The Food & Drug Administration fully approved the use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for people ages 16 and older weeks ago, so maybe more of the “wait and see” crowd will now feel more reassured. Maybe not. But one thing that can’t be encouraging people who have some vaccine hesitancy is the incessant, daily media usage of footage showing people getting a syringe inserted into their upper arms. Every COVID newscast story seems to show this drama unfold… unnecessarily.
Most people don’t like injections, period, so to keep showing people getting poked, relatively painless though it might be, is probably not the best method to gently encourage some fence sitters to show up at a nearby clinic or neighborhood mobile facility tomorrow. There must be oodles of relevant “b” roll footage that could be utilized without redundantly showing yet another upper arm being pricked with a needle.
18-months ago, we were all hunkered down, afraid of our own (and others’) shadows as the seriousness of this pandemic played out. And we somewhat rationalized 40 or so local coronavirus cases reported daily. Nowadays, you can’t find a parking space in some malls and people are everywhere, all while we’re witnessing 10-20 times as many cases of a far more potent and easily spread COVID variant. While the vaccine has rightfully helped eased many minds about the odds for experiencing hospitalization or worse, so-called “long COVID” (symptoms persisting for months and/or developing after initial symptoms dissipate) is a frustrating reality for 10-30% of all COVID sufferers, regardless of whether or not they had notable symptoms during their engagement with the coronavirus. That’s why wearing masks still makes a lot of sense in most cases. Big deal, it’s a mask. Long COVID complications can affect the heart, lungs, brain, stomach, appendages- over 100 aftereffects of this ailment have been medically identified thus far. Is it so hard to be safe, smart, socially-savvy, sensitive, steadfast, and supportive?
A year ago we did everything we could (most people) to preclude facing this airborne invader. As time has passed, however, too many have gotten too complacent and decided that they’re immune, impervious, or indifferent to this virus. But anyone can pass it along. It’s the pits. As the staggering numbers here indicate, we’re running out of oxygen, ICU beds, and quarantine areas, but we are absolutely not outrunning this pandemic yet.
Think about it…