It would appear that the reality of a vaccine for Covid-19 is finally within our grasp. Among the many questions swirling around this topic is who will get their shots first? (I was told that it is a two-shot regimen; first one injection, then a second one three weeks later - after which time immunity is fully achieved in the fifth week of this cycle).
Clearly there is a long line of people who NEED to have their turn as soon as possible. Covid-related healthcare providers are a priority. First-responders are right behind them. Then folks like the elderly or immuno-compromised seniors living in long-term care facilities are right behind the aforementioned essential workers. But beyond these obvious recipients, who is next?
No doubt this is part of the quandary. There is an ample supply of vaccines to go around, and each state is working on (and practicing) a distribution plan for rapid, seamless and widespread concurrent implementation. Aside from mastering the mechanics of mass immunization, what about the strategic issues? And where do I fit into the grand plan? (Because after all, it is ALL about me). Not really . . . but really.
I represent a group of potential Covid-ers who have a compromised immune system, a variety of comorbidities, and are of a certain chronologically advanced age group. This doesn't make folks like me more deserving of the vaccine, rather just more vulnerable to the ravages of the disease. I'm not more likely to have it, catch it or pass it along - but I am more likely to have a harder time fighting it off should the Covid find me. This would be a drain on the current fragile medical infrastructure , an inhumane burden on the front line healthcare providers who have to deal with my sickness, a strain on the health insurance system, and a source of pain for my family. All of these would be true for any victim of the disease, and no more so for me. but my medical vulnerability to contracting Covid-19 (as well as all of the aforementioned issues), seems by default to put me further up in the line - so I am being told.
I'm not asking for this priority, nor am I feeling in any way more rightful/entitled to an advanced placement in this lottery line of life. I just wonder if what I am hearing is true (relative to my health circumstance), and if in fact I will be placed anywhere near the head of the line?
