Will you be able to get a COVID vaccine?
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I'm unhappy to see Massachusetts is one of only three states where CVS won't dispense the vaccine with or without a script. (I wonder why. Same question re Florida with all their retirees.) One son who lives in MA is working as a paramedic (exposure!).
I hope other pharmacies there will fill scripts. -
SK:
If you have a portal for out of office questions for your provider, might that be a good alternative to such a question in a meeting?Nevermind.
I see wtg already asked about this option, and you looked into it.
(Your obligatory PCP change sounds like a humongous nuisance.) -
You non-geezers in reasonably good health might not need to be too concerned if you don't get a booster this year...just a thought, with a bit of evidence behind it...
I was checking out the BBC's coverage of Kennedy's testimony at a Senate hearing today. Saw this bit. I bolded what I thought was pretty interesting.
Robert Kennedy has been pressed about the decision to tighten rules for the Covid vaccine in the United States, and Senator Elizabeth Warren has also just asked for more information.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently restricted eligibility of the booster shot this autumn, meaning it will only be routinely offered to all those over 65 years old.
Some younger people will still be able to get it for free, but only if they have an underlying medical condition which makes them particularly vulnerable.
That decision brings the US into line with most other countries, including the UK, where the vaccine is now only available through the public health system for certain vulnerable groups - although it can also be purchased privately at high street pharmacists.
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cpqnnle1pd4t
Here's the NHS schedule:
Who should have the COVID-19 vaccine
You can get the winter COVID-19 vaccine if you:
are aged 75 or over (including those who will be 75 by 31 January 2026)
are aged 6 months to 74 years and have a weakened immune system because of a health condition or treatment
live in a care home for older adults
Their geezers are older than our geezers.
I also thought I would check the WHO COVID vaccine recommendations.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/covid-19-vaccines/advice
I would have had a lot more faith in the CDC's decision if Kennedy had just said up front that the US is doing what the rest of the world is doing. But I'm pretty sure this was an arbitrary and capricious decision, not one based in science and sharing of information with other health organizations. Instead he just talks about cleaning house and reinforces the notion that he ignores real science and medicine and implements his wacky ideas.
Stopped clock. Blind squirrel. This change in recommendations vis a vis COVID vaccines seems to be a valid one that he stumbled into.
When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier
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You non-geezers in reasonably good health might not need to be too concerned if you don't get a booster this year...just a thought, with a bit of evidence behind it...
I was checking out the BBC's coverage of Kennedy's testimony at a Senate hearing today. Saw this bit. I bolded what I thought was pretty interesting.
Robert Kennedy has been pressed about the decision to tighten rules for the Covid vaccine in the United States, and Senator Elizabeth Warren has also just asked for more information.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently restricted eligibility of the booster shot this autumn, meaning it will only be routinely offered to all those over 65 years old.
Some younger people will still be able to get it for free, but only if they have an underlying medical condition which makes them particularly vulnerable.
That decision brings the US into line with most other countries, including the UK, where the vaccine is now only available through the public health system for certain vulnerable groups - although it can also be purchased privately at high street pharmacists.
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cpqnnle1pd4t
Here's the NHS schedule:
Who should have the COVID-19 vaccine
You can get the winter COVID-19 vaccine if you:
are aged 75 or over (including those who will be 75 by 31 January 2026)
are aged 6 months to 74 years and have a weakened immune system because of a health condition or treatment
live in a care home for older adults
Their geezers are older than our geezers.
I also thought I would check the WHO COVID vaccine recommendations.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/covid-19-vaccines/advice
I would have had a lot more faith in the CDC's decision if Kennedy had just said up front that the US is doing what the rest of the world is doing. But I'm pretty sure this was an arbitrary and capricious decision, not one based in science and sharing of information with other health organizations. Instead he just talks about cleaning house and reinforces the notion that he ignores real science and medicine and implements his wacky ideas.
Stopped clock. Blind squirrel. This change in recommendations vis a vis COVID vaccines seems to be a valid one that he stumbled into.
@wtg thanks for that info, @wtg.
In my situation, I'm not sure what to do/what I want to do. I have at least one "comorbidity," but it's hard to assess... I also (maybe posted about this above or in a different thread) am in the middle of reestablishing care with a PCP, and my first appointment isn't until the first week of Nov, so that limits my ability to consult. And then there's I'm exposed to a lot of people (students) and all their germiness.....
Anyway, apparently, at the moment, I should be able to walk into a CVS and get the shot of my own accord. But I'd like to know what's most medically recommended for my specific situation, and that's where I feel like info and access is lacking.
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I'm unhappy to see Massachusetts is one of only three states where CVS won't dispense the vaccine with or without a script. (I wonder why. Same question re Florida with all their retirees.) One son who lives in MA is working as a paramedic (exposure!).
I hope other pharmacies there will fill scripts. -
My local CVS in Florida is offering COVID-19 and flu vaccines. There's a chance they put the wrong sign up in the parking lot. I was much too busy to talk to them about their sign.
