Corona Vaccine - Anyone getting it?

Wife (PT in a large urban hospital bone marrow transplant unit) got the Moderna vaccine today. Promptly walked back upstairs to treat a Covid-19 patient. Fingers crossed. 

Also found out a work friend's father died Dec 26th from Covid. In an assisted living facility. He hasn't left the place in months (until the ambulance ride). Was old but healthy as a butcher's dog until December 10th. Nobody else working or residing in the place tested positive. Yet. 
 

Stay vigilant protecting your health friends. 

My sister got one vaccine or the other. She works at the VA in Nashville. No big deal, according to her. 

Streetwiseguy said:

volvoclearinghouse said:

"The urban living you are concerned about has more benefits than disadvantages"

Until a "perfect" virus comes along and wipes out half the population of a city.  Or some nutjob parks an RV full of explosives in a city center and _doesn't_ play a warning announcement.  Yes, there are more structural advantages in day-to-day life.  It's just those one-off events that come back to bite you in the ass.  How does one weigh them?

 

 

 

What about when Grandma has a stroke at the kitchen table, and you are two hours from decent health services, so she lingers for a few months and dies, instead of getting treated in the magic hour?  That happens many times, every day in small townville. ...

I land a helicopter in grandma's back yard and fly her to the nearest stroke center, typically within a 30 minute flight. In many areas of the country you can't swing a dead cat without hitting the nearest EMS helicopter. We do not refuse service to anyone. Typically a first responder- sheriff's deputy, volunteer fireman, or basic EMT ambulance - will get to the location and make an assessment before we are called.

Well that took a turn. 

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

Don't be a dick. 

Damn it. I'm out 

To continue off topic...

I have an acquaintance form traveling jobs, that grew up in CT, and now lives in NYC. According to him, EVERY ONE either lives in NYC or wishes they did. Us folks that like it out in the woods, really wish we could afford to live there... we're just hatin' on the city life 'cause of sour grapes. Then again, he will also tell ya he knows he's smarter than you, since he's from CT, and your not. So I don't give him much credit for good thinking!

A lot of country guys I know are always trying to tell him "if you ever spent any time out in my area, you'd never go back." They are just as wrong as him. He'd hate where I live, and try to tell me his way is better. Its not better. My way is better... for me. But I can't say that it is for everyone. If people wat to live that way fine, but I'll stick to living as far from a city as I can. The gentleman the grew up in a town that died after he left... all small town do not.

I have seen a trend on here, where a lot of people seem to like city life better. But they tend to be the same type that move to the country, and try to make it just like what they left. They seceded in the cities of NC!

03Panther said:

Then again, he will also tell ya he knows he's smarter than you, since he's from CT, and your not.

*you're.  

In reply to Steve_Jones :

Auto correct will do that from time to time...

And my grammar and spelling ain't all that great in the first place!

I've read his work orders, discrepancy reports, and shift turnovers... neither is his! I do admit he is a smart dude, but some of the stupidest things come out of his mouth sometimes, just like everyone else.

In reply to 03Panther :

I've lived my entire life in the suburbs - starting near Atlanta and now near Philly.  I like being near a city like Philadelphia or NYC, but I wouldn't want to live there.  Conversely, I've also spent enough time in the sticks to know I'm not sure I'd be happy there either - I like the convenience of having multiple stores a short drive away. Not that I think suburban life is perfect, but every location has its compromises.

I'm only 1/2 hr away from Dothan Al. Technically a "city" but not really. I would NOT want to live any closer or anywhere within that close to a "real" city! I've worked a few places within 1/2 hr of the beltway around Atl... nope. not for me! Sadly, Dothan is getting closer and closer to me every year.

I grew up in Hampton (and Newport News) VA... I call it a suburb with no city to be around. We moved into the country 2 hrs away back in 77.  Now its only 1 hr 15 min. away! I did come back for my apprenticeship a few years later, but also knew that I was gonna get farther out when I could. Country in VA is just too scarce these days, and I'd rather take one to the head than deal with all the people on the peninsula these days.

I just think it's sad to listen to folks on here (and elsewhere) think everyone has to think what they think... (that was the only relavant part!)

All the "city mouse-country mouse" debates aside, my original point was not placing a judgement on what's better, but whether this whole ordeal with the virus we've been through is going to cause, or accelerate, a decentralization movement away from densely populated areas.  

