Snow day thoughts: The mirage of normalcy; elusive shots
THE NORMALCY OF SNOW: As I wrote after the snowstorm we had in the Attleboro area in December, snow days are much more welcome these days, because they’re a rare instance of normalcy as we approach our second year of dealing with this never-ending COVID-19 pandemic – which likely will never end, especially if our government officials and health officials have anything to say about it. (Prediction: There will be no “normalcy” in 2021!)
But at least on a snow day, the latest dreary and confusing COVID stats take a bit of a back seat to more “normal” --- and yes, in a strange way --- comforting news. It’s good to get up in the morning thinking about going outside to shovel snow and clean up your car – and not about dealing with this increasingly depressing and deadly pandemic.
WAITING FOR SHOTS AMID A BUREAUCRATIC BOONDOGGLE: Speaking of the pandemic, Massachusetts’ rollout of the vaccine has been deplorable. The website is practically unfathomable as every time people get on certain sites and click on them, those sites come back “unavailable.” It’s also been disconcerting to read that some vaccine sites were told by the state to hold off distributing unused doses of the vaccine. And it’s incomprehensible that many health care workers still refuse to get the vaccine. We shouldn't be expected to have to spend hours online to get an appointment.
I realize that this whole process is new and setbacks are going to be expected, but at this rate, we’ll be lucky to get a good chunk of Bay Staters vaccinated by Labor Day.
Typical of the bureaucrats’ insensitive and illogical way of rolling out this vaccine was not to even think of a having a hotline set up until a rash of complaints poured in and lawmakers decided to propose legislation to mandate that hotline. (Gee, who would have thought to add a human voice to this process?)
Nationally, the situation isn’t much better. The shots have shown that our unity is one colossal illusion as every conceivable special interest group is now lobbying to “jump the line” for a shot. A national standard should have been implemented.
(At 68, I have a ways to go to qualify for the vaccine, but I will wait until it’s far easier to get an appointment. I still hold out hope that the state will eventually do the right thing and let hundreds of pharmacies statewide handle this vaccine as they skillfully do for so many other vaccines, including the flu, pneumonia and shingles. I’m not going to drive an hour or more to get a vaccine at a pharmacy.)
TEACHERS AND SCHOOLS: There’s no rhyme or reason to how this process has been set up, and yes, teachers should be vaccinated along with front-line workers so students can get back to school ASAP. It’s a sin and a national crisis that the vast majority of students are struggling with remote and hybrid plans nearly a year after schools were first shuttered to in-person learning.
OUR COLLECTIVE MENTAL HEALTH: The mental health of people of all ages will become a major crisis long before this pandemic is over because human beings aren’t meant to live in isolation. All of us, regardless of age, need communal activities and relationships to really feel normal, and the longer that those activities are denied us, the worse it will get for all ages.
The bottom line is that students need their friends, workers need their colleagues and adults need the comfort of friends in a platform called REAL LIFE – not this never-ending damned virtual purgatory to which we've all been relegated.
Love your blog posts Larry!
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