VACCINATION Spring Ezine 2021
TABLE of CONTENTS Letter from the Editors “Vaccines Are Going to be Making Some Changes” by Tate Smith “Map of Percentage of People with At Least One Dose” by Tate Smith “From Plant to Patient” by Andrew Teodorovich
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“Taking Your Shot” by Andrew Teodorovich
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“Our Little Bottle of Hope” by Andrea Roman “How to Stay Safe During COVID” by Shifan Qian
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“Vaccination Troubles” by Shifan Qian
“A Timeline of the Vaccine’s Development” by Genevieve Schroeder-Arce
“Vaccine Unseen” by Genevieve Schroeder-Arce
Image credit of the CDC
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letter from the editors Genevieve
Tate
Hi! My name is Genevieve, and I’m a 9th grader at LASA High School. Dance is by far my favorite activity in the world. Like, if I can’t hang out, it’s probably because I have dance practice. When I’m not dancing you can find me studying, listening to music, or making fun of true crime documentaries (the law enforcement, not the victims, of course). COVID’s been pretty hard on me, but getting to report on the inside was super insightful and truly changed my perspective of the pandemic. I can’t wait for you to read what we’ve put together!
Hey! I’m Tate and I am a freshman at LASA High School. Outside of school, I enjoy playing football, running track, and skiing. When I’m working on my homework you’ll usually hear me blasting music in my room constantly. I had a very good time working with my partners in crafting this magazine and hope you love it as much as I do.
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Andrew Hello! My name is Andrew and I’m a freshman at LASA High School in Austin, TX. My favorite things to do are basketball and snowboarding, so you can try to catch me on the slopes if you can. When I’m not busy with school, I also love to travel the world whenever I get the chance. COVID has made an impact on my life because I was unable to travel for a while, but I’m glad to get back to it.
Shifan Hello, my name is Shifan. I play the cello and the piano and I like listening to music and watching Youtube, which I’ve been doing a lot thanks to COVID. I also like traveling, but my recent move from College Station to Austin has made me a bit homesick for the smaller city.
Andrea Hello! My name is Andrea. I am a freshman at Lasa High School. I enjoy swimming, and playing volleyball. However, COVID has made it harder for me to do these favorite things of mine. I am hopeful that this pandemic will end soon.
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Vaccines are Going to be Making Some Changes
How the vaccine will affect Austin’s businesses and industries. By Tate Smith
A patient receiving a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in Anchorage, Alaska. Image credit of Steven Cornfield.
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I
magine a time, far in the future, where you are able to walk around and socialize with others without even wearing a mask or standing six feet apart. Imagine a world where worrying about Covid, and getting it, is as much of a worry as getting the flu. A world where everything is back to how it used to be. For many, this experience of freedom and a worry free environment, is something that they hope for, and believe can be achieved through the recent rolling out of the vaccine, and the bold promise from president Biden; to vaccinate 100 million Americans in the first 100 days of his presidency. This effort is praised by many, as it could help many small business owners in Austin and across the United States to get back to their old success. Transporting their businesses to the economic reality prior to the virus would eliminate the worry about their business' future. However, there are a select few industries and people who could be negatively impacted by an economic rise back to normality.
houses and every single day, it was the same neighborhoods, but it's just the sheer quantity of packages to be delivered every single day [that] is staggering." Now all of this sounds incredibly stressful and hectic. According to Vallier however, this enormous influx of packages coming through companies such as Amazon, gives many people opportunities to work during the pandemic, when there are very few other options available for them. "But I can understand that for people who depend on [working at Amazon] for their livelihood, for people who work at Amazon as their main job, you have an endless amount of hours and an endless amount of money that you can make," said Vallier. "Even though you're putting yourself at risk every day, you do have a lot of money to be made." The money from these jobs gives many a stable income, and allows them to make
Shaw Vallier has experience in an industry that qualifies to be impacted in such a manner. Vallier used to work as an Amazon delivery driver, and he knows exactly how the virus has affected many workers, since he worked amid the viral explosion of the A gigantic crowd gathering a concert at ACL in industry that was impacted by the virus. Austin, Texas in 2010. Image credit of Unsplash. "[Working for Amazon during the virus] was, frankly, incredibly hectic. You can imagine delivering 300 packages a day," said Vallier, "and people are going through the same kind of houses every day. Because people aren’t leaving their
necessary purchases they might otherwise not be able to. For example, Vallier became a delivery driver for Amazon so that he could buy a house.
