THE PANDEMIC REPORT: VACCINATIONS ARE COMING. OR ARE THEY?

COVID CHRISTMAS FACETIME (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

I was planning on writing a series.  First, I would write about the patients of COVID.  Next, the medical workers who work with the patients.  Finally, the families.

           My ideas for a series were abruptly put on hold by something that grabbed my immediate attention.   I hope it grabs your attention, too. 

           States have rapidly expanded the categories of people who qualify for vaccines.  I know it does not seem like that to people who are still waiting to qualify, but it is a thing.  It is happening.  More groups of people are qualifying by the day to receive vaccinations.

           At the same time, the previous regime just did not produce enough vaccines by a long shot, for some reason.  Some people want to explore the reasons.  That is not my purpose in this particular article.

           The expanding numbers of people who can get vaccinated, and the small amounts of available vaccine, have been major causes of frustration for those of us who are getting in line for vaccines.  Older people are generally not familiar with computers, and minority groups generally do not have access to computers.    Yet, computers are the default tools for getting an appointment to be vaccinated.  Don't ask why it is that way, perhaps it is the result of worshipping a tool as a god, and a computer is only a tool, not a god.  For whatever reason, like the "missing" vaccines problem, it is the case.

           A few help many navigate the vaccination appointment systems.  These few are computer-savvy while the people they help are not, or these few have the time it takes to navigate the system while the people they help do not, and both:  They are computer-savvy and they have the time.

           It would be useful to update a famous saying from the days of the Battle of Britain, and apply that updated saying today.  "Never before have so many owed so much to so few."

           Here's to "the few."  The whole story is covered in an excellent report by Jennifer Steinhauer, Frustration About Shot Access / A Crossroads Between the Vaccinated and the Waiting, NEW YORK TIMES, Monday, February 15, 2021, at A4.

Please read the disclaimer.  This blog article ©2021 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.