Vaccine delight and other concerns

Dr. Jane Jenab displays her vaccination record.

She is an ER doc who has been treating COVID patients for months. Her relief is profound:

I won’t lie, I teared up several times on the way to the hospital, and definitely shed a tear during the actual vaccination. So incredibly relieved. I’ve been holding on by my fingernails to make it through until we had a vaccine, and now we do. It’s hard to express how grateful I am. Hopefully I will live to continue to serve my fellow humans for a whole lot longer now.

There has been so much darkness and so much death this year. There have been so many days when I have struggled to find any semblance of hope. Today, there is hope. We have lost over 300,000 Americans, including countless healthcare workers. For all those who didn’t make it to see this day, we will carry on, carry the torch, and keep fighting the fight. Thank you to the scientists who have brought us these vaccines. My fervent hope is that everyone has access to them soon. Onward, friends. I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.

... For those who have asked about side effects from the vaccine, I am about 24 hours out from my injection and so far, I have some mild soreness at the injection site and in the deltoid muscle, similar to tetanus shots in the past. Otherwise, I feel perfectly fine.

Another friend works in a hospital. News that she is eligible for one of the first batch of doses forced her to ponder the justice of vaccine allocations.

WE'RE GETTING THE VACCINE TOMORROW!!!! Shot 1/2. ... I am so freaking excited - and grateful. Also, I feel a little guilty about it. I mean, the system just isn't sophisticated enough to make sure that risk/vulnerability is calculated precisely ... I'm "just" a chaplain - I'm behind nurses and doctors and many others in line, which is as it should be. I'm ahead of people who sit at desks, which is also as it should be.

I am in the hospital 4 days a week, seeing (presumably!) non-COVID patients all the time and entering a COVID room about once a week, and meeting with immediate family of COVID patients usually multiple times a week and I'll be honest, I don't feel 100% confident in the screening, in terms of what their exposure is etc. See? I feel guilty enough to talk through my justification for getting this! But anyway - my only choice here is to opt in or out. I'm opting in with tremendous enthusiasm and gratitude!!!!!

 I shared my own concerns about the vaccine priority list previously. I'll get the shot when Kaiser gets around to me, which will be awhile.

We know the Trump administration has broken the bureaucracy's capacity to distribute this life saving intervention fairly and efficiently. We know that rich people and powerful people will find ways to jump the line. Distibution is going to be a train wreck. And still -- we can be amazed and delighted that hope for protection from infection is finally on the way.