[Vision2020] Fwd: Re: Fwd: screwed up vaccine

[Saundra Lund]

Agree. The pandemic absolutely illustrated how gutted various state & local health districts & departments had become, with some states being in much worse shape than others.  As usual, Idaho is near the bottom of that particular barrel.

For those who missed it, here’s a link to Gov. Little’s EO today. SMH.

https://gov.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/74/2021/01/eo-2021-03_rr.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2pHiAxL3MQSCZo8XnNPOtLOVJhNF7FQLTKBa_l9wkuuEgi5bTqS567-ZM

Saundra
Moscow, ID

On Thu, Jan 28, 2021, at 12:33 PM, Ron Force wrote:
> I thought I would add some political commentary. To no one's surprise the Trump administration had no plans for distribution, vaccine priorities, or tracking where the doses went, other than to send them to the states and let them figure it out. The CDC originally prioritized 75+, but Alex Azar told them to expand to 65+. Public Health was supposed to be in charge in each state, but most of the state organizations had been defunded over the years and found out about it at the last minute. . Many hospitals were expected to pick up the slack, but as many are dealing with a flood of Covid patients they didn't have the personnel. 
> 
> *Why is the vaccine distribution going so poorly?*

> It’s a combination of two things that are interrelated. One is that the federal government seems to have understood its role in the vaccine process as stopping at the point at which it gets vaccines distributed to states. I don’t think this was apparent before, but it certainly is now. [The federal government] entirely ceded the responsibility of the “last mile,” so to speak. The second related issue is that the state and local health departments put in charge of this last mile have not had the funding that they need. State and local health departments were already substantially underfunded and understaffed even before the pandemic. And then they had to take on testing, contact tracing, public education, and helping businesses and schools to reopen safely with a very limited budget. Now they’re being told to stand up this vaccination program without additional staff or additional resources. I heard a health official liken this to being given brand-new shiny vehicles but with no gas.

> 
> https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-vaccine-rollout-pits-fairness-against-speed/?

> And Tracking problems

> https://www.thedailybeast.com/fauci-says-theres-no-organized-approach-to-tracking-covid-19-vaccine

> Ron Force
> Moscow Idaho USA
> 
> 
> On Thu, Jan 28, 2021 at 12:12 PM Saundra Lund <v2020 at ssl1.fastmail.fm> wrote:
>> __
>> Hmm - this seems to have disappeared into cyberspace so trying again . . .  see below 
>> 
>> On Thu, Jan 28, 2021, at 11:53 AM, Saundra Lund wrote:
>>> Yes and no.
>>> 
>>> I got my 73-year-old hubby on the waiting list by calling the Moscow office of the health department.
>>> 
>>> He got the email Tuesday afternoon and there were only FOUR days in all of February - all in LEWISTON - for the five counties in our health district.  Yikes!  Here’s the explanation straight from the horse’s mouth:
>>> 
>>> “Our first few weeks of clinics will be held in our Lewiston Office only, due to space constraints in other offices.”
>>> 
>>> So, A LACK OF PLANNING was far more significant than the limited quantity of vaccines.  And by all reports, vaccinations are proceeding flawlessly just across the state line in Pullman, which also opened up to the 65 & older crowd.
>>> 
>>> For MANY reasons, my hubby is completely uninterested in going to Lewiston & has instead opted to wait for a local opportunity.
>>> 
>>> I’ll state the obvious: it’s beyond RIDICULOUS to put the burden on older folks to make a trip to Lewiston in the middle of winter to receive a crucial vaccine.
>>> 
>>> In addition to the logistical & financial issues of getting there, I’ll remind folks that Moscow had a mild winter last year, too, until February when we received nearly four FEET of snow.
>>> 
>>> I heard this yesterday & feel like this is the current state of vaccines in this area, too:
>>> 
>>> ““Let me put  it bluntly. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine shouldn’t be like the Hunger Games.”
>>> 
>>>      Linda Hidalgo, Harris County, TX judge
>>> 
>>> ——-
>>> 
>>> Saundra
>>> Moscow, ID
>>> 
>>> On Thu, Jan 28, 2021, at 11:26 AM, Ron Force wrote:
>>>> Forgot to include Viz.
>>>> 
>>>> Ron Force
>>>> Moscow Idaho USA
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
>>>> From: *Ron Force* <ronforce at gmail.com>
>>>> Date: Thu, Jan 28, 2021 at 11:25 AM
>>>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] screwed up vaccine
>>>> To: Roger Hayes <rhayesmoscowid at gmail.com>
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> If you'd known about this website a week or two ago, you might have gotten an appointment https://www.idahoprepmod.com/ .  It showed up in the Daily News this morning. People who heard about it by word of mouth earlier probably got appointments, but by now, most of February is taken. One friend from Moscow has to drive to Orofino for his. The problem is that Idaho (and other states) opened the eligibility to a lot more people than they have vaccines for. Right now, 530,000 people in Idaho are eligible but the state only gets 22,000 doses per week.
>>>> 
>>>> Ron Force
>>>> Moscow Idaho USA
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Thu, Jan 28, 2021 at 11:09 AM Roger Hayes <rhayesmoscowid at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> So, I've been looking into how to get the Covid vaccine. Website of the Health department in Lewiston says call your pharmacy or primary care physician. There's no way any pharmacy or clinic is going to be able to handle the number of people who want and are qualified to get the shot. Other places have mobile vaccination centers. I feel Gritman should handle this. But then, there seems to be a dearth of planning by the state or feds. About time we took this seriously especially when it says that seniors can get the shot at the beginning of February. 
>>>>> Meanwhile the Idaho House has forwarded legislation that effectively cancels Little's health initiatives. Welcome to Idaho. 
>>>>> =======================================================
>>>>>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>>>>>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>>>>                http://www.fsr.net
>>>>>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>>>>> =======================================================
>>>> =======================================================
>>>> List services made available by First Step Internet,
>>>> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>>>                http://www.fsr.net
>>>>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>>>> =======================================================
>>> 
>> 
>> =======================================================
>>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>>                http://www.fsr.net
>>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>> =======================================================
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