Vaccinations

[Newbiesaukee]

Originally Posted by winniplayhouse

Pine Island Guy...

Did the email that you received to do the actual scheduling come from VAMS? My parents got that today and are trying to confirm that’s the legit registration email. Thanks!

I registered this am and just got my VAMS. It freaked me a little as it was from. CDC, not NH; but I filled it out and got my appointment.

OTOH, when I registered this am it said I could also register my wife, but no way to do this on VAMS so she will have to do it separately. Bummer.

[tummyman]

Newbie.....did you fill out a form for your wife this am ?? If so, call the hotline tomorrow....2-1-1 and maybe they can answer whether she can also go at the same time as you. Must be a way....I would call them first.

[Newbiesaukee]

Originally Posted by tummyman

Newbie.....did you fill out a form for your wife this am ?? If so, call the hotline tomorrow....2-1-1 and maybe they can answer whether she can also go at the same time as you. Must be a way....I would call them first.

Two hours AFTER I got my appointment, I got another email with instructions and “tips” to use to make an appointment, which I had just done. Included in these instructions was the comment that if a spouse had filled out the earlier qualifying pre registration form, then she could come with me for my appointment without filling anything else at this time.

Better late than never, so she can come with me for the vaccine. But there were a few confusing hours.

But I am impressed, so far, with the ease and speed of the process.

[DEJ]

​​​​Curious which vaccine is being administered, Pfizer or Moderna?

[ApS]

Originally Posted by DEJ

​​​​Curious which vaccine is being administered, Pfizer or Moderna?

Thousands of delicate Moderna vaccines have been thrown out in Maine and Massachusetts, due to handling errors.

[Lakegeezer]

Got my appt this morning too, at the Plymouth Armory. Its good to be a geezer. On the VAMs system, it had a priority category for "living with or caring for someone over 65". NH didn't have this option, so while I will be protected, my younger wife won't. That begs the question, can protected people still transmit it to others. The official word is "it could, we don't know". Time to search the internet to find out who is doing research on that question. Inquiring minds want to know.

[bobkatfly]

Originally Posted by Newbiesaukee

Two hours AFTER I got my appointment, I got another email with instructions and “tips” to use to make an appointment, which I had just done. Included in these instructions was the comment that if a spouse had filled out the earlier qualifying pre registration form, then she could come with me for my appointment without filling anything else at this time.

Better late than never, so she can come with me for the vaccine. But there were a few confusing hours.

But I am impressed, so far, with the ease and speed of the process.

Newbie, didn't see your post this morning so my last reply to you was a bit rushed as you obviously already had the info I sent.

[bobkatfly]

Originally Posted by Newbiesaukee

I registered this am and just got my VAMS. It freaked me a little as it was from. CDC, not NH; but I filled it out and got my appointment.

OTOH, when I registered this am it said I could also register my wife, but no way to do this on VAMS so she will have to do it separately. Bummer.

I registered yesterday with my wife at the same time like you did. Today I got my appointment registration from vams.cdc.gov. it was in my name only. Again, like you. I also received an e-mail from nh.gov with good directions for filling out the registration with vams. The directions clearly indicate that if you originally registered with another family member at the same time then no other appointment is needed. Just show up with the other member and you'll be all set. You must bring the scan code that they send you for identification. Here's what I received from nh.gov. See number 3.

Thank you for completing the first step and registering to receive your COVID-19 vaccine. In the coming days, you will receive another email containing a link to schedule your vaccination appointment using the federal Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS).

The next step using CDC’s scheduling system can be a bit confusing, so the following helpful tips are designed to help you prepare and simplify the process when it comes time for you to schedule your appointment:

1. Please do not use Internet Explorer – instead use Google Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari only.

2. The VAMS email will contain a link to schedule your appointment. Upon clicking that link, you will be asked. “Have you already registered as a vaccine recipient with VAMS?”. Please be sure to answer “no”.

3. If you registered a qualifying household member along with yourself (ie. spouse) to receive the vaccine at the same time, additional information will not be asked for or required when you schedule your appointment. Just arrive with your qualifying family member.

Also,
• The “Date of Birth” field can only be entered in the MMM DD, YYYY format, for example: Jan 01, 1950.
• When selecting “Race”, you must move at least one of the options from the left box to the right box.
• You DO NOT need to enter any insurance information. This is an optional field and you can simply click the next button to move to the Organization section.
• When asked about “organization”, you can leave the Role/Position field empty.
• When scheduling your vaccination appointment, enter your zip code, select a radius option and click the “search” button to find the closest vaccination location.
• When it comes time to pick a location, only select a “State of NH” site. DO NOT select a clinic or closed POD unless you were specifically instructed to do so.
• Once your appointment is scheduled, you will see a confirmation page AND receive a confirmation email. Be sure to complete the pre-vaccination questionnaire before coming to the vaccination site, this will help to speed up your appointment and reduce delays.