I had to get as many of my prescriptions as possible and they had up until yesterday changed the pickup date for for my Schedule VI prescription three months in a row while giving me an attitude and acting like I had done something differently let alone wrong.
I wish we could go back to family pharmacies. These chains are guilty of running pill mills and the moment they were sued, they started to make life hell for patients with a legitimate medical need for controlled medications.
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Be prepared, fellow geezers.
Some older Americans on Medicare are facing an unexpected problem: The updated Covid shots — approved last month by the Food and Drug Administration for all adults 65 and up — aren’t being covered, forcing them to decide whether to pay out of pocket.
Allison Engel, 74, said she visited her CVS in Pasadena, California, on Tuesday, where she was told the shot would cost $225 out of pocket.
“They typed everything in, and handed me a rejection letter,” Engel said. “They told me it wasn’t in the Medicare system yet and I should come back in two weeks.”
Engel didn’t want to wait, so she paid out of pocket, and hopes Medicare will reimburse her.
Brant Mittler, 78, of San Antonio, said he and his wife stopped by their CVS pharmacy on Monday where they ran into the same issue.
“The pharmacist tells my wife, ‘We’ve had Medicare patients coming in all day, and everybody’s upset because we can’t give it,’” he said. Mittler said they got their Covid shots Thursday after the pharmacist said Medicare had updated the system there..
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These chuckleheads could screw up a two car funeral.
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Got my Covid and Flu jabs on Tuesday. It turned out I did not need a prescription - very much off brand for Ohio. There is hope!
Downside is that I had a reaction to the flu shot - the first time ever. Flu symptoms. No big deal - I went to bed and was fine in the morning.
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@Nina said in Will you be able to get a COVID vaccine?:
But the idea that some worm -eaten science denier is making these decisions makes me want to scream.
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Got my Covid and Flu jabs on Tuesday. It turned out I did not need a prescription - very much off brand for Ohio. There is hope!
Downside is that I had a reaction to the flu shot - the first time ever. Flu symptoms. No big deal - I went to bed and was fine in the morning.
@Steve-Miller said in Will you be able to get a COVID vaccine?:
Got my Covid and Flu jabs on Tuesday. It turned out I did not need a prescription ...
Not on Tuesday, but I got my COVID and flu vaccines without a prescription, too.
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Got my Covid and Flu jabs on Tuesday. It turned out I did not need a prescription - very much off brand for Ohio. There is hope!
Downside is that I had a reaction to the flu shot - the first time ever. Flu symptoms. No big deal - I went to bed and was fine in the morning.
@Steve-Miller I discovered that I tend to react when I get the flu and covid shots together, but if I space them out, then it's ok. That's my plan for this season too.
I also need a tetanus booster, another arm-killer. I have to get the tetanus in order to register for spring piano classes on campus, so that has to be done by mid-Oct I think. So now I have to think about the timing of all these shots
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@Steve-Miller I discovered that I tend to react when I get the flu and covid shots together, but if I space them out, then it's ok. That's my plan for this season too.
I also need a tetanus booster, another arm-killer. I have to get the tetanus in order to register for spring piano classes on campus, so that has to be done by mid-Oct I think. So now I have to think about the timing of all these shots
@ShiroKuro said in Will you be able to get a COVID vaccine?:
I also need a tetanus booster, another arm-killer. I have to get the tetanus in order to register for spring piano classes on campus, so that has to be done by mid-Oct I think. So now I have to think about the timing of all these shots
After doing some research about tetanus and diphtheria immunity, I decided to do a little science experiment and had my titers checked. I did it on my own and had to pay for the test. Lo and behold, despite the fact that I am well past the 10 year interval for a booster, my antibodies against both diseases are well above what is considered protective.
https://www.questhealth.com/product/tdap-tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis-test-13815M.html
A discount code pops up, I think it was 10 percent off. The pertussis test is kind of useless, not sure why they include it. But Quest was the cheapest titer test I could find for tetanus and diphtheria so I went for it.
Other countries and WHO recommend a different schedule than the US, one with far fewer shots. From what I've read it seems to be working fine and the US sticking with its 10 year cycle is based in inertia rather than medical necessity.
Edit: Conclusions of one analysis:
Modification of decennial Td vaccination may have a substantial impact on healthcare costs. Among adults aged 19–64 years, 63%–64% self-report that they comply with the decennial Td revaccination schedule [41, 42]. Of 234 million adults (2010 census), this would indicate that approximately 150 million adults have been vaccinated within the last 10 years, or approximately 15 million doses administered per year, similar to previous estimates [32]. This is also in line with the number of adult Td vaccine doses distributed by the CDC (eg, approximately 15.2 million doses distributed in 1998) [37]. At a cost of $28 per dose (CDC adult vaccine price list [43], this equals $420 million per year spent on adult Td booster vaccination. If this were changed to a 30-year schedule, then the costs would be reduced by two-thirds, equating to a reduction of approximately $280 million per year in healthcare costs (ie, >$1 billion in cost savings within 4 years). As noted elsewhere [32], in addition to substantial cost savings, other advantages of modifying the adult Td booster vaccination interval include (1) improved compliance with age-based recommendations and a simplified age-specific vaccination schedule, (2) better acceptance of recommendations based on immunological and epidemiological data and current risk-benefit analyses rather than conformity to historical convention [32], and (3) reduction of vaccine-associated adverse events owing to overimmunization.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4826453/
I don’t know if the uni will accept a titer in lieu of a vaccination. But for me, it gives me peace of mind that I have protection without having my already ailing left deltoid subjected to another arm-killer. My last two Tdap boosters did not go well.