I know the plural of "anecdote" is not "data", but a couple of things got me thinking about this.  First, a friend of mine who lives in far far far western MD (like, almost West Virginia) said that since March, he's seen a definite increase in the number of Rhode Island, New York, and other New England license plates cruising around his town.  He also noted that real estate prices there in the sticks, especially for property, seem to be rising, and chunks of land seem to be getting bought up quickly.  The implication seems to be, folks from the Northeast are getting the heck out of the NYC-Boston area and stopping the first place they find that has mountains.  I wonder if places like the Poconos are experiencing similar "land rushes".  

Second, a friend of mine who lives in the DC suburbs just told me he's buying some land down in the Shenandoah region, about 2 hours southwest of DC.  He said a 6 acre parcel is about 40k, chump change in DC money, and the kicker is, there's gig-speed fiber optic running adjacent to the property.  He works in IT, he said he could run a small data center on the property.  So, a few miles from a major interstate, but still nice and secluded, all the internet he can use, and cheap land to hunt or whatever on.  

My parents have lived in the country for 45 years, I grew up there.  They're older now of course, and there's a real chance they could end up having a stroke and being that statistic that got mentioned.  But, right now, they're healthy, able to socially distance without trying, and mom can wake up and walk laps around the pond out back and pops can grab his shotgun and go bag a deer without having to get into his truck.  They have amazing quality of life, and that's what's really important.  Not saying you can't live in the city and also have an amazing quality of life, but, and here's the important part lots of internet warriors seem to miss, WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT.  

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

Agreed. You do you, I'll do me. Until the local .gove tells me I can't. Then I get angry, and then a pandemic occurs takingwhat little life I had left away and I'm told to "just get over it you're doing it wrong anyway."

As for the vaccine issue, I'm not a medical expert, but I'm not a tinfoil hatter anti-vaxxer either.  The other night Mrs. VCH and I were discussing it, and I told her, "You know, 'fast-track vaccine' sounds about as appealing to me as 'gas station sushi'."  We both agreed that was a pretty good analogy.  I've eaten, and would eat, gas station sushi, but only if I were really hungry and there were no better options.  

And that's all I've got to say about that.  

I find it humorous that engineers think humans can ever be "efficient".

That seems to defy the laws of nature. There is certainly nothing efficient about the purchasing patterns of humans on Amazon, HGTV, etc. 

When I was working overseas with Habitat for Humanity, we hosted work camps frequently. Something about the nature of work camps... engineers liked to participate. They always brought "better" solutions. The most common one was concrete mixing. We mixed by hand- usually 30 or 40 people all day for a small pour. Every single engineer that ever showed up would argue that a concrete mixer would have been more efficient.  I would counter that manual labor was a locally available resource that they were able to utilize in a cost effective efficient manner, and that a concrete mixer was actually a bad idea in an area with limited access, bad roads, no mechanics to repair them, and no parts availability.

Nope. I never won a debate with an engineer! Lol!

Packing a bunch of humans into a tight space may be an efficient way to stack them, but it is also a recipe for social unrest, disease, crime, mental health issues, etc.

In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :

I'm an engineer. I'm not efficient. I'm terribly inefficient. Messy. Lazy. Whatever. I'm being creative. 

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

I find it humorous that engineers think humans can ever be "efficient".

That seems to defy the laws of nature. There is certainly nothing efficient about the purchasing patterns of humans on Amazon, HGTV, etc. 

When I was working overseas with Habitat for Humanity, we hosted work camps frequently. Something about the nature of work camps... engineers liked to participate. They always brought "better" solutions. The most common one was concrete mixing. We mixed by hand- usually 30 or 40 people all day for a small pour. Every single engineer that ever showed up would argue that a concrete mixer would have been more efficient.  I would counter that manual labor was a locally available resource that they were able to utilize in an cost effective efficient manner, and that a concrete mixer was actually a bad idea in an area with limited access, bad roads, no mechanics to repair them, and no parts availability.

Nope. I never won a debate with an engineer! Lol!

And you never will!  Just ask my wife!

Jokes aside, as I said earlier, I is an engineer (and I gots the Englishing skills to pruve it!) and as Mrs. VCH likes to point out, her father and I are about the only "real" engineers she knows.  Because we've both done E36 M3 with our hands, and worked with the guys in the maintenance pits, and know what flies and what doesn't.  I go out in the shop at work and talk with the 60 year old mechanic, and I give him complete deference because I know he's seen some E36 M3 that I've never seen, and likely will never see.  He's not always right, but I respect his opinion and never dismiss what he tells me out of hand.

