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The point of getting vaccinated is that you can go back to living a pre-COVID life

By Paul Campos

On March 7, 2021

At 4:34 pm

In General

1737 Views

The CDC continues to avoid saying this in unambiguous terms, which is unfortunate:

CDC's continuing delay in issuing guidance for what vaccinated people can do illustrates a broader problem: Public health has chosen caution over celebration when it comes to #covid19 #vaccines.

This needs to change. Here's why & how @PostOpinions (1/4) https://t.co/x0UbFArsNX— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) March 5, 2021

We must unequivocally endorse vaccination as the path to normalcy.

The CDC has an opportunity to give all the examples of things fully vaccinated individuals can do that the unvaccinated cannot, including traveling, visiting loved ones, going to restaurants, etc. (2/4)— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) March 5, 2021

Some say this is not fair since access is a problem. But just because some people can’t YET enjoy certain freedoms doesn’t mean that they must be denied to all others.

It's essential to incentivize vaccination so we can collectively reach herd immunity. (3/4)— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) March 5, 2021

Public health leaders need to generate far more excitement around #covid19 vaccines. That begins with clear communication about the freedoms people can have once they are vaccinated.

The perfect cannot be the enemy of the good. There is a real cost to continued inaction. (4/4)— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) March 5, 2021

Two people I’m close to volunteered at a vaccine distribution center in a Denver suburb yesterday, with the promise that after a four-hour shift they would receive the J&J vaccine if there were extra doses at the end of the day. Thankfully there were, but both of them plan to go back and volunteer for another four-hour shift next weekend, because the sight of so much gratitude among the people waiting in line (some were literally in tears) was so inspiring.

At least for the present, the vaccine distribution system in the USA has overcome its initial glitches (having a competent non-criminal administration in Washington no doubt has a lot to do with this). The current seven-day average for distribution is 2.1 million doses per day — nearly three million were distributed yesterday — and we will hit 100 million administered doses this week.

If the present momentum can be maintained, we might well hit herd immunity from vaccination alone, leaving aside what natural immunity already exists, by mid-summer.

It seems to me that Dr. Wen is absolutely correct that the national health establishment needs to do more to advertise vaccination as a get out of COVID jail free card, to help ensure the numbers of vaccine-hesitant Americans continue to decline.

As for now, the vaccine news continues to be almost miraculously good.