Give Me That COVID-19 Vaccine ASAP

Someone sign me up for the COVID vaccine ASAP. OMG! I am so excited.

I think we can all agree that pandemics suck. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought really huge problems like hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of people suffering, economic chaos, and job loss. Our school system had to scramble to provide our kids with a virtual education, and not everyone is thriving. We lacked real leadership at the national level, suffering under a President who completely dropped the ball.

2020 was not amazing.

But right here at the very end of this dark, sad, frustrating year, we can start to anticipate an end to the carnage. There’s hope on the horizon.

We already have a viable vaccine. A couple of them, actually!

Science is amazing. The best scientific minds in the entire world threw themselves into developing a vaccine using new and existing technology. Without the desperate search for funding and the years of competition and red tape, they were able to create, test and manufacture millions of doses of a life-saving vaccine.

It’s already being rolled out to frontline healthcare workers and a handful of other groups. In the coming months, more and more of us will have the opportunity to get vaccinated against this virus that stole 2020 from us.

Anyone who is medically able to take this vaccine should be dancing at the idea of protection.

I am more than happy to wait until all the healthcare workers, elderly people, and people in the highest risk categories have gotten a turn. I would never want to take a dose away from someone who needs it more than I do. My family is content to be careful for as long as we need to so that people who are less likely to recover from the virus can be protected.

But the minute it’s available to me, I will be running to the closest possible location to receive my first dose. Running. I will celebrate, and then three weeks or so later, I will skip back into the office for my second dose. My husband will be the right behind me.

Did you know in trials the COVID vaccine was about 95% effective?! Ninety-five!

I will take that level of protection all day long!

When the COVID vaccine is approved for kids, my children will be vaccinated as quickly as I can possibly get it in them. Vaccination could be the difference between another year of school at home and a return to the traditional classroom. My oldest is desperate to return to school, and my youngest is autistic and has an IEP. At home learning is not suitable for him. We need to get back to school, and a high rate of vaccine uptake in our community will make that more likely.

Vaccines are a miracle of science, and I can’t wait to benefit from that miracle.

I know people are nervous. This seems really quick, and there is a lot of fear-mongering on social media. It can be hard to separate fact from fiction.

But it’s really important that you learn how to do it. If someone is making a claim about how dangerous the vaccine allegedly is, even if they sound smart and use big words, you have to consider the source. Chances are, if the source of this information claims to know something that is allegedly being hidden from the public, or if your source has to “bravely” turn their nose up at the scientific and medical communities to “speak out,” you’re dealing with a conspiracy theorist and nothing they say is credible.

Period. I mean, look at this.

Here are a list of organizations who are working in support of, and/or encouraging people to take, the COVID vaccine.

1. The World Health Organization
2. The Centers for Diseases Control
3. The Food and Drug Administration
4. UNICEF
5. The American College of Physicians
6. The American Academy of Pediatrics
7. National Institutes of Health
8. National Health Service, UK
9. Public Health Agency of Canada
10. European Medicines Agency

And here is a list of people who are advocating against the COVID vaccine.

1. A girl you went to high school with who went to one semester of nursing school.
2. “A doctor” in a copy/paste posted by your weird aunt who doesn’t “believe in germs.”
3. Rabid anti-vaxxers who already leave their kids susceptible to the measles and pertussis and polio, so what’s one more deadly disease to add to the pile?
4. That one lady at a Trump rally who thinks she doesn’t vibrate at the right frequency to get COVID (probably).
5. People who are nervous because they don’t fully understand how the COVID vaccine came to market so quickly, and they need more information from reputable sources.

Numbers one through four are lost causes, but if you’re in group number five, I understand completely.

If you’re a layperson like I am, finding information about this vaccine is something you have to do on purpose. I happen to be really interested in vaccines as a concept, so I immerse myself in information from credible sources. I love reading about vaccines.

If that’s not your jam, no worries. You don’t have to pick up a new hobby. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes for you to find credible vaccine information. Stick to major health organizations like the ones listed above. Seek out Facebook groups and accounts run by actual scientists and medical professionals that believe in and practice evidence-based medicine and follow current guidance. It’s not a bad idea to call your own physician who you already trust and ask their take on the vaccine, especially if you have any health concerns that might make you ineligible for the COVID vaccine.

And once they clear you, take the vaccine.

Honest to God, the handful of non-fatal allergic reactions that have taken place after vaccination are nothing compared to the catastrophic loss of life this virus has brought to the planet in just one year.

I’m not a risk-taker at all. The risks I do take are calculated — and I always have a safety net in place.

I’ve also had my fair share of mistreatment from medical professionals, so going to the doctor can be tough for me sometimes.

I am one of the most cautious people I know. My grandparents always called me a Nervous Nellie. My parents joked that I was the adult in the house. I am that kind of person. I have anxiety about my anxiety.

And despite all of that, I have absolutely no reservations about taking this vaccine. In my house, we are celebrating this scientific breakthrough, waiting with anticipation for the day when we can gather again because so many of us are protected.

We are committed to reviewing the evidence, trusting the science, listening to professionals, and doing our part to end this pandemic.

Remember back in the spring when we were all posting things like, “We isolate now so that when we gather again no one is missing?”

This is our chance. This is how we can gather again. There are already too many people missing, and this is our opportunity to turn it around.

I’m not resigned to it; I’m ecstatic about it!

I cannot wait to get the COVID vaccine, and everyone who is medically able to get it should be just as ready.