The Vaccine Discussion Thread

[Intr3pid]

The European regulator, EMA, has OK'd the resumption of the AZ vaccine, and a few of the countries plan to resume:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/18/ema-approves-astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-after-blood-clot-reports.html
That said, their statements are not exactly reassuring:

“Its benefits in protecting people from Covid-19 with the associated risks of death and hospitalization outweigh the possible risks. The committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots. … We still cannot rule out a definitive link between these cases and the vaccine.”

Now, why would you cap off the announcement with the bolded statement? I mean, either you take your time to establish a (lack of a) link, or you give it an all clear.

 

[AquaDame]

Good luck! Making reservations definitely has prepared you for the challenge of securing your appointment.

Glad I am not the only one who has thought this more than once....

I'm volunteering at a large vaccination site this Saturday and I am a wee bit excited. If nothing else I'll get to see a little history in the making, but odds are good by doing so I can be vaccinated all the sooner. My husband was unable to sign up - by the time I mentioned it all the spots were gone - but I'll be quite happy if I can get mine and be done worrying about what a mess it might be come May 1st! Somehow getting one spot seems easier than two...

The European regulator, EMA, has OK'd the resumption of the AZ vaccine, and a few of the countries plan to resume:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/18/ema-approves-astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-after-blood-clot-reports.html
That said, their statements are not exactly reassuring:

“Its benefits in protecting people from Covid-19 with the associated risks of death and hospitalization outweigh the possible risks. The committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots. … We still cannot rule out a definitive link between these cases and the vaccine.”

Now, why would you cap off the announcement with the bolded statement? I mean, either you take your time to establish a (lack of a) link, or you give it an all clear.

I want to know what was in the [...] that was cut out of the article, because that feels to me like some gymnastics to go from 'we concluded' to 'we still don't know'.

 

[DCLMP]

That’s not the link I was referring and you wouldn’t know which link I was referencing as it never attached so I’d prefer someone not make an assumption on that which I was referencing? it was actually the patent office. I hear what your saying and my point is for those who may choose to not receive this vaccination, it may affect if they can cruise. If Disney requires it, then those of us who opt out, won’t be cruising is my point. We are willing to pass if it’s required.

I haven't made up my mind about the vaccine, but I do know I won't be cruising with a mask on.

 

[anricat]

I'm volunteering at a large vaccination site this Saturday and I am a wee bit excited. If nothing else I'll get to see a little history in the making, but odds are good by doing so I can be vaccinated all the sooner. My husband was unable to sign up - by the time I mentioned it all the spots were gone - but I'll be quite happy if I can get mine and be done worrying about what a mess it might be come May 1st! Somehow getting one spot seems easier than two...

This is how I got my vaccine about a week and a half ago. I will say, it was 6 hours of WORK, but it was so rewarding and I'm so glad I did it. At the end of the day, I was very grateful to get my vaccine. They had a food truck for us for dinner and I got my little bowl of food and sat down and in that moment just felt so overwhelmed with emotions (in a good way). It was a good night. I would do it again to help out, but there are many people that want to volunteer so until we get to the point where they really need volunteers I'll sit back. My husband volunteered this week and got his shot as well. It feels like a relief to be on the way back to some kind of "normal" in our lives. At least to where I feel like I can do a few more things that I would otherwise consider "risky." (Like, my job, at a gym.)

 

[AquaDame]

This is how I got my vaccine about a week and a half ago. I will say, it was 6 hours of WORK, but it was so rewarding and I'm so glad I did it. At the end of the day, I was very grateful to get my vaccine. They had a food truck for us for dinner and I got my little bowl of food and sat down and in that moment just felt so overwhelmed with emotions (in a good way). It was a good night. I would do it again to help out, but there are many people that want to volunteer so until we get to the point where they really need volunteers I'll sit back. My husband volunteered this week and got his shot as well. It feels like a relief to be on the way back to some kind of "normal" in our lives. At least to where I feel like I can do a few more things that I would otherwise consider "risky." (Like, my job, at a gym.)

