Vaccines, Vaccines, Vaccines

Welcome to Saving Money with Andrew!

After over a year of COVID, evidence is mounting that the US is turning the corner. Cases and deaths have declined precipitously, reaching levels last seen last summer. Over 35% of Americans over 18 have received their first vaccine dose, including 72% of Americans over 65. Most states are broadening eligibility, and it is highly likely that most states will open eligibility to all adults well before the president's May 1 deadline.

All three vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson) are safe and effective.[1] If you’re skeptical of the companies’ own trials, there are much larger-scale observational studies that show similar results, including this 31,069 participant study from the Mayo Clinic (handy chart on page 17 with estimates of how much protection the vaccines provide over time) and this 596,618 person study in Israel.

My late-pandemic hobby is helping eligible friends and family find vaccination appointments—it’s incredibly satisfying to know that more and more people are going to be protected from COVID and can start slowly, eventually, returning to their normal lives. While there isn’t a money-saving angle here, I wanted to share what I’ve learned with all of you.

If you haven’t yet gotten a shot or appointment, please consider some of these tips:

If You Are Eligible And Need An Appointment

If you are eligible for a shot (if you don’t know, you can always check the NYT’s guide), don’t be content to book an appointment a month or two out. In almost every state, availability has increased to the point that appointments can generally be found within the next week or two with enough persistence, particularly at major pharmacies, and often the same or next day.

VaccineFinder is a good start, and VaccineSpotter offers excellent up-to-the-minute availability for pharmacies in most states. In my home state of New York, NYC Vaccine List and TurboVax constantly update available appointments. By using those sites, I ultimately secured a vaccine appointment in mid-February, far earlier than I expected.

If You Aren’t Yet Eligible

First, make sure to re-check your state’s eligibility guidelines. Most states have revised their guidelines several times, with some states adding groups as broad as all former smokers and those with BMIs above 25 (the majority of the population). And almost every day another state lowers its eligibility age (such as Florida last Thursday and California last Friday).

But, if you’re sure you’re not eligible but are eager for a shot, try working the “extra shots” angle. Pharmacies are routinely offering extra shots to those who ask (or who go on a waiting list). In some cases they will only offer shots to those already eligible, but far more have started offering shots to everyone, subject to restrictions in certain states.

If you are interested in an extra shot, try calling major chain pharmacies in your area (go to VaccineSpotter—it might make sense to first call chains with open appointments, as it might indicate that they are more likely to end up with extra shots at the end of the day). Ask if they keep waiting lists for extra shots, or if there is a good time to show up. There’s no harm in calling.

My Vaccine Story

I’ve had Type 1 diabetes since childhood. T1D is a severe risk factor for COVID, increasing risk by approximately 250% according to this broad UK study (Type 2 diabetes, another risk factor about 20 times more common than T1D in the US, increases risk by about 100%). As a result, I spent the bulk of the past year almost entirely inside my home or outdoors—I haven’t been inside a store in more than a year—and drove my family crazy with my anxiety and extremely neurotic behavior.

Fortunately for me, on February 14th, New York amended its eligibility to include T1D’s. I managed to secure an appointment at the Javits Center on February 18th by constantly checking NYC Vaccine List. Three weeks later, I received my second shot, and now that it’s more than two weeks after my second shot, I’m considered “fully vaccinated” and, according to most studies, have 90-95% protection. It is an enormous relief, and has allowed us to book a vacation for the summer and start meeting up with other families.

For those curious, other than a sore arm (for about two days) and some fatigue, I experienced no side effects from either shot. But everyone’s experience will vary and I’ve heard plenty of stories of people feeling sick for a day or two afterward.

And now…Andrew’s pick(s) of the week:

Bloomberg’s Prognosis podcast has a great series on vaccines, with the first episode centered around a NYC paramedic hesitant about getting his first shot, and the second episode focusing on the most famous of all vaccine controversies—the purported (and debunked) link between vaccines and autism. I found both fascinating.

I hope this has been helpful. If you liked it, please share it on social media! Also, please send me your feedback, requests, and success stories.

[1] A note on the J&J vaccine, which some have derided as second-class. Although it is less protective against getting COVID at all, it was (after 28 days) 100% effective in preventing hospitalization and death in its main trial, which is what really matters. And since the J&J vaccine only requires one shot and recipients are considered fully vaccinated only two weeks after that shot (versus two weeks after a second shot for Pfizer and Moderna, which could be 5-6 weeks in total), there are ample reasons for some to prefer it.