Thread by @cfishman

10 days ago, no one in our family of 4 (2 adults, 2 college-age children) was vaccinated.

Suddenly, all 4 of us are.

Two are J&J vaccine — one & done.

Two have had the first shot of Pfizer — with appointments for the second.

Good news personally.

Bad news societally.

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2/ Not one of the 4 of us got the vaccine in a routine way—a site is open, you qualify, come get the jab.

One traveled to a place where a phone call helped secure a shot (without taking it away from anyone else).

One got an email saying, click HERE, NOW you'll get an app't.

3/ One of us got a message in Slack saying, a site in far southeast DC has extra J&J doses—if you drop everything you're doing & race over there & get in line, you'll likely get your shot.

And we did drop everything, and did get our shots (along with a significant other).

4/ None of that should have worked that way.

It was all a little bit of insider-info. Three different locations, three different settings — each one required a helping hand to make happen.

We didn't step in front of anyone in any of those cases, as far as I can tell.

5/ And a week ago, I thought I might well be the last person in the US who *wanted* a vaccine to get one.

'Opening up' registration for vaccines—at least in DC — means nothing. Just a longer list of people who are willing, but standing in virtual line.

6/ I'm leaving myself registered, so I can see when DC decided it was, finally, my turn to get the jab.

I know there are many places around the country where there is excess capacity — where they can't fill the slots available, where they can't use the day's supply.

7/ One of those, famously for DC residents, is Salisbury, Maryland — out toward the coast. You can drive 2-1/2 hours each way, & they will vaccinate you.

Based on postings on NextDoor, plenty of DC residents are doing that.

But it's a ridiculous waste of time & energy.

8/ Now I wish the federal and state governments would invest the energy to look at demand and supply — to see where the excess shots are and quickly re-route them to places that don't have enough.

We're at close to 4 million shots a day. That is fabulous.

9/ But all the logistics aside, if you got hundreds of extra vaccines in Salisbury, Maryland, 5 or 7 days a week — & dozens & dozens of Washingtonians are driving 5 hours roundtrip to get them, well: BRING THE VACCINE TO DC INSTEAD.

10/ I so appreciate the folks in Salisbury, and other places, include Bald Eagle Recreation Center in SE DC, making an effort to get the word out when they have excess, and giving the shot to all comers.

But why does Salisbury — and places like it — continue to get extra doses?

11/ The vaccine roll-out has been great, in fact.

Think back to the rolling, continuing, months-long disaster that testing was.

But the fact that we got vaccines off to a good start doesn't mean you don't re-adjust a few months in.

12/ In April, four months into the nationwide vaccination program, four of us who have been eager to get vaccinated only pulled it off because we were alert, constantly vigilant for opportunities, and could make the call or respond to the Slack message — and leap at the chance.

13/ Glad and grateful to be vaccinated. 100%. And same for my family.

But very sorry the process didn't work more equitably and efficiently, and with more ability to adapt in real time.

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