All Things COVID-19

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First truck carrying Johnson & Johnson vaccine arrives at UPS shipping facility​

From CNN's Pete Muntean and Greg Wallace

The first UPS truck carrying the Johnson & Johnson vaccine just arrived at the carrier’s Worldport hub in Louisville, Kentucky. The company says deliveries will start Tuesday for the eastern half of the country.
More trucks carrying the vaccine are expected to arrive at the facility throughout the day Monday.
UPS says two people will unload vaccine shipments by hand onto more than 150 miles of conveyer belt where machines will sort vaccine packages in 13 minutes time. Packages will then be loaded onto UPS cargo planes along with regular, everyday packages— even though vaccine shipments are getting priority over other packages.
UPS head of healthcare Wes Wheeler told CNN in an interview that the network has plenty of capacity to carry the new vaccine. The company has already shipped tens of millions of Pfizer and Moderna doses.
“The pressure was really high in December heading into peak season, of course. We had much more volume than we normally have,” Wheeler said. “But now we’re in a steady state, and adding another vaccine really is not a big problem for us. We have plenty of capacity, and we know exactly how to handle the data.”
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Some more context: The White House said Monday 3.9 million doses are going out in this initial wave of shipments. Johnson & Johnson said Monday the goal is to distribute 20 million doses of the vaccine by the end of this month.
 

B.C. moves to Phase 2 of COVID-19 immunization plan, protects seniors​

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More than 400,000 people in British Columbia will be immunized from March to early April as the Province moves into Phase 2 of the largest immunization rollout in B.C.’s history.

“At every step of the way, we are putting the health and safety of British Columbians first,” said Premier John Horgan. “B.C. was one of the first provinces to lay out our vaccine plan, and now we’re moving to Phase 2 to reach even more of our seniors and Elders. We’re getting vaccine into arms as fast as we can given early supply delays from manufacturers, and we’re seeing it start to make a difference for people and their communities throughout our province.”

Those in Phase 2 receiving their first vaccine dose in March and early April include:

  • seniors and high-risk people residing in independent living and seniors’ supportive housing (including staff);
  • home-care support clients and staff;
  • Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) peoples born in or before 1956 (65 years and older); and
  • seniors born in or before 1941 (80 years and older).
“The pandemic has been incredibly difficult for all of us, and I’m proud of our health-care workers who continue to work around the clock to safely and efficiently deliver the vaccine to British Columbians throughout the province,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “We are all eager to put the pandemic behind us, and today marks a major step towards keeping British Columbians safe from COVID-19.”

On March 1, 2021, first-dose immunizations begin for those living and working in independent living centres and seniors’ supportive housing, as well as home-care support clients and staff. Health authorities will directly contact those in this priority group to book appointments – no need to call.
Beginning March 8, 2021, seniors aged 80+ and Indigenous peoples aged 65+ who are not living in independent living or seniors’ supportive housing can make one call to book their appointment through their local health authority call centre according to a staggered schedule. This is to avoid long waits and system overload. Immunization clinic locations will be confirmed at time of booking, with vaccinations starting as early as March 15, 2021:

  • March 8, 2021: Seniors born in or before 1931 (90 years+) and Indigenous people born in or before 1956 (65 years+) may call to book their vaccine appointment;
  • March 15, 2021: Seniors born in or before 1936 (85 years+) may call to book their vaccine appointment; and
  • March 22, 2021: Seniors born in or before 1941 (80 years+) may call to book their vaccine appointment.
“This immunization process is a massive undertaking and I thank the regional health authorities, the thousands of health-care workers and medical staff, our colleagues in the Ministry of Health and the many community partners who help us to deliver care and who have been working tirelessly throughout this pandemic for their dedication and support,” said Dr. Penny Ballem, executive lead for B.C.’s immunization plan. “Phase 2 is right on schedule, and we are working closely with each of the regional health authorities to make sure that they have the tools and resources needed to safely and efficiently book appointments.”

