My 19yo was able to get hers a few weeks before her peers because she was working at a grocery store (that possible exposure was a bit worrying for me!). My 15yo gets his second dose on Saturday!
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Only health workers got it early based on their job here - they were in the first group with over 80s.
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In Pennsylvania, health care workers, elderly, & those w/ health concerns were first, then they started opening it to other groups and ages. First responders, teachers, grocery store workers, etc. were all added separately.
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Itās interesting how different places have done it.
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Agreed. It doesnāt seem like there is much agreement on the best way to get people vaccinated. Some countries kept to the recommended schedule. Others extended the time between appointments. The order in which they vaccinated people is very different. Some countries arenāt vaccinating children, while others are.
On the plus side, all of the different options should give us good feedback for future situations and determining what might be the best way to do this.
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@PrincipalTinker @FindMeAFishingSpot
I thought both of you being Massachusetts residents would find this interesting about the percentages of people vaccinated in Springfield, Massachusetts and Newton, Massachusetts.
I lived in Massachusetts for a few years back in the 90s so I am familiar with these areas and the difference in demographics.
The quote below is from a tweet by Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH. I copied and pasted rather than post a link. The percentages below are the percentage of people who have been vaccinated. The numbers in Newton are unbelievable ā¦ 99% of people over 30 have been vaccinated! He reiterated that the 99% was not a typo, but was the real number.
"Springfield:
12% of kids aged 12-15 with at least 1 shot
55% of people over 20
64% of people over 30
Newton:
64% of kids aged 12-15
93% of people over 20
99% of people over 30"
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Yes thatās true.
That definitely doesnāt surprise me in the least! Although I know Western Mass has been doing a lot to get the word out and make inroads with their population. But the demographics of Newton vs. Springfield is like night and day. Plus, so much of the stateās efforts have been focused in and around the Boston area from everything to how many mass vaccination sites are located there vs out west to their incentivized cities and towns (for the medicaid eligible, they are offering a hefty chunk of change if provider groups can get 80% of their population in certain areas vaccinated by 7/30 - most of them are in the east).
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Does anyone know if there is a home saliva test available yet with relatively fast results (under an hour)? Seems like this would be make indoor visits with family/friends much safer.
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Dollywood just moved into first place for a potential family trip. This is from their website.
FOLLOWING UPDATED GUIDANCE FROM THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC), FULLY VACCINATED GUESTS CAN NOW VISIT DOLLYWOOD WITHOUT WEARING A MASK OR PHYSICALLY DISTANCING. ADDITIONALLY, CONSISTENT WITH STATE GUIDELINES, GUESTS AGED 12 AND UNDER MAY ALSO VISIT WITHOUT WEARING A MASK OR PHYSICALLY DISTANCING. GUESTS CAN EXPECT TO SEE OUR CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO PLAY SAFE TOGETHER THROUGHOUT THE PARK AND GROUNDS.
They also have a warning that comes up when you visit the site reminding people that they are taking their own risks visiting.
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How far is Dollywood from SC? Sounds like way too short of a road trip for you! 
Dollywood!
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Seminole county emergency mgr was just interviewed b/c itās the first day of hurricane season. And he said since they ācanāt ask about vaccination to separate, req. masks. etc they are encouraging ppl to go to friends/family with masonary block type homes instead of coming to the shelters. Shelters should be your last resort. He doesnāt want shelters to become an out break locationā 
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Yikes.
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We also had tix in 2020 to about 3 or 4 big concerts or musicals that just plain got canceled, with no reschedule. Some of those, like Fords Theatre, I let keep my money in my acct b/c I know Iāll be back there. Iāve checked and so far no rescheduling. In the DC area theatre is opening up very, very slowly, although the Kennedy Ctr seems to be about to put on some stuff.
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Wow. I didnāt āheartā your post b/c I wanted to 
it. I see their concerns. Of course, in an emergency you do the best you canā¦
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My jaw dropped as I listened to the interviewā¦ my DH said later that last year they could have had a similar announcement, but we werenāt here for the start of the season last year. So many ppl use hurricane shelters when needed. This too shall pass.
I wish I could find the link again but the Orlando Sentinel had a piece last week w/ an interactive county map. If you hovered over the county/zip code it told you what % of pop was vaccinated. I thought it was interesting how many places are at or below 20%. This is why I hesitate getting excited about over all rates since itās just an average and I know how the math works.
Found the link: These are the Central Florida ZIP codes with the highest and lowest vaccination rates - Orlando Sentinel
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I have not worn a mask in weeks, and have seen very few. Things here are almost like they were two years ago- except itās busier in my little tourist town. At this point, it seems to me that if you live in America and havenāt been infected already you have two choices:
1). Get the vaccine, in which case you can get back to normal.
2).Or donāt, in which case you accept the risk.
I remained concerned about those who canāt get the vaccine for medical reasons, or those in whom it doesnāt take (myself among them- I have to have my antibody titres checked) but the absolute morbidity and mortality associated with that doesnāt justify the ongoing societal and economic upheaval some places are still experiencing.
Iām starting to think some people just love the idea of the pandemic. I donāt know why, when we should be thankful for one of the things scientists got right the first time over the past year- the vaccine. Itās astoundingly effective- probably the best weāve ever had.
Ridiculous, for the reasons mentioned above. That smacks of CYA with a dose of attention-seeking. It seems to me some people donāt want this pandemic to end.
I would really love to visit there! We passed through a couple of years ago trying to beat hurricane Florence to NC because I HAD to see DD who was at Wake Forest, and NC had closed all their airports so we flew into Nashville. (Do not get between a mom and her daughter is all I can say). We finally made it through the traffic jams at Pigeon Forge and DH created a neologism: āThat Pigeon %$*#ing Place.ā 
I swear I laughed half the way across the Blue Ridge Mountains.
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I agree there was CYA in that announcement, but I donāt agree that some ppl donāt want the pandemic to endā¦ thatās just crazy talk 
Who wants restrictions, lock downs etc. to be permanent? I do want Hand-shaking to be gone foreverā¦ yes to thatā¦ itās an icky germy social norm that can be gone forwever 
I do think that there will be residual effects, after a year of masks etc., that will take time to recover from.
I also worry about those that depend on hurricane shelters b/c, I believe, that the only ppl that die in a hurricane are those that are either too stubborn to leave/evacuate or those w/o mean$ to evacuate; and shelters become important to those w/o mean$. Not all of us can afford to drive to Dollywood to escape the wrath of a hurricane.
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