I get bad allergies and sore throats all the time, got tested the 3 times I was sickest in the last 2 years and was always negative so I could have caught it, but maybe not. I also fall into the blood O (if that’s still a thing) and triple vaxxed so maybe I confused covid for allergies recently, but think I’ve escaped it.
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Hey folks!
A while back I wrote about a debate I was having in terms of getting my then-11-yr-old son vaxxed. (Cliffs: I was wondering about waiting a couple months to get him the ‘stronger’ dose given to 12-year olds. I took the thread’s advice and got him what was available ASAP).
New questions:
We’re heading to the states for the next 5 weeks or so. He has not yet become eligible for a booster here (he will become so here while we’re abroad in the US) so we haven’t yet. Also potentially key info: he has a US passport.
I want to get him vaxxed again or boosted while we’re in the States. Can I walk him into a pharmacy for that? Should I say he’s never been vaxxed? Should I tell the truth or might that cause problems? Finally, his first shot was Pfizer… am I reading this thread correctly that the smart play would be to get him Moderna now, if we have a choice?
Check with which ever state you’re going to but most will offer the vaccine to foreign nationals no questions asked.
You should be fine telling them he needs a booster and doesn’t have a CDC vaccination card.
IIRC the difference in efficacy is in the ~1% range so it’s not that big a deal but both vaccines seem to be in ready supply so might as well go for it.
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I think you should get Moderna.
The best play is just find a pharmacy near where you are staying and go to their website and try to make an online appointment (this always works better than a walk-in from what I’ve heard, if for no other reason than it eliminates waiting time). They might ask for insurance info online. Just say you don’t have it. Then when you show up at the pharmacy they may ask you for insurance info and/or ID, just say that you don’t have that either (for a kid, no ID is not really surprising). They will still give you the shot. Or you can just provide his passport if you want. It doesn’t really matter. It also doesn’t matter if he doesn’t have a vaccine card, just tell them what you want and that you had the other shots overseas but don’t have the records with you.
In theory, this is how it should work just about everywhere (maybe there are states where it doesn’t work this way, but I haven’t heard of that). If it doesn’t work that way, it means the pharmacist is going rogue and deviating. Then just try the above at a different pharmacy. I can’t even imagine that happening if you choose to provide the passport.
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Any major providers /drug stores scheduling online yet? I can’t find any.
I don’t think it’s 100% approved yet. One more step maybe.
Walensky just signed off so I think we’re good to go: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3528750-walensky-signs-off-on-pfizer-moderna-covid-19-vaccines-for-children-under-5/
Last time they did over 5 year olds the first pharmacy site to start scheduling was walgreens at around 5 am the next morning. I know this because i woke up every few hours and kept refreshing.
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Could you just schedule with the wrong date of birth and then when you show up just say “Oops, I must have entered the birth date in incorrectly, it’s actually 2018. Sorry about that.”
I doubt they will turn you away at that point.
The problem is it’s different formulations/concentrations/dosages I think, and not all the drug stores are going to have immediate availability, so I wouldn’t do this.
Edit: I guess if you don’t care about the possibility of a wasted trip it might be ok.
Yeah, it requires a bit of guesswork to be able to project availability. Worst case, you just check the day before or the morning of to see if they’ve got the stuff. If not, then reschedule.
Just call them the day before and ask if they are giving shots for under fives yet. They will either say no or tell you to make an appt.
Fair.
Sadly, I don’t think there’s going to be the rush to get this like the other releases.
You’re probably right. Covid is over. Mine is the only family in our community still consistently wearing masks everywhere.
UPDATE
Walgreens website just changed. Previously when I put in my daughters DOB it said she wasn’t eligible. Now it says they don’t have any within 25 miles of my location. If you’re lookign for an appointment, you might be able to get one at Walgreens soon. I think they’re actively updating it right now. I tried putting in really high population centers like NYC and it still says no availability within 25 miles, so I’m guessing they just haven’t u[pdated that part yet.
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seems like everyone but me just got it or just had this
disturbing that it’s happening when it’s not supposed to in the middle of summer but it’s better for us this way, we’re healthier now than if it was a fall slam, which we might be fine as a country at now.
at least until the monkeypox/covid strain combo
Ugh. 28 year old son ran a marathon today with a buddy. Buddy got sick while running. Poz test right after the race. Now my son woke up from a nap with sore throat. He was staying at another son’s house. Hopefully the grandsons don’t get it. They are suppose to travel here in a month. All but the 3 year jabbed. I expect they will have him in as soon as they can out in the Wisconsin boonies.
He left to take it back to his gf in Nebraska rather than stay infect everyone in Wiscy.
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