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The Boat, owned by Katy Manninen, with a "Now open" banner strung across its face on a clear and summery day. Image credit of The Boat Instagram.
When asked about the future of the delivery industry after the introduction of the vaccine, Vallier, in general, feels fairly good about the industry's future. "I think there might be slightly lower demand for a delivery job, but at the same time, I don't think it's going to really affect it much because people will see that they perhaps have extra time [when things return to “normal”]…" Vallier stated. "I don't think that we're going to see a vast drop in delivery services. If anything, this was an indication of what could be possible. How many things can be delivered? And now you know,” Vallier added
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The Covid-19 vaccine used to be very exclusive, but is now increasingly available to the general public. When I asked Vallier if he was planning on getting the vaccine, he seemed to have no doubt in his mind that he would, while still being considerate of those who have a higher priority. "I will,” Vallier answered. “When it gets readily available for teachers to take, I don't necessarily feel great about trying to get it earlier, because I know a lot of people who haven't been able to get access to it," Vallier elaborates. On the other end of the spectrum, there are many smaller, brick and mortar businesses that don't have the ability to adapt to the new business
environment made by the virus. For many, the virus has slowed businesses down, and possibly put an end to them completely. Katy Manninen owns The Boat, a restaurant in Austin, and one of a select few businesses that have been able to stay afloat during the virus. As a matter of fact, Manninen actually started her own business during the pandemic, and has experienced a decent amount of success thus far. Like many though, she has had to alter a number of things about her business to maintain her customers, and to still provide jobs for approximately 40 employees. "Well, we actually thought a lot about the virus, because the restaurant is owned by me, my brother and our mother. And she was having to seriously quarantine. We immediately opened up online ordering and curbside pickup. We also put hand sanitizer stations at all of the exterior doors to the building. And we actually created an extreme social distance seating [area] in the parking lot so that people were like 50 feet away from other people, if they wanted to be." Manninen said, when asked about aspects of their restaurant they had to change. "We were kind of specially positioned different than a lot of people," she added. Even though they are doing better than most businesses, by staying afloat, they still have to go through the trials and tribulations that most
other businesses have also had to endure. One of the trials that many restaurants have had to face is the increased usage of delivery services, such as Uber Eats and Doordash. "We signed up for Uber Eats, and one other, and they cost a lot more money." Manninen said. "They up charge customers, which makes people not want to come. But we didn't reach the point that we thought that it would be advantageous for us to hire our own delivery drivers yet." However, Manninen has high hopes for the future of hers and many other businesses. She is very optimistic about how the vaccine will make people more comfortable to come to restaurants such as hers. "I mean, I'm pretty optimistic. I think that people are going to continue to go to places that practice safety because I think that the entire normal way of doing things has changed. I [also] think the vaccine is gonna allow people who are nervous about coming to restaurants to be able to come. And as evidenced by last week, we had our very best week that we've had, since we opened on May 5th last year." Things in Austin are looking up and the vaccine is the main contributor. Many businesses are looking to have more success due to the vaccine and many industries will benefit or not be negatively affected. However, only time will tell how effective of a factor the vaccine will be.
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map of percentage of people with at least one dose
Since the release of the vaccine to the general public, some countries have done better job than others of getting it to their citizens, and some don’t even have access to the vaccine. While many people want the vaccine, because of the country they live in, they might not have the ability to get it.
by tate smith
On Jan 14th, Joe Biden made a goal to give out 100 million shots of Covid-19 vaccines during his first 100 days in office. So far 30% of Americans have gotten at least one dose and 17% have gotten fully vacinated.
