I was going to go grab a flu shot plus vaccine at lunch. I don’t need my vaccine card right?
Nope
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The process of getting a vaccine seems a lot easier in America than the Czech Republic. I thnk part of that is because pharmacies are the ones giving them out. That’s not the case here. Here, you go to a government website, put in your data (health ins. card #, DOB, phone #) to pull your record. Then, you choose your shot, desired location (whichever nondescript location is closest to you), and then wait for a SMS PIN. Once you get the PIN, you enter that at the same website along with your health insurance card number then choose an appointment. You show up, fill out a questionnaire, get that questionnaire checked by a doctor, get the shot, wait 15 minutes in a chair outside and leave.
For the states, it seems you go to CVS.com, choose a location, appointment, and the other steps are basically the same.
That’s nuts. I never even had to make an appointment, I just showed up at my grocery store and waited ~10 min. I think they asked for health insurance info and that’s about it.
Yeah a lot of people aren’t using the website anymore. It’s why when I went to the facility, it was packed. Almost nobody made a reservation. They just showed up and took a number like it was a post office. It’s why there was at least a one hour wait for them.
Since I had an appointment, I got to blow by those people and waited about 10 minutes.
The reason for appointments is from the government’s POV, inventory control. They know how many shots everybody got and prevents them from accidentally giving extra shots to others. This mattered when the supply of vaccines was initially not enough to meet demand.
My local Walgreen’s wouldn’t take walk-ins, but I was able to do same day online sign-up.
I got the bivalent second booster yesterday. My arm hurts a lot more than previous shots and started hurting immediately, but the pain is still only in my upper arm.
IIRC the flu shot is their best guess at which strains will be dominant that year. Do they recalibrate at all based on early flu season data? Or is the shot I could get now identical to the one I’d get a month or two from now? Thinking of going in for a double-shot because I assume even partial resistance to flu is better than nothing, just making sure I’m not better off waiting for the flu shot and doing just covid booster now
In general they don’t recalibrate during a season. It takes 4-6 months to develop and manufacture flu vaccine.
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Right I think they pull from what was going around in flu season in the Southern hemisphere for our vaccines, and vice versa for their vaccines.
And this year the flu season numbers in the southern hemisphere werr pretty high, so the expectation is that it will hit us hard this winter.
I got my flu shit last week and I just scheduled my covid booster for Saturday afternoon. I figured it would be a good excuse to stay in bed all Sunday and watch football.
My wife got her covid booster a week ago and it hit her pretty hard. She felt like crap for 36 hours and slept a whole lot. I’m bracing for some rough times on Sunday, but I definitely rather do that than getting covid (still covid free myself).
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My condolences to your toilet.
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Scheduled a booster and flu shot for tomorrow. I hope it doesn’t wreck my weekend, but even if it does, it will be worth it to feel protected during election season and traveling for Thanksgiving next month. 
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Best I can do with Portland-area chain pharmacies is still 2 weeks out and a drive to Vancouver. The bivalent booster is more popular than Subaru Outbacks right now here. I got my first booster by checking in with random small pharmacies that had walk-ins, have to try that again.
How over is the pandemic for you POALS:
Have you gotten your new bivalent booster?
- Yes
- I am eligible, and I haven’t yet, but I will get it soon
- I’m currently ineligible but will get it when I am
- I am delaying for personal reasons
- I don’t plan to get it
0 voters
When you go shopping, do you wear a mask?
- Always
- Mostly
- Only at certain stores
- Never
0 voters
Do you dine outdoors at public restaurants
- Yes
- I will when I get my booster but not yet
- Only under particular circumstances
- No
0 voters
Do you dine indoors at public restaurants?
- Yes
- I will when I get my booster, but not yet
- Only under particular circumstances
- No
0 voters
Would you attend a large outdoor public gathering, like e.g. a sports stadium?
- Yes, no mask
- Yes, masked
- No
0 voters
Would you attend a large indoor public gathering, like e.g. a concert?
- Yes, no mask
- Yes, masked
- No
0 voters
Do you go to work in a company office, at customer sites, or otherwise out of your house with other people?
- Yes, I never stopped
- Yes, daily
- Yes, part of the week
- Yes, once every month or so
- No, pretty much never
- No, I worked from home before it was cool
0 voters
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To clarify, always an N95 at work - and a KN95 for shopping and such. And I am timing my booster strategically, planning to get it in late October to have strong protection for Thanksgiving through New Year’s.
It’s been over 36 hours since I got booster #2 and my arm still hurts, but mostly only when I raise it more than 45 degrees from my body or if I press on the injection site. I don’t think it was like this previously.
Sone of my answers to these questions depend on case trends. Things have been pretty stable in Ontario but a fall spike wouldn’t be surprising.
Same for me.
I haven’t been masking for most of the summer, but I think I’ll go back to masking on the train and in grocery stores during the winter months.
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Yeah, I thought about that, but trying to predict the future is difficult, and adding so many options makes the poles unwieldy. I think a simpler snapshot of the now is enough for now.
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