Vaccine

It’s been a little less than two months since safe and effective mRNA Covid vaccines have been approved and administered, the so-called “light at the end of the tunnel” of this nearly year-long pandemic. So. Where do we stand with the vaccine distribution? In my simplistic worldview, speaking with people I know and reading from trusted sources and being a resident of New York State, from this perspective it feels like there are three pathways:

1. Those who have received one or both doses of the vaccine. To you, I say: Congratulations! Good for you! It should provide you with protection, some measure of relief and get us all one step closer to the end of this thing once and for all.

2. Those who have not received the vaccine and who do not plan to receive the vaccine due to concerns about its safety and possible long-term side effects. To you, I say: I respect your stance, and in some ways envy you for being spared the stress, confusion and anxiety of …

3. Those of us (yes, myself included) who are extremely eager to get the vaccine, who qualify for receiving the vaccine (I belong in the 1b cohort in New York State, being an “in-person college instructor”) and who are finding that making an appointment for the vaccine is more difficult than getting Springsteen concert tickets. To you (and to me), I say: Come on, man! Hurry up! How can this be? Ooops. Sorry. That’s the petulant, immature self that rears its ugly head, inside my head, most days of the week. Let’s try that again. To you (and to me), I say: Be patient. It’ll be readily available in due time. And when it is? We’ll all be closer to the end of this thing.

The concert tickets analogy is funny, actually. I got an email the other day, saying that the Dutchess County web site was going live at 12 noon for vaccine registration at two local sites. The appointments filled up in seconds. I was frantically and maddeningly clicking, cursing at the “no appointments available at this site” message, manically refreshing my browser, wondering why the dogs were barking like crazy downstairs (I’d like to think they shared my frustration, but rather it was just the mail carrier doing his job and the dogs doing their jobs). There was one Web site, a few weeks ago, where I found an appointment. It was exciting … until I realized the appointment was for late March. In Binghamton. No thanks. I might actually be back to coaching in person by then. I know some Marist professors who are so eager to get the vaccine that they are driving to Syracuse, to Plattsburgh, to Potsdam, for future appointments. There seems to be a certain randomness to this. A few folks I know were like, “oh yeah, I got an appointment, no problem, I’m getting my second dose next week!” So maybe it’s a user error (me) that is inhibiting me from ascertaining a vaccine appointment. But make no mistake. I want me a sore arm, times two. As soon as possible!