Covid virus in phoenix (comparisons, principal, 2007)

[mkpunk]

Originally Posted by AZgarden

Well, we, up here in Yavapai County, are waiting for just ONE place to offer the shots. Apparently, you all in Maricopa have dibs on all the vaccine up until now. This is a decision made by Dr. Cara Christ, and I am not fond of her at all.

Supposedly on Tuesday, Jan. 19, Yavapai County Health will list on line at 9AM some places we can get our shots up here. Some of us have even tried to go to the Cards stadium and it didn't work (unless you wanted to get there at 3 AM) Now that is not even an option.

Who is running this vaccine program? I hope Biden can figure it out and help us. We want shots too !!!

I'm in Maricopa County and I too am not fond of Christ. She is a glad handing yes-(wo)man to Ducey. That said I think the problem is the vaccine type we have tons of stock of. Hopefully we can get emergency approval to the other vaccines that don't need super refrigeration soon that can service the more rural settings.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by AZgarden

Well, we, up here in Yavapai County, are waiting for just ONE place to offer the shots. Apparently, you all in Maricopa have dibs on all the vaccine up until now. This is a decision made by Dr. Cara Christ, and I am not fond of her at all.

Supposedly on Tuesday, Jan. 19, Yavapai County Health will list on line at 9AM some places we can get our shots up here. Some of us have even tried to go to the Cards stadium and it didn't work (unless you wanted to get there at 3 AM) Now that is not even an option.

Who is running this vaccine program? I hope Biden can figure it out and help us. We want shots too !!!

Don't expect it to get better under Biden. It's not specifically about him (or Trump for that matter), but the fact of the matter is: whenever the government is in charge of something, it's likely going to be accompanied by an abundance of SNAFUs. So far, that's exactly what the vaccine program has been: a huge SNAFU. It needs to be turned over to the private sector so that individual pharmacies and doctor's offices can administer the vaccines to their own customers/patients. The COVID vaccine should be as readily available as the yearly flu shots, especially with the demand being as great as it is. Having to congregate at specified facilities and wait in long lines to be vaccinated is complete nonsense. And the website to sign up for the vaccines: that's another huge SNAFU in itself!

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Don't expect it to get better under Biden. It's not specifically about him (or Trump for that matter), but the fact of the matter is: whenever the government is in charge of something, it's likely going to be accompanied by an abundance of SNAFUs. So far, that's exactly what the vaccine program has been: a huge SNAFU. It needs to be turned over to the private sector so that individual pharmacies and doctor's offices can administer the vaccines to their own customers/patients. The COVID vaccine should be as readily available as the yearly flu shots, especially with the demand being as great as it is. Having to congregate at specified facilities and wait in long lines to be vaccinated is complete nonsense. And the website to sign up for the vaccines: that's another huge SNAFU in itself!

A trade group representing supermarkets and pharmacies was requesting that the vaccine be distributed to them. They say they could do Biden's 100 million shots in 30 days if they had the juice. I think that giving them Moderna is possible but the special handling for Pfizer makes it more amenable to mass vaccination sites where they can have the cold storage to keep it and skills to handle it properly (I heard it can only be moved four times, for example). We really need another vax like J&J that is as easy to handle as flu. Maybe late Feb.

[KO Stradivarius]

I took my 78 y.o. mom-in-law to Cards Stadium for her appointment on Friday night at 8pm, and was pleasantly surprised about how efficient and uncrowded it was. I fortunately got an appointment for her last Monday online at about 9:30 am after the website added more appts at the stadium after attempting to schedule one at around 8:30 am w/o luck at the two hospital locations.

It took about 30-35 min from arrival to departure, and 15 min of that was waiting afterwards for adverse reactions. I saw the aerial videos on the news with long lines from earlier last week, but there was almost no line to speak of other than the first attendant we saw upon arrival to the lot, who was speaking at length to a few of the cars before us. When we spoke to him he said many people did not have appointments and he turned them away after some discussion, so don't waste your time (and everyone else's) just driving up w/o an appt. Make sure to bring your appointment confirmation info with the appt ID number that you get when you schedule the appt. When confirmed I would print the screen or save it to a file and print that later rather than awaiting the email, in case you don't receive it, although I did get it.

