Eric Piehl comments on the ☣ ⚕︎ COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic

☣⛛ The Disease Transmission Triangle

For disease to be transmitted, all three of these must be present in the same place and time (kinda like the 🔥︎⛛ Fire Triangle):

1. 👤︎ A host susceptible to the disease.
2. ☣ A disease-causing agent.
3. 🏞 Environmental conditions suitable for transmission of the disease to the host, and growth of the disease in the host.

So if we want to not get the disease, we must reduce one or more of these factors, at least so all three factors are not present in the same place and time.  For example:

1. 👤︎ Make ourselves less susceptible to the disease.
   For example:
     ◦  by getting 💉︎ vaccinated to the ☣ disease-causing agent, and
     ◦  by staying otherwise healthy.
2. ☣ Reduce the amount of disease-causing agent in our environment.
   For example, by doing anything that reduces:
     ◦  the number of people in our community sick with the disease, or
     ◦  the amount of ☣ disease-causing agent they shed.
   Perhaps by having them use the measures listed ↑↓ above and below.
3. 🏞 Reducing the space and time where conditions are suitable for transmission and growth of the disease.
   For example:
     ◦  by masking indoors;  and
     ◦  by going into the community less often, for shorter periods, and/or during quieter hours.
   These latter tasks all involve much better planning for shopping and other visits into the community.

Detailed analysis of how this affects me, my family and COVID-19 today.

Life during COVID-19

👤︎👥︎ To protect yourself and others, early on,
⚕︎ Dr Fauci, ^[1] Mel & Max Brooks, and ✈︎ Alaska Airlines※ said we needed to:

1. Wear a mask consistently and correctly.  [Indoors in public.]  😷 Mask up! Why?   😷 Masks and other PPE.
   [ Details on when to 😷 wear masks. ]
   [ 🏠︎ Indoor air-handler filters are also important.]
   [We also wear 👓︎ eye-protection, to protect other mucous membranes!]  👍︎
   
   
2. Avoid crowds.     X 👥︎👪︎👥︎👪︎ X     👍︎
   
   
3. Distance yourself.   👤︎ — 👤︎     👍︎
   
   
4. 🏞 Outdoors, if you can.   ☀︎
   [By 2022-January, outdoors is known to be 19 × safer than indoors against transmission of the Omicron variant. ^[4] ]
   [Later, outdoors shown to be 18–20–200–1000 × safer than indoors. ]
   [Later, there was found to be lots of health benefits by spending time outdoors, in ☀︎ natural sunlight, either direct or indirect.  ▶︎  ^[5]  ▶︎  ^[6] ※]  👍︎
   
   
5. 🫧💦︎👐︎ Wash your hands.
   [By 2020-April, known to be less important than the other actions, due to COVID-19 being transmitted primarily by very-small aerosols, not big droplets. ^[2] ]  👎︎

※ = For full effect, select the Mel & Max Brooks or ✈︎ Alaska Airlines video image ↗ above or to right, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ full­screen, and ▶︎ Play.

From the above, I infer that Dr Fauci, Max & Mel Brooks, and Alaska Airlines know about ☣⛛ The Disease Transmission Triangle and 🧀︎ The Swiss Cheese Model of Respiratory Virus Defense.

👤︎ Protecting yourself from COVID as above includes protecting yourself from:

• developing Long Covid, CCS, PACS or PASC (becoming a  ▶︎  Long Hauler ), or
• developing  Long Covid Kid.

Probably due to some dysregulation of some people's immune system, caused by this previously-unknown virus. ^{[citation needed]}

I read that those infected with the virus will have a 33% chance of developing Long Covid, even if symptoms during the initial infection were extremely mild.

I also read that 7% of adults in the 🇺🇸 USA are currently suffering symptoms of Long Covid. ^{[citation needed]}

Chart of symptoms.   I read that someone has identified three suites of symptoms. ^{[citation needed]}

If you think you might have Long COVID, or you think that Long COVID doesn't exist, please watch  ▶︎  "Long COVID:  All you need to know" by Sabine Hossenfelder Science without the Gobbledygook.

