TomFlannery.com

We’re almost a year into this pandemic and I’m as confused as ever. I’m constantly bombarded with conflicting bits of information……things are getting better…..things are getting worse….open up….don’t open up….keep wearing your mask…..wear TWO masks……don’t have a super bowl party while you watch 25,000 fans watch the super bowl…..which seems……well…..weird no?

There are variants. How many? Hard to tell…..more than a few. Each is way more infectious than boring old original COVID-19, with the potential to ravage continents like a tidal wave, but don’t worry. Because the vaccine sorta works on these variants, except when it doesn’t. This publication says this. That publication says that. And if I really get stuck there’s all the Facebook virologists, some of whom I went to high school with. So it’s not like I don’t have options.

Ah yes. The vaccine.

Get a vaccine.

Which is kinda difficult ’cause there doesn’t appear to be any. Not sure who is in charge of distribution on this thing, but it may be time to check Indeed.com and hire somebody else. I mean….the math is pretty clear. It hasn’t changed. Pennsylvania has 12.8 million people. That’s how many vaccines we need. Yea, that’s a lot, but we’ve won wars and landed on the moon, which seems a lot harder. You can’t constantly encourage everybody to get vaccinated, while at the same time not providing any vaccinations, and not expect mass confusion. You should not need me to tell you this.

Everybody is pretty much on their own. This whole “phase” thing is ADORABLE. It’s unenforceable. I’ve never met so many new smokers in my life. So we’re directed to various lists of providers and drug and grocery stores. Phone numbers and URLs. IF you can get a live person to answer one of the phone numbers, they simply laugh at you. More likely is it rings until you get disconnected. The URLs are supposed to offer a way to get on a “list”, but all you’re met with is an immediate disclaimer that all the mystery spots are filled…..and that there are zero new vaccines available. You should “check back later”. They never specifically tell you when “later” is. An hour? A day? A week? The next Olympic games?

Governor Wolf did an admirable job navigating us through this thing pre-vaccine. He made some pretty unpopular calls and toughed it out politically when it would have been much easier to lay out. I think he saved lives. But now he seems to have gone AWOL. We’ve got a mess on our hands, and somebody needs to own it. It’s times like this when we need government the most, and it’s usually in the logistics phase when government starts acting like a helpless child.

How many more are gonna die before we figure out how to get A to B?

Teachers haven’t been vaccinated yet. TEACHERS. I know large local companies that have already vaccinated their entire workforce…..many of who work from home. I mean, good for them. Taking care of their employees and stuff. But….well….again the whole “phase” thing goes poof…..and teachers still aren’t vaccinated. How can this possibly be justified? Colleges and Universities have pretty much punted on this thing. Initially they took a lead role in testing, but now, while insisting on in-person learning despite worsening numbers, they are pretending the vaccines will simply overflow out of the chemistry beakers?

You are insisting that teachers and students come together again….but you are unwilling to provide either with a vaccine?

I wouldn’t blame every un-vaccinated teacher in the land for going on strike.

Why is there no plan for this? Why is Pennsylvania suddenly acting like it doesn’t know how to count? Or how to pack enough boxes?

For many, it’s come down to a stark question. What do I get first?

The vaccine? Or the virus?

What about the elderly who are alone? What are their options? You expect them to trawl the internet all day on their Ipods? Man multiple cell phones with speed dial to get through to some of these places? What if they are too infirm to travel to a vaccine site? What then? What’s the PLAN?

We are not all equal. Some have made herculean efforts to combat this thing. Others still refuse to cover their nose and mouth. Some of the very first to receive the vaccine were the very politicians who were calling this thing a hoax from the start. This is the new America, built in 2020. Apparently, we can now only move as fast as the slowest in line.

In a bit..

–tf