In Ohio when they opened it up to the general population, they started with 80+. My uncle told me he had to leave his name and number and they called him back. He had to wait 10 days for that appointment though because the local health department were not getting that many doses. Each time they opened up for taking appointments over the next 4 weeks, they were filled within 2 hours. 80+ was first week, 1 week later was 75+, next week was 70+ and finally 65+ on Feb 8th (where I am). The state finally got more sites in my county that could do doses locally and when I finally knew what my dental schedule was in March, I could make an appointment. Instead of the local health department I called the medical center that is the parent to my doctor's office. Called on Friday, got it on Tuesday. And, when I did my preregistration later on Friday, I found out that I was automatically scheduled for the 2nd dose. 4 weeks out since I was scheduled for Moderna. When I got the Pfizer instead, they just kept the same appointment because the extra week was no problem. The week I got my first dose was the last week that facility would be doing 1st doses. Because the next week a mass vaccination site was opening in the area... which is when J&J became available everywhere. And, the state scheduling website went live. These days, it is easy to get an appointment as more sites are available. Heck, Wal-Mart in town even put out a last minute notice yesterday on FB that they had doses of Moderna available! I didn't even know the local Wal-Mart was doing it. Ohio also opened it to all ages 18+ at the end of March. And, even more exciting... a program has been put in place to get those high school students 16+ vaccinated if they want and have parental permission. Our local high school had doses being given on Monday! Ohio is also doing a program to get college students that want it vaccinated before they go home for the summer. When it comes down to it, I am really proud of the way Ohio has handled it... I just wish more people would take advantage of it. I still see a lot of hesitancy.
It's hard here in NJ. I had to resort to volunteers in March to help me. I was lucky. It's still hard to get them here, and now that more and more ages are available, and the J&J pause, it's going to continue to be hard. We have mega sites, Rite Aid, CVS, Shoprites, Wegmans, Stop & Shops, VNA, Walmart, local town pharmacies and many more locations. It's the limited supply I think that is hurting us. I don't think the state has been doing badly, but it's still hard.
@jk703 I feel for everyone that is having a tough time getting the shots when they want it. They did have to close down some sites in Ohio because of the J&J pause. The state wanted to use J&J for the colleges since it was a single shot and they wouldn't have to worry about scheduling the 2nd dose before the semester ends. Some colleges went with the pause, others found a way to offer either Pfizer or Moderna. I am in a rural area of the state and we were a week behind getting the vaccines in the beginning. It was almost January before a friend of mine who is a general practitioner was even able to get it and he was dealing with it constantly. That's one reason why it was so hard in my county in the beginning. But now I see so much hesitancy about it. And, a year ago when this all began you couldn't even get a test in my county without a doctor's order and you had to go to a hospital in another county to get it done. That's how rural I am.
me 4.. my 2 weeks up was 4/10 so while we still wear masks and wipe down things (we have been wiping things down for years anyway) I am feeling a bit better about going out more.. I already have some wheezing from smoking for years (we quit 7 years ago) and COPD/Emphesema is on Dad's side of family - Grandmother, Dad and Cousin so I am already at a disadvantage.. I am not taking any chances. I have too many people I know that have passed with COVID ... horrid just like many other diseases. I normally don't take the flu vaccine as I get ill from it as they use raw egg in the vaccine and I get sick from that... I wil say though we did get a flu shot this year in September and I was fine, just like the Pfizer we got in March... I just pray we al stay well and can get back to "normal" soon.
I'm fully vaccinated as of a week ago Monday. Fairfax County, VA just opened a mega-center in an empty storefront at our local mall. They would have opened it sooner, if it hadn't been for the limited vaccine supply. Ages 16+ are eligible.
@cfile The flu shot is something that I did for years... starting in the 80's. I will never forget one year when my employer at the time (1985) had flu shots available for anyone that wanted it. Turned out it was a season that needed a 2nd shot. I got both of them. In January I got really, really sick and only worked 2 days that week (Monday, called off on Tuesday, worked Wednesday). I went to the doctor on Thursday before reporting to 2nd shift because I just wasn't getting any better. He asked if I had gotten the flu shot and I said that I had gotten both of them. He said it was a good thing I did because I would have been in the hospital if I hadn't because I still had the flu. He wrote me off work on Thursday and Friday. He gave me some prescriptions and by Saturday I was feeling better. That told me that I needed to get a flu shot and I never hesitated again. If it wasn't available at work, I made sure to go to the doctor's office and get one. But when I retired I didn't mainly because I wasn't dealing with lots of people on a daily basis. First thing Medicare paid for when I got it in October... a flu shot. So I've always been a believer of flu shots and thankfully have never had any reaction to them. My mother died of emphysema. Do you know how many times I've been thankful she wasn't around for COVID (or my dad with his heart issues)? Daily. That's one reason I took it so seriously in the beginning. Heck, I had a gut feeling when I first read about it in January that is was going to something different.
I had my first vaccine just over a week ago, received the Pfizer vaccine. Me and the husband had our vaccines the same day, and luckily had no major side effects. We both just felt tired and had fuzzy head that evening, but after good nights sleep we were both fine. Waiting now for my letter for our second doze.
