Coronavirus thread

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Well said, PD!

Thank you Karl! 

I just followed my own advice and copy is now in the zippered section of my purse, original scanned and into the cloud and original stored safely away. 

PD

[Holden]

Good jab...pardon "job"!

Suggestion for you all,

To avoid stress, panic, wasting time, and avoiding feeling like an idiot....my suggestions--and I'm speaking from personal experience here:

1)  Make a copy of your Covid vaccination card (front and back)
2)  Scan your card (front and back) and save onto your computer and into the cloud
3)  Cut out front and back of card copy, tape together and then either have that laminated or (as a friend of mine did) use clear shipping tape to protect card copy
4)  Carry the copy with you
5)  Store the original someplace safe--and where you will remember putting it (like with your health records or jewelry box, etc.).

I had intended to do all of the above, but didn't get around to it.  I had kept the original in my purse (occasionally taking it out).  Tried to find it about a week ago.  Couldn't find it.  Thought that I had probably mixed it in with some paperwork on top of the dining room table....cue frantic hunt, etc.  And was starting to resign myself to the fact that it must have fallen out of my purse.  Trying hard not to panic, called the big pharmacy where I had had my shots and no, I couldn't get a replacement card.  Heart sank...but they did say that I could access my online record with them which I did and printed out a copy of my record with a QR code--which supposedly is better to have (better proof as it were) vs. the card.  That helped, but I didn't know if that would be good enough for all places or if I would have to sign into my account and bring it up on my phone [which also means remember the password to that company's account...yet another password!].

So, in any event, I found my card!  But I thought that I would share with you my story...and suggestions.

And, No. 6)  If you have a smart phone, you can probably download the store's app and access your records there.  I just signed in on their website on my computer and printed out the record there.

I'm sure that there are other ways and places that you can also access your records too...check with your local health authorities/state/primary care physician, etc.

And remember to bring your original card with you when you go to get your second shot and boosters!  And then make a new copy, etc.

Now that lunch is finished, I'm off to take my own advice!   

Best wishes,

PD

Mine's available to view via Apple Wallet. So is my mask exemption

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Mine's available to view via Apple Wallet. So is my mask exemption

Thanks for the tip Holden!  I'll have to look into that and see how it works.   

PD

[krummholz]

Good jab...pardon "job"!

Suggestion for you all,

To avoid stress, panic, wasting time, and avoiding feeling like an idiot....my suggestions--and I'm speaking from personal experience here:

1)  Make a copy of your Covid vaccination card (front and back)
2)  Scan your card (front and back) and save onto your computer and into the cloud
3)  Cut out front and back of card copy, tape together and then either have that laminated or (as a friend of mine did) use clear shipping tape to protect card copy
4)  Carry the copy with you
5)  Store the original someplace safe--and where you will remember putting it (like with your health records or jewelry box, etc.).

I had intended to do all of the above, but didn't get around to it.  I had kept the original in my purse (occasionally taking it out).  Tried to find it about a week ago.  Couldn't find it.  Thought that I had probably mixed it in with some paperwork on top of the dining room table....cue frantic hunt, etc.  And was starting to resign myself to the fact that it must have fallen out of my purse.  Trying hard not to panic, called the big pharmacy where I had had my shots and no, I couldn't get a replacement card.  Heart sank...but they did say that I could access my online record with them which I did and printed out a copy of my record with a QR code--which supposedly is better to have (better proof as it were) vs. the card.  That helped, but I didn't know if that would be good enough for all places or if I would have to sign into my account and bring it up on my phone [which also means remember the password to that company's account...yet another password!].

So, in any event, I found my card!  But I thought that I would share with you my story...and suggestions.

And, No. 6)  If you have a smart phone, you can probably download the store's app and access your records there.  I just signed in on their website on my computer and printed out the record there.

I'm sure that there are other ways and places that you can also access your records too...check with your local health authorities/state/primary care physician, etc.

And remember to bring your original card with you when you go to get your second shot and boosters!  And then make a new copy, etc.

Now that lunch is finished, I'm off to take my own advice!   

