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Vaccination Vacation
Mar. 1st, 2021 08:57 amMore accurately, another longish visit to my mother with the timing based around getting shots at the same site she got hers. We have not been able to get appointments in MA, despite trying pretty hard (but within the rules). We know a few people who have, including a couple who drove to Springfield (two hours west) because it was the only location with appointments available when they got through on the very wonky website. We noticed at 5:55 PM Friday that UMass Amherst suddenly had 500 appointments available, with registration opening at 6 PM. (we keep web pages open, and I follow a bot on twitter). By the time Arthur typed in all his information, it was 6:10, and the slots were filled. At the time I took my mother to get her shots, NC wasn't doing people under 75, but when they went to 65 I put myself on a waiting list, in case it was while I was visiting. On the 18th, I got an email saying to find some other location, but on Wednesday night (the 24th) I got an email inviting me to make an appointment for the 27th or 28th (specifically, not any other time, so maybe they realized they would be overstocked?). I booked an appointment and a flight.
I got here (NC) on Saturday, overlapping for a day with my sister. I slept badly Saturday night, worried that I was being a bad person by taking a shot someone else might have had, and flying to boot.
This is from Sovay's page, with Sara's comment quoted and Sovay's response, (I still haven't bothered to learn how to link people's names to their journals)
Sara: "I see a lot of people feeling very guilty about getting vaccinated and I think that's so unfortunate. I wish it were being seen as a civic duty as well."
Sovay: "It is reasonable to be upset by inequality, but except in cases of pulling strings to queue-jump (and I suspect the people who do that don't feel bad at all), I don't see how guilt is an appropriate reaction. Every person who is vaccinated makes everyone else safer. That's how herd immunity works. It should be the message."
I am in one of the legal categories in both states, so I wasn't jumping the queue, although I disagree with the Massachusetts order and worry that in fact many people are being left out, from grocery workers to people with some disabilities that don't seem to count yet. During the now three trips to the vaccination venue near my mother (her two, my one), I have seen lots of people with various skin colors (still mostly white, though), but even though the area is almost 15% Hispanic, I don't remember even seeing signs in Spanish, for example. It is possible to get to the place on foot or maybe on a bus, but the assumption seemed to be by car.
My next shot (Pfizer) is scheduled for the 21st. I forgot to bring my solstice/equinox shirt. Oh, well. In the meantime, I have things to do - take her to the dentist now that she's a few weeks past the second shot, talk to the home insurance agent about how to remove my father's name from the account, get to know the two new caregivers who started in the three weeks I was away, etc. The real chore should be having delicate talks with my mother about how long she feels she'll be able to be alone with just the caregivers. She has had a family member in the house all the time so far, for nearly the whole 66 years she has lived in this house, so it will be another jolt. Or not. We will work on having her be able to access zoom or facetime or other communication means without our help. Or make sure all the caregivers know what to do. My mother has some trouble hearing on the phone, even with her hearing aids in.
Edit: Arthur has an appointment at a hospital in Worcester, about an hour from home! He was randomly clicking around the state web site and the location popped up with 100 slots for Wednesday.
I got here (NC) on Saturday, overlapping for a day with my sister. I slept badly Saturday night, worried that I was being a bad person by taking a shot someone else might have had, and flying to boot.
This is from Sovay's page, with Sara's comment quoted and Sovay's response, (I still haven't bothered to learn how to link people's names to their journals)
Sara: "I see a lot of people feeling very guilty about getting vaccinated and I think that's so unfortunate. I wish it were being seen as a civic duty as well."
Sovay: "It is reasonable to be upset by inequality, but except in cases of pulling strings to queue-jump (and I suspect the people who do that don't feel bad at all), I don't see how guilt is an appropriate reaction. Every person who is vaccinated makes everyone else safer. That's how herd immunity works. It should be the message."
I am in one of the legal categories in both states, so I wasn't jumping the queue, although I disagree with the Massachusetts order and worry that in fact many people are being left out, from grocery workers to people with some disabilities that don't seem to count yet. During the now three trips to the vaccination venue near my mother (her two, my one), I have seen lots of people with various skin colors (still mostly white, though), but even though the area is almost 15% Hispanic, I don't remember even seeing signs in Spanish, for example. It is possible to get to the place on foot or maybe on a bus, but the assumption seemed to be by car.
My next shot (Pfizer) is scheduled for the 21st. I forgot to bring my solstice/equinox shirt. Oh, well. In the meantime, I have things to do - take her to the dentist now that she's a few weeks past the second shot, talk to the home insurance agent about how to remove my father's name from the account, get to know the two new caregivers who started in the three weeks I was away, etc. The real chore should be having delicate talks with my mother about how long she feels she'll be able to be alone with just the caregivers. She has had a family member in the house all the time so far, for nearly the whole 66 years she has lived in this house, so it will be another jolt. Or not. We will work on having her be able to access zoom or facetime or other communication means without our help. Or make sure all the caregivers know what to do. My mother has some trouble hearing on the phone, even with her hearing aids in.
Edit: Arthur has an appointment at a hospital in Worcester, about an hour from home! He was randomly clicking around the state web site and the location popped up with 100 slots for Wednesday.