I didn't even consider they may also feed me.. woohoo! I volunteer at our local zoo as well (or at least did pre-covid and hope they are able to bring us back some day) and they did that also. Where I am they note that it takes at least three shifts to cover the cost they incurred doing a background check so I'll be doing it at least that many times. Saturday will be boring as I'm directing traffic but next week I get to run supplies to the vaccination stations. I MUCH prefer active roles as the time drags on when I stand still...

I hear you on feeling more comfortable doing things... part of me still feels like I'm hopping in front of others but I've been going in to work 2-3x a week and really need to shake the negative feelings I have about feeling exposed each time I can't just keep working from home. Not paying for grocery delivery and instead just going inside and getting them myself is going to be nice to boot! I miss doing THINGS. Anything! Even errands!

 

[Mousequake]

Glad I am not the only one who has thought this more than once....

I'm volunteering at a large vaccination site this Saturday and I am a wee bit excited. If nothing else I'll get to see a little history in the making, but odds are good by doing so I can be vaccinated all the sooner. My husband was unable to sign up - by the time I mentioned it all the spots were gone - but I'll be quite happy if I can get mine and be done worrying about what a mess it might be come May 1st! Somehow getting one spot seems easier than two...

Both my wife and I have been volunteering at several local vaccination clinics here in Portland for a couple of months now, and it's an amazingly rewarding experience. The sense of hope is all around you and it's infectious. At the end of my first shift they told me to get in line for my shot, and when I pulled into the 15-minute waiting area the enormity of the whole situation and what I was now a part of hit me. I've since received my second dose, and I'm averaging one to two shifts a week to 'pay it forward' and get as many shots into as many people as possible.

 

[Snowwhyt]

When I got my second shot, I was told NOT to get the card laminated. When I asked why, they told me that there are extra lines on the card that might be used in the future if they require booster shots.

I’ll still going to “Poor man” laminate with a piece of tape over the parts that are filled in since I’m planning as much travel as possible once I can get out of this house! I’ll “laminate” each booster section as they come.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

Good luck! Making reservations definitely has prepared you for the challenge of securing your appointment.

Good luck!

Update: My experience paid off - I have an appointment for Sunday! Could’ve booked for tomorrow, but I have a conflict. The system opened up a few minutes early and I was ready!!

 

[anricat]

I didn't even consider they may also feed me.. woohoo! I volunteer at our local zoo as well (or at least did pre-covid and hope they are able to bring us back some day) and they did that also. Where I am they note that it takes at least three shifts to cover the cost they incurred doing a background check so I'll be doing it at least that many times. Saturday will be boring as I'm directing traffic but next week I get to run supplies to the vaccination stations. I MUCH prefer active roles as the time drags on when I stand still...

I hear you on feeling more comfortable doing things... part of me still feels like I'm hopping in front of others but I've been going in to work 2-3x a week and really need to shake the negative feelings I have about feeling exposed each time I can't just keep working from home. Not paying for grocery delivery and instead just going inside and getting them myself is going to be nice to boot! I miss doing THINGS. Anything! Even errands!

I was a "runner!" Our mass vaccination site is in a huge parking lot at a sports stadium (it's a drive through jab). I walked a total of 9 miles over my 6 hour shift. It was hard work, but so awesome. I delivered filled syringes, alcohol prep pads, bandaids, gloves, forms, water, and snacks and picked up completed forms for data entry. Since the vaccine is temperature sensitive (and it's warm here in Texas) we could only take a certain small amount of filled syringes out to the little coolers in each medical tent. But they had a really impressive system. Each 6 hour shift had 55 non-medical and 15 medical volunteers. Over the 12 hours the site was open, nearly 4,000 people were vaccinated that day.

 

[nancipants]

Got my first Pfizer shot yesterday. Arm is sore and I'm a little tired, but otherwise I feel fine so far. For the first time in awhile, I'm actually able to imagine taking my son on his first cruise.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

My family didn’t even get a card with their vaccine info. They got a sticker stuck on the V-safe paper with the administering person’s name, date, and lot number. Their own name is nowhere on the sticker.

The proof being given at vaccinations sites in the US seems to vary widely. I don’t think the government is going to take on a vaccine passport or database so it will be interesting to see how this goes as international travel resumes.