Best wishes,

PD

Excellent advice PD! Mine is "safely" stashed away in a dresser drawer - my purse is actually inside my knapsack, but that doesn't make it any safer as the knapsack could always be stolen, or left behind somewhere by mistake. But a backup copy is always safer, and an electronic copy in the cloud safest of all. After all, the apartment and dresser could burn down (heaven forbid)!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Excellent advice PD! Mine is "safely" stashed away in a dresser drawer - my purse is actually inside my knapsack, but that doesn't make it any safer as the knapsack could always be stolen, or left behind somewhere by mistake. But a backup copy is always safer, and an electronic copy in the cloud safest of all. After all, the apartment and dresser could burn down (heaven forbid)!

Yes, that would be an even bigger problem for you! 

Holden had mentioned about the Apple Wallet.  I have (so far) avoided using it being rather wary about keeping any credit cards, etc. on my older iPhone.  But putting my vaccine certificate on there would, I think, be o.k.?  Do you bother to keep a copy of your vaccination record in your purse?  It took a little while to make it and cover it with clear tape (I'm sure that getting it laminated would have been easier.), but it's done and won't need to think about this process again 'til I get a booster.  And, a good excuse to take some time to watch the US Open whilst I was at it. 

So far, I haven't been anywhere where I would need to show it in order to enter an event/restaurant, etc.  Have you?

PD

[krummholz]

Yes, that would be an even bigger problem for you! 

Holden had mentioned about the Apple Wallet.  I have (so far) avoided using it being rather wary about keeping any credit cards, etc. on my older iPhone.  But putting my vaccine certificate on there would, I think, be o.k.?  Do you bother to keep a copy of your vaccination record in your purse?  It took a little while to make it and cover it with clear tape (I'm sure that getting it laminated would have been easier.), but it's done and won't need to think about this process again 'til I get a booster.  And, a good excuse to take some time to watch the US Open whilst I was at it. 

So far, I haven't been anywhere where I would need to show it in order to enter an event/restaurant, etc.  Have you?

PD

The one piece of personal information on my vaccination card is my birth date - that's the only (slight) concern I would have about putting it on a commercial "cloud" server (and I'm not sure a commercial server is any more vulnerable to being hacked than a government one, anyway).

No, I haven't needed to show it anywhere either, but I haven't traveled much since the pandemic began and as far as I know, no establishment in New England (almost certainly not in Vermont) requires proof of vaccination as a condition of entry. At the university where I teach, we were only required to "attest" that we were fully vaccinated - we never needed to prove it. If I really needed to show  that proof to get into stores and other places I frequent, I'd be more proactive about making a copy... but as of this morning, I only have the original, sitting in my bedroom dresser (as I said).

Yes, I know, I really should AT LEAST keep it somewhere safe from fire or weather - so I just transferred it to my small safe where I keep all my important papers. And I should certainly make a copy and keep it somewhere else... I will probably do that in the near future.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

The one piece of personal information on my vaccination card is my birth date - that's the only (slight) concern I would have about putting it on a commercial "cloud" server (and I'm not sure a commercial server is any more vulnerable to being hacked than a government one, anyway).

No, I haven't needed to show it anywhere either, but I haven't traveled much since the pandemic began and as far as I know, no establishment in New England (almost certainly not in Vermont) requires proof of vaccination as a condition of entry. At the university where I teach, we were only required to "attest" that we were fully vaccinated - we never needed to prove it. If I really needed to show  that proof to get into stores and other places I frequent, I'd be more proactive about making a copy... but as of this morning, I only have the original, sitting in my bedroom dresser (as I said).

Yes, I know, I really should AT LEAST keep it somewhere safe from fire or weather - so I just transferred it to my small safe where I keep all my important papers. And I should certainly make a copy and keep it somewhere else... I will probably do that in the near future.

I understand your concerns re birthdate.  I have mixed feelings about that and maybe should think further there.  One thought:  perhaps in a safe deposit box at a bank (no guarantees re fire, etc. there too).  By the way (not trying to panic you here) but do you do re your small safe, what does the company guarantee it to being able to protect you re what exactly?

All the best,

PD

[Karl Henning]

The one piece of personal information on my vaccination card is my birth date - that's the only (slight) concern I would have about putting it on a commercial "cloud" server (and I'm not sure a commercial server is any more vulnerable to being hacked than a government one, anyway).

