Now that more and more vaccine is available, anxiety is rising.

[MineralMan]

When there wasn't much available, people tended to be stoical about getting their shot. Now, people are getting worried that they won't get their shot soon.

We're seeing that even here on DU, with people getting more and more panicky about getting an appointment.

More vaccine is available, but it's not reaching every location quickly. There will still be delays in scheduling appointments. However, if you're patient and keep trying to get an appointment, you will, as long as you meet whatever the current criteria are.

So, keep masking and social distancing. Keep doing what has kept you safe so far. That will continue to work until you get your shot(s).

[soothsayer]

1. I'm worried I'll get j&j

[MineralMan]

9. Take whatever is available to you.

It will be very worthwhile.

[soothsayer]

32. I will of course

[lagomorph777]

13. Why? Zero major side-effects, one shot, and the only one tested against variants.

100% effective in preventing hospitalization or death.

I would take it in a second, if given the chance.

[likesmountains 52]

15. Agree! J & J efficacy was misrepresented in initial press reports.

[liberal_mama]

20. I thought I read that Johnson & Johnson only protected you 85% from serious illness and death?

Maybe I misunderstood? If it is 100% in preventing hospitalization or death, I'd considering getting it. 85% didn't sound too good.

[likesmountains 52]

21. None are 100%

[lagomorph777]

22. According to the FDA submissions, 100% protection against hospitalization and death in the sample.

...and importantly, unlike its competitors, the study includes populations with South African and British variants.

[soothsayer]

33. Ok, sounds good then

[Initech]

24. I'm not. I will take whatever I can get.

Getting poked with whatever needle is given to you is certainly better than the alternative!

[roamer65]

28. I would get it if offered.

It will keep you out of the hospital.

[Ohiogal]

2. I am still trying

Trying and waiting and trying and waiting. It is indeed anxiety provoking.

[MANative]

3. All true, and after three days of fairly constant attempts, I was able to secure appts

for myself and my husband two weeks from now. I have to say that made me very happy.

I do think that the anxiety has another underlying factor, and that's impatience. We've been in this mess for a year, and people are beyond itchy to get out and back to "normal." I think that expectations about what that is need to be tempered. It may be another year (or more) before the numerous variants are tamed enough via immunity and vaccine (boosters, etc) that we're able to behave like it's 2019.

For prudent people, masks are here to stay for the foreseeable future. The reported drop in flu cases alone is sufficient argument for that. I will be wearing masks on public transport, particularly during the winter, maybe forever.

[MineralMan]

5. Yes. I have my first Moderna shot,

and will get the second on March 26. I didn't do anything special. I just signed up on Minnesota's state website. Since getting the first shot, I also got a notice from my Medicare Advantage provider that shots were available to me through them, as well.

I haven't done any searching or looking for shots otherwise. It took Minnesota a while before they got a working system up and running. Once that happened, people started getting appointments if they signed up for the state plan. My Advantage plan was working through CVS, which hadn't gotten vaccines until recently. Now, those who are on that provider's list are getting notified, if they meet the age requirements. That's just what they said in the beginning.

If you don't meet the age or other requirements, there will still be a wait. My wife, for example, turns 65 later this month. She is on the state list and her Advantage plan list, too. She'll get notified, I have no doubt, once her birthday occurs.

We'll continue to mask up and maintain our distance from others for a long time to come, though. I'm not going to stop following the sensible precautions.

[MANative]

14. Here in CT, you have to be pretty active in the process to get on the schedule, unless...

it was administered by your workplace or live-in facility. In addition to the VAMS site, I checked independent providers (CVS/Walgreens/WalMart) and other health systems. I could get an appointment with VAMS, but not until mid-May. A friend suggested the Yale New Haven independent system and I was able to get appointments for the 21st of this month. It's an hour from here, but well worth the trip.

The same proactive approach was required in MA, where my 85-year-old mother lives. She's been trying to get an appointment for weeks, and just called this morning to tell me that she has one on Tuesday.

It sounds like Minnesota's approach was less work!

[MineralMan]

16. I think things are changing everywhere. It's confusing.

Minnesota took a while to set up a statewide program. Once it was up and running, though, it seems to be working very well. Much of the early difficulty was that there was not enough vaccine that was predictably available. Now that there appears to be more, with regular shipments, the statewide approach seems to be functioning smoothly.

That's why I signed up on it early in the process. I figured they'd get it all sorted out and it would work fine. I was right. It's going to work even better, now that health insurers, healthcare systems, and pharmacies are getting reliable shipments. The systems in place will catch up pretty soon, I think.

[MANative]

17. Agreed. I think things will start to accelerate quickly now.

The Biden team has taken "Warp Speed" to heart.

[MineralMan]

19. Yes. We'd be way ahead of things had the previous guy done his job.

He did not, though. He made matters worse.

[lark]

4. One thing people here figured out, go to the small markets.

People here in Jax. were driving to Middleburg and Ponte Vedra prior to a couple of weeks ago because those were the only places that you could get in and that actually had the vaccines available. Everything in Jax. was always reporting as no vaccine available, so people got creative. Now that the large state vaccine place is fully ramped up and Walmart is taking walk-ins, the backlog is ending. I and several of my friends my age that hadn't been able to get an appt. got in last week and got our first shots.

