A few days ago, I was driving around holiday shopping and noticed a ridiculously long line of cars snaking through a parking lot. A makeshift sign read, “Free Rapid COVID Tests and Vaccines.” I sighed and thought to myself, “Of course it’s for COVID.” Long lines at Christmas were once the domain of the latest fad toys, but as I drove around holiday shopping, I noticed several long lines of people waiting in cars for tests and vaccines. Sign of the times, folks.
Recently, former President Trump raved about the vaccine and was booed. Despite his support for the vaccine, his supporters are still reluctant to do what is necessary to protect themselves and others, questioning how something created so quickly could possibly be safe.
According to Medical News Today, researchers were not starting from scratch, as that community capitalized on previous research and technology and a shared been running already with now over 1300 clinical trials to test for effectiveness and safety.
This is not necessarily about Mr. Trump though, I am actually happy he has shown up to the vaccination party. Rather, when we know better we should do better. Perhaps had Mr. Trump encouraged rather than obfuscated the science across the year we could have had millions more vaccinated and those long testing and vaccine lines replaced with people waiting for the latest fad toy.
My name is Joseph Flynn and that is my perspective. Make it a great holiday season, get vaccinated, and wear your masks! Talk to you next year.
