution.
Hopefully my rant isn’t out of line. 🙂
No it isn’t out of line. It is a sad state of affairs
I know many many teachers who have gotten appointments through CVS in the last 3 days–a number of them got the J&J vaccine as quickly as today after booking this morning. Granted we still have many more to do,(I believe there are 400,000 across the Commonwealth) but earlier this week teachers weren’t even eligible. I’m optimistic….
Sadly, many seniors have not been able to get appointments.
I agree that day care teachers should absolutely be vaccinated. I do not agree that the rush to get kids back in school at the expense of our seniors is the right thing to do.
Last spring the majority of schools focused on getting kids in school. Because of that many schools were ill prepared for remote. I absolutely know a focus on remote works. It has in Sutton, other school systems in MA and throughout the country
So what are we doing now? We are focusing on getting kids back now rather than the program we will need in fall. Sound familiar? No wonder we continue to fail.
As an aside …I’m wondering how many know some younger kids are afraid to go from the playground back into the school. So afraid they stand on the playground and cry. How is this better for our children?
Dave this is not aimed at you. You are as entitled to your views as I am mine. My frustration is at our remarkably messed up plan
Philip, your rant is not out of line at all. There have been and continue to be issues with vaccinations. I think the biggest one lies ahead: Vaccine hesitancy.
But, we’re doing a much better job than practically all of Europe, except the UK. I’m shocked at how poorly they are doing with vaccinations. They’re really good at immunizations, preventive care, and the like. Their healthcare systems are better than ours with respect to many indicators. Yet, they’ve dropped the ball on vaccinations, which I believe is contributing to yet another wave in some countries.
We’re not out of the woods yet, which is why I’m not pleased with the lifting of restrictions on indoor capacity limits. Frankly, I care less about the mask mandate than the capacity limits. The latter is absolutely crucial to preventing spread outside the household. More so than masks.
Then what are your thoughts on recent lifting of mask mandates in Texas and Mississippi?
Not happy about lifting the mask mandates, but my point is that it’s the reverting to 100% capacity in every indoor setting that worries me even more.
I have a young grandchild who asked recently why we are acting like children.
I’m a bit confused re masks. Aerosolized covid droplets can hand in the air up to three hours ….or so I understand from a Harvard document. Is that no longer a concern?
it is indeed the aerosolized droplets that are of concern, and masks help to prevent some of the particles from getting into our bodies. I’m not saying I am against masks. I just think that some think masks are a panacea. They are not. If, for example, if you have a restaurant at 100% capacity, even if there’s some mask-wearing it’s way too full to prevent potential spread should someone carry the virus. We need to be at 60-70% (at least) vaccinated before reopening to 100%. That’s achievable in a couple of months. Before then I would keep the capacity limits in indoor settings. So not a total lockdown by any means, but limits the potential spread by reducing the numbers of people in indoor spaces.
Thanks, Joshua, for unconfusing me. That makes perfect sense.
C-19 for 3-6 is ready.