There supposedly aren't enough vaccines so people are waiting 3-4 months before getting their second vaccine. My son is getting his first one this morning (Pfizer) due to my oncologist stating he is my caregiver, making him eligible. He will not get his second for quite a while though. None of this makes sense as I saw a post yesterday that the vaccine clinic in my area had 254 extra vaccines and they were opening them up to those that qualify........why not just take whoever calls or start giving the second vaccine? My parents would have gone for their second as would my brother. Very frustrated with my country, the UK and US have managed to vaccinate a lot more people than we have and our entire population could fit in California. I had no side effects from my second other than a little soreness at the site which is to be expected. I had a headache and really tired the next day but that could of been weather-related and the fatigue is common for me due to treatment anyway
Now I'm eligible for the vacine. I will have my first injection May 18th and the second at the end of June ; my hubby too.
Our son got the J&J vaccine the first round they did - he’s a 5th year med student. As for the rest of our family, we’re not eligible yet.
Me too! My soreness at the site feels like a bruise if I touch it, but nothing other than that. I'm very grateful, I know the side effects from the second dose have been heavy for some people.
yes, I have heard some people are down for the count for a couple of days. My son had his first yesterday and said his arm was a little sore but that's it.
My DH has now had both doses and my 17 year old had his first. They also only had arm soreness. I have a 12 year old and a 15 year old, too, and I can't wait to get them both vaccinated soon! There's not a lot of info about covid and my 15 year old's rare genetic disorder yet, so we've been very cautious just in case.
I got both of my shots, Pfizer on 3/30 and 4/20. My 16-year-old is scheduled for her first one this coming Monday, she is also getting Pfizer. My other 2 kids and husband are not sure if they want the vaccine yet. Believe me, there have been discussions about it, but they are unmoved. I think the kids will need their shots before they go back to college in the fall, but since neither school has announced that, they will not listen to me. My husband most likely will have to get it at some point, since he works on base (Government Contractor), but his company is still working remotely. I had to make a page about getting the vaccines of course:
4/5 of us here in our house are fully vaccinated now (2 weeks+ post second dose). The last one isn't eligible yet because she is only 15 - hoping that changes this next week so we can get her protected too soon. All of my extended family members that want to be vaccinated are now too, I think. Everyone basically just had a sore arm after the first one for a day or more. I by far had the most severe symptoms after the second dose- 102 degree fever and whole body aches that were awful for 24 hours, and then headache and exhaustion for several days after that. My husband was tired and had some digestive system issues, and the kids were tired and had some headaches is all. I'd definitely do it again despite the unpleasant post second vaccine symptoms. It just reaffirmed that getting the actual disease would not have been good for me, and I was very blessed to have been able to avoid it all of this time. I've been getting allergy shots for a couple of months now too because the allergies are SOOO awful this year, and I don't know if having my immune system on high alert from those made it worse than it would have been otherwise.
Yes, at times, it was not rolled out well, or properly streamlined. It was stressful! I am not my Dad's caregiver directly, my mother is, but I was in charge of booking both their appointments. I had to seek out help because it was so hard to get appointments. Now, I'm ok, we have all been vaccinated. I now wonder if/when we will need a booster shot and how hard those will be to book. NJ is finally at the point where they are taking Walk In Appointments, and that is a relief to me.
I'm the only one vaccinated in my household. I'm my 45 y.o. daughter's caretaker and she's resistance to getting any injection, her son (26) is anti-vax, her daughter (24) just doesn't want to get it, and the 15 y.o. isn't eligible yet. I can't make my adult grandkids get vaccinated, but my hope is that once Chase is eligible I can make appointments for both him and his mom and just drag them to get them. Mean Memaw, lol!!!
I got my second dose of Moderna yesterday at noon. I moved and massaged my arm all day until I went to bed to avoid the dead arm I had from my first dose and I think my arm is a tiny bit less sore this time. I think I made myself panic before bed because I was having chest tightness and woke up every 30 minutes through the night, so I’m very tired today. I’ve had a little bit of everything: a little headache, a little nausea, a little fever, and more than a little body aches. I took one ibuprofen and plan to rest all day. I’m so excited to have both doses!
My granddaughter TM'd me Monday afternoon to let me know she'd made her appointment to get the vaccine on Tuesday. She was feeling pretty sick on Wednesday ... light-headed, nauseous, body aches ... today (Thursday) she's feeling fine except for a slightly sore arm. Now I just need to hear from Kaiser that they are vaccinating the 12-15 y.o. group and I can get appointments for my DD and grandson.
On Thursday my 12 year old had her first dose and my 17 year old had his second. My 15 year old will have his first this week. The 2 who have had shots only had arm soreness. (Appointments went so fast when they first opened for 12-15 that I couldn't get the 2 younger ones appointments on the same day. It worked out for the best, because the 12 and 17 year olds can get theirs anywhere but I was able to get the 15 year old's appointment at the pediatrician's office, which is better for him.)
