How long do you think it will be before Canadians reach safe Covid vaccination levels?

[bababear_50]

I’m doing great, it’s been a crazy busy time, but we’re moving in the right direction!

I got the Pfizer vaccine - that’s what Coastal and Fraser health in BC is currently rolling out to all long term care and assisted living staff and residents. I’m not sure about interior health and island health, but I think it’s the same process.

The Moderna vaccine should be the next and is also an mRNA vaccine. I will be assisting with other clinics after my second Pfizer vaccination and I’m sure some will have the Moderna, so I’d be happy to share how it goes.

Thanks for sharing and I am glad you are doing well! Remember to take time for YOU!
I'd love to hear any updates you have along the way.
Be well and thanks
Mel

 

[bardays]

Remember how strangely we used to look at people wearing masks? That won't happen anymore!

same with wiping down my tray and seatbelt. People would look at me like I was bonkers

 

[Starwind]

I will check with my Dr. before the time comes and want to call her now but I know she is probably super busy and don't want to bug her.
In a way I guess it good that we have to wait a bit longer to maybe see how others react.

I would definitely recommend waiting until much closer to when you are going to be getting vaccinated as new info may arise between now and then.

FWIW, according to media reporting as of this week in the US they have had 29 reports of anaphylaxis following administration of COVID-19 vaccine.

This report covers an earlier period and they were up to 21 with nearly 2 million doses administered: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7002e1.htm "Allergic Reactions Including Anaphylaxis After Receipt of the First Dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine — United States, December 14–23, 2020"

During December 14–23, 2020, monitoring by the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System detected 21 cases of anaphylaxis after administration of a reported 1,893,360 first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (11.1 cases per million doses); 71% of these occurred within 15 minutes of vaccination.

There is some good info there about time to onset of symptoms, symptoms, history of previous allergies etc.

As they administer more doses the rate seems to be decreasing. And they are learning more about possible reasons "why", which will in turn inform any future changes to guidance/contraindications.

 

[Where's Wall-E]

same with wiping down my tray and seatbelt. People would look at me like I was bonkers

I've been doing this for years too! Back in the "normal times" they turned around the planes so fast they didn't have time to do a thorough scrubbing of the shared surfaces. Don't forget the armrests too!

 

[Donald - my hero]

same with wiping down my tray and seatbelt. People would look at me like I was bonkers

I've been doing this for years too! Back in the "normal times" they turned around the planes so fast they didn't have time to do a thorough scrubbing of the shared surfaces. Don't forget the armrests too!

Food allergies here! I feel like the entire world is living my life now. Don't touch anything you haven't cleaned yourself, don't touch your face without washing your hands, good grief don't eat or drink without washing, scrubbing and maybe sanitizing your hands for good measure I've always been "that" person who could whip out wipes for people who spilled something. Cleaning the airplane, wow, that would always make me want to dry heave .. SO DIRTY! I would set to work and go through several cloths and often someone sitting behind or beside would mutter at first and then gladly accept some from me when they saw how grimy they ended up!!

 

[Starwind]

Food allergies here! I feel like the entire world is living my life now. Don't touch anything you haven't cleaned yourself, don't touch your face without washing your hands, good grief don't eat or drink without washing, scrubbing and maybe sanitizing your hands for good measure I've always been "that" person who could whip out wipes for people who spilled something. Cleaning the airplane, wow, that would always make me want to dry heave .. SO DIRTY! I would set to work and go through several cloths and often someone sitting behind or beside would mutter at first and then gladly accept some from me when they saw how grimy they ended up!!

I solved part of the problem by getting seat covers

Wipe the seat, armrests, seatback in front, window, seatbelt. Then put down a disposable or reusable seat cover [disposable is easier, but my preferred brand went out of business and now they are hard to find at a reasonable price]. Wipes and gloves go into ziploc bag for disposal. Make sure to wipe hands in there, too

But yep, welcome to our normal lives

I do assume that one up and downside of this is once things go back to masks-not-needed-all-the-time, and here I am still wearing mine... The stares and strange looks [and at WDW, brave little kids in line or coming up to you asking why you are wearing a mask] will probably decrease, but people might be more likely to assume "you're sick"...

 

[FigmentSpark]

I solved part of the problem by getting seat covers

Wipe the seat, armrests, seatback in front, window, seatbelt. Then put down a disposable or reusable seat cover [disposable is easier, but my preferred brand went out of business and now they are hard to find at a reasonable price]. Wipes and gloves go into ziploc bag for disposal. Make sure to wipe hands in there, too

But yep, welcome to our normal lives

I do assume that one up and downside of this is once things go back to masks-not-needed-all-the-time, and here I am still wearing mine... The stares and strange looks [and at WDW, brave little kids in line or coming up to you asking why you are wearing a mask] will probably decrease, but people might be more likely to assume "you're sick"...

