12-05-2020, 06:52 PM
If you look at the Operation Warp Speed site, you can see the push that's been going on behind the scenes. Yes, there's a lot of stuff right now about getting the vaccine to the states (etc), but OWS has been kicking the states to get their act together. There were deadlines for draft plans (apparently based on questions to be answered), and the deadline to get final state micro-plans in for Pfizer distribution was (I think) Dec. 3 and for Moderna a week later. The states were given the anticipated number of first-day doses (possibly Dec. 12) on Nov 20. OWS has been distributing freezers, but I don't know how many. I expect places like Guam and South Dakota needed them more than California.
California has had commissions & studies about the vaccine. I just hope they've got their detailed plans ready for the distribution but have been withholding it from the public. I may be wrong, but I fear such a commission may have spent their time debating whether the homeless and the jail population get their vaccination before or after cancer patients, rather than deciding that the three groups can get theirs within 2 weeks of each other if they just get started. I expect they're hand-wringing over how people may get lost (for instance, if they don't have a drivers license, aren't registered to vote, and aren't in the tax system).
The first week's vaccinations should be easy. The state will know who is in what LTCF (state tax return or voting registration addresses, etc.) and who works at various medical facilities (state tax returns). They can probably send out teams to the various facilities to vaccinate.
But, after that, it is going to be a lot harder, I think. And, if they aren't a month into the planning down to the details, I don't see how they'll be able to get it ready to go in < 2 weeks.
I don't know how the state would know whether I have the comorbidities that put me in one group or another. They many know roughly how many in the state have diabetes or HBP or whatever, but I'm not aware of any state or federal data collection that ties someone's name to their condition. For a large proportion of the population the aggregate of the insurance companies know, and the aggregate of the medical companies know, while the aggregate of the pharmacies know what meds people take.
As I see it, the state doesn't have the info to be in a position to mail me a notice saying I'm eligible for this or that vaccination on such-and-such day at such-and-such time. I also think it would be wasteful of time (and, thus, lives) to try to set up a distribution at this time to the physician facilities that residents may already be using.
It seems more likely they will (someday) say people with such-and-such age and conditions can make an appointment with CVS & Walgreens for their first dose. Then, it will be pushed onto CVS & Walgreens to try to validate the conditions, or not bother. But this distribution won't get the vaccine to invalids ("shut-ins" back in the 50s & 60s).
I hope I'm wrong and they've got this worked out, with all the administrators and workers (Customer service) to explain it & deal with problems) already in position with phone lines, and with printed mailers explaining the whole process ready to be mailed on Dec. 10 or so.
California has had commissions & studies about the vaccine. I just hope they've got their detailed plans ready for the distribution but have been withholding it from the public. I may be wrong, but I fear such a commission may have spent their time debating whether the homeless and the jail population get their vaccination before or after cancer patients, rather than deciding that the three groups can get theirs within 2 weeks of each other if they just get started. I expect they're hand-wringing over how people may get lost (for instance, if they don't have a drivers license, aren't registered to vote, and aren't in the tax system).
The first week's vaccinations should be easy. The state will know who is in what LTCF (state tax return or voting registration addresses, etc.) and who works at various medical facilities (state tax returns). They can probably send out teams to the various facilities to vaccinate.
But, after that, it is going to be a lot harder, I think. And, if they aren't a month into the planning down to the details, I don't see how they'll be able to get it ready to go in < 2 weeks.
I don't know how the state would know whether I have the comorbidities that put me in one group or another. They many know roughly how many in the state have diabetes or HBP or whatever, but I'm not aware of any state or federal data collection that ties someone's name to their condition. For a large proportion of the population the aggregate of the insurance companies know, and the aggregate of the medical companies know, while the aggregate of the pharmacies know what meds people take.
As I see it, the state doesn't have the info to be in a position to mail me a notice saying I'm eligible for this or that vaccination on such-and-such day at such-and-such time. I also think it would be wasteful of time (and, thus, lives) to try to set up a distribution at this time to the physician facilities that residents may already be using.
It seems more likely they will (someday) say people with such-and-such age and conditions can make an appointment with CVS & Walgreens for their first dose. Then, it will be pushed onto CVS & Walgreens to try to validate the conditions, or not bother. But this distribution won't get the vaccine to invalids ("shut-ins" back in the 50s & 60s).
I hope I'm wrong and they've got this worked out, with all the administrators and workers (Customer service) to explain it & deal with problems) already in position with phone lines, and with printed mailers explaining the whole process ready to be mailed on Dec. 10 or so.