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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

In Search of Covid-19 Vaccine

While Pennsylvania has done a remarkable job of shutting down businesses and enforcing its closures, it has pretty much sucked in every other response it has made to the pandemic. The state has made no coordinated effort to vaccinate the right people. It instead is relying on local hospitals and drug stores. As a result, people who should not be vaccinated at this point are getting their injections and bragging about them. People who should be vaccinated are unable to even get an appointment. I know because I happen to be one of them.  

I would think that Governor Wolf would spend at least as much effort in making sure people are vaccinated as he did in enforcing his lockdowns. 

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is bullshit. You have to know someone on the inside to get the shot. Forget old people. The line sat sites are filled with young people no doubt claiming issues and getting preferential treatment. St. Luke's makes you agree to share all your personnel information with everyone to sigh up. No wonder people don't trust the elite power brokers.

Anonymous said...

Bernie... don't disagree but the overarching problem is a lack of vaccines coming from the Feds and that is a direct result of Trump's government's incompetence on this issue. Until the state begins receiving the doses it needs each week, it is tough for PA to do better. With that said, PA is still bungling the roll out of what doses it has.

Anonymous said...

I’m surprised at the numbers of people who have indeed bragged about receiving the shot. I’ve found out more than I wanted to know about friends and neighbors who got the shot. The marketing department at St. Luke’s is more essential than a classroom teacher? A friend who exaggerated the age range of their clientele got one but my 80 year old neighbor can’t yet? And then there’s folks who lie about being their parent’s caregivers in order to jump the line, or the “I used to live in Jersey, so I went there” neighbor. It’s changed the way I think about people.

Anonymous said...

Tried and failed to secure name on any test center list.

Anonymous said...

Old geezers like you deserve to be vaccinated first!

Anonymous said...

Some states are reporting 101% of the vaccine distributed (they've figured out how to squeeze a few more doses from their supply by careful metering). What's PA's number? Where are the unused doses? Have any been discarded? Wolf bragged of being middle-of-the-pack in distribution. Whoopee. Then, he made a bunch of excuses and blamed everyone else for the disastrous effort. And Levine is taking this shit show national for Uncle Touchy's administration. There's great reason for hopelessness.

Anonymous said...

Vaccine distribution is going well in Philadelphia. This is what happens when wokeness pummels public health considerations. Looking at you Wolf and Levine. Levine's replacement has no experience either.

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2021/01/26/who-is-philly-fighting-covid/

LVCI said...

The wife and I both were fortunate to score appointments with Allentown's Health Department's Agri-Plex site in the fairgrounds. No one could have done a better job organizing the site. Fantastic job. It was discussed some time ago that Allentown was one of the few municipalities to have it's own health department. There are some things Allentown does well... this was one of them.

Some people have looked at the Pa. Dept. Of Health website and located some lesser know locations like Jim Thorpe, Catasauqua to name a couple.

One thing is for sure all of the appointments fill up quickly. Either way it's far better then some of these states which use a 'first come, first serve' policy. So it could be worse.

John said...

Bethlehem takes walk-ins at their vaccination clinics, probably offering the leftovers at the end of the day. The “leftovers” are those defrosted and prepared for people who didn’t come in for their appointment. Those shots need to go in arms, not in the garbage. Most recent location of vaccination site was Johnston Hall at Moravian College. It’s a fieldhouse, lower level, plenty of space and good ventilation.

Bernie O'Hare said...

LVCI, I believe Allentown deserves a great deal of credit for the way it has responded with vaccine distribution. It seems to me that municipalities with health departments are doing better. Most do not have a health department and are relying on the state, which has been terrible. I would think Jim Thorpe is giving priority to Carbon County residents.

"Some states are reporting 101% of the vaccine distributed"

W Va. is a model and is doing great. Perhaps we should ask to consolidate with W Va.

"Old geezers like you deserve to be vaccinated first!"

"The marketing department at St. Luke’s is more essential than a classroom teacher? "

"It is bullshit. You have to know someone on the inside to get the shot."

I've heard numerous stories about the games being played by St. Luke's.
I am in the 1B group and am perfectly willing to wait my turn.

