Adventures in Vaccinating

In retrospect, we were so busy celebrating the advent of coronavirus vaccines that we forgot the real challenge would be getting the vaccine into patients’ arms.

My parents are lucky to have adult children who are reasonably computer savvy and slightly obsessive compulsive. Not everyone who needs to be vaccinated will be so lucky, and many will find it impossible to obtain coronavirus vaccination without a significant amount of support. We need to acknowledge that not everyone has internet access, not everyone is fluent in English and not everyone can afford to take a day off work to go to a vaccination supercenter.

As for my parents, I am pleased to report that obtaining the appointment for the vaccine was the hardest part of the process. When my sister brought them to the Javits Center, they were greeted by a phalanx of National Guardsmen, who ran the operation with an efficiency that I usually don’t associate with the government.

At the end of the appointment, my dad was beaming. After he rolled down his sleeve, he looked at the nurse who administered his vaccine, gave her a grin and declared, “I’m just so happy.”

Philip Seo, MD, MHS, is an associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore. He is director of both the Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center and the Johns Hopkins Rheumatology Fellowship Program.

References

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