Montreal City Weblog

Kate 10:53 on 2024-10-16 Permalink Reply  

• MarcG 11:11 on 2024-10-16 Permalink

  Canada didn’t order any of Novavax’s non-mRNA vaccines this round so people who are unable to, or are hesitant to, get mRNA vaccines are pretty well screwed. All that talk of “protecting the vulnerable” was some serious horseshit.

• Kate 11:26 on 2024-10-16 Permalink

  I didn’t even know there are non-mRNA vaccines against Covid. Thanks MarcG.

• jeather 11:44 on 2024-10-16 Permalink

  From the other side of this, if my yearly flu vaccine could be mRNA (no reaction other than normal soreness) instead of whatever it is (inactivated?) that has, like every vaccine except covid, given me a high fever for the next day ever since I was a baby thus panicking my parents, I would be delighted.

• MarcG 11:52 on 2024-10-16 Permalink

  My wife and I had bad reactions to the past couple of Modernas so we went to Walgreens in Plattsburgh last week. Paid $144 USD each with a coupon from GoodRx. Thing about Canada’s decision that makes me furious is their circular reasoning: Not enough demand for it – but they obviously did a poor job of letting people know it even existed and then made it very difficult to acquire if you did want it (to be fair I believe it was the provinces who set the hard-to-meet requirements and the local nurses who were poorly educated on the subject and were resistant to administering it).

• Meezly 12:46 on 2024-10-16 Permalink

  Thanks for sharing that, Kate. My family is all booked!

• MarcG 13:52 on 2024-10-16 Permalink

  Here’s a video update on the latest news and research on Flu and Covid from the American Medical Association just published today.

• jeather 15:02 on 2024-10-16 Permalink

  As usual for me, didn’t even feel Covid shot, flu is agony.

• Kate 17:04 on 2024-10-16 Permalink

  I find it differs from year to year. Last year I had them both at the same time, the arm with the Covid shot hurt for a day, the flu arm not at all. I’m mostly writing this here to remind myself to take note of how it goes this year, it’s going to be my Halloween treat.

• carswell 17:29 on 2024-10-16 Permalink

  My flu shot’s happening this Friday.

  Santé Québec’s rule — stupid rule according to an immunologist I heard on the CBC and even to an SQ official I spoke with — means I can’t get the new C19 shot till early January, six months after my last one. (My contracting COVID a couple of years ago threw my vax schedule out of synch.) Stupid because this latest formulation is reportedly better viewed as a new vaccination against a new variant that’s elusive to existing antibodies than as a booster.

  As a result, I’ve started religiously masking on public transit again and will soon be doing so in stores, at the gym, at concert venues and in other crowded public spaces.

  The only COVID vax I had a reaction to (a day in bed) was the AstraZeneca. Flu shots never give me problems. The Shingrix vaccines were another story entirely.

• jeather 18:00 on 2024-10-16 Permalink

  The worst vaccine ever for me is tetanus. I don’t really care about the sore arm, which goes away quickly, or the burning when it is injected, same, but the 103 fever isn’t fun.

• EmilyG 18:37 on 2024-10-16 Permalink

  I got Covid in August. I think an official website said to wait 6 months after you’ve had Covid, or had your last vaccine, to get the shot. But someone I know who’s knowledgeable about these matters said that if you’ve had Covid, wait one more month after your next shot would’ve been due.
  So I’m left being unsure about when to get my next shot.

• MarcG 18:43 on 2024-10-16 Permalink

  The Public Health Agency of Canada and the US CDC recommend 3 to 6 months from infection.

• Nicholas 19:02 on 2024-10-16 Permalink

  The larger centres do take walk-ins, fyi, and best luck is earlier in the day. But it seems appointments are not that hard to get if you’re willing to hop on transit a bit.

• Mozai 23:40 on 2024-10-16 Permalink

  At the cliquesante site, one of the things I must agree to before I can get an appointment: “I consent to receiving electronic commercial communications from Trimoz by SMS and email. These communications may include the addition of new services in your area. I understand that I may unsubscribe at any time. Trimoz reserves the right to send operational emails regarding their services.”. I don’t remember seeing this before.

• dhomas 04:48 on 2024-10-17 Permalink

  Trimoz is the Quebec company that developed the vaccination section of clicsanté.
  https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1941836/portail-covid-rendezvous-trimoz
  However, the “commercial communications” part makes me think that they may be selling our data to advertisers.

• walkerp 08:06 on 2024-10-17 Permalink

  I saw that and noted it, but it was not a mandatory field. You don’t have to check it.

• carswell 20:32 on 2024-10-18 Permalink

  As noted above, I had an appointment for a flu shot today at the Parc vaccination centre. Had planned to arrive 5 minutes early but actually got there a few minutes late because of a service slowdown on the blue line.

  The centre was busy at 15:20. After registering, I stood in a slow-moving queue with about 20 people ahead of me, maybe two-thirds of them seniors, several carrying bike helmets, not something we used to see (kudos to Projet). To my surprise, though masks were given to everybody at the door, several people weren’t wearing them or were chin-masking, including a few of the staff. A bit concerning as a couple of plebs were coughers, as was a staff member who was leaving.

  Eventually, I saw a nurse who conducted a short interview. Though not slated for the new COVID vax till early January, I inquired whether it could get it too and was drop-jawed when, after consulting a superior, the nurse said yes, they were willing to make an exception due to my age and history with the disease (4-5 weeks of being an invalid followed by a year and a half of reduced lung capacity) — unprecedented flexibility. Had to stand in another queue before finally getting the shots (one in each arm, though they’ll do both in one arm if you want), about 45 minutes after walking through the door.

  The post-vax waiting time has been cut from 15 to 10 minutes and my shot-giver said it was recommended but optional, another change from earlier visits. Total time in and out: a little more than an hour.

  I also inquired whether walk-ins were possible. They are, I was told, but only when there’s no queue and never in the mornings. Today they’d squeezed two or three in shortly after lunchtime but the clerk said it’s not something you should count on.