Waiting for the Vaccine?

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Are you waiting for the coronavirus vaccine? I am but not very gracefully! I want it NOW! My nerves feel frayed. I vacillate between understanding the delay and wanting mine now, no matter what!

Because of a suggestion of an older friend, I registered at the New Mexico website and received my number several weeks ago. My husband drug his feet, thinking he’d wait for the Johnson & Johnson one shot treatment.

Then he had a phone call with his primary care physician on another issue, and the doctor quizzed him, “Have you gotten the vaccine yet?” He questioned him because Lin has been reluctant to take any of the vaccines until this doctor convinced him of the importance of the flu shot, specifically.

In response, Lin said, “No, I’m going to wait for the Johnson & Johnson shot.”

Our doctor responded sharply, “New Mexico has bought the two vaccines. There’s no guarantee they’ll buy the third one. Sign up!”

When he got off the phone, I signed him up. He’s eighty years old and within a few weeks he received a text to set up a time. He did and has taken the first shot at the Pit, the basketball court for the University of New Mexico.

When he went to get vaccinated, I rode with him, just in case he had any reaction. He didn’t and was really impressed with the efficiency of the operation there. They set up his second shot for mid-March, so he sees a light at the end of the tunnel!

As always, I turned to poetry to express my exasperated feelings:

Photo by  Serkan Göktay  from  Pexels

I Hate Waiting!

February 28, 2021

Here I sit             Waiting                         Waiting                                     Waiting                                                 For the coronavirus vaccination! I’m 67 years old             Old enough you’d think                         But                                     In a nebulous zone Caught between             Not old enough                         For the first priority group             Not young enough                         Not to worry Shortly, we face a year’s anniversary             Since this pandemic started.Quickly the talk of the vaccine began             Questions arose                         Too soon?                                     Too quick?                                                 Too everything? Tests held             Thousands of willing guinea pigs More questions             More waiting Then the day came! The vaccine roll-out started             In the UK                         December 14, 2020             In the USA                         January 14, 2021 Yahoo!             Yet I had some misgivings                         At first             Total acceptance                         Now And I keep waiting! I’ve been obedient             Watched my P's and Q's!                         Social distance                         Shelter-in-place                         Mask                         Wash hands religiously                         Quarantine                                     After trips to Colorado                                                 To safeguard Lin At first,             Obedient             Patient             Recluse                         Against my gregarious nature             Fearful             Cautious Now,             Impatient             Questioning             Tired and exhausted I see the vaccine             As the pathway                         To normalcy             As the pathway                         To perhaps Instead I sit here             Waiting,                         Is it tomorrow                                     I get the long-awaited text?                         Is it this week?                                     Or the next? Waiting to go back             To go forward                         To do something proactive                                     To undo what’s been                                                 Ongoing a year! I realize             The vaccine is not a panacea! We still have to be cautious,             But when we both are vaccinated                         We can think                                     Of possibilities                         We can dream                         We can stretch                                     Our shrunken imaginations                                                 To venture forth. Will the new world             Demand I show                         My vaccine card                                     At dances?                                          For sure on airplanes                         For sure to travel                                     To foreign countries Is this new sought-after card             My entry                         Back into life? I’m waiting             Waiting                         Waiting A possible silver lining             For my wait!                         Maybe                                     Johnson & Johnson                                                 Will be available                                                 When my time comes— That means one shot             Instead of two! So, the waiting             Once again,                         As is so often,                                     Maybe the reward! I’ll wait and see!

Right now, in New Mexico, I have to wait for Phase 1A and 1B, because I’m in Phase 1C—60 years old and older. When I look at the list of people in the two phases above me, I shudder, because there’s many crucial people who should receive it before me. See the document: https://cv.nmhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/2021.1.28-DOH-Phase-Guidance.pdf

So I will wait!

In closing, my turn will come. My life will change when it happens. Will yours? Are you getting the vaccine? Have you got it? Are you impatiently waiting like me right now? I’d love to hear from you.

Did you miss one of my blogs in February? Here’s a chance to see them:

My Agony of WaitingWho Should Write a Foreword to a Biography?Valentine’s Day 2021! So Different Yet So Good!Remember My Extreme Costa Rica 2020 Trip?

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