Humility.  That's the word I'm looking for.  That's the concept a lot of 25 year old engineers I work with, who somehow landed a job in "consulting" straight outta college without a day of experience, are lacking.  

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

Packing a bunch of humans into a tight space may be an efficient way to stack them, but it is also a recipe for social unrest, disease, crime, mental health issues, etc.

It's also way more efficient if you cut off their arms and legs, not to mention the heads.  All those inconvenient appendages make stacking a bitch.  

I'm very surprised some engineer back in the 1800's didn't come up with the idea for square cannonballs.  Rounds ones are so space-intensive for stacking!

I just called Mom's nursing home. They just reported two residents at the home have died. They still have no idea when they are getting the vaccine. Surrounding suburbs have jumped the line past nursing homes to people over 65 or with at least one high risk medical condition. No news articles showing old people at nursing homes getting shots even though they are supposed to be getting them this week. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/report-texas-has-only-used-1-4-of-allotted-covid-19-vaccine-but-good-luck-finding-any-doses/ar-BB1ckNHM?ocid=spartan-ntp-feeds

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/getting-covid-19-vaccine-into-the-arms-of-americans-is-off-to-a-slow-start-why-the-holdup/ar-BB1cmsES?ocid=spartanntp

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/operation-warp-speed-chief-acknowledges-vaccine-rollout-numbers-lower-than-what-we-hoped-for-were-working-hard-to-make-it-better/

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2020/12/30/texas-leaders-plea-for-covid-19-vaccines-to-be-used-quickly-adds-to-big-confusion-over-rollout-rules/

I have not seen anything on the news in the Los Angeles area talking about nursing home inoculations either.  Healthcare (and some firefighters) have been shown.  I did find an article mentioning how LA county will not follow the federal plan for nursing homes, which apparently goes through CVS and Walgreens, in order to try and get it out faster:

https://laist.com/latest/post/20201228/COVID-19-vaccine-nursing-homes-LA-county

It looks like the federal plan calls for CVS and Walgreens to organize the vaccinations.  Clearly they don't expect nursing home residents to go into a store, but clearly, those pharmacies also don't normally have mobile vaccination services.  I suspect that is where the slow down is.

It looks like they are JUST starting in Texas:

https://www.khou.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/vaccine/coronavirus-vaccine-seniors-long-term-care-facilities-retirement-community/269-8b7c58bb-dfc3-4076-9672-d505cebdd6d9

Hold fast man, it should be soon.

In reply to aircooled :

I just have the funny feeling this is going to be a cluster, just like the testing had been. Very little preparation. Poor organization. Lots of obfuscation and eventually more deaths that don't need to happen. 

AAZCD (Forum Supporter) said:

Streetwiseguy said:

volvoclearinghouse said:

"The urban living you are concerned about has more benefits than disadvantages"

Until a "perfect" virus comes along and wipes out half the population of a city.  Or some nutjob parks an RV full of explosives in a city center and _doesn't_ play a warning announcement.  Yes, there are more structural advantages in day-to-day life.  It's just those one-off events that come back to bite you in the ass.  How does one weigh them?

 

 

 

What about when Grandma has a stroke at the kitchen table, and you are two hours from decent health services, so she lingers for a few months and dies, instead of getting treated in the magic hour?  That happens many times, every day in small townville. ...

I land a helicopter in grandma's back yard and fly her to the nearest stroke center, typically within a 30 minute flight. In many areas of the country you can't swing a dead cat without hitting the nearest EMS helicopter. We do not refuse service to anyone. Typically a first responder- sheriff's deputy, volunteer fireman, or basic EMT ambulance - will get to the location and make an assessment before we are called.

Then Grandma loses her house and you lose part of yours, because helicopter rides are EXPENSIVE.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

If you think rides are expensive, you should see how much lessons cost. I have always wanted to learn to fly one of those. 

I am just glad that I live in Texas and my house is protected from medical debt by a homestead exemption. Mom sold her house years ago when Dad died and she couldn't take care of it. 

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

I race at a track in the middle of nowhere so I looked into medivac costs. A medivac rider on my health insurance for the entire family is around $50 a year. Also useful for car wrecks in the country and medical evacuations off the side of a mountain when I break a leg hiking. It's worth looking into. 

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

According to teh googles, median medivac rides are about 10k.  Assuming grandma's on Medicare, they cover about half, so grandma's tab would be about 5k.  Hardly house-losing amounts of money.