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@ShiroKuro said in Will you be able to get a COVID vaccine?:
I also need a tetanus booster, another arm-killer. I have to get the tetanus in order to register for spring piano classes on campus, so that has to be done by mid-Oct I think. So now I have to think about the timing of all these shots
After doing some research about tetanus and diphtheria immunity, I decided to do a little science experiment and had my titers checked. I did it on my own and had to pay for the test. Lo and behold, despite the fact that I am well past the 10 year interval for a booster, my antibodies against both diseases are well above what is considered protective.
https://www.questhealth.com/product/tdap-tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis-test-13815M.html
A discount code pops up, I think it was 10 percent off. The pertussis test is kind of useless, not sure why they include it. But Quest was the cheapest titer test I could find for tetanus and diphtheria so I went for it.
Other countries and WHO recommend a different schedule than the US, one with far fewer shots. From what I've read it seems to be working fine and the US sticking with its 10 year cycle is based in inertia rather than medical necessity.
Edit: Conclusions of one analysis:
Modification of decennial Td vaccination may have a substantial impact on healthcare costs. Among adults aged 19–64 years, 63%–64% self-report that they comply with the decennial Td revaccination schedule [41, 42]. Of 234 million adults (2010 census), this would indicate that approximately 150 million adults have been vaccinated within the last 10 years, or approximately 15 million doses administered per year, similar to previous estimates [32]. This is also in line with the number of adult Td vaccine doses distributed by the CDC (eg, approximately 15.2 million doses distributed in 1998) [37]. At a cost of $28 per dose (CDC adult vaccine price list [43], this equals $420 million per year spent on adult Td booster vaccination. If this were changed to a 30-year schedule, then the costs would be reduced by two-thirds, equating to a reduction of approximately $280 million per year in healthcare costs (ie, >$1 billion in cost savings within 4 years). As noted elsewhere [32], in addition to substantial cost savings, other advantages of modifying the adult Td booster vaccination interval include (1) improved compliance with age-based recommendations and a simplified age-specific vaccination schedule, (2) better acceptance of recommendations based on immunological and epidemiological data and current risk-benefit analyses rather than conformity to historical convention [32], and (3) reduction of vaccine-associated adverse events owing to overimmunization.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4826453/
I don’t know if the uni will accept a titer in lieu of a vaccination. But for me, it gives me peace of mind that I have protection without having my already ailing left deltoid subjected to another arm-killer. My last two Tdap boosters did not go well.
@wtg said in Will you be able to get a COVID vaccine?:
I don’t know if the uni will accept a titer in lieu of a vaccination. But for me, it gives me peace of mind that I have protection without having my already ailing left deltoid subjected to another arm-killer. My last two Tdap boosters did not go well.
I would love to get the titer test instead! That wasn't presented as an option (doing a titer for MMR was though). Maybe I'll ask... Because as much as I am pro-vaccine, I don't want to get ones that I don't need.
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I'm guessing they want the Tdap vaccine, which is for tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough). Tetanus is not contagious but the other two diseases are. Quest does titers for all three, but this is the description that came with the pertussis results.
This assay cannot be used to assess protective immunity to
pertussis because the specific antibodies and antibody levels
that correlate with protection have not been well defined.
The primary intent of the assay is to aid in the diagnosis
of infection following natural exposure to Bordetella
pertussis. The indicated PT IgG reference ranges reflect the
90th percentile of antibody levels in sera from healthy
children and blood donors; thus, levels above the reference
range suggest recent infection or vaccination within the
last few months.The bottom line is that you get some idea if you're protected against tetanus and diphtheria from the Quest test, but not pertussis.
There is also this from the American Academy of Family Physicians, which confirms what Quest says and also says that even if you get a booster every ten years, you probably lose immunity to pertussis way before then and they note that re-vaccination isn't an effective public health strategy.
Unlike with other vaccines, there is not a standardized antibody titer to confirm protection against pertussis.27 Although pertussis vaccines were initially whole cell, the high reactogenicity of the vaccine caused frequent adverse effects (e.g., local reaction, seizure, pain, fever sometimes leading to febrile seizure), resulting in the adoption of acellular vaccines in the 1990s.
Immunity typically wanes two to four years after administration of the acellular pertussis vaccine, although this can occur as early as one year postvaccination.28 Individuals with natural infection also experience waning immunity, including children with a history of pertussis.4,29 Because of this rapid decrease in immunity, it is not considered an effective public health strategy to continue recurrent tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) boosters.4
https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2021/0800/p186.html
Confused yet?
In any event, it won't hurt to ask if they'll accept the titer. Maybe they won't read the fine print about pertussis....
