The Covid-19 Vaccine Hunger Games by Bonna L. Nelson
Happy Hunger Games. And may the odds be ever in your favor. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games “Did you get your vaccination yet?” a friend asked in early February 2021. “No,” I answered. “Did you?” “Yes,” she replied. “What? Really? Where? When? How?” I asked incredulously. I repeated the questions over and over in emails, texts, phone calls, FaceTime and Zoom with family and friends for weeks on end, hoping to find out how to get a virus vaccine. Thus began the great anxietyproducing hunt for COVID-19 vaccinations across the country. The vaccine rollout seemed interminably slow and inefficient. Frustrations were over the top after almost a year of fear, illness, deaths, closures and isolation. We heard that some vaccines were given as early as December 2020 in certain locales, to certain populations. Each state had guidelines on distribution, with some leaving it up to their counties to distribute. On January 5, 2021, the Maryland governor announced his plan for t he vac ci ne d i st r ibut ion i n phases. Priorities were rightly as-
signed. Older adults were next in line after Phase 1A, which included healthcare workers, residents and sta f f of nursing faci lit ies, f irst responders and public safety workers (law enforcement personnel, correctional officers and frontline judiciary staff). On Januar y 18, Phase 1B was initiated and included vaccinat25
