And I'm likely gonna be in Florida until April, where they'll probably have to beg people to take the vaccine!

Really glad to hear that. Definitely the way it should be.

I believe the parameters they are working with are the first people to get the vaccine are healthcare people, people over 65 with 2 or more comorbidities, and the very, very, very rich and well-connected.

Military personnel are also likely prioritized.

My guess (and it's just a guess) is that other than medical and public-facing positions like gate guards, military people with orders to deploy or transfer will get the shot first, and the rest of us will just get it whenever.

Not necessarily in that order.

And nursing homes, jail & prisons, psychiatric hospitals, first responders, etc.

And rank will have its privilege.

This is almost certainly not true, unless you are talking about a few very high ranking folks who meet with senior elected officials often, in which case I would assume they'll be about on the gate-guard level.

Yeah outside of 4 stars I don't really see it mattering.

That's cute.

They will protect their most valuable assets first--as they always do. Those people will also tend to be much older than the easily replaceable gate-guard folks. I expect all military personnel will be protected quickly, but they will almost certainly prioritize from the top down.

They will be included, and prioritized, as a matter of necessity to minimize the spread. Book it.

Have you ever been in the military?

Would that qualify me as an expert?

Just curious. You seem to have a skewed conception of the military typical of someone who got all their info from watching movies.

Some young woman pubicly likened herself to Sophie Scholl at a demo in Hanover today. Yeah, she probably needs a reality check.

That is not how the military works. The military does not simply protect its most valuable assets first, it protects its most vulnerable assets first. When we got the anthrax vaccine, for example, it was not based on rank at all, but based on deployment schedules. I got the thing before our base commander did, and I was just an E-4 at the time. But I was deploying to Saudi Arabia, and the theory was that if anyone was going to weaponize it, Saddam was a prime candidate. So the folks who deployed to countries surrounding Iraq got the vaccine first.

Hardly. Never been in the military, but have had numerous friends and relatives who have--many have been lifers, including one close relative currently approaching retirement eligibility.

Apples and oranges. Coronavirus and anthrax are very different threats. Everyone is vulnerable to the current threat. The lower ranks are more vulnerable to exposure and rapid spread; upper ranks generally more vulnerable to its damage imo.

There's almost no one in active-duty military old enough to be in the risk-factor for age. I wouldn't be surprised if those few get it early, but as a Lt Colonel, I don't expect to get it after the full-birds, but before the Majors, or anything like that.

Usually vaccines go by base. During H1N1, for example, we got a few hundred doses in the first tranche at my base for high-risk folks (don't remember the criteria, but rank wasn't one of them), and then a month or so later we got enough to do the whole base. They distributed it through multiple channels, including walk-in vaccination clinics at the gym, the Med Group sending techs out to various units to get everyone who was on duty, etc.

Tom,

How old and unhealthy do you think general officers are?

This derail sucks.

So, this thread and my FB timeline are totally opposite. People on my FB feed are all "open up now", "it's just the flu" and "I'm not taking a new vaccine that may have long-term side effects", including both family and friends. Obviously the thoughts here lean the opposite.

Having not yet done the reading and research I should do on the potential vaccines, are there any concerns about possible side effects down the road? Is anyone concerned or is this unlikely and therefore ridiculous? Just trying to get a feel for it. I'm leaning heavily toward getting a vaccine once possible but knowing there are nurses in local hospitals who are adamantly against this makes me wonder if I'm missing something...

It sounds like you are missing something:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/d...jklihlgg?hl=en

There are nurses at local hospitals that are adamantly against getting a flu shot.

I'm sure there are plenty of people ITT who think likewise.


Get your flu shots, people.

about 350

Was that supposed to have a question mark?
Or are you stating a fact?