Still waiting?
Your shot is on the way!
Very soon there will two (or one, depending on vaccine type) for everyone who wants one.*
By Sunday, March 14, more than a fifth of the U.S. adult population had their first shot (the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one), and the vaccination rate now exceeds 2.4 million per day. (Read story here.)
CNN, noting “vaccine production will soon exceed demand in many states,” says the entire country could be vaccinated before June (story here), or anyway those who want it (read about Republican male death wish here), and “by summer, the US will be facing a glut of vaccines it cannot use.”
What to do with the surplus? Send it to other countries.
Of course, every American who wants it should get it first, and if other places feel that’s unfair they should remember we developed it, paid for it, and are the country that was hit hardest by Covid-19 because so many Americans were (and still are) stupid about the virus. Also, one of our major political parties insisted on sacrificing lives (just not their own) to save business profits.
Keep in mind it’s not time to celebrate (except on Wall Street) or take off masks yet. While infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are falling, thousands of Americans are still dying every week from Covid-19. The vast majority are still unprotected, and the virus is still very spreadable, and still spreading.
If, as polls suggests, a quarter of American adults refuse to get vaccinated, it’ll likely keep spreading for a long time. And boosters may be necessary to maintain the immunity of the sensible three-quarters.
Meanwhile, Moderna has begun testing an improved version of its two-shot vaccine that only requires ordinary refrigeration, and is working on a booster for the emerging Covid-19 virus mutants (called “variants”). (Read that story here.)
And there’s 535,000-plus of us we’ll never get to see or hug again.
*Vaccine supplies are still limited, so shots are rationed, in most states at this time. In Washington, eligible persons include 65 and older, also people 50 and older who live in a multigenerational household, health care workers, first responders, teachers and school staff, child care workers, people living or working in long-term care facilities, and “all other workers in health settings.”
The state expects to add the following categories on March 17: Agriculture, food processing, grocery, and public transportation workers; fire fighters and law enforcement; workers in corrections, prisons, jails and detention centers; pregnant women and girls over 16, and adults with a disability that puts them at a higher risk from the virus. The available vaccines are not authorized for use in children under 16.
For updates, see Department of Health website here.