Anonymous said...

I agree. We wait our turn. Pray the ones most at risk get it first. Bernie. Next big project. How to find the n95 or true surgical medical masks that they are recommending. We had a year almost to make them. Can't find them and they are needed

Anonymous said...

but Lori Vargo Heffer got a shot

Anonymous said...

Levine got out of town before her chickens hatched and her part in this will be covered up as long as possible. I don't think you can blame this all on the feds. We had plenty of time to work out the support systems locally. Everyone on all local levels were sitting around with their thumbs up their behinds. Systems crashed, phones overwhelmed?. Cut me a break. That has nothing to do with availability issues. Wolf was quick enough to put strangle holds on the economy and support decisions that abandoned our nursing home residents and their staff. Trump's failures will be milked as long as possible.

Bernie O'Hare said...

I am avoiding the n95s bc I understand they are needed by hospital workers. I will do a post on Kn95s approved by CDC.

John said...

I just bought a box of KN95s which may or may not have the CDC’s approval. What I know about them so far is a) they seal next to my nose so my glasses don’t fog up and b) I can’t blow out a candle through them. I can breathe through them on the treadmill at Planet Fitness. I bought a box of 60 for about $80. Yes, they’re more than a buck a piece - but I know smokers who pay more than $7 a day for cigarettes. Seems like a good deal when I look at it that way.

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:02 said:

"...don't disagree but the overarching problem is a lack of vaccines coming from the Feds and that is a direct result of Trump's government's incompetence on this issue."


Sorry, but the Trump Administration got the vaccine created in record time, and well before Biden or anyone else thought possible. That was a gift.

They were vaccinating 1 million people a day when he left office.

Any problem now as far as getting it to the states and to the people who need it is squarely on the current administration and/or the state governments running the program.

My personal belief is that Wolf was premature in opening the program up beyond what he should have.

Anonymous said...

With it now obvious that nobody wants to get the vaccine {note heavy sarcasm}, I'm just glad that McClure gave incentives to Gracedale employees to get the vaccine (otherwise known as using our tax dollars to buy employee votes).

Anonymous said...

I'm in 1b and am fine with waiting. I understand this is a government undertaking. It's the same government that can't perform basic tasks like balancing budgets or fixing potholes. I'll continue to avoid crowds and icky things for a while longer. I have no expectation of getting the shot any time soon. Good news is I just got my stimulus check two weeks ago - from the first round. Where they're not timely, they're at least predictable.

Anonymous said...

Rachael Levine left us high and dry for the sights of Washington DC as compensation for her/it closing down our state and assuring Biden a victory. Pennsylvania is ranked #42 in the USA in giving out vaccine shots per 1000 people. Great job Rachael and a job well earned. Wait Bernie this three ring circus will get better. This is only week one. Why would Biden pick someone who never made a right decision in its life.

Anonymous said...

The last half, 2020, we were made to understand that vaccinations would not roll out in earnest until mid-2021. Why the outcry now because we haven't hit that target by January? I can't fault St. Luke's for vaccinating key staff, even Marketing, likely the folks exposed to the rest of us in their work to promote a vaccination program many viewed with skepticism. I'm the under age 75 half of a couple whose senior guy secured a St. Luke's appointment. We didn't have a previous St. Luke's relationship and we are traveling about 25 miles from another Pa. county to get the shot. But I look at this as efficient use of resources by St. Luke's, and I give St. Luke's high marks for an online application process that I viewed as user friendly and fair. Only folks 75+ could progress to the Chart of Dates for appointment opportunities. I still need to wait. But one out of two ain't bad.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"Bethlehem takes walk-ins at their vaccination clinics, probably offering the leftovers at the end of the day. The “leftovers” are those defrosted and prepared for people who didn’t come in for their appointment. Those shots need to go in arms, not in the garbage. Most recent location of vaccination site was Johnston Hall at Moravian College. It’s a fieldhouse, lower level, plenty of space and good ventilation.Z"

This has been disputed by another reader who sounds like someone from Bethlehem's Health Bureau.