Have you noticed, good people, that we have entered a 24/7 news cycle for COVID-19 vaccine all by itself?
Think about it: The vaccine story has something of relevance for virtually every section of what used to be your hometown daily newspaper. In addition to the local, national and international news, there are vaccine stories to be told in the sports, education, religion, arts, science and opinion pages, not to mention politics and government (two different things).
As we consume a seemingly endless diet of daily facts and figures — of hopes and disappointments, of successes and snafus — we can all be forgiven for experiencing just a touch of information whiplash.
First dose, second dose — when and how? Who’s on first and who’s up next in the vaccine queue? Can we administer a dose of equity somewhere along the way? Does age come before beauty? Should teachers go to the head of the class? Why is the line so long? And when does the movie start?
The plot thickens and the scenario becomes more complicated as mixed messages come from generally smart people with good intentions, while an ill wind of vaccine misinformation blows no good across the ultra-accessible channels of 21st century communication. Meanwhile, a billion-dollar federal vaccine awareness campaign is mostly on hold. Why prime the pump of demand when the well of supply is so low?
There’s some good news: If you look and listen closely amid the noise, you’ll see and hear evidence of hope, signs that thoughtful people and corporate citizens—and, yes, the government —are stepping forward, stepping up and doing their part to help bring us together and see us through to a better, brighter place. We can be heroes, too.
This week’s Vaccine Project Newsletter is 2,958 words long and will take you nine minutes to read.
The communications effort
It’s not enough just to stem the tide of bad juju. Science needs to find and articulate its own voice of reason.
The takeaway: I’m rooting for hockey’s Great One, Wayne Gretzky (who turned 60 in January), to become a Super-Influencer by repeating his most famous line: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
The rollout
The focus is beginning to turn away from the sheer mechanics of mass vaccination and toward the question of how to do so equitably—as it should.
The takeaway: The rollout may be rocky—and that’s being kind—but results are what matter.
The challenges
Dare we start entertaining the thought of what the world might look like in a few months down the vaccination road?
The takeaway: From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters, from California to the New York island, where you stand (or, more likely, sit) in the vaccine line depends on where you live.
The vaccine dashboard
So it’s vaccines versus viruses and variants. I’ll take vaccines and give the points.
The takeaway: The key words above are not just “plug and play,” but also “future pandemics.”
The resources
“Google” as a verb wasn’t added to the dictionary until 2006. Now the world is at our fingertips, and that’s mostly a good thing.
The takeaway: What we know about the day-to-day whereabouts of vaccine supply is accurately described as “opaque.” “You can’t track the vaccine the way you track an Amazon package,” public health expert Amesh Adalja told Kaiser Health News.
...and loads of songs for Valentine’s Day
Billboard’s Top 50 “Love” Songs of All Time
I’ll Never Find Another You, The Seekers
I Only Want to Be With You, Dusty Springfield
All I Ask of You, from “Phantom of the Opera”
Just the Way You Are, Bruno Mars
Wonderful Tonight, Eric Clapton
Can’t Help Falling in Love, Elvis Presley
Piece of My Heart, Janis Joplin
Indeed, What the World Needs Now is love, sweet love… and more vaccines. Thanks for spending time with us today.