Because guess who’s often not the most tech-savvy? The elderly-a population who is also among the most vulnerable.Īn article on NPR entitled, “ ‘Just Cruel’: Digital Race For COVID-19 Vaccines Leaves Many Seniors Behind” highlights this issue and analyzes how older Americans are getting lost in the technological shuffle. Or of doctors receiving $10,000-20,000 bribe offers from celebrities and wealthy Americans in the hopes of cutting the line.Īnother way the vaccine rollout has allowed for unfair line-jumping is due to its reliance on technology. Or reports of medical workers with access to vaccines doing the same. Other stories, like the one about a 22-year-old Philadelphia student running a vaccine distribution sign-up who got caught stealing and administering vaccines to his friends are coming to light as well. “A selfish millionaire and his wife stole doses of the vaccine from a vulnerable population, and put an entire community, nation and region at risk.” “These actions are a blatant display of disrespect and an exemplification of true privilege and entitlement,” Kluane Adamek, Yukon Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said in response. Thankfully, they face fines for their vile behavior, but honestly, when you’re depraved enough to steal vaccines from at-risk Native Americans, you’re probably beyond saving and a fine won’t matter much. Perhaps one of the most despicable examples is that of casino executive Rodney Baker and his wife, actress Ekaterina Baker, who, according to USA Today, “chartered a plane to a remote community in Canada where health workers administered vaccines to vulnerable members of the White River First Nation.” And as a strategy to get themselves vaccinated, they apparently posed as local motel employees and received their shots. However, as usual, the ugly side of humanity has reared its ugly head again, and this time, it’s in the form of entitled asshats who jump vaccine lines. But I’ll wait my turn, knowing that all of those things can wait, and will wait, until it’s fairly my turn to sign up and get my shot in the arm. Or even just spending an hour at the hair salon. I dream about finally hugging relatives I haven’t seen in a year. The elderly, the immunocompromised, and the most vulnerable of our population should definitely get their vaccine before someone like me, a healthy 40-year-old who works from home. Teachers and other essential workers should be prioritized. Frontline medical workers in the trenches of this pandemic should absolutely go first. We knew it wouldn’t be available for all of us at first, nor should it. And that newfound ray of sunlight was brought to us, in large part, by the initial rollout of a COVID vaccine. A feeling that we might, finally, turn the damn corner on this nightmare. After what was quite possibly the darkest year in our lifetime, the start of 2021 brought a sense of hope.
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