While even having one of the worst Covid outbreaks in South America, Chile has been the most successful country in South America to roll out the vaccine. Chile at one point, had even surpased every country in the Western hemisphere in the pace of their rollout.
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No Data
0%-10%
10%-20% 20%-40% 40%-60% Information provided by Reuters, University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Reserch and Policy, and The Washington Post, Sky News
England’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson set an aggresive target to offer a dose of the vaccine to all 32 million people in the first nine priority groups by the 15th of April. Ambitous goals like this have led to one of the most successful vaccine rollouts of any country in the world.
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From Plant to Patient By Andrew Teodorovich COVID-19 is a global pandemic, so vaccines are manufactured and distributed all around the world. Here we’ll take a deeper dive into where the vaccines are produced and where they are going.
The biggest manufacuring sites of each vaccine approved in the US is below. Puurs, Belgium (Pfizer) Norwood, Mass. (Moderna) Grand Rapids, Mich. (Johnson & Johnson)
These vaccines will go to comunities in the United Kingdom and all over Europe.
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These vaccines will be shipped to the US Government who will then divide them up between states, who in turn will allocate them to pharmacies and vaccination hubs where they will reach every American.
Information provided by Michigan Live, NPR and the BBC. Image credit of Lake County Illinois Health Department and Community Health Center.
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Taking Your Shot The path of the COVID-19 vaccine
by Andrew Teodorovich
A
fter hours and hours of waiting in queues, you have finally scheduled your appointment for your first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. As you wait in yet another line, you begin to wonder about how the vaccine got to your arm. You wonder how it was made, the path it traveled and all the steps along the way. Since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world in March 2020, many countries and companies around the world have been working to create a vaccine. So far, both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have been approved for emergency use by the FDA and have vaccinated millions. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has also recently been approved with more and more people being vaccinated by them Drawing the COVID-19 vaccine from the vial. Image credit of Unsplash.
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everyday. As vaccine distribution ramps up, more pharmacies and other institutions have begun administering the vaccines. Emily Peel is currently on the front line administering vaccines at an H-E-B Pharmacy in Austin, Texas, but before the vaccines get there, they first need to be made and shipped across the country. According to Peel, the vaccines arrive in multi-dose vials and are transported by refrigerated trucks. However, before they are injected, each vaccine must be stored at cold temperatures with slightly different requirements, so the H-E-B pharmacy must be ready, as they have received both vaccines. “The Pfizer vaccine is available or is able to be stored at normal refrigeration for about 120 hours and the Moderna vaccine can be stored in the freezer for 30 days, so we typically don’t like when we get the Pfizer vaccine,” Peel said. This is because to be stored for long periods of time, the Pfizer vaccine must be frozen at a temperature of -80 degrees Fahrenheit, but the H-E-B pharmacy doesn’t have the equipment to do that, so they must put it in the fridge where it will last for only 120 hours. However, some pharmacies have purchased freezers that can store
Wilson Lu next to TerryTown Pharmacy’s cryogenic freezer. Image credit of Wilson Lu.
the vaccines at -80 F, including the Tarrytown Pharmacy in Austin, TX, where Wilson Lu has been working with the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. Lu says that the Tarrytown Pharmacy has a -80 F freezer in their offices that could store the Pfizer vaccine for much longer periods of time, however, they haven’t actually gotten any Pfizer vaccines.
