Covid Support Thread
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I’m not sure @materialsgirl. I’m sure that’s part of the RFP. I’ll have to read what my team writes. We def need more vaccination sites. I’m glad the City is doing it. I’m mostly annoyed that it took them so long to get this going. The timeline is tight from NTP to doors open.
Hmm. So my therapist — also in Chicago, but for now conducting teletherapy — mentioned last night during our session that she found out recently that mental health professionals, even those in non-hospital settings, can get vaccinated in phase 1(a). She said getting an appointment actually wasn’t that bad, that she was able to find one pretty quickly once she decided that she’d take advantage of her profession being a part of this phase, and that her colleagues who opted in had similar experiences. So, I don’t know. I haven’t had to do it myself yet (or help anyone do it), so here, I don’t know if it’s luck or just a matter of scouring the internet to find openings at the right time.
@copa where is your mother? I’ve helped some people in a few states get appointments but as you noted it varies.
My PT had a hard time getting an appointment. It took her a couple of weeks to get one. And my friend, who works at Northwestern downtown, had to drive to the Lake Forest campus to get her vaccination shot. That was back in Dec/Jan though. My Pilates instructor has had a hard time getting her parents an appointment too.
Interesting that the people you know @copa are having an easier time.
Crazy @mg! If I remember correctly, mine had to go to a suburb too. She couldn’t get an appointment in the city. So the few people I’ve known to get one here, including people’s elderly parents, have had to drive 30 min to an hour to get vaccinated. The people I know who work at Rush and Advocate were able to get them at their respective hospitals.
Cuomo announced yesterday that starting feb 15, New York State will expand eligibility to people with certain underlying conditions, which will include me. Wonder how long it’ll take to find an available appt.!
@Fyodor She’s in Michigan, where they seem to be sending vaccination appointment invitations to people in waves after you register online. Seems to be lottery-style for anyone meeting the criteria. She’s registered, but hasn’t heard anything and has tried a few times to get a human on the phone without luck. I talked to a friend of mine who lives in the same area and she forwarded me the information for a number to call. She said that you have to be quick on Monday mornings, when they know what’s leftover for that week, and call as soon as the line opens, then sit on hold for like two hours to talk to someone. It’s hit or miss, I think, but she said this is how she was able to get her grandma in and a couple of her grandma’s friends. Another friend who lives in the same county as my mom just texted that she went to a city dems meeting this morning and they announced that the county has vaccinated 11K out of 1.2 million people there. So. It’s slow going.
As far as Chicago vaccinations go, the only people I know outside of my therapist who have been vaccinated work for health systems. Hers is the only experience I know of where she wasn’t taken care of through her employer, so I don’t know how atypical it was. She said she didn’t realizing initially that she fell into the 1(a) phase since she’s only seeing patients virtually. She waffled on the ethics of getting vaccinated early knowing she’s at home all the time, but when she decided to go for it, she said she had to check various websites but relatively easily found an appointment in the city about a week out. (She said she’s heard that Walgreens opens up new appointments at midnight, but I am not sure if this is true since I haven’t looked into it.) I’m not sure when we’ll head into phase 1(c) but I’ll report back my own experience when I start trying to get myself in.
Yeah, I have no useful advice for Michigan. FWIW, it seems like the pharmacies open up their slots on Monday morning-that’s when I was able to get appointments for several relatives in different states. But it probably varies quite a bit. Rite Aid in PA is a giant PITA because they don’t search locations-you need to go store to store. At the same time it may be more possible to find something if you’re willing to be persistent. It’s amazing and disgusting that it’s set up like this in most places. West Virginia has one website where everyone can get queued.
BTW, if anyone is looking in MA, some enterprising software engineer made a single site for all the appointment locations.
https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2021/02/06/olivia-adams-develops-simpler-mass-vaccine-website
Def report back @copa. I’ll be in phase 2 for sure. I wonder since my husband is working on electrical upgrades at Jardine (the water treatment plant next to Navy Pier) if he’ll be eligible with the other water and wastewater folks in 1c. Hahaha. Wishful thinking.
Oddly, I did receive a message from my chart today telling me they’d let me know when I’m eligible. My primary care physician is at Northwestern. I was not expecting that.