"Long COVID Comes Into the Light" by Jeff Wise.  Slate.com.  2023-03-19. "Sequelae in Adults at 6 Months After COVID-19 Infection."  JAMA Network.  2021-01-19.

By taking precautions to not catch the virus, 👤︎ you have a 0% chance (or very low) of developing Long Covid.  And of passing it on to 👥︎ others.

Helped a lot by also getting the 💉︎ vaccine.

If you don't want Long Covid,
  you don't want Covid.

If you don't want Covid,
  get 💉︎ vaccinated.

Predicting who gets Long COVID.

For me, I find:

• Being 💉︎💉︎💉︎💉︎ fully-vaccinated-and-updated (vs. not-vaccinated) reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by about 20 ×.
• Attending an 🏞 outdoor (vs. indoor) event                                reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by 20–200 ×.
• Wearing a well-fitting N95 mask (vs. wearing no mask)            reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by  2–3–5 ×.

This tells me a lot!

Since these conditions are independent of each other, we multiply their odds.

For example, versus attending an indoor event with food while not-vaccinated, attending an:

• Indoor event with food (restaurant meal?), where I am fully-vaccinated-and-updated reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by about                 20  =     20 ×.
• Outdoor event,  with food (a restaurant patio?), where I am fully-vaccinated-and-updated reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by about         20 × 20  =   400 ×.
• Outdoor event,   no food,              where I am masked and fully-vaccinated-and-updated reduces my odds of catching COVID-19 by about 20 × 20 × 2½ = 1,000 ×.

Now I know what to do!

🚼︎ For kids!  Free book   Why We Stay Home:  Suzie Learns about Coronavirus, full contents at image ↖ above or to left.

👤︎ For adults: "Medical students write, publish illustrated coronavirus children's book"
  by Janelle Ringer.  Loma Linda University.  May 21, 2020.   "A book that teaches children 'Why We Stay Home'."  NewsHour.  PBS.  July 3, 2020.

If you are a healthy young person, who wishes to 🚶︎🏠︎ travel to visit someone who is immuno­compromised or otherwise medically-vulnerable …

Consider that whatever guidelines come out from the 🇺🇸 USA CDC, or your state or local governments, to be general guidelines meant for the general population.

• Your immuno­compromised / medically-vulnerable person is not in the general population.

As long as community transmission levels remains "not-Good," your vulnerable person probably would be happiest to see you, if you …

Are 💉︎ vaccinated, to the maximum extent allowed by our society.

• All-doses, soaked-in (usually 2 weeks), plus revaccinated as allowed.
• Vaccination is a good first step, but is not good enough.  Necessary, but not sufficient.

Prior to 14 days prior to your visit, your immuno­compromised / medically-vulnerable person, probably don't care what you do:

• Go to work, mingling with coworkers, if you wish.
• Eat and drink with others, indoors or outdoors, as you wish.
• Go to 💪︎🏊︎ gym, if you wish.  Work out maskless, if that makes you happy or makes for a better workout.
• Go 🗣 sing with your group, masked or not, if you wish.
• Have a ball.
• Your vulnerable person may be self-isolating pretty tight during weeks of high community transmission, but you may have other criteria.
• But it you catch anything, you want it to clear up before the start of the 14-day washout-period described ↓ below.
    ◦  So you might choose to start ramping up a few days early — treat it as practice …

For the 14-day washout-period prior to visiting your immuno­compromised / medically-vulnerable person, you quarantine / self-isolate yourself equivalent to what they are doing.   This may include (among other things):

