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On Topic Discussion 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2)

OK, I finally got my Fall 2023 booster this morning. This time I went to the Publix Pharmacy instead of the Walgreen's, where I had so much trouble before. Actually, I called the Publix Pharmacy yesterday, to make sure everything was cleared. And it's a good thing I did, because they initially said they couldn't confirm my Medicare coverage through the system. So after calling the number Publix gave me, getting caught in a loop with one of those automated phone menus, hanging up, calling again, listening to the same prerecorded crap, I finally got a message saying that I had a 55 minute wait to talk to a live person. So I hung up and found the Medicare website online, and I called the number they had. I got through almost immediately, and they told me my name was in the system exactly as it appeared on my card. I called Publix Pharmacy back up and told them, and they finally confirmed my Medicare coverage. They finally admitted that the suffix to my name (e.g., Jr., III, etc.) had been entered in the wrong place.

Anyway, I went in for my appointment this morning, and had no trouble getting the shot.

I just turned 65 this year, so I'm new to the Medicare system. I'm wondering if that might be part of the reason why I seem to be having trouble with coverage issues.
 
Araucaria said:
....I just turned 65 this year, so I'm new to the Medicare system. I'm wondering if that might be part of the reason why I seem to be having trouble with coverage issues.
Click to expand...
It likely is.

In larger providers, there's a coverage verification interface between Medicare and providers. In order to avoid fraud, the names, gender and DOB are supposed to match exactly between both the provider and Medicare. It happens quite often that a person is in one system with a middle name but in the other system with a middle initial or a Jr/Sr/III has been entered differently, it can result in a "not found" error. Because this happens so often, some billing systems now store the name in two places - once for the legal name and the other for the name as it appears on the insurance card.

If you have the problem at another provider, ask them if they're verifying your coverage with the name exactly as it appears on the Medicare card because you've had issues with this before.
 
I have not messed with the Medicare folks yet. You get a year for a "free" check-up? I have a couple of months time left on that clock. I should find a doctor, too. I'm not expecting any of it to be fun.

I go by my middle name. Always have. My first name, well, that's my dad. When I registered to vote, I used y middle name. Somehow the card has first name, middle initial, last name. I don't know how that happened. My d/l has my full name and every time I go to vote they give me shit because of the mis-match. But the d/l picture sort of looks like me.

So what's on my Medicare card? Name, MI, last name. It promises to be annoying.

As for Medicare, I have parts A and B and D (for drugs). It all comes out of the SS check. Part D increased a buck or so this year. Lower deductible, more stuff for $0. So it's $7.35 a month. I can still go to th elocal grocery store or Walgreens. In theory. I might take a couple of aspirin a month.
 
fredroy said:
I have not messed with the Medicare folks yet. You get a year for a "free" check-up? I have a couple of months time left on that clock. I should find a doctor, too. I'm not expecting any of it to be fun.

I go by my middle name. Always have. My first name, well, that's my dad. When I registered to vote, I used y middle name. Somehow the card has first name, middle initial, last name. I don't know how that happened. My d/l has my full name and every time I go to vote they give me shit because of the mis-match. But the d/l picture sort of looks like me.

So what's on my Medicare card? Name, MI, last name. It promises to be annoying.

As for Medicare, I have parts A and B and D (for drugs). It all comes out of the SS check. Part D increased a buck or so this year. Lower deductible, more stuff for $0. So it's $7.35 a month. I can still go to th elocal grocery store or Walgreens. In theory. I might take a couple of aspirin a month.
Click to expand...
When you sign up for Medicare, in the first year, you get a "Welcome to Medicare Visit". Then every 12 months (and only once per year), you get a "Annual Wellness Visit". The difference between the annual visit and an office visit is that you don't have to be sick in order for Medicare to pay for it. The Wellness Visit doesn't require a copay, so it's "free".

At the Annual Visit, you'll fill out a questionnaire about your history and your family history and the doctor will talk to you about a lot of the stuff they should have already been talking to you about - exercise, lowering your risk factors, getting caught up on your immunizations, etc.

If you haven''t renewed your drivers license recently, you should be prepared to bring your birth certificate with you. The Feds decided that everyone has to prove their identity, even if you got your drivers license back when you were in the throes of puberty decades ago (and even if you were born in the same state and a copy of your birth certificates are stored down the hall from the drivers license office because god forbid these systems talk to each other). Thankfully, you only have to do it once. If the name on your drivers license doesn't match your birth certificate, that's the time to get the DL name fixed.