Health authority contact information, complete call-in schedules, hours of operations and step-by-step instructions on how to call to book an appointment for yourself, for a family member, for a friend or neighbour will be available on March 8, 2021, here: www.gov.bc.ca/bcseniorsfirst

“We can now see the light at the end of what has been a difficult and challenging time for us all. To get us through, we need to continue to work together and support each other,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer. “We are working hard each and every day to make sure that everyone who wants a vaccine gets one, and my new provincial health officer order significantly expands the range of health professions and occupations who can support our immunization clinics, including dentists, midwives, pharmacy technicians, paramedics, firefighters and retired nurses.”
For health professionals who want to sign up to support B.C.'s immunization efforts as immunizers, visit: https://forms.hlth.gov.bc.ca/registry-covid-19

Immunizing other priority groups identified in Phase 2, many of whom have already received their first dose, is also underway, including:
  • Indigenous communities, Indigenous Elders, hospital staff, community general practitioners and medical specialists not immunized in Phase 1;
  • vulnerable populations living and working in select congregate settings; and
  • staff in community home support and nursing services for seniors.
In mid-April, Phase 3 will begin mass vaccination of people aged 79 to 60 years, and people aged 16+ who are extremely clinically vulnerable, at community immunization clinics throughout B.C. Mobile clinics will be available in some rural communities and for people who are homebound due to mobility issues.

In Phase 3, British Columbians will register and book their appointments to receive their first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccine through an online registration tool.

People born between 1942 and 1946 (ages 79-75), and Indigenous peoples born between the years of 1956 and 1960 (ages 64-60), will be able to register for an appointment online or by phone by March 31, 2021.

As of Feb. 26, 2021, 252,373 people in B.C. have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, including 73,808 who have received their second dose.

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021PREM0015-000355
 

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Vaccine call centres for seniors open March 8, 2021. You can book a vaccine appointment for yourself or your spouse. You can also have a family member or friend call for you. It's easy and safe to book over the phone.

When you can call is based on your age​

I'm born in 1931 or earlier (90+) or I'm Indigenous and born in 1956 or earlier (65+)​

Please call the week of March 8.

I'm born in 1936 or earlier (85+)​

Please call the week of March 15.

I'm born in 1941 or earlier (80+)​

Please call the week of March 22.

Get ready to call​

When you call your health authority, you'll be asked for:
  • First and last name
  • Date of birth
  • Postal code
  • Personal Health Number
You can find your Personal Health Number on the back of your B.C. driver's licence, BC Services Card or CareCard.
We'll also ask you for contact information:
  • An email address that gets checked regularly
    or
  • A phone number that can receive text messages
We will never ask you for your SIN, driver's licence number or banking and credit card details.

I'm calling for myself​

Here's what happens when you call:
  • The phone agent verifies your age and asks for your personal information
  • You work with the phone agent to select an appointment time slot at a clinic close to home
  • The phone agent confirms your appointment time and clinic location
  • If you've provided contact information, you get a confirmation message sent by email or text

I'm calling on behalf of someone​

Here's what happens when you call on behalf of someone:
  • The phone agent verifies who you are calling for and asks you to provide their age and personal information
  • You work with the phone agent to select an appointment time slot at a clinic close to the home of the person you're calling for
  • The phone agent confirms the appointment time and clinic location
  • If you've provided contact information, you get a confirmation message sent by email or text

Select your health authority and call​

All call centres open March 8. The first day appointments are available is March 15.

Not sure who to call? Find out what health authority you live in.

Call centre hours​

Seven days a week​

7 am to 7 pm (PST/PDT)​

Phone lines may be busy.

Fraser Health​

1-855-755-2455
Starting March 8, if you live in the Fraser Health Authority, you have the option to book online.

Interior Health​

1-877-740-7747

Island Health​

1-833-348-4787

Northern Health​

1-844-255-7555

Vancouver Coastal Health​

1-877-587-5767

What to expect at the vaccine clinic​

Only people who are eligible will get their vaccine dose. You will be turned away from the clinic if your age group is not yet eligible.

Arrive prepared​

Get ready for your appointment:
  • Wear a short-sleeved shirt and a mask
  • Arrive a few minutes before your scheduled appointment time
You can bring one person with you for support.
All clinics are wheelchair accessible. You will be provided a mask if you need one.

During the appointment​

At the clinic you will:
  • Complete a check-in process
  • Get your vaccine dose
  • Wait in an observation area for about 15 minutes
You can expect to be at the clinic for 30 minutes in total.

I still have questions​

Need help? Talk to a Service BC agent about non-health related information and services related to COVID-19. Service is available 7:30 am to 8 pm.