Hope that the process is opening up everywhere, the way it did here. Hope that teachers & other essential personnel get added to the list really soon - and personally can't wait for the age to drop to 60 so hubby can also get his shot and freedom will be around the corner!!

[MineralMan]

8. Every state is doing it differently.

It's working better in some states than others, I'm sure. So, what works in one state might not work in another. Minnesota now has several mass vaccination sites in operation, and they've worked out all the bugs in that system. Pharmacies and healthcare providers, too, are also getting vaccine supplies. Things are opening up quickly here.

That may not be the case in some states, though. It will be important to keep an eye on what a specific state is doing where you live.

[pdxflyboy]

6. Here in Oregon...

My wife is a physician assistant and she got her shots one month ago. There are currently no vaccines available for a 67 year old who does NOT have any bad, underlying medical conditions. So we wait.

[Thekaspervote]

7. Agree!!

It is frustrating!

Worse when Ntl websites like Walgreens is a waste of time. I’ve been on a sign list for an appointment for 8 weeks with my Dr. ... most everyone on that list has had their first shot..not me, and they can’t say when.

With vaccine coming in abundance by May, we could have waited, but are concerned about the new strains...So, We are driving 120 mi one way tomorrow to one of the super sites here in IL. When I called to make the appointments, the phone wait was short, there were lots of appointment slots. Easy ...

[MineralMan]

12. I tried the Walgreen's site a couple of weeks ago.

They would only schedule you if they had available appointment slots for both the first and second shot. Since they had no vaccine for the second shot yet, the website wouldn't let you schedule just the first shot, even though appointment times were clearly available.

Catch 22.

They may have changed that by now. I don't know, but it was a stupid decision on their part.

[Wounded Bear]

10. Short-timer syndrome...

the closer the goal gets, the more anxious people are that they may not make it through til then. Nobody wants to get sick days before they get their shots.

[Initech]

23. Yeah my mom was like that.

My mom is already someone who gets very anxious very easily so you can imagine her after getting her first shot and before getting her second. But both my parents are now fully vaccinated. I'm just waiting my turn.

[bamagal62]

11. Imagine how we'll all feel

When they tell us it doesn’t work against any of the new variants and we’re back to square one again. That is my fear. I’ll be the last to get a shot. I’m just resigned to the fact that I’ll be sheltering in place for a while.

[MineralMan]

18. If that occurs, systems will be in place to help people get booster shots.

It has taken a long time to create the software, distribution network and other factors. The previous administration did nothing to help make that happen, unfortunately. Now, the pieces are falling into place.

I don't think what you're worried about will happen. If a booster is needed, though, the network will already be working very well and shots will be available.

Meanwhile, keep following the simple safety guidelines. They've worked so far. There's no reason they won't keep working. They even protect against the seasonal flu.

[Chellee]

26. The great thing about the mRNA type of vaccines

is that they are easily modifiable to adapt to the new variants. Booster shots will take care of it. We will not be back at square one. We've learned enough that we won't have to start from scratch.

[roamer65]

29. Moderna has already submitted the booster for NIH phase one clinical trials.

[bamagal62]

34. Good to hear.

[Initech]

25. May is 2 months away.

But right now it feels like a damn eternity. But I will be ready for the vaccine when my time comes!

[bamagal62]

35. Me as well!

[panader0]

27. I'm two weeks shy of a year spent isolating, except for weekly shopping.

I'm retired and have many chores I can catch up on at home on my land.
So I'm not too anxious. I can wait. Vaccine shortage here, but I'd like to see all the teachers,
grocery workers, cops and others that have to interact with the public get taken care of first.

[eleny]

30. Husband received an email yesterday from Centura inviting him to call for an appt

But Saturday he's already scheduled for his 2nd Pfizer at SCA Health.

My point is that lots more vaccine is shipping. Since a large organization like Centura is reaching out to eligible adults, it's a great sign. People will get their vaccinations soon.

Btw, we're in the Denver, CO metro area.

[nolabear]

31. There's a wonderful psychological analogy that fits perfectly.

You’ve likely all seen it. When a very little kid is away from a loving parent and gets hurt or is terribly anxious, they often hold their emotional breath, so to speak, shutting down to self-protect. As soon as that caregiver they know will help and cuddle them and make things better shows up, they burst into tears as though the trauma has just happened. And sometimes they express safe anger at that person for not having been there. The hope of being taken care of let’s all those feelings come out.

It’s like that. It’s normal and has its roots in love.

[roamer65]

36. I am wondering how we are going to deal with the eventual obstinate anti-vaxxers.

If sizable enough a herd, they could still foster virus variants that could cause problems for all of us who have been vaccinated.

It is a legitimate question that no one has seemed to embrace yet.

[Blue_true]

38. That is a very good question.

I hate to sound like a monster, but it would be nice if people that got vaccinated had no more risk ever. Then the antivaxxers would be killing eachother, and no one else.

[Blue_true]

37. I likely won't get a first shot until the May-July timeframe.

That doesn’t bother me. What I have done since last February seems to have worked well (wear a mask everywhere when I can stay at least 6 feet away from anyone else, isolate as much as practical, don’t invite anyone into my home).