• Everyone in your household adheres to these rules.
• 🚶︎🏠︎ Outside your home, be ready with a mask at all times.
    ◦  When I leave the house, it is around my neck (all my earloop masks have add-on neckstrap and bracket).
    ◦  Backup masks in car and briefcase.
    ◦  When I drive somewhere, I park, then don and adjust my mask while still in the car.  I don't have to, but I find it easier to do this before filling hands with briefcase, shopping bags or whatever.
    ◦ Masks are effective — N95[?] or other rated masks, engineered medical masks, or (before Omicron) 3 layers of tight-woven cotton (no knits).
    ◦ Mask fits and seals well against your face.
    ◦  Set all that up at home.  I use a neckstrap and bracket on all mine.
    ◦  If indoors with non-household members, you are fully-masked, full-time.
    ◦  Minor exceptions for occasional meetings with very-small groups of people who are self-isolating as well as us.
• Outdoor activities are fine, in any location with lots of fresh air, and low–moderate density of people.
    ◦  Chatting and eating on patios, walks in parks, and walk-and-talk meetings, are all fine.
    ◦  Does not include sitting in a crowd in stadium bleachers.
• Never rely on a building's HVAC system (heating, ventilation, air-conditioning).  These spread small particles very effectively.  6 feet or 60 or 600 -- does not matter.
    ◦  Stay masked.
    ◦  No going to 💪︎🏊︎ gym without being masked.  I don't care about the layout or air circulation pattern — see note on HVAC ↑ above.
    ◦  No potlucks with coworkers.  Unless you chat while masked, assemble a plate, then go back to your separately-filtered-office to eat.
    ◦  If you have an office with a door:
      Get or make a portable room air filter device, MERV=13 or better, or HEPA.  We have one in our bedroom (helps with 🤧︎ allergies), and another by the bird (helps catch feather fragments).
        Assemble filter unit, and place in your office where it 💨︎ blows vaguely toward your face at your desk, and sits between you and the door.
        When you get to your office, drop your stuff, turn your filter on High, go chat with others, get your mail and whatever, and pour some coffee.
        When you return to your office, turn the filter to Low or some reasonable level of noise.
        When 15 minutes are up, you can drop your mask, drink your coffee, work, eat lunch, whatever.
        If someone comes in to talk, mask up again, until they are done, gone and some minutes have elapsed.
        When leaving for day, can turn off your filter.
        Many 🏫︎ teachers have done this since 2020-March.
• No eating or drinking indoors with others.  Minor unavoidable exceptions for:
    ◦  ✈︎ Airplanes (wait until wheels-up [engines spinning for a while], and all others nearby have finished their juice and cookies and restored their masks, — thank you for this suggestion, daughter).
    ◦  ✈︎ Airports (find a very-quiet spot to have your breakfast bagel and drink), mask up immediately when done or between bites.  Or bring it on your next plane.
    ◦  Occasional meetings with very-small groups of people (e.g., 1) who you know are self-isolating as well as you.
• Minimize trips to indoor venues:  food shopping (masked up, good list, in order of your path around the store), medical (masked up), etc.
• Any possible exposure to individuals with COVID-19, and any symptom of anything, will restart your 14-day washout-period at the beginning.  After the exposure or symptoms end.
    ◦  Presumably means you must waive off your planned visit.
    ◦  Possible exceptions for 🤧︎ seasonal allergies and other well-understood conditions.
• For additional assurance, 7 days into this 14-day washout-period, with enough time to get the results before you leave (perhaps 48 hours for PCR, plus another 24 hours of overhead involved in your testing appointment and getting your results), get tested for COVID-19.
• If your visit is for a single day, you can get at-home OTC COVID-19 diagnostic tests, perhaps having people self-test and wait masked or outdoors for the 10–15 minutes it takes to get results.

On visit day, if you or anyone in your household is sick — even just the sniffles —, waive off your visit this time, and reschedule for some weeks in the future.  That is what a nurse told us to do, in this case.

Then when you arrive, you can all feel safe and happy, and have a great visit.  Unmasked!  Reconnect happy, without fear!

Sorry, that is how I see life today.  I hope that we can return community transmission to low levels, with adults now getting newly-vaccinated again, with elementary-age kids now being vaccinated, backed up with better mask-wearing by our communities.

Don't panic, [it's] not the end of the world.  Well, it could be the end of the world, but one thing at a time.

    — #DoctorWho 13 premier.

It is important. "A closer look at how COVID-19 damages human lungs."  News Medical.  9 June 2021. DOI: 10.1038/​s41467-021-23533-x   Accessed 2021-06-09.