Call: 1-888-COVID19

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/seniors
 

Biden to announce that Merck will work with Johnson & Johnson to manufacture coronavirus vaccine​

By Kevin Liptak, Jeff Zeleny and John Harwood, CNN

Updated 9:16 AM ET, Tue March 2, 2021

(CNN)President Joe Biden is expected to announce Tuesday that Merck & Co. will partner with Johnson & Johnson to help manufacture J&J's coronavirus vaccine, administration officials familiar with the matter said, increasing production capacity as the third authorized shot begins going into arms.

The arrangement between two competitors is unusual and underscores the urgency in manufacturing and distributing enough vaccine doses to inoculate as many Americans as possible.
 
"The United States must stick to a two-dose strategy for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, top U.S. infectious disease official Anthony Fauci told the Washington Post. Fauci said that delaying a second dose to inoculate more Americans creates risks. He said the science does not support delaying a second dose for those vaccines, citing research that a two-shot regimen creates enough protection to help fend off variants of the coronavirus that are more transmissible, whereas a single shot could leave Americans at risk from variants such as the one first detected in South Africa."

"Extending the interval between the first and second doses of the Moderna, Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines to 16 weeks is "basically [a] population level experiment," says Mona Nemer, Canada’s chief science adviser."

Quebec went for 90...BC for 120.....who’s next in the spin the roulette wheel of science.. Politicians playing with our health to save their office

Whats the point of phase 3 trials? Or government speak of "Follow the Science"? BC will be a experient that I hope other provinces dont follow. I cant imagine being a person at risk & only getting one dose. I think folks might be better off crossing the border in the spring & getting vaccinated properly. By then the USA will be at heard immunity & will hopefully let us Canadians cross.
 
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There is no data, I don't understand how they can be confident that 4 months is safe or effective since they've only been giving shots for 2 months. It's really confusing how this has been deemed a good idea.
 
ryanb said:
There is no data, I don't understand how they can be confident that 4 months is safe or effective since they've only been giving shots for 2 months. It's really confusing how this has been deemed a good idea.
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It's a desperate move to try and compensate for their incredibly poor planning. All the world leaders knew the vaccines were on their way in the new year but Canada didn't have their procurement and distribution plans set.
 
Honestly, and I'm not remotely anti-vaccine, rolling out the first human mRNA vaccine on this scale is itself a global experiment and anyone who says we know exactly what the results will be is wrong.

My guess is that there won't be any long term problems and I hope that this will be the beginning of targeted vaccines that can be developed at warp speed to deal with diseases as they arise.

But we don't actually know if mRNA vaccines have different long term risks; it's conceivable that they could. There's decades-long research on traditional vaccines, but this process is so new that the most anyone can do is infer long term safety on the basis of similar work.

But it's a little unnerving that we're running a global experiment on a novel vaccine type, and even more unnerving that if you point this out people absolutely freak out that you're "not following the science."

There's no scientific data about the long term consequences of this. I think it's reasonable to assume that it will be safe and maybe safer than traditional vaccines, I don't know. But do we know for a fact that prevalence of some obscure autoimmune disorder isn't going to skyrocket in thirty years as a result of this?

Nope.

For myself, I'm comfortable with the risk of taking it (should I ever get the opportunity). But let's not pretend that there is zero risk to the vaccine. There's unknown risk and that's going to be the case for a long time.
 
 
cracked_ribs said:
Honestly, and I'm not remotely anti-vaccine, rolling out the first human mRNA vaccine on this scale is itself a global experiment and anyone who says we know exactly what the results will be is wrong.

My guess is that there won't be any long term problems and I hope that this will be the beginning of targeted vaccines that can be developed at warp speed to deal with diseases as they arise.

But we don't actually know if mRNA vaccines have different long term risks; it's conceivable that they could. There's decades-long research on traditional vaccines, but this process is so new that the most anyone can do is infer long term safety on the basis of similar work.

But it's a little unnerving that we're running a global experiment on a novel vaccine type, and even more unnerving that if you point this out people absolutely freak out that you're "not following the science."

There's no scientific data about the long term consequences of this. I think it's reasonable to assume that it will be safe and maybe safer than traditional vaccines, I don't know. But do we know for a fact that prevalence of some obscure autoimmune disorder isn't going to skyrocket in thirty years as a result of this?

Nope.