Because there's so much fraud, anytime the names on these various systems and identification card don't match the legal name, they get flagged as possible fraud or they just get rejected as "invalid" because they don't match exactly, letter-for-letter.
 
If you haven''t renewed your drivers license recently, you should be prepared to bring your birth certificate with you.

I had this happen when I renewed a a couple of years ago. I flat out told the man behind the counter I do have a copy of my birth certificate. Somewhere. In a safe place that I can't find. So, not with me and besides, I had to provide a copy when I got my learner's permit. But, hey, here's my Passport. He looked at something on the screen and said "nah, we have all we need already".

That was sort of weird. But I have the groovy little star so I can get on an airplane.... which will be approximately never if I have to be groped like I'm a criminal.
 
I had "fun" with my SS number in the early '80's. Someone was using my number out of state. I had to go to the SS office in downtown Austin. Of course it was a rainy day and here I go.... on my bicycle from north Austin. I did have a towel in a plastic bag to dry off with enough to not drip on the floor. The equal opportunity behemoth with 2" fingernails scolded me because I had laminated my SS card. When I got it in 10th grade. Eight years prior. Said it's illegal to laminate the card and I have to go somewhere else and request another card. She was not amused when I asked "When did it become illegal to laminate my card? You can see my records right there, right? Don't you have a button to click that would issue a new card?" Harrumph!!! Anyway. She looked at my D/L and fixed whatever the problem was.
Didn't send a new card, either.

She gave me the "names don't match" and wasn't amused when I said I used my full name to get my d/l and my SS card. That my SS card has my middle initial instead of my name so the government can save a fraction of a cent on printer ink is not my fault.

They haven't arrested me yet.
 
fredroy said:
...I had this happen when I renewed a a couple of years ago. I flat out told the man behind the counter I do have a copy of my birth certificate. Somewhere. In a safe place that I can't find. So, not with me and besides, I had to provide a copy when I got my learner's permit. But, hey, here's my Passport. He looked at something on the screen and said "nah, we have all we need already".

That was sort of weird. But I have the groovy little star so I can get on an airplane.... which will be approximately never if I have to be groped like I'm a criminal.
Click to expand...

Fortunately, US Passports are allowed for identification in the absence of a birth certificate. It's actually better since the Passport has a picture and is harder to forge than a birth certificate.

Texas was one of the last States to comply with the Real ID Act. I remember when I flew through DFW a few years back, they had signs up warning people with Texas Drivers licenses that their drivers licenses wouldn't be accepted at TSA entry points after a certain date.

I'm sure those poor people in the drivers license offices in Texas got yelled at a lot when they told someone in their 60s that they had to bring a copy of their birth certificate to renew their license. :rolleyes:


fredroy said:
...
They haven't arrested me yet.
Click to expand...
You may long for the day when you had a face to yell at. These days, everything is done by electronic interfaces and when names don't match, it's not easy to actually reach a person somewhere to talk to. That's likely what was happening with Araucaria's Medicare claim. There was an electronic message sent. It came back with a "not verified" error and it's not easy to actually reach a person in these offices to find out why.
 
Oh, I didn't yell or get at all ugly with the man when I renewed my d/l. He had the aura of "knows what he is doing". White guy. Go figure.... I had about an hour waiting for my turn. Plenty of time to watch. There were four windows of eight open. He was running three folks through his window while the others were still on the first.

He did let me do the eye test without my glasses. One can hope. I still have to wear glasses. :) I liked the guy.
 

Some Reasons to Get Off the Fence About COVID Booster​

"Researchers found that getting vaccinated led to a 69% reduction in long-COVID risk among adults who received three vaccines before being infected. The risk reduction was 37% for those who received two doses. Experts say the research provides a strong argument for getting the vaccine, noting that about 10% of people infected with COVID go on to have long COVID, which can be debilitating for one quarter of those with long-lasting symptoms."

 
rareboy said:
Get your fucking shots.
Click to expand...
I got my fifth one last month, and so far I've managed to avoid a visit from Aunt Rona. I've only had the flu once in my life (when I was 11), and I still remember how awful it was. I'm not fucking around with COVID.
 
rareboy said:
Get your fucking shots.
Click to expand...
The CDC estimated that we had about 10,000 hospitalizations and 1,000 deaths each week during November.

The holidays and all the gatherings in December are going to trigger another surge. Time really is running out to get your booster if you have plans with family or are planning on traveling for the holidays.

Since Hallowe'en, I've seen quite a few people who have tested positive for COVID.