Again, please expect to receive another email directly from the federal CDC VAMS system containing a link to schedule your appointment.

[bobkatfly]

After registering I found that Huggins hospital in Wolfeboro is also a vaccination site, however the first open slot was Feb 28. Laconia was Feb 11 so I chose that. Didn't see Tamworth as available. Not sure why.

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by bobkatfly

After registering I found that Huggins hospital in Wolfeboro is also a vaccination site, however the first open slot was Feb 28. Laconia was Feb 11 so I chose that. Didn't see Tamworth as available. Not sure why.

This morning at about 730 or so, we also scheduled for Huggins and the earliest date was Feb 19 th around noon. We both got our confirmations, and have our QR codes on our homepage on our phones. Woo hoo.

Dave

[bobkatfly]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

This morning at about 730 or so, we also scheduled for Huggins and the earliest date was Feb 19 th around noon. We both got our confirmations, and have our QR codes on our homepage on our phones. Woo hoo.

Dave

Ah, so you're the one that bumped me out to the 28th.

[JEEPONLY]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

This morning at about 730 or so, we also scheduled for Huggins and the earliest date was Feb 19 th around noon. We both got our confirmations, and have our QR codes on our homepage on our phones. Woo hoo.

Dave

So, how/where did you sign up at Huggins?

[winni83]

We have Huggins on January 28th. Got the Vams E Mail last night around 10 PM. Immediately went on line and Huggins was one of the choices. We figured that while the risk of an adverse reaction may be low, better to be at a hospital site. No idea who administers the shot.

Good Luck.

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by JEEPONLY

So, how/where did you sign up at Huggins?

It's part of the sign up process. Based on our Alton Bay address, with a within 10 mile radius, we picked Huggins. Other choice was LRCC in Laconia. Too late now, but if we had gone with Laconia, we would have had an appointment within 2 weeks rather than just under a month. Oh well, it is what it is.

Dave

[tis]

Do you think it will be easier to get appointments soon or do you think it will be a long time before the supply meets the demand? Or the distribution meets the demand-----

[ApS]

Florida has cancelled my County's vaccination appointments past January 20th.

A new directive limits vaccinations to Florida residents. https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/bay...ccine-tourism/

"Bay County resident, William Robinson, said he had no idea people were coming in from out of state to get vaccinated.

“I think they need to get that taken care of in their own home state where the vaccines are sent to their home state and are distributed by their own state,” said Robinson. “I’ve been waiting several weeks to get an appointment and haven’t been able to thus far".

No matter. I'm going to wait for the [one] Johnson & Johnson jab next month.

Pfizer and Moderna are behind on their contracted deliveries, and should surge to catch up at some point. We are likely to surpass a peak rate of 2 million per day.
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations

[tis]

Originally Posted by ApS

Florida has cancelled my County's vaccination appointments past January 20th.

A new directive limits vaccinations to Florida residents. https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/bay...ccine-tourism/



No matter. I'm going to wait for the [one] Johnson & Johnson jab next month.

Pfizer and Moderna are behind on their contracted deliveries, and should surge to catch up at some point. We are likely to surpass a peak rate of 2 million per day.
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations

Is the J & J supposed be approved next month? I have been wondering.

[tummyman]

From what I read, it appears sometime in February and then followed by Astra Zeneca and Novavax in maybe March. I think both of those vaccines will also require two shots but do not hold me to that. So far, it seems only J&J is a one shot deal and even then, they are looking at whether two shots might be even better on efficacy. J&J has also been having some manufacturing problems. There is no real way to determine what vaccine you will get, unless you wait until the very end and vaccines become much more readily available. The government pre-bought a lot of doses of Moderna and Pfizer, so they will be probably pushing those out first.

[Descant]

Despite some public protestations from the press, I think Trump did a great job getting ventilators manufactured and other equipment and manpower (hospital ships, portable hospitals) operational. Warp Speed was a triumph for vaccine development. Now it seems Biden is doing a good follow up with emphasis on vaccine distribution. This is wonderful continuity. "Don't worry. Be happy." Rescheduling an appointment is easy-peasy compared to three hours in line at the DMV.

[TheVoiceOfReason]

Originally Posted by tummyman

From what I read, it appears sometime in February and then followed by Astra Zeneca and Novavax in maybe March. I think both of those vaccines will also require two shots but do not hold me to that. So far, it seems only J&J is a one shot deal and even then, they are looking at whether two shots might be even better on efficacy. J&J has also been having some manufacturing problems. There is no real way to determine what vaccine you will get, unless you wait until the very end and vaccines become much more readily available. The government pre-bought a lot of doses of Moderna and Pfizer, so they will be probably pushing those out first.