For myself, I'm comfortable with the risk of taking it (should I ever get the opportunity). But let's not pretend that there is zero risk to the vaccine. There's unknown risk and that's going to be the case for a long time.
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You state the reason that someone else can have my human trial vaccine. How many species has had mRNA vaccine trials over the last 30 years? How many have been successful? What consequences happened to the test animals? Now miraculously a miracle vaccine appears with 60 day human trials? I will wait many years, I am still at a loss as to why I need a vaccine, science states risk for me getting sick or dying is so low. No vaccine for lightning strikes? Its a free country so far, if you are at risk you can go first. I will be sidelining this experiment. Unless the police or SFBC members come looking for those who "resisted".

HM
 
 
So the mechanic told me my brakes are shot & my car is not safe to drive. I told him to only replace 2 of them because I still get partial protection & stopping power, and that's good enough. He seemed hesitant so I told him I was using "real word data" & I would be back in 6 months to replace the other 2.

I cant wait to tell my wife that partial protection is all we need. I told her "pulling out" was good enough and she never believed me.

Can we start wearing our maske below or nose? Its partial protection right?


So it looks like Alberta will be making up their own vaccine guidelines also. We were warned today that news is to come. So my mom with stage 3 COPD and 27% lung capacity will have to remain in self isolation for the rest of the year at a minimum. Her being partially vaccinated wont help her & she is not interested in her being part of the Government's "science experiment". I spent an hour on the phone with her tonight & she has given up hope. She said "she has limited days left and she wont stay locked up any more. What's the point of a half vaccine." If she get covid, she dies.. I didnt know what to tell her. I had nothing I could say to prove her wrong.

I'm just flabbergasted with this country... I have been a model citizen with Covid & I'm about done. This has turned into a circus & I want out of this tent.
 
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ILHG said:
So the mechanic told me my brakes are shot & my car is not safe to drive. I told him to only replace 2 of them because I still get partial protection & stopping power, and that's good enough. He seemed hesitant so I told him I was using "real word data" & I would be back in 6 months to replace the other 2.

I cant wait to tell my wife that partial protection is all we need. I told her "pulling out" was good enough and she never believed me.

Can we start wearing our maske below or nose? Its partial protection right?


So it looks like Alberta will be making up their own vaccine guidelines also. We were warned today that news is to come. So my mom with stage 3 COPD and 27% lung capacity will have to remain in self isolation for the rest of the year at a minimum. Her being partially vaccinated wont help her & she is not interested in her being part of the Government's "science experiment". I spent an hour on the phone with her tonight & she has given up hope. She said "she has limited days left and she wont stay locked up any more. What's the point of a half vaccine." If she get covid, she dies.. I didnt know what to tell her. I had nothing I could say to prove her wrong.

I'm just flabbergasted with this country... I have been a model citizen with Covid & I'm about done. This has turned into a circus & I want out of this tent.
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Since when is 90% protection half a vaccine? 2nd shot brings you to 96% I believe.
 
No shot is 0% and that where everyone I know is at. Except my parents who got one in the USA.

this is an especially hard time for Canadians as we are watching our neighbours to the south stomp on the virus and starting to open everything again.

On a positive note, apparently by July every Canadian who wants one will get one.
 
At my age I'll take any edge I can get-plus vaccination certificates are coming whether people want to believe it or not the latest is that Saudi isn't letting in anyone with one for their huge annual religious pilgrimage.

So it you want to travel you'll need the shot and the paper and there's no way around that.
 
Fishtank said:
Since when is 90% protection half a vaccine? 2nd shot brings you to 96% I believe.
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I think - and I'm working from memory here so if I'm incorrect I apologize - but I think that the big question is "what happens as the shots are spaced further and further apart?"

I don't think this is known, because I don't think it's been tested. You MAY retain 90% protection and it MAY increase to 96% with the second dose even if they're not on schedule but the testing data is much less clear, because it's based on the particular schedule tested by the manufacturer.

To my knowledge, we don't actually know if spacing them out by months instead of weeks will result in the initial protection fading, and then we also don't know if that means the second dose will ever bring people up to the standard of protection shown in testing.

All we really know is that it's radically exceeding what the manufacturer recommends.

Worth noting: they make the same amount of money if you get your doses two hours apart or two months, so there's no real financial incentive to lie about this. Those are just the recommendations that came as a direct result of the testing carried out by scientists working on the vaccine.

Maybe nothing, maybe everything. But one thing is for sure: the government here doesn't have more information than the manufacturer. Whatever they're recommending, it's not based on a bunch of better science than the people who created the vaccine have.
 
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