Those who got their boosters early did have symptoms that were fairly mild and lasted for a couple days... pretty much a mild cold.

Those who didn't get their booster early did have a rougher ride. Thankfully, since they had received a booster a year ago or had COVID-19 during the omicron surge, they did not have severe cases but did not end up in the hospital. However, they had the fevers, chills, body aches that were like a bad flu. Their cases also lasted longer- one guy was sick for about a week.

The only exception was someone who was immunosupressed. She did get pretty sick and required a course of Paxlovid.

Also, if you are over 60, consider getting the RSV shot that came out this year. Children's Hospitals are filling up with RSV cases and people over 60 are also in the risk group for RSV.
 
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Even with 7 shots...there are some really unpleasant times with Covid
 
LilBit said:
I got my fifth one last month, and so far I've managed to avoid a visit from Aunt Rona. I've only had the flu once in my life (when I was 11), and I still remember how awful it was. I'm not fucking around with COVID.
Click to expand...
I've had the flu three times, once in high school, once in college, once n grad school. The last one was the worst because it kicked my immune system in the ass and I ended up in quarantine with flu, strep throat, a sinus infection, and pneumonia all at once. That would have been hell except the guys in the small dorm took turns making sure I had fluids and meals.
 
I've had the original two Moderna jabs, and five boosters (most recently in November). I have now received them in SIX states, all of which I have never lived in.

I came down with COVID early last week, only three days of fever (that I'm aware of), and on the first and third days I still did hiking of about eight miles in total. In no way did I feel "weak" or anything else. Most of my colds (though even the worst ones have been relatively benign) have been "worse" than this.

I intend to get an RSV vaccine very soon. I can't remember if that's a once or twice thing. Already had my flu shot earlier, and I've had the suggested shingles and pneumonia ones earlier. I want no part of any of that shit.
 
Take care Frank!

I fly out tomorrow for two weeks with family, and this afternoon I got a text from my mother saying that she and my dad both tested positive. This is going to make everyone's holiday plans complicated, to put it mildly.
 
Ended up at the Immediate Care clinic due to an eye issue yesterday. While I was there I mentioned that Medicare has been sending me weekly notices and so has AARP to get all vaccines. They normally don't do the COVID shots in the Urgent Care part -- there's a side section for that -- but I was in such misery from an eyelid that felt like it was on fire they checked with my primary physician and he told them to do it. So I got the latest COVID booster in my right shoulder and the flu vaccine in my left shoulder -- couldn't even feel the COVID shot go in, but boy did the flu jab burn!

So I wake up this morning with Knox licking my face, feeling both freezing cold and sauna-level hot. Weirdly when Knox had stretched out and rolled against me, thus warming me up, I still felt cold (though not as bad) but stopped feeling too hot -- somehow additional heat (one CTU) took care of feeling hot.

Then I worked at getting up. The moment I moved to reach for a shirt my right shoulder felt like I'd been kicked by a mule, and when I managed to sit up to pull that shirt on moderate nausea struck along with more chills. It took me over twenty minutes to get dressed, putting on one piece of clothing at a time then laying back under the covers -- had to actually swing my legs out of bed to get pants on.

Breakfast (low-sugar cereal) didn't want to stay down, and every time I took a drink of juice my stomach tried to send it back. I also got feeling colder and colder to the point I got out snow gear to bundle in! Now it's almost Knox's dinner time and for the first time today I managed a good swallow of juice without my stomach trying to return to sender. So now I'm just chilled and tired.

Oh -- the feverish feeling has been bad enough I couldn't concentrate on reading a novel, so I've been doing quickie email answers all day . . . and hoping my responses make sense.

At any rate, I've now had six (or maybe 7?) COVID shots. Yay me.
 
They knock me down too. Good luck.
 
This year's flu shot packed a wallop for some people too.

I've had several people say they didn't want to get the COVID booster because of the fever, chills and fatigue that hits them the next day. It's sometimes easy to forget what real COVID is like. The two current variants in circulation (HV.1 and JN.1) have been hitting people pretty hard. Quite a few people that I know who have contracted COVID in the past 2 months have had acute symptoms for 3-5 days and a cough/bronchitis that lingered for 7-10 days. Others have 2-3 days of misery and they're fine.

Either way, the 24 hours of reaction after the vaccine are better than having actual COVID for days.

We have about another 2-3 weeks left before COVID, flu and RSV season peaks, so don't be surprised if you hear a lot of people out in public with nasty coughs in January.

 
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