The US pre-purchased 100 million doses of the J&J vaccine, and once approved I'd expect it to be the go-to option provided the efficacy is on par with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines due to it being a one shot and done deal. J&J has already said that they anticipate having those 100 million doses all produced by spring provided the trial is a success and is granted EUA from the FDA. If J&J is approved, the light at the end of the tunnel gets a whole lot closer/brighter.

[JEEPONLY]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

It's part of the sign up process. Based on our Alton Bay address, with a within 10 mile radius, we picked Huggins. Other choice was LRCC in Laconia. Too late now, but if we had gone with Laconia, we would have had an appointment within 2 weeks rather than just under a month. Oh well, it is what it is.

Dave

I had called Huggins before 1/22 to get information. They said they would email. What they sent was a link to the vaccines.nh.gov site- big help!?!

After reading your post, I called Huggins, again. Turned out you had to be aware of the mileage to the vaccine site you wanted- I live i nMeredith so Huggins didn't show as an opportunity. I'm conflicted, emotionally, as my primary is employed by Huggins and I didn't get any notification for the Huggins option.

I have an appointment elsewhere, but in agreeing with an earlier poster, I would rather have gone to my familiar hospital/people and gotten the vaccine.

Better days ahead!!!!!

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by JEEPONLY

I had called Huggins before 1/22 to get information. They said they would email. What they sent was a link to the vaccines.nh.gov site- big help!?!

After reading your post, I called Huggins, again. Turned out you had to be aware of the mileage to the vaccine site you wanted- I live i nMeredith so Huggins didn't show as an opportunity. I'm conflicted, emotionally, as my primary is employed by Huggins and I didn't get any notification for the Huggins option.

I have an appointment elsewhere, but in agreeing with an earlier poster, I would rather have gone to my familiar hospital/people and gotten the vaccine.

Better days ahead!!!!!

When we signed up, there was a drop down menu with the "within 10 miles" option visible. Our 3 options were Huggins, Belmont, and Laconia. Belmont was at Lakes Region Community College, and Laconia was LRGH (for LRGH employees only)

We were not sure where we would be directed initially, and we were ready to expand our search criteria to find a place to offer liking. Our daughter works for Huggins and she didn't know when they would be starting the injections.

Fortunately the two options met our needs right up front. Sorry you had problems.

Dave

[smith point boater]

My wife and I got our first shot Tuesday afternoon - great. Wait until you try and get an appt for the 2nd one in the specified timeframe -IMPOSSIBLE!!. We're eligible 2/22 - nothing before mid/late March anywhere in the state - we looked at sites over 100 miles away too.

[Lakegeezer]

Originally Posted by smith point boater

My wife and I got our first shot Tuesday afternoon - great. Wait until you try and get an appt for the 2nd one in the specified timeframe -IMPOSSIBLE!!. We're eligible 2/22 - nothing before mid/late March anywhere in the state - we looked at sites over 100 miles away too.

How does it work that you can try to schedule the second appointment? It isn't possible before your appointment. How long after your appointment can you try? Did you have to do anything to enable it? With 300,000 people trying and a current rate of 15,000/week, it is going be chaos for a while. Hopefully the doses (and appointments) available will quickly ramp up.

[Newbiesaukee]

Originally Posted by Lakegeezer

How does it work that you can try to schedule the second appointment? It isn't possible before your appointment. How long after your appointment can you try? Did you have to do anything to enable it? With 300,000 people trying and a current rate of 15,000/week, it is going be chaos for a while. Hopefully the doses (and appointments) available will quickly ramp up.

We had ours yesterday. By the time I got home, I had an email from VAMS telling me I was vaccinated and I could make an appointment after 4 weeks. I went on VAMS this am and the earliest appointment I could get anywhere is in Plymouth, not my original location. This is for 7 weeks from vaccination. I called 211 and eventually got Connor who said the guidance from the CDC said the 2nd vaccine could be no earlier than 4 weeks but there was no specific guideline for later than 4 weeks. Strictly speaking this is true. As a physician I knew this because the studies were done at 4 weeks and anything else is a guess. Perhaps an educated guess...but 4 weeks would have been better. In addition while the plus one for my wife worked as it should have, there was a fair amount of confusion. Nonetheless, the National Guard was great and the entire experience well done. And the 211 operators were very helpful

Sorry for the long answer but maybe it will help. So if you get your shot, make your 2nd appointment. Also, Connor confirmed that going to another NH site was perfectly OK for the second shot.

If anyone’s experience was different, let us know. Smith Point’s seems to have been similar.

