I’m like…every finger of mine that can actually cross is crossed for you.
7 Likes
So, I have a friend in Berlin (originally from Long Island but lived in Germany for 10 years), who knows multiple people in Berlin who have flown to NY to get a vaccine?
It leaves me feeling like “should I be working harder to get a vaccine, I don’t have cross border restrictions or a trans-atlantic flight in my way” but also like… “really? the risk of international travel to get a vaccine appointment in hardest hit city?”
9 Likes
FWIW, given how bad vaccine rollout is in Germany – I am not at all surprised about this. A friend of mine who lives in Berlin and who is normally the exact type of person to NEVER take that sort of risk and who generally isn’t into medical tourism has discussed trying to figure out how she can get her family vaccinated through US or Russian ties (she’s a US/Russian dual with German residency).
5 Likes
From the NY Times newsletter today, thought it might be helpful to those who are struggling, outlook-wise:
Excerpt here
Is bad news the only kind?
Bruce Sacerdote, an economics professor at Dartmouth College, noticed something last year about the Covid-19 television coverage that he was watching on CNN and PBS. It almost always seemed negative, regardless of what was he seeing [in the data] or hearing from scientists he knew.
When Covid cases were rising in the U.S., the news coverage emphasized the increase. When cases were falling, the coverage instead focused on those places where cases were rising. And when vaccine research began showing positive results, the coverage downplayed it, as far as Sacerdote could tell.
But he was not sure whether his perception was correct. To check, he began working with two other researchers, building a database of Covid coverage from every major network, CNN, Fox News, Politico, The New York Times and hundreds of other sources, in the U.S. and overseas. The researchers then analyzed it with [a social-science technique] that classifies language as positive, neutral or negative.
The results showed that Sacerdote’s instinct had been right — and not just because the pandemic has been mostly a grim story.
The U.S. media is an outlier
The coverage by U.S. publications with a national audience has been much more negative than coverage by any other source that the researchers analyzed, including scientific journals, major international publications and regional U.S. media. “The most well-read U.S. media are outliers in terms of their negativity,” Molly Cook, a co-author of the study, told me.
About 87 percent of Covid coverage in national U.S. media last year was negative. The share was 51 percent in international media, 53 percent in U.S. regional media and 64 percent in scientific journals.
Notably, the coverage was negative in both U.S. media outlets with liberal audiences (like MSNBC) and those with conservative audiences (like Fox News).
*ETA: This is me now, not the newsletter. Isn’t is hilarious that they still put in the line, “just because the pandemic has been mostly a grim story”. They couldn’t resist underlining, again, that things are really bad. Having spent a lot of time in newsrooms and among journalists, including Times journalists, I can confirm that cynicism and negativity are the default of the types of people who typically end up in newsrooms.
Even neutrality is hugely frowned upon. Negativity is also encouraged directly via SEO and editorial direction. Sometimes it’s encouraged specifically for views (negative stuff does better, always) and sometimes it’s encouraged because it’s assumed to be accurate by the editors and journalists in the room. Journalists largely think they’re printing the neutral and balanced truth, even as they aren’t. I find the whole thing fascinating.*
14 Likes
Haha, right? Same. I guess because I’m so young fans self and spry, I’ll have to wait 
also re: traveling to get a vaccine: that’s nuts! I wouldn’t do it but I’m also not comfortable fudging my way into an earlier vaccination group, which I probably could have done but…not worth it. The trade off would be way too steep for me.
7 Likes
My sister (who lives in AllHat’s area) has an appointment for her first dose and won’t know what she’s getting until the day of. They don’t make their second appointments until they’ve had their first (this was my parents’ experience as well).
3 Likes
I have 2 family friends who got the vaccine here in Florida while visiting from Brazil. Apparently the vaccine tourism was bad enough, we had to make an executive order saying vaccines are only for Florida residents.
4 Likes
I wonder if this is why I find DW news, Al Jazeera, and medical sources like Medscape so much more useful feeling? It seems like there’s a lot more nuance.
10 Likes
I totally agree, and I think nuance is definitely part of the reason.
5 Likes
My google-fu is failing me - If a child catches Covid, what’s the percentage chance they’ll need to be hospitalized? I know there’s one number for 0-4 and a different number for 5-18. Data from during the school year is preferable, I found one thing on the CDC website that had data from last March through July.
3 Likes
My grandfather’s driver died of covid today. His wife died yesterday. They had thrown a family dinner a month ago. His oldest son was in the ICU, I’m not sure what’s going on with him now. At the rate things are going, travel to and from Brazil will stay shut down for a very long time.
19 Likes
Varies widely by state and ethnicity, so for pediatric providers the CDC page says to check with the state.
But short answer-
Hospitalizations (24 states and NYC reported)*
- Children were 1.3%-3.1% of total reported hospitalizations, and between 0.1%-2.1% of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in hospitalization
Mortality (43 states, NYC, PR and Guam reported)*
- Children were 0.00%-0.19% of all COVID-19 deaths, and 10 states reported zero child deaths
- In states reporting, 0.00%-0.03% of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in death
2 Likes
This is an understatement We are now officially a banana republic 
It is crazy and I do not know when the vaccination project will start in earnest …
7 Likes
I wish it weren’t so shitty, jellaba. 
I know it’s really distressing for my friend.
2 Likes
Does anyone know how long antibodies transmitted through breastmilk stick around in the infant? Basically, would it make any difference to try to keep breastfeeding for just a couple weeks after I can get vaxxed, or would I need to BF basically as long as I want the infant to be protected?
(Apparently due to postpartum BMI I now qualify for a vaccine, which is dumb, and also I tested positive for antibodies last month. I’ve registered with my primary care provider who says they’re getting supply soon rather than overwhelming the main city site — they have my full health history and they will hopefully prioritize higher-risk people.)
6 Likes
We don’t know if they even DO transmit, but we think they do. But generally/for other immune things, it’s only as long as you’re actively feeding from what I’ve read, alas. If you wanted a game plan, you could always pump and freeze post vaxx milk (antibodies peaked 2 weeks after first dose in a study I saw), and then have it on hand to give after any known exposure.
6 Likes
Oh smart! Thank you.
2 Likes
Happy to help! Sorry there’s not good answers on this yet!
2 Likes
My (tiny) state just passed a MILLION people that are fully or partially vaccinated! That is 1/4 of the population!
26 Likes
I’m so sorry Marcela. The situation there is terrifying
1 Like