Either way, it is harder to store the Pfizer vaccine because you either have to keep it colder or use it faster, but before the vaccines are injected, they must be divided into individual doses. “Once you puncture both the Pfizer and the Moderna vial, they’re only good for six hours,” Peel said, “So that’s part of the reason why you have to set
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appointments for the vaccine to space out patients and help reduce the transmission of COVID, but it’s also because once you puncture the vial, you only have a set amount of doses in the vial and you have to get rid of all of those otherwise, it goes to waste.” To make sure no vaccines go to waste, the vials are divided into individual doses only after scheduling appointments. “The way that they manufacture any vaccine, they typically put a little bit of overfill in the vaccine. That’s just kind of part of the standard manufacturing process. You’re guaranteed five doses in the Pfizer vial, but most commonly, you can get at least six doses out of almost every Pfizer vial. … For the Moderna one, you actually have to reconstitute it. So that means that you have to take 1.8 milliliters of sodium … and you inject it into the [Moderna] vial and then you mix it up. … How many doses are available in that vial is automatically 10. But as someone who’s practiced in drawing [doses] out [of] the vial, we can typically get about 11 to 12 vaccine shots from each vial. … So when we’re injecting patients with the Pfizer vaccine, it’s 0.3 milliliters of the vaccine for the Moderna one, you inject 0.5 milliliters of the Moderna vaccine to each patient,” Peel said. According to the CDC, 147,602,345 doses have been
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Syringes have been divided and are ready to be used to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Image credit of Unsplash
administered in the U.S., as of March 31, 2020, and The Texas Health and Human Services (THHS) says that 10,880,055 doses have been administered in Texas of which both pharmacies have each administered over 500 doses and have made a difference in their communities.
According to Lu, the Tarrytown Pharmacy would be able to vaccinate more people, but aren’t filling their capacity due to the lack of doses available. So far, the biggest provider of vaccines in Austin is Austin Public Health, which received 12,000 first doses during the week of March 31, 2021, according to the THHS.
With big plans from the White House for all Americans to be eligible to receive the vaccine by May 1, many states have adopted their plan and Austin Public Health will soon make all adults eligible for the vaccine in the coming weeks. In order to get as many people vaccinated as possible, lawmakers have passed a new COVID-19 relief bill called the American rescue plan, part of which will be focused on increasing vaccination capabilities. According to the White House, the American Rescue Plan provides funding to set up community vaccination sites nationwide, scale up testing and tracing, eliminate supply shortage problems, invest in high-quality treatments, distribute vaccines equitably and address health disparities. According to an article from USA Today, 2.48 million doses are being administered per day. At this rate 250 million doses will be administered by May 11, 2021 and 500 million doses will be administered by Aug. 19, 2021. These estimates are at current
Infographic about the COVID-19 vaccinations per week and their steady incline. Image credit of The White House.
rates, so hopefully with all the new plans and initiatives, these milestones will happen much sooner and either way giving hope to millions of Americans across the country. Now that you are at the front of
the line you are ready for your shot. You step up realizing how lucky you are to be getting it and how much work has been done to get it to you.
Vials of the COVID-19 vaccine. Image credit of Unsplash
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Our Little Bottle Of Hope By Andrea Roman
Hopes of a return to a normal life
The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine inside the vial with all the confusing medical documentation below. Image credit of Unsplash.
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T
he worried scared you slowly relaxes as you hear that millions of people will be receiving the Coronavirus vaccine. You are hopeful that this horrible pandemic will eventually end, certain that the world will finally come back to normal, all thanks to a small bottle that carries the vaccine medication, our little bottle of hope. It has been a very rough year, but thanks to nurses and doctors all over the world, we have been containing the Coronavirus, ready to live life as we used to again. Keren Aragon works at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center. She has been curing people all over Pflugerville and surrounding areas, giving the coronavirus vaccine to anyone who needs it. “I wanted to do something that is interesting, challenging, and makes a change in a person’s daily life,” Aragon said. “So I decided to become a nurse, and now, I give people all over Pflugerville the Coronavirus vaccine.” “Sometimes my job can be somewhat difficult. It was at first, when the hospital did get very full, to where we could not take in any more patients. At that moment, I was actually becoming very stressed, worried, and overwhelmed. Luckily, we doctors eventually stopped it in a safe and smart way,” Aragon said. “We took in the people who were
the sickest and asked the less ill people to quarantine at home for fourteen days.” Aragon also shares her opinion on the COVID-19 vaccine and more of her experiences as a nurse.
