A covid question

[jglfan]

I am mindful of Poisoned Youth's request not to start a new Covid thread, so please try to only respond to the situation I will relate.
My wife moved to the U.S. with her parents at age 10 from Brazil. She still has family there, we were last there about 10 years ago. You're probably aware the Covid situation there is pretty bad. Vaccinations are hard to come by still, and those under 21 are not eligible. My wife's cousin and her husband both have had covid already. Thankfully they had mild cases and are fine. They have checked and called us to tell us they are going to travel here in July to get vaccines for their children, aged 14 thru 19. They say they will have to isolate in Mexico for 2 weeks and be tested before boarding the plane to get here.
I'm wondering if anyone may have knowledge of any issues we should be aware of. Since they have to test negative after a 2 week quarantine to get here, I'm not worried about them staying with us. We are both vaccinated. They would like to get the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, so they wouldn't have to stay here several weeks. They do have jobs they need to get back to. We are in North Carolina but they are flying into Newark, N.J. We have family up there. They would like to see New York, we thought to take them on the Circle Line trip, assuming it is open.
I see signs at the pharmacies here in NC stating vaccines are available with no appointments. They don't say which vaccine. Can I expect the same in NJ? I think Pfiser is the only one approved for under 21, is that correct?
If anyone has thoughts on issues I should be aware of, I'd appreciate hearing them.
Thanks

[Hobo Chang Ba]

Sorry the pandemic is over now. Thanks for your concern.



More seriously...yes...in NJ you can walk into a CVS and/or Walgreens (and perhaps other pharmacies) and get vaccinated. I believe they only have access to whatever vaccine they can get at the time. At least that's how it was back when scheduling a vaccine appointment was hell. That might have changed by now, but you can definitely call them and ask about which vaccines they are offering. I think the megasites are still in operation as well. (As of the beginning of May they were also accepting walk ins.) Back in feb/march the megasites only had the pfizer vaccine, but this may have changed as well (although I suspect it wouldn't).

Pfizer is approved for ages 12 and up, moderna is approved for 18 and up, but they are going through the process of being approved for younger ages. J&J is also approved for people 18 and up.

[Steve F.]

More seriously...yes...in NJ you can walk into a CVS and/or Walgreens (and perhaps other pharmacies) and get vaccinated. I believe they only have access to whatever vaccine they can get at the time. At least that's how it was back when scheduling a vaccine appointment was hell.

This information (the fact that you can walk into many pharmacies with no appointment and get vaccinated AND that which vaccine they can offer may change) is true on the east coast of the USA (it may be true elsewhere, but I don't know), although if you get one shot of one vaccine, you have to get a second shot of the same vaccine if it is one that requires two doses.

[SteveSly]

This information (the fact that you can walk into many pharmacies with no appointment and get vaccinated AND that which vaccine they can offer may change) is true on the east coast of the USA (it may be true elsewhere, but I don't know), although if you get one shot of one vaccine, you have to get a second shot of the same vaccine if it is one that requires two doses.

Same situation here in Michigan. Walk in shots are now all over the place, but you have to take whatever they have on hand. Both Pfizer and J & J are actually manufactured here in the state, but it is still kind of a crap shoot as to what locations actually have due to the logistics of distribution.

[ronmac]

One thing to consider is that, while an appointment may not be needed, I would assume the administration of the vaccine still needs to be recorded. If these folks are from another country and not in the US healthcare system database (by name and birth date), that might present a hurdle of some sort. You should ask whoever you contact what your relatives should expect.

[Hobo Chang Ba]

This information (the fact that you can walk into many pharmacies with no appointment and get vaccinated AND that which vaccine they can offer may change) is true on the east coast of the USA (it may be true elsewhere, but I don't know), although if you get one shot of one vaccine, you have to get a second shot of the same vaccine if it is one that requires two doses.

That's true and you do need to go to the same location to get that second shot as well.

[SteveSly]

One thing to consider is that, while an appointment may not be needed, I would assume the administration of the vaccine still needs to be recorded. If these folks are from another country and not in the US healthcare system database (by name and birth date), that might present a hurdle of some sort. You should ask whoever you contact what your relatives should expect.

That thought crossed my mind as well.

[jglfan]

Thank you all for your input. I called a pharmacy and asked about eligibility and the person I spoke to said they weren't sure, that the forms they fill out only indicate people from the US, Canada and Mexico are eligible. However my wife spoke with someone from the state (NC) who said all immigrants (and tourists) are eligible. A mute point now, as our cousin has informed us they will not be coming. They were able to get their one son who has a heart condition the vaccine. She stated the cost of the required two week quarantine in Mexico, coupled with their concerns about safety there, caused her to change her mind. I had thought that it was incredible that someone would spend that much cash and time to get vaccinated. We truly are blessed here!

[Skeptrick]

I can tell you that this is not the case about getting both shots at the same location, as I got the 2nd Pfizer shot at my local Walgreens, but travelled 2+ hours for the first shot (from Baltimore to Salisbury MD) as at that time it was the closest mass site available, and scheduling was not easy closer to home. By the time we were ready for the second shot, it was available all over the place. I will say that they did schedule us 2 weeks after for the first shot, but we cancelled once we realized we could get it closer. As far as I could tell, they just filled in the vaccine card with the info.

[jglfan]

That's great to know, thanks for posting

[KayBur]

Thank you all for your input. I called a pharmacy and asked about eligibility and the person I spoke to said they weren't sure, that the forms they fill out only indicate people from the US, Canada and Mexico are eligible. However my wife spoke with someone from the state (NC) who said all immigrants (and tourists) are eligible. A mute point now, as our cousin has informed us they will not be coming. They were able to get their one son who has a heart condition the vaccine. She stated the cost of the required two week quarantine in Mexico, coupled with their concerns about safety there, caused her to change her mind. I had thought that it was incredible that someone would spend that much cash and time to get vaccinated. We truly are blessed here!

Situations vary and, unfortunately, vaccinations are not available everywhere in the nearest hospital. sometimes people need to go a long way to protect themselves from COVID. I really hope that this situation will change soon.

[Zeuhlmate]

The fat lady hasn't sung yet

Denmark: 5290 persons have been infected with covid 19 after the vaccination. This is under investigation.

https://www.bt.dk/samfund/saa-mange-...e-med-covid-19