{"id":210781,"date":"2021-03-25T18:17:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-25T15:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/im-grateful-for-my-vaccine-but-is-it-really-something-to-celebrate\/"},"modified":"2021-03-25T18:17:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T15:17:00","slug":"im-grateful-for-my-vaccine-but-is-it-really-something-to-celebrate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/im-grateful-for-my-vaccine-but-is-it-really-something-to-celebrate\/","title":{"rendered":"#\n  I\u2019m grateful for my vaccine, but is it really something to celebrate?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40e07b46577\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40e07b46577\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/im-grateful-for-my-vaccine-but-is-it-really-something-to-celebrate\/#Is_this_really_going_to_change_the_way_weve_been_living_the_past_year\" >Is this really going to change the way we\u2019ve been living the past year?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-6' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/im-grateful-for-my-vaccine-but-is-it-really-something-to-celebrate\/#Changing_my_habits_due_to_COVID-19\" >Changing my habits due to COVID-19<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/im-grateful-for-my-vaccine-but-is-it-really-something-to-celebrate\/#A_COVID-19_tale_of_two_neighborhoods\" >A COVID-19 tale of two neighborhoods<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-6'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/im-grateful-for-my-vaccine-but-is-it-really-something-to-celebrate\/#Feeling_lucky_in_a_tragic_time\" >Feeling lucky in a tragic time<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/im-grateful-for-my-vaccine-but-is-it-really-something-to-celebrate\/#Peter_Slatin\" >Peter Slatin<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#<br \/>\n  I\u2019m grateful for my vaccine, but is it really something to celebrate?<br \/>\n<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_this_really_going_to_change_the_way_weve_been_living_the_past_year\"><\/span>\n  Is this really going to change the way we\u2019ve been living the past year?<br \/>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\">\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000205727\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       <em>This article is reprinted by permission from\u00a0<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/\" class=\"icon none\"><em>NextAvenue.org<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p> While rolling up my left sleeve, I heard a loud \u201cWhoop!\u201d from down the row of card tables and folding chairs that stretched off to my left\u00a0 in the cavernous New York City Armory hall. The young man sitting across from me said, \u201cThat\u2019s the loudest one I\u2019ve heard the whole time I\u2019ve been doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n<p>We both understood what \u201cthis\u201d was: He was providing the coveted\u00a0COVID-19 vaccine\u00a0jab, and I, a blind person over 65, was about to receive my second.<\/p>\n<p>I was surprised, though, that he had not heard more celebrating from vaccine recipients. Getting the jab was certainly something to celebrate, wasn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n<p>In some ways, of course. But I confess that I\u2019ve got mixed feelings about having been able to receive the vaccination. And I don\u2019t think I\u2019m the only one.<\/p>\n<p>At the giant facility in Manhattan\u2019s Washington Heights neighborhood where I was vaccinated, there was more a sense of fatigue and endurance than of release and relief. The operation ran with a chaotic efficiency, as sometimes\u00a0 cheerful volunteers shepherded hundreds of older New Yorkers through the machinery of vaccination, from intake (showing proof of age and city residency) to exit (a mandated 15-minute post-shot waiting period).\u00a0<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Changing_my_habits_due_to_COVID-19\"><\/span><strong>Changing my habits due to COVID-19<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>My wife (also over 65) and I were in sync with those feelings. We smiled weakly and offered each other mild congratulations as we stepped out of the Armory and sought a taxi home. This new knowledge of some sort of victory or perhaps rescue was \u00a0difficult to grasp. Could something as mundane as a shot in the arm really change the way we had been living for the past year?<\/p>\n<p>It\u00a0seemed pretty tenuous.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, I recalled feeling absolutely certain of the risks facing both of us as <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> of the spreading danger had enveloped New York City and the country a year earlier. Then, along with so many others, we\u2019d foraged for masks and hand sanitizer and information; I had started counting to 20 while washing my hands.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related:<\/strong>\u00a0Pro wrestlers, ski instructors and Zoom shrinks: If they can get the COVID vaccine, where\u2019s mine?<\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<p>Now, although being vaccinated is clearly preferable to remaining unprotected, I\u2019ve had trouble determining what there is to celebrate. After all, what of the\u00a0500,000 souls and counting\u00a0who we\u2019ve all lost? They are the terrible proof of why the vaccine is so necessary.<\/p>\n<p>To be clear, my wife and I are legitimate vaccination recipients in New York State due to our age. But why, and how, did we achieve our personal milestone when so many in our age cohort \u2014 including many thousands of previously healthy people \u2014 did not? I am quite sure that many among them practiced all the best possible prophylactic measures available yet still became infected.