It’s been one week since the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine found its way into my upper left deltoid and, somehow, no new emoji depicts my feeling of relief. Of course, no one can mark themselves safe from the pandemic yet, either, since so-called herd immunity is still far from mission accomplished.
Still, right before Christmas, one of my healthcare colleagues gently administered the first dose of messenger RNA into my arm. This is now coursing through my cells, building spike proteins. Until I actually rolled up my sleeve, “I Wanna Be Sedated” by The Ramones kept looping through my brain as “I Wanna Be Vaccinated.” Excluding flu shots, the last time I’d been vaccinated was late 2019, to guard against shingles and the varicella zoster virus, which also causes chickenpox.
I’m a big fan of vaccination. In fact, the unbearable weight of COVID-19 has altered my data visualization habits and emotional bandwidth such that I’ve recently averted my gaze away from heat maps of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Besides, heat maps of body counts have such a chilling effect on the psyche. The only map I’m interested in now is the vaccination tracker, because the sooner it fills up, the sooner life can return to the living.
Building out this massive public health project will occupy most of President Biden’s first year in office, if not all of it. As numerous measures indicate, the State of the Union is sick beyond belief, reason, and/or both. On an individual basis, the last four years have culminated in allostatic overload for too many Americans with too few resources.
I echo Turkish sociologist Zeynep Tufekci’s call to action op-ed in Friday’s New York Times, entitled “Speed Up Vaccinations and Reduce the Red Tape.” As a social worker, I know how hard it is for people to navigate other necessities like food, housing, and health insurance benefits. I also appreciate the difference between what’s urgent vs. what’s important. A second impeachment trial is super important, but vaccination against COVID-19 is critically urgent.
The fact that there even are vaccines at this stage of the crisis is a remarkable achievement of the highest order. What’s needed now is a vaccination campaign of maximum efficiency and public health restoration. Biden’s plan to include scientific advisor Dr. Eric Lander in his cabinet certainly bodes well for all. That Dr. Lander hails from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and is a mathematician, means he’s bringing systematic methods based on evidence to the table. Be still, my beating heart.
While I’ve written this, my stepfather and my mother texted their first vaccination appointment date in Connecticut, while Steve Martin tweeted news of his vaccination experience at the Javits Center. Just like them, I’m counting on everyone to be vaccinated as soon as you possibly can. I miss you all so very much!