No, I haven't needed to show it anywhere either, but I haven't traveled much since the pandemic began and as far as I know, no establishment in New England (almost certainly not in Vermont) requires proof of vaccination as a condition of entry. At the university where I teach, we were only required to "attest" that we were fully vaccinated - we never needed to prove it. If I really needed to show  that proof to get into stores and other places I frequent, I'd be more proactive about making a copy... but as of this morning, I only have the original, sitting in my bedroom dresser (as I said).

Yes, I know, I really should AT LEAST keep it somewhere safe from fire or weather - so I just transferred it to my small safe where I keep all my important papers. And I should certainly make a copy and keep it somewhere else... I will probably do that in the near future.

A couple of weeks ago, friends and I dined in at a nearby restaurant, proof was not required.

On Wednesday, I have an appt at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, shan't need proof there, either.

[krummholz]

I understand your concerns re birthdate.  I have mixed feelings about that and maybe should think further there.  One thought:  perhaps in a safe deposit box at a bank (no guarantees re fire, etc. there too).  By the way (not trying to panic you here) but do you do re your small safe, what does the company guarantee it to being able to protect you re what exactly?

All the best,

PD

The safe isn't "guaranteed" by a company that I know of and it's at least 30 years old (passed down from my late parents).... but it was advertised as fireproof when they bought it.

[krummholz]

A couple of weeks ago, friends and I dined in at a nearby restaurant, proof was not required.

On Wednesday, I have an appt at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, shan't need proof there, either.

Thanks, Karl, for the data points...

[DavidW]

This might be getting out of hand.  If you had your vaccine at a major pharmacy or hospital they have records of it and can write you a new one if you lost it.  I don't think one needs safe deposit boxes on top of digital scans and laminated copies.  Have a digital copy and two physical copies in different locations (like home and work) and I'm sure you'll be more than fine.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

This might be getting out of hand.  If you had your vaccine at a major pharmacy or hospital they have records of it and can write you a new one if you lost it.  I don't think one needs safe deposit boxes on top of digital scans and laminated copies.  Have a digital copy and two physical copies in different locations (like home and work) and I'm sure you'll be more than fine.

Actually, David, when I called up the major box store chain which also has a pharmacy from which I received my two shots, I was told that they could not replace my card.  I was told that they had gotten much stricter rule-wise regarding that [You must have missed my earlier posting which is what brought up this whole line of discussion?].  I don't know if that would also apply to if I were going back for my second round, but I suspect so.  In any event, they did tell me about a digital app that I could download and access it that way.  I was able to sign in to my store account on my desktop (which I had created per their instructions) just for the card and make a printout with the information and a QR code.

That's a good idea though about keeping a copy of it at work.

Out of curiosity, I had looked at the US Open's website (as I've been watching the tennis) just to see what they would take as proof.  You can see it here:  https://www.usopen.org/en_US/tickets/tickets_faq.html?promo=subnav

PD

p.s.  I've only eaten out once lately (locally) and proof wasn't required.  They have reinstated mandatory mask-wearing when indoors at a business in my town by the way.

[DavidW]

At CVS where I got my shots I was explicitly told that if I lost it they would fill out another one for me.

I've never had to present a vaccine card anywhere.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

At CVS where I got my shots I was explicitly told that if I lost it they would fill out another one for me.

I've never had to present a vaccine card anywhere.

Interesting re CVS.  Do you recall when you were told this?  I had called my store on 8/31/21 (I did my printout from that store later that same day as I had called them), so things might have changed since when you were told?

In any event, I'm glad that so far anyway, it's been a non-issue for you. 

PD

[krummholz]

Out of curiosity, I had looked at the US Open's website (as I've been watching the tennis) just to see what they would take as proof.  You can see it here:  https://www.usopen.org/en_US/tickets/tickets_faq.html?promo=subnav

I noticed this also:

"Will the US Open require fans to show evidence of COVID-19 vaccination?

To facilitate compliance with the recent updates to the NYC Executive Orders, proof of at least 1 dose of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine IS required for all fans aged 12 and over."

With the delta variant surging nearly everywhere, a single dose of an mRNA vaccine offers scant protection. It would be more encouraging if they required full vaccination.