 

[brentm77]

Scientists Say They Found Cause of Rare Blood Clotting Linked to AstraZeneca Vaccine

Scientists in Europe said they had identified a mechanism that could lead the AstraZeneca PLC vaccine to cause potentially deadly blood clots in rare instances as well as a possible treatment for it.

Two teams of medical researchers in Norway and Germany have independently found that the vaccine could trigger an autoimmune reaction causing blood to clot in the brain, which would offer an explanation for isolated incidents across Europe in recent weeks.
...
“Very, very few people will develop this complication,” Prof. Greinacher said in a press conference Friday. “But if it happens we now know how to treat the patients.”
...
He said that, after a swift diagnosis, the condition could be treated in any mid-sized hospital.
...
The European Medicines Agency, or EMA, which regulates medicines for most European countries, said that it had assessed the cases from Germany and Norway and discussed them with the relevant national authorities.

A spokeswoman for EMA said that the vaccine may be associated with very rare cases of blood clots, including CVST, but that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh that risk.

“A causal link with the vaccine is not proven, but is possible and deserves further analysis,” the spokeswoman said in a statement.

Neither the German nor the Norwegian findings were published or peer reviewed. Prof. Greinacher said he had submitted his findings for publication to the British medical journal The Lancet.

 

[brentm77]

Utah is opening vaccines up to every person over 16, starting next week.

 

[soniam]

So jealous of everyone getting vaccinated. I will have to go through thunder dome after May 1, hopefully, here in Texas. I would volunteer, but I work from home full time, and I am massively phobic of needles. I would probably pass out just walking into the building. My vaccinations won't be fun , but than the potential alternative.

 

[Joe Brig]

Isn't this thread off topic for a Disney Cruise Line forum?

 

[soniam]

Isn't this thread off topic for a Disney Cruise Line forum?

There is a DCL forum moderator who participates on this thread. If she felt it were off topic, then I think she would close the thread.

EDIT: Also, seeing as how some of the cruise lines are requiring vaccinations to sail, it's a possibility that DCL could do so too. In which, vaccinations would be very topical for a DCL forum.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Isn't this thread off topic for a Disney Cruise Line forum?

Nope.

 

[cgolf]

Isn't this thread off topic for a Disney Cruise Line forum?

Let's be real too, with no cruising going on right now there isn't a lot of true cruise related topics to discuss right now. There is however a lot of what ifs to talk about. Also as soniam stated RCCL and others are requiring adults to be vaccinated to cruise. Knowing DCL is very risk adverse I see them doing the same as a minimum.

 

[AquaDame]

Isn't this thread off topic for a Disney Cruise Line forum?

You'd think so but we went through a solid six months of vaccines permeating into every thread before we settled on this. As time has gone on the vaccination effort has been increasingly considered in the conversation around reopening/travel/cruising started again. In an attempt to keep it out of every other thread, we created this catch all thread. Once DCL is sailing again I'm sure we can put it to rest and go back to being stricter about this and the politics surrounding it....

 

[Missingmypooh]

This article by Forbes has two interesting points I’ll copy below BUT after this and lots of other research (and dr. Fauci’s latest senate interview) I can’t see DCL dropping masks for vaccinated people.

which means, no matter where you fall on vaccination, it’s not the silver bullet for the travel industry (yet or maybe ever?) for Sars-cov-2.

Point 1.
“Two doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine were found to have only a 10.4% efficacy against mild-to-moderate infections caused by the B.1.351 South Africa variant, according to a phase 1b-2 clinical trial published on Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. This is a cause for grave concern as the South African variants share similar mutations to the other variants leaving those vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine potentially exposed to multiple variants.”

point 2.
“As these variants threaten to become the dominant source of coronavirus cases globally, we urgently need second generation vaccines that provide greater protection against the variants if we are going to prevent another wave of infections and return to a level of normalcy.”

let’s say we get a vaccine passport- are they going to reject those with only the AZ vaccine? Can you only travel with both the first and second set of vaccines (and a later update with a new booster possibly?). Will this be a yearly thing like the flu?

honestly, at this point, it’s overwhelming. I know it seems straightforward. But it doesn’t feel that way.