Vaccine Rollout - State starts out with an 'F' but much improved, Big Island gets B+

[ChunksterK]

According to multiple news stories, Hawaii is in the bottom three states in terms of effectively distributing the Covid vaccines.  Here are links to two of those:

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2021/01/13...ion-sites/

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/pu...tered.html

And here's one that indicates that our island is falling behind even that poor level of performance:

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2021/01/14...residents/

Now most of us have long known we have state and local governments that are, shall we say, not the brightest bulbs in the pack.  So I can't really say I'm shocked that they are performing poorly.  I did, however, have some hope that just this once they might get something right, given that so many lives are literally on the line and the state's economy is right down there at the bottom with the vaccination rates.  All our Big Island based and very ambitious lieutenant governor had to say when asked about this was,  "Some states are worse."  Our new mayor, whom we might have some hope of assembling a response program is in the hospital with a heart attack . . . probably induced from trying to get hidebound bureaucrats to get off their behinds and actually do something.

These idiots were told in October that the vaccines were on the way.  They were given the supply line, storage, and injection protocols which were well known based on the clinical trials.  Yet somehow they weren't ready.  The usual excuses that this is "paradise after all" and that things are more laid back in the tropics just don't cut it any more.  This will cost some people their lives, but will it change things?  I seriously doubt it.

[kalakoa]

"Some states are worse."

True statement. There are worse states, plural.

Best talking points from DOH:

- They don't tell us how many doses we're going to get until the week before they arrive.
- We need 2-3 days to make sure we have enough supplies for the number of doses.

Green thinks we will have half the population vaccinated by summer. I doubt this bar is low enough.

[Obie]

Looks like after Jan 25th I get to personally check it out.

"On Jan. 25, individuals 65 years or older as well as other essential workers like teachers and postal workers will have a the opportunity to be inoculated."

https://bigislandnow.com/2021/01/14/covi...na-at-hmc/

[eightfingers2.0]

I was told Bay Clinic doesn’t have the freezer equipment yet. I wonder how many other places don’t have it. No freezers, no vaccines.

[kalakoa]

Dry ice works fine, especially if you're administering the virus instead of storing it.

[randomq]

Dry ice works fine, especially if you're administering the virus instead of storing it.

Oh no, kalakoa has gone all Qanon!

But seriously, they aren't storing or administering the vaccine, because they are *mulling* it.

[Obie]

I was told Bay Clinic doesn’t have the freezer equipment yet. I wonder how many other places don’t have it. No freezers, no vaccines.

Hilo Medical Center is doing the Vaccinations.


https://www.hilomedicalcenter.org/covid-...formation/

[terracore]

The Johnson and Johnson vaccine is expected to be approved in about 30 days. It has no special storage requirements other than normal refrigerator temps. It is also expected to be a single-shot vaccine. It uses an existing vaccine technology used in a rabies vaccine for animals, and more recently the human ebola vaccine. Because of it's lower cost, simple storage requirements, single dose effectiveness, and longer expiration date, it may likely become the preferred vaccine. And, it doesn't have the creep factor of being an experimental gene therapy that skipped the animal testing phase.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Dry ice works fine, 

From the CDC website:

Do not use dry ice for storage.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/in...ummary.pdf


Bay Clinic doesn’t have the freezer equipment yet. 

Many, many years ago I lived in American Samoa for the winter.  The grocery and hardware stores were constantly out of everything, except for a few days after their once a month big ship delivery.  After a time I noticed the one thing never out of stock was beer.  I asked someone what would happen if they ever ran out of green quart bottles of Steinlager.  For a moment he looked horrified, then paused, considered the hypothetical catastrophe and replied, “they would air freight it.“

It’s all a matter of priorities.  Bay Clinic and all the other medical facilities on Big Island could air freight the special freezers if they wanted to.  I would guess CARES money could be used?  It’s a matter of life and death, right?

[ChunksterK]

Looks like after Jan 25th I get to personally check it out.

"On Jan. 25, individuals 65 years or older as well as other essential workers like teachers and postal workers will have a the opportunity to be inoculated."

https://bigislandnow.com/2021/01/14/covi...na-at-hmc/

The terms "opportunity", "chance", and "contingent" stood out prominently when I went to the link in Obie's post.  I understand they are afraid to make promises at this point, but the terminology chosen offers them the option to shrug it off if things don't go as planned.  Also, they pledge to ramp up to 1,000 vaccinations per week.  While there will no doubt be other venues offering shots at some point, it would take them 4-5 months at that rate to vaccinate all the over-65s on the east side of the island.  As far as the second biggest local health care provider, Kaiser, they have not yet set a date to begin vaccination on this island as per an email Frau Chunkster got yesterday.

Having said that, HMC has been getting some kudos for organizational improvement over the past several years, so it could well happen as they say.  I went to the HMC website and discovered that they are only accepting applications from those over 75 at this point.  Those who qualify fill out a short form on the HMC website and are then to be contacted by the CDC within two business days to actually schedule the vaccination.  Hopefully, they will add over-65s shortly.  Kaiser has always treated Hilo like a redheaded stepchild, so I'm not as optimistic about them as HMC in terms of getting this going.