outbreak! (ebola, sars, coronavirus, etc)

fwiw i got mine with an appointment at a CVS in NYC. they don't have and didn't ask for my insurance information and they didn't charge me.

a few walk-ins for flu shots asked if they could get it too while i was waiting, but were told CVS didn't have enough shots so they'd made it appointment-only until next week.

The updated covid vax is now available at many CVSs & Walgreens in NYC.

**These Rx chains are not supposed to charge you, regardless of insurance status.** They're in a federal program which covers those costs.

You can search for sites w/ no-cost vax at https://t.co/J6F9P3mf5Q pic.twitter.com/YX3hFteWKJ

— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) September 19, 2023

The federal program for no-cost vax is called "Bridge Access Program". You can select for this at https://t.co/J6F9P3lHgi and it will show you locations near you on the map.

— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) September 19, 2023

^most useful post today

yeah, like I said, the CVS website last week when I made my appointment asked for no insurance

I didn't pay anything at Walgreen but they asked for my insurance, which they hadn't previously, and they mentioned the new shot was more expensive. Don't know what the purpose of that was.

I was shocked (not shocked) to learn that the price of the vaccine is something like $150 with no insurance. That's some bullshit.

Eric Clapton performed at a fundraiser for presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a private estate in Brentwood near Los Angeles.

The event raised $2.2 million for Kennedy: $1 million for the campaign and $1.2 million for a PAC supporting the candidate.

“I am deeply grateful to Eric Clapton for bringing his musical artistry and rebellious spirit to my gathering in Los Angeles last night,” Kennedy said in a statement. “I sometimes think that in our divided society, it is music rather than any kind of intellectual agreement that has the most potential to bring us together again.”

The presidential candidate continued, “Eric sings from the depths of the human condition. If he sees in me the possibility of bringing unity to our country, it is only possible because artists like him invoke a buried faith in the limitless power of human beings to overcome any obstacle.”

Clapton joins a growing list of celebrities who have spoken out in support of Kennedy, including the candidate’s wife, Cheryl Hines, Rob Schneider and Alicia Silverstone. The Curb Your Enthusiasm actress posted a photo with Woody Harrelson on Kennedy’s Instagram in August, but the actor insisted in a statement to USA Today that the photo wasn’t necessarily an endorsement.

“Bobby is a personal friend,” he told the publication in a statement through his representative. “I don’t endorse candidates from either party because I’m an anarchist.”

Clapton, Kennedy and Harrelson have all been outspoken against COVID-19 vaccines. The “Wonderful Tonight” singer received the AstraZeneca vaccines and said he had “severe reactions” that made him worried he wouldn’t play the guitar again.

Me boosty.

I asked the pharmacist last week (flu shot) if she anticipated high demand and she said yes. Today in a line of 20+ people there were only two of us who had registered to get the shot and everyone else there was flabbergasted that there was *another* booster. There was a lot of “oh hell no” going on.

The “Wonderful Tonight” singer received the AstraZeneca vaccines and said he had “severe reactions” that made him worried he wouldn’t play the guitar again.

This would have been an incredible scientific achievement.

Locally (Seattle area) Kaiser is not scheduling appointments for the new vaccine until after October 3rd, so I'm booked at Walgreens on Friday.

Looks like more free tests are incoming

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/20/feds-mail-order-covid-test-00117133

i am definitely coming down with something (two rapid tests negative so far) but i went ahead with flu and covid vaccination this morning. assuming tonight is going to be horrendous.

― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Tuesday, September 19, 2023 2:14 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

good grief. i feel like a superfund site.

And CDC site confirms, free orders starting Sept. 25

https://www.covid.gov/tests

Oh good. I had a whole bunch that I have since distributed to coworkers and neighbors in addition to using them in our house. I signed up for Test to Treat a couple weeks ago because it felt weird to have so few available in the supply shelf.

same here!

High five to our favorite nurse friend!

I just got shingles vaxx #1 today (another in 2-6 months).. the nurse warned me that this one is an asskicker and that I should NOT get a flu vaxx the same day

When I got home my bowels cried to be evacuated, immediately... she didn't warn me about that

I had no reaction to either shingles shot, besides a sore arm.

good to hear!

Yeah I got the shingrix vax and flu vax at the same time, similar soreness in each arm but the shingrix ache lingered longer.

So, Shingrix doubles as an effective laxative as well? Hmmmm...

the 1st shingles one fucked me up way more than any covid or flu vaccine I have had to date, ymmv

the 2nd shingles one was fine for me

Both shingles shots were definitely worse for me than any COVID shot. Glad I was able to zone for a couple of days afterward for each of them.

My second Covid shot fucked me up for a good 6 weeks, but no subsequent shot has.

Had been having trouble scheduling an appointment through CVS so I asked at the pharmacy when I picked up a prescription refill, as of Friday morning they still had not received any doses.