What kind of seat covers do you use? Do you have a link?

 

[Aladora]

Back in the "normal times"

Lol, we call it "The Before Times" when referring to anything before March 13, 2020!

 

[Starwind]

What kind of seat covers do you use? Do you have a link?

The ones I prefer are the disposable BugOff Bed Bug Seat Cover / Protectors, in white. They came in packs of 12 [each cover is individually wrapped] and were US$6.99 for the 12 the last time I bought them. Unfortunately they appear to no longer be sold and haven't been for some time [before Covid].
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0057B13TO/
Given the above pricing, you will therefore understand why I am NOT happy with the current pricing for disposable ones...

The disposables are particularly good if you have multiple legs in each direction when flying, and if you don't have access to laundry at your destination.

For reusable, I have a NiceSeats seat cover:
https://niceseats.com/I like it, though the fabric is a little thicker/heavier than I expected, making it bulkier when folded up than I had hoped for. But it works.

And a GermFreeBee fleece cover:
https://www.germfreebee.com/This one I quite like and if you have access to laundry at your destination, it can double as a fleece blanket once you've washed it The company also makes disposable ones [pack of 2 for $14.95] which I have NOT tried so can't speak to.

If you search Amazon you will see plenty of options for disposable covers of varying design and quality. Most have popped up since Covid. And they are expensive, often just 1 or 2 for US$10 or $15 !!!

An even easier solution though... Many people in the food allergy community have long used a CRIB SIZE FITTED SHEET. Some use a twin size one, though that would be a little big. This works not just on planes, but theatres, buses, and other places one may have a need to cover seats. We've used our disposable covers above as well as the crib sheet trick to cover the chairs in hotel rooms, too.

A fitted crib sheet is about 52” long by 28” wide and 5”-8" thick depending on brand. Some will be a little longer or wider, too. IKEA sells inexpensive cotton ones, Walmart and Amazon some nice inexpensive microfibre ones [including cute Disney prints], as well as cotton. There are many brands and options and price points.

Obviously the fitted crib sheet is best for when you have laundry access... Though with IKEAs being 2 for CA$14 they would be cheaper than many of the current raft of disposables !!!

Ziploc bags are your friend, and we generally travel with access to laundry facilities these days.

Hope this helps.

SW

 

[pigletto]

Just for some positive news. All my DR, nurse and healthcare worker friends and family are starting to get their first vaccine doses. Nobody I know has reported any majorly concerning side effects thus far . Many of them have been working in direct contact with Covid positive patients and one has been running one of our testing sites since Day One. Its nice to see them starting to feel some hope in what has been a terrible time.

 

[NewYKRunner]

Just for some positive news. All my DR, nurse and healthcare worker friends and family are starting to get their first vaccine doses. Nobody I know has reported any majorly concerning side effects thus far . Many of them have been working in direct contact with Covid positive patients and one has been running one of our testing sites since Day One. Its nice to see them starting to feel some hope in what has been a terrible time.

I have a coworker that works for Stars that got the Pfizer vaccine a few weeks ago and two current coworkerS that just got Moderna. No issues yet nor do I really expect any.

 

[newdeal]

there doesn't need to be herd immunity because only a very limited subset of the population is really vulnerable to poor outcomes. We know who the most vulnerable are, as long as you can vaccinate those people (over 65 group) then you should be in pretty good shape. That is only 6.8 million people or so. So the real question is how fast can we get 14 million doses of the vaccine. We have gotten a million so far, we anticipate a million a week but he spring, the summer should have fewer cases due to people being able to be outdoors so I would hope that by June we will be through with the majority of the restrictions

 

[Donald - my hero]

there doesn't need to be herd immunity because only a very limited subset of the population is really vulnerable to poor outcomes. We know who the most vulnerable are, as long as you can vaccinate those people (over 65 group) then you should be in pretty good shape. That is only 6.8 million people or so. So the real question is how fast can we get 14 million doses of the vaccine. We have gotten a million so far, we anticipate a million a week but he spring, the summer should have fewer cases due to people being able to be outdoors so I would hope that by June we will be through with the majority of the restrictions

As I've stated in many other threads i am NOT trying to spark a debate or discount what others have said, think, feel, believe etc, just wanting to state MY thoughts.