The signage was not so great, we arrived from the south via 101 northbound, exited on Cardinals Way, went east to 95th, turned left on 95th and saw the tents on the left side in the SW lot, but nowhere to turn left and no signs on 95th. I did a U-turn when the median ended, and there was a sign to turn right into the lot when approaching from the north on 95th. I guess there is no left turn into the SW lot from the south, they apparently just route you farther north on 95th to somewhere to loop around but I never got that far. Maybe it's better to approach from the north on Maryland Ave. Even when inside, the cones and metal barriers aren't great especially at night and with no line of cars it's a bit haphazard to follow, but they seem to have enough people to shepherd you through the maze effectively.

She had the normal arm soreness and some tiredness the next day, but nothing extraordinary. For the 2nd dose I may try to go to one of the East Valley locations closer to our house, but I'm almost tempted to just go back there due to the pleasant experience.

[asufan]

Averaging about 8,500 vaccines a day the past 2 days. At this rate it will take 2+ years to vaccinate the entire state. I don't know if it's a supply issue but we still haven't gone through 50% of our initial allotment of Moderna and Pfizer.

[Valley Native]

Operation Warped Speed, my ass! I have seriously weighed the pros & cons, and with the way it's been going so far, I've decided to wait for availability to increase & demand to decrease. If our physicians can offer some good work arounds, I'll definitely heed the advice ... however, considering the hassles with the DHS website, having to drive to some distant location & wait in a long line, then having to repeat the same process a few weeks later, it's better for us to hold off on receiving the vaccines.

[KO Stradivarius]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Operation Warped Speed, my ass! I have seriously weighed the pros & cons, and with the way it's been going so far, I've decided to wait for availability to increase & demand to decrease. If our physicians can offer some good work arounds, I'll definitely heed the advice ... however, considering the hassles with the DHS website, having to drive to some distant location & wait in a long line, then having to repeat the same process a few weeks later, it's better for us to hold off on receiving the vaccines.

I will drive 45 min a couple of times to get a vaccine that may save my life or the life of a family member. This is about how long it takes me to drive to the Mayo Clinic as well, which I gladly will do in order to live longer. I didn't think the website was bad, and my earlier post explains that the long lines were non existent. It took about two hours total which included 1.5 hrs of driving. It doesn't seem like that big of a sacrifice, but you do you. I've spent a lot more time doing less important things in the past.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by KO Stradivarius

I will drive 45 min a couple of times to get a vaccine that may save my life or the life of a family member. This is about how long it takes me to drive to the Mayo Clinic as well, which I gladly will do in order to live longer. I didn't think the website was bad, and my earlier post explains that the long lines were non existent. It took about two hours total which included 1.5 hrs of driving. It doesn't seem like that big of a sacrifice, but you do you. I've spent a lot more time doing less important things in the past.

You might have been one of the lucky ones, but everybody's situation is different. My mother is disabled and rarely ever goes out (except for necessary appointments). I've been working from home and only go out when I need to. Our risk is fairly low. She's hesitant about getting vaccinated at this time, and I don't see the need in forcing it right now when the demand is super high, and too many SNAFUs exist in the process. If the COVID vaccines were as readily available as the influenza shots are, there would be no doubt about signing up, but I'm holding off for now until we speak with her doctor.

[Mike from back east]

Wife and I just registered to receive the vax on 01 FEB 2021, late PM timeslots.

The state approved the vax for people 65 and up within the past 2 days. See:

https://www.azfamily.com/news/contin...lock_id=997196

I found the vax sign-up site a bit weird to use but finally got it done. Sign up here: https://podvaccine.azdhs.gov

When you get part way through the appointment sign up process you may get an error message that no sites are available. Just hit the button every few seconds and eventually it will give you a site to choose from; there are two sites open, one at the stadium and one downtown in Phoenix.

IIRC we who are older than 65 but not in Groups 1A or 1B may only choose vax dates on/after 01 FEB. I expect that time slots for 01 FEB are probably booked by this time, so pick a date in early FEB that works for you. If you try several times for a certain date and can't get a site, try another date. That website is flaky, just keep trying.

I have received our emails for confirming the appointments. When we get back home that night I will pop the cork on a fine bottle of bubbly.

Cheers to all.

It's morning in America again.

[wase4711]

I think its a bit pre mature to break out the champagne; wait a few months to see what actually occurs from widespread vaccination, and then its ok to celebrate..We have no real idea if this will stop the spread in actual practice, or, if its just a temporary band aid of hope..And, dont forget, this vax is a 2 part shot, so nothing is really known until a few weeks AFTER the second dose...
Just like Flu shots dont eradicate the Flu, dont count on this eradicating Covy...