Even more fun, had dinner with a friend for their birthday Saturday night at their house. Got a call late last night that they tested positive. Ugh.

Yeah, Walgreens cancelled on me and hour before my appointment on Friday due to not having received their shipment. Bummed, but now I'll just wait for Kaiser. I've been able to not be around too many folks the past couple weeks, but Mr. Jaq, his sister, and his daughter are returning from the UK on Wednesday and I'm picking them up and feeling doomed.

the ease with which I was able to get the new vaccine is paradoxically making me worry that it’s a sign that they’re relatively evenly distributed, it’s just that no one else in my region is getting one

outside of the people working at the pharmacy, that is. they were gossiping about when they were scheduling theirs due to side effects, sore arms, etc

Speaking with two other coworkers this morning, they have also not yet been able to schedule appointments, anecdotally it seems very hit or miss around here.

Yeah, weird, I had dinner with an actual CVS pharmacy tech a week or so ago, and she said they were supposed to start rolling out last week.

Yeah, the pharmacist I spoke with told me they had heard the same thing, but nothing had showed up yet.

the sassy pharmacy tech with a tattoo inspired by disney's the little mermaid on his forearm assured me he'd juice me up with as many vaccines as I wanted

What the world needs now are more sassy pharmacy techs with tattoos inspired by The Little Mermaid.

Free ordering of more tests now live:

https://www.covid.gov/tests

Thanks Ned, ordered!

Done!

Thanx Nedbama

Nedicare

Ordered.

Meantime finally got a vaccine appointment finagled -- next Friday but I can live with that (if I went for this Friday and I felt off that would mean missing the Church and the Third Mind at Hardly Strictly this weekend, which would be sad).

i couldn’t find one near me until a month out— going to try to get one a little earlier by searching around, but i guess i am okay with waiting!!

Seem to have avoided catching anything from the exposure mentioned upthread, thankfully. Though now my son was exposed yesterday, apparently. Tbh, it feels inescapable around here right now, I am personally aware of at least 15 people I know who either has it, or someone in their family has it. Pretty much everyone I work with seems to know multiple people with it as well.

Hey hey, you can get another batch of free tests if you're in the US

https://www.covid.gov/tests

I heard on the radio that so far only 11% of Chicagoans have gotten the most recent vaccine. That's a pretty low number, and Chicago has got to be among the most compliant, so I have to figure that a lot of places around the country have an even lower (fresh) vaccination rate. I guess we'll see soon enough just how effective or important up to date vaccines are when it comes to protection against serious illness.

thank you to whomever suggested reading Katelyn Jetelina. very interesting new article re: scientific discoveries: https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/covid-19-research-roundup-jan-11

I'll second that recommendation. The author summarizes very recent Covid findings succinctly and in plain language.

I've got a hypochondriac friend (he always was) who still hasn't gotten COVID b/c he's a shut-in and rages against LONG COVID, and I always ask, "How many jabs have you gotten?" Well, all of them. (I actually have a couple more than he does). He won't hear me when I assure him that more jabs = less chance of Long COVID. Maybe this piece will help.

Completely anecdotal, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless. Back in early December I went to go watch a friend's band play in a local, small bar. It was unannounced and a pretty small bar, so I went (unmasked) figuring it was relatively low key and a rare risk I was willing to take. And it mostly was, the bar stayed pretty sparse, though near the end of their set the bar was crashed by a very large group of folks on some ugly sweater bar crawl type thing. It got crowded fast and I was kind of kicking myself for not at least having a KN95 in my pocket to pull out, as I usually do.

Fast forward to a few days later and my buddy texts me to tell me that the guy who owned the bar (a friend of his) heard that the travelling ugly sweater thing was rumored to have turned into a super-spreader and that we should test. Long story short, of the group of 8 people that we were with, 4 ended up getting (fortunately mild) cases of COVID. The other four of us never fell ill and never tested positive. The interesting part though, was confirming that of the 4 who tested positive, 2 had never gotten more than the initial two vax doses and the other 2 had only gotten the first booster. The 4 of us who never tested positive had all gotten each booster as they'd come available.

Coincidence? Luck? Probably. Maybe. But still served as a good reminder to stay current. (Also learned that folks I knew who I'd assumed were vigilant about boosters were actually not - fortunately they all agreed to get back to getting boosted.)

Two of my most COVID-conscious friends have not gotten the latest shot -- it's a new vax, not a booster, to be clear -- and look Quite Guilty when I remind them.

yea I just got the last shot 3 weeks ago, my wife and daughter had it shortly after, now my son does, but so far I'm feelin' fine

I feel a bit guilty about that, we were gonna get him a booster but just punted it down the road. my daughter I just assumed we didn't need one, since actually getting Covid is probably better for your immunity isn't it?

Not with these latest variants, I don't think.