26 thoughts on “C-19 Chat Post – April 25 2021”

  1. If I understand correctly, statewide 5-day in-person learning resumes tomorrow through the end of the school year in June. I hope all teachers got fully vaccinated by now.

    1. Fortunately for teachers Vaccines are way easier to obtain now – but funny enough this is worrying to me. CVS used to be booked solid. You had to be up and refreshing the site at 12:30AM just to get a slot. Now if you go there, well go look for yourself and look at how many towns have available slots https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine – April 19th vaccine rollout for phase 3 opened to EVERYONE (over the age of 16) and you’d imagine this would mean at least for a few weeks that slots would be unavailable or hard to obtain. Not the case. That said here is the data on the amount of people who received the first dose and those who received the second dose: https://usafacts.org/visualizations/covid-vaccine-tracker-states/state/massachusetts

      There is a very real chance we see a drop off and experts say we need 80-90% vaccination rate to reach herd immunity. There is zero chance even with the threat of vaccine passports (which I do not like the idea of mind you) that we reach 80% vaccination rates.

      1. As for vaccination rates, I say give it time. It takes 3 weeks between doses so hopefully fully vaccinated rates will rise. We still need to get children under 16 vaccinated as well for the fall academic year. It’s good to see MA on track with the rest of the nation for a change, if not a bit ahead (52%).

        Btw, how are you feeling now Dr. S? Better, I hope. 🙂

          1. From what I heard via the mayo clinic it’s 70-80% need to get infected with covid for herd immunity whereas 80-90% need to get vaccinated for herd immunity. As 80 is the median let’s hope for that.

        1. Much better thank you. Currently only experiencing a headache but thankfully medicine seems to take care of that. I hope you’re right and that time will make those rates shoot up. But like I lead with: it being the first week that everyone 16 and over is eligible and there being that many open slots whereas before when we were in phase two and you couldn’t get a slot unless you were lucky gives me pause.

          1. I wish that all of these vaccines get perfected in time so that there will be little or no side effects at all for everyone on that second dose. I don’t recall hearing about the vaccines produced in the mid-20th century behaving like this but I guess it is to be expected under “wharp speed” production.

  2. Dr S. Wonderful news that you are feeling better. I mentioned you to my daughter today

    Daughter so far today does not have a headache today on day 6

    Has anyone had indigestion? I did but didn’t connect it to my vaccine until my daughter said she does. And she never does.

  3. I’ve noticed many slots are available on the Grafton FB I’ve mentioned. Much unlike weeks ago. And I wonder. One of my kids was telling me about a site where he found percent vaccinated. I’ll see if he still has the link

    1. Yes, now there are many slots available – supply is outstripping demand.

      As I’m accustomed to almost daily indigestion (nausea mainly) I’ll probably not even notice the side effect. I’ve heard from many that indigestion is an issue after shot #2.

      1. Thanks, Joshua. I didn’t connect the two since, as you know, I have reflux. But this is different. I simply did not connect. That you for letting me know it is not unusual

  4. Good news on the U.S. changing its tune radically on India aid. U.S. is now offering a substantial aid package, including raw materials for vaccine production and personnel on the ground (to be sent immediately to India).

    1. I feel better about this. It just didn’t fit with Biden’s world view. Good for him. So far it seems the only issue I disagree with him on is forcing the issue of schools going full in person. But If there comes a time I agree with absolutely everything any politician believes, then I need to look at myself. It is impossible to agree 100% with another and be true to yourself.

  5. I am still not comfortable with the J&J vaccine “pause” as I don’t believe it resolved a thing with regard to blood clots. We still don’t know “why” they occur with just this particular vaccine. There are enough post vaccination side effects with the other two as it is.

  6. Agree, Philip, with your assessment of J&J. There are still some unresolved issues, similar to Astra Zeneca. While I believe the J&J vaccine is good and relatively safe, the clotting issue keeps coming up, including several more reports in the past few days.

  7. According to Dr. Todd Ellerin, director of infectious diseases at South Shore Health, booster shots will be needed at one year or eighteen month intervals. Because the virus is highly contagious, one can transmit it even without symptoms, and it mutates into variants. Immunity to most coronaviruses is relatively short lived.

    It looks like this coronavirus is going to be with humans for generations to come. Oh well. 🙁

  8. Good news for Hadi and others planning an EU vacation. Looks like the EU will open up to fully vaccinated U.S. tourists beginning in July. Haven’t read all the details.

    1. My friend in NYC is hoping to visit her family in Sweden this summer. I sure hope she will be able to do so

  9. We are sending help to India as Joshua said. BUT vaccines do not seem to be on the list of our aid…

    Slavitt WH adviser was asked if we would send AZ vaccines to India …..since we are sending everything else. He danced around the answer until I wanted to slap him

  10. I am reading that a large number of police and fire fighters are not vaccinated. Baker said a month or better ago, as of that date, that he will not require them to be vaccinated. Philip touched in something with his comment re JJ. I wasn’t comfortable with JJ from the start because it was clearly rushed …more so than pfeizer and moderna. I also would not have been first in line wither either of those

    It gives me pause when I see JJ back in only days. We know that adequate information could not have been gained. So in truth…how do you then trust any agency approval of any drug

    Just thinking out loud. But I absolutely do not fault anyone who chooses not to be vaccinated. We have created the uncertainty

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