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related:<\/strong> Am I a jerk for getting a COVID-19 vaccine if I feel healthy and work from home?<\/p>\n<p>We were pretty careful, but I know I have stupidly taken my life in my hands a couple of times while having a drink with a friend,\u00a0walking in my neighborhood\u00a0among some without masks and grabbing a cab.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_COVID-19_tale_of_two_neighborhoods\"><\/span><strong>A COVID-19 tale of two neighborhoods<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>But even for those willing to follow the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> by masking up and trying to stay home, living in New York\u2019s crowded multigenerational apartments and in buildings where comings and goings are unmanaged has made trying to do the right thing Quixotic.<\/p>\n<p>The damage done by COVID-19 feels incredibly random, even though it really is not. A comparison of New York\u2019s neighborhoods reveals that.<\/p>\n<p>Washington Heights, where I got my vaccine, is home to tens of thousands of Dominican and other Latino immigrants. Its rate of coronavirus infection since the start of the pandemic has been one in every 14 people; on the largely white Upper East Side, home to the wealthiest ZIP codes in the city, the rate is almost half that, at one in every 27. In Central and East Harlem, neighbors to Washington Heights, one in around 250 residents have died from COVID-19; on the Upper East Side, just over one in every 1,000.<\/p>\n<h6><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Feeling_lucky_in_a_tragic_time\"><\/span><strong>Feeling lucky in a tragic time<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\n<p>I\u2019m very lucky to live precisely where I do. In my 100-unit co-op, we quickly established rules of conduct for residents, staff and visitors at the outset of the pandemic. Our essentially gated community became even more so. And since about 40% of our residents left for second homes to wait things out, our public spaces became less dangerous by default.\u00a0The virus has infected only one in every 25 residents of our ZIP Code.<\/p>\n<p>I was fortunate in another way. My sighted wife made my first vaccine <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ointment for me. When vaccines first became available for New Yorkers 65 and older, I made a couple of stabs at unraveling the Gordian Knot of inaccessibility on the websites where we were all supposed to troll for appointments. But as a blind person using assistive <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>, this proved more than frustrating.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Also see: <\/strong>Vaccines are here. That\u2019s no reason to call off the hunt for effective COVID-19 treatments<\/p>\n<p>I gave up and decided to wait until I could just walk into my local Walgreens. It might take months, I figured, but I had made it this far. Having a sighted person in my home equally eager for a vaccination, however, was the sword I was ultimately able to wield to slice through the rope.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve heard repeatedly about how tragic it is that poor communities and communities of color have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus. That\u2019s a fact. The tragedy is just as present, though, in how well-off and largely white neighborhoods have been disproportionately fortunate. Yet this point is largely absent from <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> coverage.<\/p>\n<p>Not much to whoop about.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article is reprinted by permission from\u00a0<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/\" class=\"icon none\"><em>NextAvenue.org<\/em><\/a><em>, \u00a9 2021 Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>More from Next Avenue:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Peter Slatin\u00a0is the founder and president of\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.slatingroup.com\/\" class=\"icon none\">Slatin Group<\/a>, a New York City-based firm that provides education and training to the hospitality and tourism industry on service to people with disabilities. He is also an award-winning journalist and a 2020-2021 Encore.org Public Voices Fellow.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<ul class=\"articleList\">\n<li>\n      <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/are-there-silver-linings-from-the-covid-19-anniversary\/\" class=\"icon none\">Are There Silver Linings From the COVID-19 Anniversary?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n      <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/covid-19-and-the-future-of-aging-what-20-experts-told-us\/\" class=\"icon none\">COVID-19 and the Future of Aging: What 20 Experts Told Us<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n      <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/loss-of-a-grandparent-from-covid-19\/\" class=\"icon none\">Coping With the Loss of a Grandparent From Coronavirus<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<p>      <span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author  hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Peter Slatin\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Peter_Slatin\"><\/span>Peter Slatin<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7B21005575-02D4-D4B5-4572-D3239F0B02AD%7D&#038;siteid=rss&#038;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;# I\u2019m grateful for my vaccine, but is it really something to celebrate? &#8221; Is this really going to change the way we\u2019ve been living the past year? This article is reprinted by permission from\u00a0NextAvenue.org. While rolling up my left sleeve, I heard a loud \u201cWhoop!\u201d from down the row of card tables and folding&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":210782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-210781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}