Parents and Their Vaccines
It rang and rang. And It rang and rang for all of us. My mother and father were calling, and so was I and my brother and sister. Frustration grew, too, following the first two days when all of the appointments were filled quickly by officials of the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department.
Mom is 88 and Dad just turned 90, so it was “go time” because the state statistics indicated that 90 percent of all deaths associated with Covid-19 involved residents 70 years old or older. That’s why there was a sense of urgency and an extreme lack of patience.
The state of West Virginia attracted national attention in January for the efficiency with distribution and vaccination clinics during the initial phases of inoculations. First, it was frontliners in the medical industry and members of fire and police departments, and then the residents and employees of nursing homes. After that, the health department announced it would initiate the general population phase with the eldest in the county, and now it is all about the supply.
As the two doses from Pfizer and Moderna are produced, the federal government ships shares to each state, and from the beginning the West Virginia National Guard has been in charge of circulating the vaccines to all 55 counties. The amount of the immunity boosters, however, has numbered in the hundreds and not the thousands, but hope is high the supply will increase in the future now that Johnson & Johnson has filed with the Food and Drug Administration for distribution authorization for its one-shot version.
State officials announced in late January the creation of a statewide call center for vaccine registration, and now anyone above the age of 16 can do so. Demand is very high, too, since the side effects have proven to be minimal, and also is causing patience to run thin. One by one and arm by arm, though, public health personnel have delivered the doses when possible and will continue to do so until no one is left in line.
As for Mom and Dad, not only were they able to make their first appointment, but also their second to complete the two-shot Moderna process. They are relieved, yes, but still not anxious to resume living as they did during “normal” times when a crowded restaurant wasn’t something to avoid.
