Hip deep

News blues

The not-so-blue news: “The U.S. administered more than 1 million vaccine doses Friday, marking the third day in a row more than a million shots were distributed, including 526,000 first shots. 
So, finally, with Covid-19 hospitalizations increasing, a greater number of Americans have recently made the decision to get vaccinated than in the last six weeks. .”
(See below for a personal experience of front vaccinations of at least 600 of those 1.05 million doses.)

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According to Daily Maverick, 80% or as many as four out of five South Africans may have contracted coronavirus, indicating South Africa may be among the world’s hardest-hit nations. 

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The Lincoln Project Ducey  (0:38 mins)
Last week in the Republican Party, next episode  (1:45 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

We can’t predict the next coronavirus variant. But there are some fundamental principles that explain why the virus has morphed as it has and where we could be headed next. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Posting here took a backseat to working this week – and posting will continue to take a backseat as long as I work in a Covid vaccination clinic. It’s a wild, wild ride!
A reminder: the day after I returned from my 1.5-year unexpected sojourn in South Africa, I was vaxed at a local grocery store. No line, no wait, in and out with vital vax record card in hand. Three weeks later, I repeated the process at the grocery store. Easy peasy. Why travel to a hospital and stand in line?

I work in one vax clinic in a multiple-hospital system that is member-based. My role is to ensure smooth sailing of the day-to-day vaccine program so that medical professionals can vax as many people as show up at the hospital seeking one of the three currently available vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J).
With member medical records residing on the central computer system, check in is, in general, smooth. Member-clients make appointments before they arrive and have their documentation ready for check-in.
With the vaccines and associated collateral – syringes, etc. - provided by the federal government, vax clinic providers must guarantee that anyone who wants a free vaccination can have a free vaccination. In return, the Feds want documentation – and lots of it.
Our vax team consists of 2 client reps checking in clients, 1 client rep managing the line, 2 nurses prepping, 5 to 7 nurses jabbing, and me, smoothing the overall process. My workday begins with updating information on the numbers of registered member clients expected that day.
The member count is easy.
What is not easy is guessing how many unregistered, non-member clients will drop in for jabs – and when.
Until Friday, the process was, for the most part, smooth. Things slow down when nurses take fed Labor Department-mandated lunch breaks of one hour, but for the most part, we manage. Until Friday, numbers of drop ins each day averaged between 175 to 300 - each requiring the generation of a temporary member number and other necessary documents.
Then came Friday.
The unexpected news that immunocompromised people were eligible for a 3rd dose of vaccine threw off everything. Third doses are not booster shots (scheduled to begin mid-September), but people lined up for “booster” shots anyway. Dozens of people were given personalized explanations on the difference between “3rd dose” and “booster”; some went away resigned, some angry.
Dozens of immunocompromised members and non-members arrived, many in wheelchairs or using walkers (blocking hallways).
One person, after taking her second jab and staying for the mandatory 15 minutes of observation, left the clinic… then returned an hour later with dizziness and high blood pressure. The usual protocol is to wheel such a patient to the emergency department. This time, since her symptoms were ambiguous, a nurse and I wheeled her to an upstairs clinic for further observation by an emergency department doctor.
Third dose protocols coincided, too, with opening Pfizer vaccinations to children over 12 years old. Dozens of children - some braver than others - accompanied by parents or guardians, arrived for their first jabs.
Most touching, a young man, blind, came in with his parents for a shot. It took some persuading to seat him, have him raise his sleeve, and accept the jab. Afterwards, he received an ovation.
My next several months promise to provide many insights into people and pandemic. My current over-riding emotions? Grateful that We the People are at the point of accepting lifesaving vaccinations; being part of a team providing lifesaving vaccines; and love, yes, love for the many, many people coming into the clinic, trusting we’re doing our best for them, offering their arms for an Emergency Use Authorized (EUA) vax, and supporting one another, young and old, firm and infirm, all human.
On Friday, our team administered about 600 of the more than 1 million vaccine doses - the third day in a row more than a million shots were distributed across this nation.
Amazing times.,

We expect the FDA to fully approve the Pfizer vaccine on Monday. Once that happens, well, last Friday’s rush will have been a precursor to many more people flooding in…
Bring ‘em on…