From CDC.gov

I had my first Covid-19 vaccine (PFizer) shot last Thursday, April 22, 2021.

The second and final shot is scheduled for May 10.

No side effects; no issues.

The shot was administered at a mass vaccination location near where I live and work, a shuttered Kmart repurposed for this pandemic issue.

Things went smoothly, about 15 minutes in line (like the lines at the airport when you’re trying to get through TSA screening), 15 minutes to give information and get a shot, and 15 minutes afterwards – they want to make sure you don’t leave before any potential side effects can manifest themselves, such as an allergic reaction.

No biggie: 45 minutes beginning to end, run by the IL National Guard with nurses giving the shots and doing post-shot observation.

But in the US, we are beginning to see a decline in the number of people getting vaccinated – a couple of mass vaccination sites in the Chicago area (where I live) no longer require appointments; you can just walk in.

The decline is not because we have reached out to just about everyone: According to the CDC Covid Tracker has the following data for today:

• 42% of the population have had at least one (of two) shots
• 28.5% of the population fully vaccinated (two Modena/Pfizer shots; one J&J single-shot vaccine)
• The rates are higher for older folks (67.5% of those older than 65 are fully vaccinated), but that still leaves a full third of the most vulnerable (by age) part of the population unprotected.
• And no vaccine is yet available for those younger than 16, so that’s a good chunk of the population, as well. A less at-risk portion of the population, but still…

So leaving out the under 16 population, and understanding that the vaccines have just not reached some areas yet, we are approaching the point where we have vaccinated all those who have access to the vaccine and have been fully vaccinated.

In other words, a lot of people don’t want to get vaccinated.Or are bailing on getting the crucial second shot (which gives you fuller protection, especially against variants)..

Why?

I can get the religious reasons or those whose health could be compromised by the vaccine, but that’s a small bucket, edge cases.

Mostly, it’s political – either covid is a hoax, or “freedom!” (I chose to not have the vaccine because I can).

This is where I lose it: The biggest politically charged complaints about the whole pandemic come down to two things (once you get past “it’s a hoax”):

• I don’t want to be told I should/have to wear a mask.
• We need to get back to “normal,” whatever that is.

You know how we can address both of those concerns?

Get as many people as possible vaccinated.

While daily Covid-19 deaths have plunged since the peak in January 2021, the US is still seeing a consistent rate in April of more than 600 deaths/day – and that translates to 200,000+ a year.

And that’s unacceptable.

I expect this rate to go down as more are vaccinated, but we need more vaccinations.

Why not?

It’ll help others, but what about the individual? The vaccine is safer than the flu vaccine many get, and how many cases of the flu have led to a double-lung transplant? None that I know of, but Covid-19 has seen this event more than once.

Help yourself. Help others. Let’s peel off those masks and get back to normal..

Get vaccinated.