The Hesitant Residents

With vaccines making their way around, it is tempting to think of things as returning to normal, and in many ways they are. Here in Alberta, more than 60 % of the population has received at least one vaccination, so patio dining and movie theatres have re-opened.  Restrictions on outdoor social gatherings have loosened, and when we reach 70% (less than 2% away!), we should be able to have visitors in our homes again.

And yet, vaccine hesitancy, particularly in outlying areas, has slowed down the take-up of the initial shot to the point where a cash-strapped Conservative government is now spending $3 million on lottery prizes to "incentivize" getting vaccinated. Well, after coughing up $1.3 billion betting on the Keystone XL pipeline, what another $3M, I guess.

While it is easy to point out how much higher the vaccination rates are in cities as opposed to rural areas, the cross-section of people choosing not to receive their vaccine covers all age groups and professions, including, strangely enough, health care workers.

The rationale ranges from the reasonable but unfounded ("I don't trust experimental vaccines"), to the paranoid ("I heard there are reproductive side effects") all the way down to conspiratorial ("You know that vaccine can be traced by satellite, right?") but in the end, the result is the same: people are slow getting the vaccination that will help us reach herd immunity for COVID and its variant cases.

Furthermore, some people resent the vaccinated for getting their shot so willingly. I have a co-worker who has now had multiple interactions with people teasing her, and she is unable to tell how serious they are. Her defusing tactic (which I think is brilliant) is to say, "Well, all the doctors are taking it, and if they all die, I don't know if I want to hang around to see what happens next." This usually generates a mirthful chuckle, or "fair enough!". but the fact that it is even up to debate leaves me a bit slackjawed.

On the plus side, this slowdown in uptake means that early adopters like myself and Audrey can get our second shots ahead of schedule - we are booked for ours this Thursday! 

Most of my 50+ friends will be two weeks in from their second dose by Canada Day - brilliant timing. But as nice as it is to be able to visit a friend's place for a barbecue and a brew, it will only feel normal. We seem to be a long ways off from actually being normal, I'm afraid, and I don't know if we will ever really get there.