They have reinstated mandatory mask-wearing when indoors at a business in my town by the way.

I wish they would do that in my county. It has now BY FAR the highest per capita case rate in the state (375 per 100k population). At my university, we're all waiting for the second shoe to drop - the president announcing that our mask mandate has been lifted, as he promised to do "soon" (that was 4 weeks ago). If he does that, there will be immense pushback from us faculty. 

[T. D.]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-06/overwhelmed-morgues-belie-u-s-illusion-of-a-defanged-pandemic

...
For weeks into early August, the delta surge in the U.K. lulled some Americans into a sense of complacency. Across the Atlantic, cases soared but killed relatively few people, and in theory, the mutated virus would act similarly in the U.S. But delta exposed a key difference: The U.S. has fallen far short of the U.K. in vaccinating the oldest members of the community, who remain most at risk of hospitalization and death.

That largely explains the U.S.'s failure: About 18% of Americans 65-and-over still aren't fully vaccinated, versus about 5% in the U.K. "That's a huge difference," said Jeffrey Morris, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania. "When you have four times as high a proportion that are unvaccinated, that's going to cause a lot more death right there."

The U.S. has already posted twice as many deaths per capita since early June as the U.K., even though its surge started later. In Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana, the tolls are 4-6 times as high -- exacerbated by populations that tend to be older or have more pre-existing conditions.
...

[krummholz]

About 18% of Americans 65-and-over still aren't fully vaccinated, versus about 5% in the U.K. "That's a huge difference," said Jeffrey Morris, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania. "When you have four times as high a proportion that are unvaccinated, that's going to cause a lot more death right there."

I'm sure that partially explains what is happening in my county - a whopping 46% of residents 65-and-over still aren't fully vaccinated. 41% haven't even received a first dose. The issue isn't so much a lot of deaths - the population is too small to have valid statistics on the death rate - but simply the level of community transmission, as reflected in the rate of symptomatic cases (as those are the only ones tracked by the CDC).

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I noticed this also:

"Will the US Open require fans to show evidence of COVID-19 vaccination?

To facilitate compliance with the recent updates to the NYC Executive Orders, proof of at least 1 dose of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine IS required for all fans aged 12 and over."

With the delta variant surging nearly everywhere, a single dose of an mRNA vaccine offers scant protection. It would be more encouraging if they required full vaccination.

I wish they would do that in my county. It has now BY FAR the highest per capita case rate in the state (375 per 100k population). At my university, we're all waiting for the second shoe to drop - the president announcing that our mask mandate has been lifted, as he promised to do "soon" (that was 4 weeks ago). If he does that, there will be immense pushback from us faculty. 

Yes, I think that they should have required a second vaccination too.

So sorry to hear about the intransigence of your president.  You would think that at a university in particular that the PTB would be smart enough to require them.  Are the students and faculty, etc. all required to be vaccinated?

PD

[krummholz]

Yes, I think that they should have required a second vaccination too.

So sorry to hear about the intransigence of your president.  You would think that at a university in particular that the PTB would be smart enough to require them.  Are the students and faculty, etc. all required to be vaccinated?

PD

Yes - subject to religious and medical exemptions (that must be documented). I think over 90% of the students are vaccinated (last I heard). I assume the percentage for faculty is at least that high. But with the delta surge, of course, multiple mitigation strategies are needed.

One positive bit of news that I heard at our first faculty meeting a week ago: faculty are authorized to impose mask mandates on our classrooms. Earlier we were told that the president's policy would apply campus-wide and that faculty couldn't impose stricter requirements. But if universal masking is dropped, a mask mandate in the classroom will just be a finger in a leaking dike. And I have 5 lab sections, all taught in person. As it is, it's a constant battle to get students to wear the mask properly (over the nose as well as the mouth).

[DavidW]

Interesting re CVS.  Do you recall when you were told this?  I had called my store on 8/31/21 (I did my printout from that store later that same day as I had called them), so things might have changed since when you were told?

In any event, I'm glad that so far anyway, it's been a non-issue for you. 

PD

Wait that is where you went?  I was told when I got the shots.  Okay maybe I should be more concerned about my vaccine record.