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> Around 6:45 at night, as the event wound down, an eligible person arrived for a shot. A nurse punctured a new vial to administer the vaccine, which activated

> Around 6:45 at night, as the event wound down, an eligible person arrived for a shot. A nurse punctured a new vial to administer the vaccine, which activated the six-hour time limit for the 10 remaining doses. Why would the nurse open a new vial when they know they are about to close? That is very reckless, considering that vaccination is not time critical. That person could just come back tomorrow.

ceejayoz 6y ago
There are plenty of folks for which getting to a vaccination site is already a hardship - having to get time off work, arranging transportation and childcare, etc. Doubling that effort unnecessarily leads to poor outcomes, too.
valarauko 6y ago
I'm not sure what's the situation in Tx. especially in December, but here in NY getting an appointment is the limiting factor. Even as of today, there are no appointments available for eligible recipients till mid April. An appointment only gets you through the door, and if you can't make it you have to get a fresh appointment through the state website. The vaccination site itself cannot reschedule your appointment for the next day - it can only book a follow up for the second dose weeks later. Source: I work at a medical school, and was told this by the doctor managing the vaccination line. He walks up and down the line, counting the number of people who showed up and opens the vials accordingly, but he's not in a position to ask anybody to come the next day. At least with Moderna, it's 10 doses per vial. Even though my employer had sufficient vaccine supply for us, our hospital was overrun with COVID cases in early January and medical staff to actually perform the vaccination was in short supply. The senior medical students were recruited to help out, and even then it would take many weeks to cover our staff. I actually got vaccinated at a different site 30 miles away, but I doubt this is an option available to most people. If you miss your appointment you're screwed.

ceejayoz 6y ago

There are plenty of folks for which getting to a vaccination site is already a hardship - having to get time off work, arranging transportation and childcare, etc. Doubling that effort unnecessarily leads to poor outcomes, too.

valarauko 6y ago

I'm not sure what's the situation in Tx. especially in December, but here in NY getting an appointment is the limiting factor. Even as of today, there are no appointments available for eligible recipients till mid April. An appointment only gets you through the door, and if you can't make it you have to get a fresh appointment through the state website. The vaccination site itself cannot reschedule your appointment for the next day - it can only book a follow up for the second dose weeks later. Source: I work at a medical school, and was told this by the doctor managing the vaccination line. He walks up and down the line, counting the number of people who showed up and opens the vials accordingly, but he's not in a position to ask anybody to come the next day. At least with Moderna, it's 10 doses per vial. Even though my employer had sufficient vaccine supply for us, our hospital was overrun with COVID cases in early January and medical staff to actually perform the vaccination was in short supply. The senior medical students were recruited to help out, and even then it would take many weeks to cover our staff. I actually got vaccinated at a different site 30 miles away, but I doubt this is an option available to most people. If you miss your appointment you're screwed.