“I have heard a lot of skeptics and conspiracies that the government is trying to control us by giving us this vaccine, but I do not believe that, I simply believe that the vaccine is not very helpful,” Roman said.
“To start, yes, the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, and we recommend that everyone eligible receive it. Patients need to receive two doses for Pfizer and Moderna since the first dose is rather weak. However, you can receive the Johnson & Johnson [vaccine], which only requires one dose. We receive the medication in little bottles that get delivered to us,” Aragon said. “There have been people who do not believe the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, which is fine. I understand that many people are not going to trust a medical product that was launched very early after the pandemic started.” That brings us to Francisco Roman. He does not believe in the COVID-19 vaccine. He is not against it, but he will never receive it. “They’re harmless, but you don’t need it. I am just a bit confused and curious about this vaccine,” Roman said. “How can we still not find a cure for the flu that has been around for years, but we can find a cure for the coronavirus, which pretty much barely started? I do not think it will help us, but I do not think it will give us any harm,” Roman said.
The COVID-19 vaccine in the syringe. Image credit of Unsplash.
“There will forever be doubters and non-doubters. We will never know for sure who is right. I believe in the COVID-19 vaccine but sometimes I don’t know whether to believe if it’s actually helpful or not. All we can do for now is hope. Hope that our little bottle is not a scam and will help us all soon,” Roman said.
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HOW TO STAY SAFE DURING COVID by shifan qian Everyone’s worried about staying safe and avoiding getting sick. Here are some ways to reduce your chance of getting the virus.
Photo courtesy of Alissa Eckert, Dan Higgins/CDC
1. Keep your distance from other people.
6 ft
Staying away from other people is the best way to stop the spread of COVID. Stay at least 6 feet away from people not living with you both indoors and outdoors.
2. Wash your hands. Washing your hands is one of the best ways to prevent you and your family from getting sick. Use soap and water when available, and clean all parts of your hands including under your nails and between your fingers.
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3. Wear a mask. Wearing a mask when in public helps protect you and others. The mask should go over your nose and mouth and be secured under your chin.
4. Avoid touching your face. The virus can enter your body from your eyes, nose, and mouth after touching your face with your hands.
5. Disinfect surfaces around home or work. You should disinfect regularly touched objects, such as countertops or your phone, to prevent them from carrying the virus.
Information provided by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and the American Red Cross.
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vaccination troubles by shifan qian
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A look into a man’s complicated journey to get the COVID-19 vaccine
Delco Activity Center is one of the places in Austin, TX where COVID-19 vaccines are regularly administered by Ausin Public Health. Photo courtesy of Austin Independent School District.
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Y
ou’re at your doctor’s office, about to get your COVID-19 vaccine. You’ve been stuck in this lockdown for quite some time now, but with the new vaccine,
healthcare workers. The process to apply for vaccination can be tricky, though, and there can be many road bumps along the way, as many people have experienced, one of them being Timothy
group, which consisted of people 65 years of age and older and people 16 years of age and older with certain medical conditions. Woolsey had some complications on his path to get the vaccine. “I had a couple of misadventures on this,” Woolsey said. “The first list that I got on was at my own doctor’s office. That seemed like the logical place to go. They called from a number that I didn’t [recognize].” By the time he realized what they were calling about, they had given away his spot and ran out of vaccines. They recommended he apply to get the vaccine someplace else. “So, I started enrolling in other lists. One was for Williamson County, north of here, … the Health Department for the city of Austin, UT, and there was one other list,” Woolsey said.
Timothy Woolsey, age 71, is picture mask-free and happy before the pandemic. Photo courtesy of Timothy Woolsey.
you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Soon enough, it’ll be safe to go outside again, and you’ll be able to see your friends and family. It all starts with this moment. Many people have felt this optimism by now, from the elderly and sick to teachers and
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Woolsey. Timothy Woolsey is 71 years old. He holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the University of Texas where he taught for 35 years. He has since retired. Woolsey has recently gotten vaccinated as part of the 1B
After a couple of weeks, he got an email from Williamson County telling him that they had a spot for him. The problem was, the appointment was at noon that day, and he received the email at three o’clock in the afternoon. Then, they didn’t respond to any questions about Woolsey’s appointment. Woolsey thought he was just out of luck until the appointment from the city of Austin worked out. He waited in line for about 45 minutes at a recreation center, filled out some forms, got the vaccination, and got a card for the next appointment.
