Wednesday, February 17th, 2021
Most of the day has been spend on reworking scripts as I had anticipated. It was a gorgeous, cold and sunny day so I reached out to my new neighbor and we met for the first-time face to face for a walk after my swim. I am not sure how she tolerates my horrid French, but she does.
They have the tiniest dog I have ever seen; Max is probably twice if not three times the size. It was lovely to get out of the house into the fresh air, I should take up walking again in addition to my daily swim. The biggest issue is, as with daily stretches and basic Aikido routines, managing time, which is somewhat unbelievable given we are home all the time, we no longer entertain much or meet friends. Given my previous level of activity with the commute to the office the daily swim and Aikido practice at least four times a week.
Maybe I have become too much of a couch potato and social media addict. The daily media scan is taking up at least an hour of my day, if not two.
The USA has added another 66k new cases to its tally of 28.4 million, an increase over the new infections reported yesterday. Still, overall numbers continue to be on a downward trajectory. As after almost a year into the pandemic Americans are finally getting the mask and social distancing thing; a key factor leading to the steep decline in new infections. Other factors contributing may be a natural slowing, which I do not likely as the virus spreads more and easier in the cold, it may be rather less social interactions as people stay home to stay warm and refrain from socializing, the virus maybe running out of bodies and lastly vaccination may begin to show effects. The latter seems unlikely given some 12% of Americans have only been inoculated so far.
There is also more news on vaccine roll out, which is both good and bad, but mostly confusing. The good news is that the roll out is picking up steam and the organization is improving. The bad news is that all States appear to get the same weekly allocation, which poses a significant disadvantage to the more populous States and projections have been revised from a vaccine available to everyone in May to now July. This could adversely impact our plan for the July Blue Cruise in Turkey. I would feel much better travelling being inoculated. Also with a shot we would not have to worry about quarantines and so forth.
Desperately hoping the new predictions are overly cautious to manage peoples expectations.
How confusing the signup process and the roll out is, is demonstrated by this email to Montgomery County residents.
Montgomery County Vaccine Distribution Dashboard: This week, a new COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution dashboard was launched recently and provides a more in-depth look about vaccinations, including how many residents have been vaccinated. The dashboard also includes information on race/ethnicity, age group and gender of those vaccinated.
Updated COVID-19 Statistics and Information:
• More than 107,000 residents in Montgomery County have received their first vaccine dose, the most in the state.
• The Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services’ (DHHS) vaccination clinics are prioritizing residents who are 75 and older (Group 1B, Tier 1) and frontline health care workers, public safety and first responders (Group 1A).
• The DHHS vaccination clinics are BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. There are no walk-in vaccination sites.
• DO NOT forward appointment scheduling links to friends and family. These links are intended only for the direct recipient.
To Get Vaccinated at a County Clinic:
• Everyone in Priority Groups 1B and 1C can now preregister. Check the County vaccine webpage for information.
Preregistration information:
• Preregistration is not a vaccination appointment—it places you in the queue by priority group. When vaccine doses arrive, we contact residents from the preregistration list and invite them to make an appointment.
• Once preregistered, individuals will receive an invitation to make an appointment by phone call or email directly from the County’s Department of Health and Human Services to make an appointment. Email invitations will come from c19vaccination@montgomerycountymd.gov . Second Dose Appointments: If you got a first dose from a DHHS-sponsored clinic, you will receive an email approximately four to seven days before your second dose is due and you will be invited to make an appointment. You will be given more than one option. The Moderna vaccine (which our clinics use) recommends a second dose be given 28 days after the first dose. Per the CDC, there is no maximum interval between the first and second dose, but we want to provide second doses as close to the 28 days as possible.
Other Vaccination Locations: In addition to the clinics operated by DHHS, hospitals and several community partners have COVID-19 vaccines available to the public. These clinics follow the State guidelines, and not the rules issued by the County so they may be vaccinating other priority groups, in addition to 1A and 1B (residents 75+). Vaccine supply continues to be limited at all venues in Montgomery County. Hospitals include:
• Adventist HealthCare
• Holy Cross Hospital
• Kaiser Permanente
• MedStar Health
• Suburban Hospital, a subsidiary of Johns Hopkins (Suburban Hospital is prioritizing existing patients in the Hopkins system).
Retail partners include:
• CVS
• Giant Pharmacies
• Safeway
• Walgreens
Preregistering on the County’s vaccine page does not mean you are registered with other venues.
Telephone Assistance for Preregistering:
• Residents are encouraged to assist their neighbors, family members and friends to preregister if they need help.
I mean seriously, where does one now go and do I follow county or State guidelines? OR just do what is o my advantage?