KALAMAZOO, Michigan (AP) — The first trucks carrying a COVID-19 vaccine for widespread use in the United States pulled out of a Michigan manufacturing facility Sunday, with the shots that are critical to stopping the nation’s coronavirus outbreak beginning in earnest a day later.
There is so much turmoil coming at us so fast, that I don’t feel like I’ve given enough headspace or simple amazement to this accomplishment of science, technology, and human potential.
We really are living in incredible times.
Not interested in hearing the daily updates of the silver bullet for the virus that’s not going to reach everyone for months and months. Yeah, it’s nice that it’s starting but it’s making it appear that help is right around the corner and it’s not.
I’m thrilled that the virus will save lives and help mitigate symptoms if infected. But the real key is if it will also reduce transmission by those vaccinated. If it does, it’s a new ballgame, and we can hopefully see some semblance of normalcy by mid to late 2021. Of course, the key would be having enough doses for everyone to get vaccinated, something else the Trump Administration has failed miserably in doing.
You could be the copy editor TPM has been looking for. 
AP and the rest of the media has to stop referring to the number of shots being delivered as “doses” when an effective dose of the vaccine requires two shots.
The longest journey begins with a single step.
In our case, the single step is weeks after other countries’ first steps, but at least it has started, for better or for worse.
And, weeks between those doses.
The vaccine plant may be in Michigan, but will Michigan get any of the initial vaccine ?
I’ve heard that Michigan has “nasty women” running it that were very unfair to our president.
Funnily enough I can hear some neighbors chatting about this right now. News you can use, baby.
Just to add a factoid or two to this really important comment. If you start with the health care community getting vaccinated first, it would take 2,000,000 doses to treat just the million active medical doctors practicing in this country, not to mention all the other essential health care employees. And, the CDC also reports that the overall cumulative COVID-19-associated hospitalization rate through the week ending December 5, 2020, was 278.7 hospitalizations per 100,000 population. A whole lot of people to treat and vaccinate, and not nearly enough doses to go around.
Wear masks, keep physical distances, wash you hands, and keep travel and unnecessary trips to the minimum. We’ve got a long way to go, and we’ve already lost way too many good people.
Mob-bossism
I totally believe the healthcare community should be vaccinated first.
To me it’s just not helpful to announce the marching out of this many vaccines/that many vaccines. I personally am not anxious about when I’ll get a vaccine, with it or without it I’m still wearing a mask and being around the outside world as little as possible.
Do any of us want to hear daily how many vaccines are or aren’t coming out and where they’re going?
End of rant.
Here in Colorado:
Phase 1A will include vaccinations for people who have direct contact with COVID-19 patients for 15 minutes or more over a 24 hour period, and residents and staff at long-term care facilities. Phase 1B recipients will include health care workers who have less exposure to COVID-19 patients; people working in home health, hospice and dental facilities; and first responders, including EMS personnel, police and deputies, correctional workers, dispatchers, funeral home workers and COVID-19 testing and response workers.
“Semblance of normalcy”
I wonder if what we considered as “normalcy” is what got us into this mess in the first place?
First I know a lot of people are juiced up about this and will get it as soon as they can and so I wish them luck. I have access to Drs (family) who have a lot of question about a vaccine that has been fast tracked. There seems to be only 1 peer review study by Oxford-AstraZeneca in the Lancet. It’s 1 page. What troubles my MD cousins is it doesn’t say who paid for the study which is suppose to be a requirement for publication. It also opens up more questions about the vaccine.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03504-w.
This was just published a few days ago:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/09/health/covid-vaccine-allergies-health-workers-uk-intl-gbr/index.html.
This paragraph caught my attention:
"The advice also states that vaccines “should only be carried out in facilities where resuscitation measures are available.”
I remember when the Swine flu vaccine was fast tracked and it actually cause harm to many.
# The Long Shadow of the 1976 Swine Flu Vaccine ‘Fiasco’
Also, this is a concern even for scientist:
# Here’s Why Vaccinated People Still Need to Wear a Mask
Scientist are also concerned they have not seen any punished raw data.
MD cousin #1 submitted a FOIA request in June to HHS for raw data and was the written response was “not in the public interest”. What the hell does that mean? She asked for clarification and has not seen another word from them.
I have significant problems with drugs and its labeled in my medical chart chemically sensitive. I also have allergies. I have experienced adverse reactions to drugs from 20 years ago that I continue to have issues with. I’m told they will never go away so I must learn to live with them. Easier said than done. So I will not be getting a vaccine.
I’m not telling anyone what to do with their life. I’m just saying if you suffer any sever adverse reactions-there is no going back. Be skeptical and cautions. Ask questions and take into consideration your own medical profile. I didn’t do that because the drugs I had adverse reactions to were common, peer reviewed and had long term studies and of course I was told they were safe.
Thank you for that post. You should probably post it on another thread so more will see it.
@joshuamarshall. Please post on your blog.
This is a very informative comment.
Thanks.
We’ll see if he takes the suggestion, hopefully.
And still no information in the countless articles I’ve read about how long the effects of the vaccine last. I guess they just don’t know yet. Better to have the vaccine than not, but I hope logistics and mutations (though supposedly not a big factor yet with this particular virus) don’t prolong the disaster.
If I was a betting man in the drug industry, I’d go with AstraZeneca. Why?
Because this guy isn’t dumb:
AstraZeneca also announced yesterday that they are buying another drug maker for 39 billion.
I’m thinking AZN is betting on selling a lot of vaccine doses globally.