A picture of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine inside the vial. Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Charlie Riedel.
“I’ve got to go back in another few weeks to get the second vaccination. I got the Moderna vaccine as opposed to the Pfizer one. That was what they had, so that’s what I took,” Woolsey said. “Incidentally, I have a friend who went through exactly the same thing. She’s exactly my age. We’re both 71. She was on four or five lists and was having no luck at all and then finally got vaccinated,” Woolsey said. “I had no ill effects from it at all other than a sore arm.”
confirmed that there were no other complications. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, as of March 29, 2021,
everyone age 16 and older is eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine COVID-19 vaccine in Texas. All vaccines are authorized for people aged 18 and older.
“So, I started enrolling in other lists. [I enrolled] inWilliamson County, … the Health Department for the city of Austin, UT, and one other list.” - Timothy Woolsey
In a later update, after Woolsey had gotten the second shot, he
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A Timeline OF THE Vaccine’s Development By Genevieve Schroeder-Arce
JAN APR 2020
COVID 19, which had already been spreading widly around the world, finally hit Amrica. The German company, BioNTech began researching the virus and designing a vaccine. Vaccination | 28
BioNTech partnered with Pfizer, a New York company. The first clinical trials were launched in May and continued until Octorber.
May OCT 2020
On November 9th, Pfizer and BioNTech compiled their data. Their vaccine proved to be 90 percent effective, an extrodinary moment for science. It hadn’t even been a year since the pandemic began.
NOV 2020
On December 8th, the Food and Drug Administration performed their own analysis of the vaccine. They observed that the vaccine had similar effects among different age ranges, races and health histories.
2021
DEC 2020
The vaccine is being distributed, and we have yet to see its long-term effects. One thing is for sure: research on this vaccine won’t be stopping any time soon. Information provided by the World Health Organization, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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VACCINE unseen We’ve met the product, but who is behind it?
by genevieve schroeder-arce
Y
ou anxiously wait on the phone while your doctor greets you. Excitement rises as you learn that you are one of the few people in your state with antibodies for COVID-19, a rarity that could only be found through specific testing you took. Your actions now could determine the future of the COVID-19 vaccine and save lives. So, what do you choose to do? With vaccines rolling out and the Centers for Disease Control relaxing some restrictions, the pandemic’s end seems just on the horizon for many Americans. However, it is the diligent work of health experts, researchers and willing volunteers that have gotten us to this point. David Simons donates blood for the first time to Rockefeller University in New York. There, researchers study the blood of many donors with antibodies to develop treatments for COVID-19. Photo provided by David Simons.
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Medical staff and volunteers settle into Gregory Gym at the University of Texas at Austin. Since being designated as a vaccine hub, they are able to administer even more vaccines. Photo provided by Cassidy Browning.
David Simons tested positive for these COVID-19 antibodies in March of 2020 and has donated blood to support research on the vaccine ever since. “Health professionals, doctors, nurses, [and] EMTs were doing such great work to help people, and I wanted to try to think of some way that I could give back. Certainly, doing testing and then going in to donate some blood was the best way that I could think of to help,” Simons said. Although one person donating blood may not fix everything,
Simons said that we each have a role, and altogether, that makes a difference. “I do think everyone has their part that they can play, and I was trying to just do my part to help. In the whole scheme of things, it’s not like I cured COVID. I just donated some blood,” Simons said. Simons also said his donation experience gave him a sense of gratitude. “[I felt] a sense of optimism and appreciation for the work that
they were doing. There are plenty of times during this [pandemic] that I was pessimistic, but it’s nice to have a couple [of] times when you could feel really good,” Simons said. Cassidy Browning works at the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. She and her colleagues have played a critical role in Austin’s vaccination efforts ever since the beginning of the pandemic. She said she is inspired by people who have come out to help at vaccination locations. “The collaboration I’ve seen is
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At Gregory Gym, registrants prepare for lines of people coming to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Photo provided by Cassidy Browning.
