Featured Refresh
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What did you most enjoy doing this week?
Got together with friends inside without masks. Decorated gingerbread houses. Kids hung out together all day just playing video games, laughing just being together. We all went together to the town’s Xmas tree lighting. During the event which was crowded with happy people and little kids running around my husband and I talked about the new variant. I thought this post was going to just be about joy but we were looking at all of the happy faces and said to ourselves “enjoy it now.” I hope that this isn’t our “June 2021” when we felt free again and then were slammed with Delta. I have not really thought about what we have lost due to COVID. I have tried to focus more on what it has given us. Time together before my child turns into a teenager. But now see that joy - all of that together time with friends and family - has been paused.. I am still ok with that but the thought of another year of isolation or at least another year like this one is absolutely dreadful Now that we know what it’s like. Now that we have been reminded of what we miss.
December 2, 2021
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
When a local doctor’s office cancelled our second Pfizer vaccination appointment due to lack of vaccine on hand, my husband and I, as seniors, were frantic. We scanned the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS) for any nearby openings within the recommended time frame, but none were available. However, I just happened to access the website of a large healthcare system in our state and discovered that this system was partnering with the National Guard and other volunteers to stage a Monday through Saturday drive-through vaccination site in a neighboring county where second dose Pfizer vaccine walk-ins were permitted, as well as first doses by appointment. We jumped into our vehicle, drove 30 miles and ultimately joined a long and winding queue in a football stadium parking lot. After a two-hour procession, we steered our Silverado under a huge tent, rolled up our sleeves and received our final vaccinations. My husband of 41 years chuckled when he could see that I was having difficulty suppressing tears of relief and joy. (I couldn’t help it—after a year of anxiety and isolation—we are finally free to dream of the future and reboot our lives!) Nevertheless, I remain concerned for the elderly and the underprivileged who are struggling to locate available vaccines, make appointments and find transportation to vaccination centers. Government officials and policy makers need to work relentlessly to ensure that all citizens have equal access to COVID-19 vaccines.
March 19, 2021