I should have expected there to be a confusion. A line out the door. Workers bustling. Visitors filled with expectation, excitement, and enthusiasm. After signing up to receive my vaccine for COVID-19, I knew better.
When I received a notice that I could sign-up for the vaccine – only 2 days after the first vaccination in all of CNY – I was in the working in the field and needed to wait nearly 2.5 hours to sign-up. I was hoping that I would get a chance to register in time to be able to get a spot, much less one that would fit in my pre-holiday schedule. Imagine my surprise when I logged in and discovered that I could schedule for any and every time-slot that had been made available.
Imagine my disappointment when I arrived to a near empty parking lot at 0800 and discovered that I was one of only 2 people receiving the vaccine in a room staffed by 10, 6 of whom were quietly seated and scrolling their cell phones. After receiving the injection, I returned to my car where I waited for 30 minutes before leaving for work … I would see only 5 more people come and go before I departed.
COVID-19 has devastated our collective community for 9 months. Everyone’s life as been impacted. All of us have had to alter our lives: we can’t shop, dine, or commiserate. Some of the more unlucky people are out of work. The most unlucky people are dying or already dead. No one can live their lives in the same way that they always have, but there is a chance that all of that could change with 2 sticks of a needle in the deltoids of a well-informed and conscientious public.
Right now, that isn’t happening.