Traffic was super-manageable; it was cold and windy, but not raining; I got there early, and there was hardly anyone there. It was also very well organized.
It’s been a few years, but the hospitals we worked with at VTS Medical never connected to the Internet in order to avoid cyber attacks. Most of the secure patient systems were in a weird proprietary format that was difficult to crack. We were interested because we wanted to access that data to display. We tended to work with the elite hospitals that wanted multi-million dollar audio visual systems, so it’s possible that regular hospitals were not following the same practices. However, it was my understanding that this was standard practice.
PSA on those vaccine cards:
I was talking to a medical friend about the fact that I’d ordered a plastic envelope with Ziploc-style zipper closing, because I’d read that many of those preprinted stickers they put on the card to speed up the intake process will turn black if exposed to heat – for example, in a laminating machine – and besides, I wanted the card available to add boosters when appropriate, and she said: take a photo or scan of the card, and laminate THAT.
Duh! Makes so much sense.
My card was very pre-computer looking, and printed on a card just wide and tall enough not to fit easily in my wallet. Your ideas sound good – but will scanned cards be acceptable by . . . whoever might demand them?
Right? Mine is also that weird size.
The official CDC card is 3"x4". Very awkward.
It was a medical professional who told me I could laminate a photo/scan of the actual card, so I have to believe it’s fine. It’s no worse than showing a photo/scan on your phone, right?
Benzene, to be specific.
So some big changes in the last week. They moved things up radically. Last week, they announced that people 50+ qualified for appointments (which took about a week) and this morning they opened it up to 40+. But also, they added “you can bring one eligible family member to your appointment and they can get it too.”
Wifey became eligible last week and had an appointment today. I became eligible this morning and got to sideload into her appointment so we both got our first vaccine shot today. 
It was quick, smooth, and well-run (national guard was in charge). We got there early expecting a long wait but only had to wait because we were early. They waved us in on time and we were done 9 minutes later.
Previously thought they wouldn’t be getting to us until June (that’s what was on the state schedule), so this was a really nice surprise.
In Indiana we were specifically reminded before each appointment to NOT show up early because everything was run like clockwork…and it was.
I saw a tweet from the local hospital system, saying I could schedule my vaccine, so I did! It’s this coming Monday, if all goes according to plan. Woo hoo!
Ah yes, that premiere medical journal, the WSJ.
The cheap Remington hair trimmer I bought last May to get me through the pandemic suddenly died yeaterday. It was special to me. Ah memories of the first time I shaved my head.
It was badly made and did a lousy job, but it was the first one I could get after weeks of searching. I knew it would have to be replaced eventually, but I thought I could at least get a year out of it.
I remember the story of searching! It was the only one left, behind the counter at the pharmacy or something like that.
