… and I feel fine
It has been more than a week since my wife and I received our 2nd vaccination shots against COVID-19, and we are both in good health and feel well (I am 41-years-old, and she is 36-years-old). After both our 1st and 2nd vaccination shots, our arms were sore at the injection sites, but otherwise we experienced no noticeable side effects.
A younger cousin of mine (~38-years-old) who works in the entertainment industry here in Israel finally got vaccinated (even though she did not want to) because of the pressure put on her by her employer (and general society). To be honest, I didn’t have much sympathy for her vaccination skepticism, as I’ve written before. Simply put, these vaccines are the single best hope that our global society has for defeating COVID-19 and shifting back in the direction of normalcy.
For those who harbor concerns over the potential ill effects of receiving these vaccines, I recommend watching the following video, which is neither too long, nor too complicated to understand:
As of today, the State of Israel has now vaccinated more than 4.4 million people (48% of its population). Of the overall figure, more than 3 million people (33% of the population) have received the 2nd dose of the vaccine.
For those who are wondering how Israel was able to jump the cue when so many other countries are now struggling to get vaccines, the answer is pretty straightforward: some chutzpah… and a small population (1/33rd the size of the US). Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s embattled Prime Minister, has basically staked his career on the vaccine rollout, and he convinced Pfizer to supply Israel with enough vaccines (around 10 million) to cover the whole population, in exchange for sharing data in a kind of real-world vaccine trial…
–Jamie Magrill, Times of Israel, Feb. 22, 2021
Putting aside whether or not I am comfortable with our Prime Minister sharing the Israeli public’s health data without its consent, which I am not, the fact remains that the State’s deal with Pfizer is now a fait accompli. Either way, the vaccine was made readily available to me and my family, and I did not hesitate in the slightest to take advantage of that privilege.
I’m aware of that privilege every day now: as I walk through the rainy, wintery Jerusalem streets, my body is working for me, building up immunity to COVID-19 and significantly lowering the chance of me becoming a super-spreader at work or in public.
-ibid.
Given that all human beings are in this boat together, as I see it, the major challenge now facing humanity is: how do we get the COVID-19 vaccine into the bodies of every human on the planet?
Especially in those countries lacking reliable and effective health infrastructures?
Introducing… ‘Green passports’!
The State is finally easing out of its 3rd lockdown (our daughter returned to preschool on Tuesday of last week, thank goodness), but now there’s a caveat: for full access to all of Israel’s recreational facilities, one must hold a ‘green passport’. These ‘passports’ are chief among the reasons that many Israelis are getting the shot (including my cousin, mentioned above).
The Israeli government has been campaigning hard, for its part, on all the benefits that vaccinated citizens will enjoy. These include access to leisure and cultural facilities (including gyms, sporting events, hotels, and swimming pools); and -in the future- mass events and travel. All Israelis who have been fully vaccinated or who have recovered from the disease are eligible for a ‘green passport’.
The government, you see, cannot force its citizens to get vaccinated, but it can make life very inconvenient for those that do not. Some may consider this draconian, but I am fully supportive of this initiative. Simply put, vaccination against COVID-19 is humankind’s greatest hope for defeating this global pandemic. It was certainly my privilege to get vaccinated early (compared to the rest of the world) because I live in Israel; but – I also consider it to have been my responsibility.
The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱 
Really relateble I just started my own travel blog and then covid hit and I could not travel anymore from my country. No travel planning for me at all 😦
OOoof. That’s rough.
😦
David
Congratulation, you choose the right decision.
I think so too.
🤷
Glad to know I won’t keel over with the dreaded lurgi……..
🤣 Don 🤣
Congratulations! Both my daughter and I have health conditions and I really hope that both of my kids and I can get our vaccinations soon, but the rollout in my country has been a bit…wonky. I’m not expecting to be able to have access to a vax until the fall. My partner works in health care and just received his first dose today – a big relief!
Well, at least your partner got vaccinated… where are you guys based?
Yours,
David
Oh my gosh, I am so sorry – I keep seeing your comments so long after you post them! I’ll try to keep a better eye out for your replies! 🙂 We are in Canada, and the vaccine rollout here has been choppy, but in the grand scheme of things, not too bad.
Glad that you and your wife we were able to be vaccinated. Im in the US and dont qualify yet. My father is on his way now to get his 2nd shot. Hopefully he wont have any side effects. My mom will be next. Hopefully I wont be too far behind. I have been with them since the lockdown (almost a year). I am ready to go back to my solitary lifestyle.
Simona,
My mother is in NJ, and my brother is in PA, and neither of them have been vaccinated yet… hopefully my mother, at least, will receive her vaccination soon.
I hope you (and all of us, really) can go back to our “normals”, or, at least, turn in that direction… It’s been hard for everyone 😦
Yours,
David
Such an inspiring post! I’m getting my 1st vaccines on Friday (UK based) and I’m so excited!
That’s really good to hear, Emine 🥳
I’m very glad.
Sincerely,
David
Thank you, David:
“now facing humanity is: how do we get the COVID-19 vaccine into the bodies of every human on the planet?”
Yes:
This is the essential question.
Thank you for posing it.
Stay safe,
Enjoy Purim (I’m back to looking for my earplugs!)
-Shira
Yeah – that’s the worst part of Purim for me too, Shira. *sigh*
-David
sympathy Air Hugs!
-S.
I’ve just got the call to have mine. Peace & Love. Stella.
That’s wonderful, Stella. Where are you based?
-David
London. It was a bit hairy. P & L Stella
What vaccine did you get? Do you know, Stella? In Israel, we mostly get Pfizer.
❤
David
This is so good to here. I know here in he U.S. we should all have the opportunity soon. Essential workers and elderly are first and everyone next! HOORAY!
That’s great, Belladonna! The sooner the better.
-David
It’s the same here in NJ. Totally ridiculous and non productive.
Indeed! My Mom is in Princeton – so I know!
-David
The process is total chaos here in NYC, but it seems to be improving a bit. You still have to be lucky to be on the right site at the right time to get an appointment, but there seem to be more vaccines available, so more appointment slots. My daughter trolled one site for days and finally got me an appointment for the first shot last Friday. I probably spent 30 hours on the computer with no luck myself. It should not be like winning a lottery–they had plenty of time to come up with some organized method of distribution. (K)
agreed.