wonderful and mind-blowing and makes the heart grow three sizes. We have a huge amount of volunteers coming from [the] school of nursing, [the] school [of] social work, [the] community, retired healthcare workers are [saying], ‘I will come in and scan people at doors,’ ‘I will come in and direct traffic,’ ‘I will give out stickers,’ ‘Whatever you need,’” Browning said. Browning said that, for many healthcare workers, duties have increased significantly since the pandemic started, taking a toll on their mental health. “There is an issue, I think, of
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being in an emergency state since March. For a lot of the teams, whether it’s the frontline clinicians or the contact tracing folks, if we have a scale from one to 10, they’ve been at 11 for about a year. And with vaccination, we’re like, ‘let’s double down and get it done!’ It’s really hard to keep asking more [from] people when they have been working without breaks for so long, doing such important work. And they care!” Browning said. For Browning, despite the stress and fatigue that these teams experienced, the ability to vaccinate others was all worth it.
“This [vaccination] is happening in person, and there’s something so cool about being humans in a space together again, after not doing that for so long. There’s something wonderful about faceto-face human interaction. All of us coming together, everyone coming in. They’re so excited!” Browning said. The vaccine rollout is not always smooth sailing, though. Browning said it introduced a new type of uncertainty and frustration. “I encounter 800+ people a day, sometimes, who are coming in to get vaccinated. Some people are just coming in and hoping we can
vaccinate them. Because it’s so important, everyone is desperate to get this [vaccine], and [there are] frustrations with this system. ‘I’m on seven lists!’ and I’m like, ‘That’s how it is my friend. That’s everyone,’” Browning said. Also, not everyone is on board with taking the vaccine. Simons encountered a skeptic of the vaccine during the pandemic. His taxi driver, a cancer survivor, said she will not be taking the vaccine and expressed doubts about its credibility. Simons was disappointed. “I was kind of sad for her own sake. I think she’s sabotaging her health a little bit. [I was] frustrated because there’s just a lot of bad information and misinformation that people are getting. It’s frustrating because it [vaccinating ourselves] is the number one thing that we can all do to stop the spread of this virus and to save a lot of lives. The fact that people aren’t listening to science is really unfortunate,” Simons said.
“The main point of confusion for me has always been the news saying, ‘how are we possibly going to roll out a vaccine for this many people?’ and ‘it’s a logistical nightmare!’ and ‘blah, blah, blah.’ I’m on the inside of these meetings with dozens of incredibly smart, talented, experienced people with in-depth plans for every possibility,” Browning said.
“We kind of plan as much as we can, then we see what happens, and then we plan again, and then we implement. We just keep iterating and responding to where we are,” Browning said. Browning urges people to continue following the CDCs’ guidelines and being an example for others to follow.
“Take a moment to appreciate the wonder of what we’re accomplishing. It’s just so cool that so many people are putting in extra hours or unpaid hours, or whatever it is. That part to me is really inspiring.” - Cassidy Browning
Browning also said she is disappointed with the misinformation spreading about the vaccine rollout.
Browning said the distribution of vaccines works cyclically. It begins with vaccinating as quickly as possible until running out of vaccines. Then, there is a lot of waiting, not knowing when they may get more again.
“It’s small things, they don’t even need to cost much, like soap, and reusable masks. It doesn’t have to be money, just small little acts that you can do that show and do make a difference,” Browning said. Browning encourages us to realize the work of distributors, scientists and healthcare workers who show no signs of slowing.
We are experiencing a historical moment for Austin and the entire world. Many professionals never dreamed of having a vaccine for COVID-19 this early on. As of now, millions of people have been vaccinated, with more to come thanks to compassionate citizens determined to help us persevere.
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