[Garcia]

Not sure how they are doing it in NH, but in MA I received an email with a link to schedule the second dose; it was an easy process and the clinic was very well organized. I'm in a pretty rural area which I think helped as the system has not been overwhelmed.

[tummyman]

Fauci et al saying 42 days is max...how does that work ??

[Newbiesaukee]

Originally Posted by tummyman

Fauci et al saying 42 days is max...how does that work ??

See my comments above. My earliest appointment this morning was for 49 days. Not ideal but probably better than no vaccine. For the elderly, one shot conveys 80% immunity, but second shot is about 95% effective for Moderna

Fauci is at the NIH, the recommendation is from CDC. The real truth is no one really knows. REAL science is not exact, it is not 100% and as more is learned recommendations change. We are, in effect, guinea pigs, but I’d rather have the first dose than none.

[DEJ]

My friend registered last Friday and has not received her VAMS email yet to get scheduled. Curious if anyone else is still waiting? She checked her spam and nothing there either. Thanks.

[Sue Doe-Nym]

We did the same thing, and never received an email. Try 271-4028 (VAM) , or 271-8826. The 2nd number was the one that actually worked for getting an appointment. Hope it works for you.

[smith point boater]

I should have also mentioned that when you and a spouse/partner are arriving together the person who is the "ad -on" is not on any list. Even though you entered their name at time of registration the National Guard ha no knowledge of the 2nd person coming. Its not a problem in that they were very good at re-registering spouse but you need to have a smart phone and capable of receiving an email on site. It is the cause of most of the delays we experienced. They were 45 min behind when we arrived.

[Sue Doe-Nym]

Does anyone know whether or not it’s possible to receive the second shot in another state? We have shuffled flights around and hope to have both shots by early March, but if that’s not the case, does anyone have any knowledge about this? Can you do #1 in NH, #2 elsewhere? Thanks.

[rick35]

Originally Posted by smith point boater

I should have also mentioned that when you and a spouse/partner are arriving together the person who is the "ad -on" is not on any list. Even though you entered their name at time of registration the National Guard ha no knowledge of the 2nd person coming. Its not a problem in that they were very good at re-registering spouse but you need to have a smart phone and capable of receiving an email on site. It is the cause of most of the delays we experienced. They were 45 min behind when we arrived.

I registered on Friday but my wife received her referral on Saturday so we weren't able to register together. My appointment is next week and hers is in April. She called today and was told she can get her shot with me. I would think it should be easy where she is already registered.

[JEEPONLY]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

When we signed up, there was a drop down menu with the "within 10 miles" option visible. Our 3 options were Huggins, Belmont, and Laconia. Belmont was at Lakes Region Community College, and Laconia was LRGH (for LRGH employees only)

We were not sure where we would be directed initially, and we were ready to expand our search criteria to find a place to offer liking. Our daughter works for Huggins and she didn't know when they would be starting the injections.

Fortunately the two options met our needs right up front. Sorry you had problems.

Dave

I don't see how Huggins, Belmont and Laconia fall into a 10 mile radius (maybe Belmont and Laconia), but I guess I missed that menu- Huggins is easily 35 miles from me (Meredith)- got directed to Belmont.

Also- is there any set-up/protocol for necessitating getting the same "maker" shot as a second dose?

[Newbiesaukee]

The current recommendation is the same vaccine for the second shot. I am certain they are set up for this.

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by Newbiesaukee

The current recommendation is the same vaccine for the second shot. I am certain they are set up for this.

Yes you will get a card specifying the date and which vaccine you got. That will also be entered into the CDC system. On getting the second dose the card will be updated.

[winni83]

My wife and I just received our first Covid shot at Huggins Hospital. The entire process was extremely well managed. Appointment times were spot on, even a little earlier than scheduled. A rear area of the hospital has space dedicated to the process. Everything is done inside, no waiting in your car or getting a shot in your car. Individual rooms for the administration of the shot and a separate waiting area with a staff member present for 15 minutes to make sure there is no reaction. Huggins even makes the next appointment for the second shot while you are in the waiting area. For us, it is exactly 28 days and back to Huggins. We had expected real problems getting the second dose scheduled so we were very pleasantly surprised.

[Slickcraft]

I just received both a text and an email from the state of NH (Brian Eaton) asking if I successfully obtained an appointment, yes or no. And if no, what is the best email to reach me at.
Looks like NH is trying to be proactive.

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by Slickcraft

I just received both a text and an email from the state of NH (Brian Eaton) asking if I successfully obtained an appointment, yes or no. And if no, what is the best email to reach me at.
Looks like NH is trying to be proactive.

Same thing with us. Feeling optimistic.

Dave