If we're only talking about death as the outcome we want to avoid then yes we just need to protect the segment of the population that tends to die in higher ratios - the elderly in this case. However that's not the only outcome I think we should be trying to stop or mitigate. There's the so-called "long haulers" who have had COVID-19 and now fall under the "recovered" column but will ever be the same. Our city has "lost" several nurses and 1 family doctor that I'm aware of to the effects of COVID-19. One nurse was in the hospital as a patient from early March until the end of August, she'll never be able to work again, can't carry her baby, can barely walk across the room without needing to sit down. Her lungs are scared for life and she's been told she'll need to wear a mask whenever she goes out because she can't afford to get a respiratory illness again. Others talk about the "brain fog" that seems to never clear, the fatigue of just being awake. Most of the people who fall into the category of recovered but ill for life were young, healthy individuals.

Herd immunity has been used for other devastating illnesses that threatened our health - polio is an interesting example to look at right now because the people who were the "target" demographic during that timeframe are now the "target" demographic during COVID-19. I've read some interesting (and heartbreaking) articles where people who either had polio or had siblings who had it and what the treatments were (or weren't) available, watching others die because there weren't enough iron lungs available to be used, and now they're living thru a similar experience.

Don't we also need to be concerned about the "silent carriers" of COVID who can pass on the virus without being aware of it? I'm thinking we still need to reach that critical point where enough people have been vaccinated that the virus stops spreading so that EVERYONE can go about a fairly normal life, families with children who are receiving chemo can go to the park (immune compromised) elderly can go to church, family weddings, funerals of their friends, out for coffee with neighbours.


I'm truly interested in other thoughts here, not wanting to come across as attacking this comment or ranting for the sake of an argument. Don't we still want to reach whatever is deemed the 'safe' level of herd immunity for COVID-19 (is it different for different infections???) even though it doesn't kill everyone who catches it?

 

[NewYKRunner]

Good points brought up. Has anyone seen any of the articles from the last couple days about the Gout medicine that may help fight off Covid?

 

[Starwind]

I'm truly interested in other thoughts here, not wanting to come across as attacking this comment or ranting for the sake of an argument. Don't we still want to reach whatever is deemed the 'safe' level of herd immunity for COVID-19 (is it different for different infections???) even though it doesn't kill everyone who catches it?

You've brought up some excellent points.

It isn't just about the death rate. Its ICU and hospitalization rates. And its long-term impacts on survivors. And on our healthcare system.

The latest I have seen for the long term impacts are 20-30 percent of survivors. And while it is tipped more heavily to those who were hospitalized, it includes a heafty chunk of those who were able to remain at home *and those who were asymmptomatic*. They are discovering people who never showed symptoms that are ending up with heart or lung damage from this virus. And as you noted, a sizable chunk are younger people.

This virus is something the likes of which we have never seen before. It is doing a lot of things all at once, whereas most virus kind of stay in a lane or two. This one takes over the whole highway and then some.

I think we're at a position right now that we don't yet know enough about the effectiveness of the vaccine to know what it is going to take for Canadians to be at a safe vaccination level [ie some kind of normalcy resumes]. There are still unanswered questions about how long the vaccine-induced immunity lasts for, how effectively people can get 'infected' if they've been vaccinated [by that I mean what % of vaccinated], and of those who do, presuming they are asymmtomatic or very mildly sick, the big question - can they spread it to others, and if so how easily/under what conditions. Also, does having a large chunk of the population vaccinated reduce the infection rate with this virus.

The only way to answer some of those questions is with time. Countries that are ahead of us in vaccinating, like Israel, who is also doing massive clinical studies as they vaccinate, hopefully will glean some of the answers sooner rather than later.

And of course the mutations are going to throw some monkey wrenches into things.

From the numbers the government has provided, it looks like it will be late summer before the majority of Canadians are vaccinated, and other diseases need at least that much to achieve herd immunity, so I would say we are looking at at least then until we're at some kind of safe level nationally unless some of those "we don't know" answers turn out very much not in humanity's favour.

The other challenge is going to be the rest of the world and their vaccination levels. International travel will be disrupted for a lot longer and I could see our borders closed or restricted in some fashion for years more as a result. Thinking testing, quarantine, bans on travel to/from some countries, etc, if not broader restrictions; and things may fluctuate as world or country conditions change.

SW

 

[Starwind]

Good points brought up. Has anyone seen any of the articles from the last couple days about the Gout medicine that may help fight off Covid?

Yep ! And if it proves valid through other studies it is excellent news.

https://montrealgazette.com/news/lo...t-institute-concludes-colchicine-is-effective

 

[NewYKRunner]

As I've stated in many other threads i am NOT trying to spark a debate or discount what others have said, think, feel, believe etc, just wanting to state MY thoughts.

I think this forum has actually been great for being civil in discussions.