To protect 👤︎ yourself, 👪︎ family, 👥︎ friends, coworkers, elders, and 👥︎🌐︎ all other residents of our planet, please help break the chain of transmission — flatten the curve and push it downward — by following recommendations from 🇺🇳 UN World Health Organization WHO, 🇺🇸 USA CDC (expert version), Consumer Reports magazine, Doctor Who, 🏞 parks, Michigan, Kent County, local healthcare provider Spectrum Health (rebranding as Corewell Health, West Michigan), and your local authorities.

If 👤︎ you or 👪︎ family members are risk-averse, such as having an attribute that makes them immuno­compromised , and thus medically-vulnerable to the 🔆︎ coronavirus, when 🚶︎🏠︎ you leave home, do so smartly.  Plan carefully.  Have a list.  Reduce your number of shopping trips.  Shop at good times:

• Our local big-box membership store had minimum shoppers, maximum physical-distancing, and then-99+% 😷 mask-compliance during their "Senior Hour" each day.  Was way better than ½ hour later.  Later scaled back to two hours a week, and poor mask-compliance (although still better than during regular business hours, with terrible mask-compliance).  And later gone altogether.
• Our local big-box grocery store was also best during their "Senior Hours" and pretty good a little after that.  When they had those "Senior Hours."
• Have not found there to be a best time at our local hardware stores/home centers.  Don't go just before Closing — it's a zoo!
• I hear that grocery stores are good during dinnertime, and at 8pm.  I have found Costco to be good just before the Pharmacy closes.

If you come out of this, and you've lost weight, you're just doing it wrong.  🎂︎

    — Margaret Choo, New York Museum of Art, on PBS Inside the Met S1Ep1, 2021-05-21.

My daughter says that during this pandemic, the 👥︎🌐︎ happiest people on our planet may well be 🌱︎🚶︎  gardeners. ^{[support] [more support]}

But also take care of yourself!  Socialize, and ▦ screen for signs of impaired mental health.

Practice random [acts of] kindness, and senseless acts of beauty.

    — Anne Herbert.

👤︎ Protect yourself.  👥︎ Protect others.  💉︎ Get vaccinated!

💉︎ Vaccination

Not getting 🦠 infected by viruses
  (including by 💉︎ vaccination against flu, shingles, pneumonia and hepatitis)
reduces your chances of ☣🧠💥︎ getting neurodegenerative diseases NDD
  (including dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS and MS). DOI: 10.1016/​j.neuron.2022.12.029

But this page is about COVID …

Which 💉︎ vaccine should I get?
How do I get a 💉︎ vaccination?

How did the 💉︎ first vaccination go for me?   Afterward, now what?
How did the 💉︎💉︎ second vaccination go for me?
The 💉︎💉︎💉︎💉︎ third and fourth vaccinations

How do I get a 💉︎ vaccination?

🇺🇸 In the USA, anyone age 5 and older can now sign up at Vaccines.gov > button Find COVID-19 Vaccines > your ZIP Code.  Check out the 🗺 map!  Or 📱︎💬︎ SMS text your ZIP Code to GETVAX.   The vaccine is free!  (Can also find a flu shot, using a flu vaccine button!)

Or use its sister-site Vacunas.gov > botón Encontrar vacunas contra el COVID-19.  O envía un 📱︎ SMS con tu código postal a VACUNA.   ¡La vacuna es gratis!  También puede encontrar una vacuna contra la gripe, usando un botón de vacuna contra la influenza (gripe).

But we received the 💉︎ COVID-19 vaccine 4½ months before we were eligible.  Not because we deserved it at that time, but because we dug.

These are all websites.  You can also try 📱︎☎ calling, particularly your local providers.  If trouble getting through, I recommend trying:

• just after they Open for the day,
• between 11am and going to lunch, and
• early-mid afternoon.

People I know found COVID vaccination appointments by signing up with several organizations in parallel.  These sites differ in what they offer you:

• A 📅︎ calendar-picker right now.
    ◦  If any appointments are open, sign up now!  If no appointments are available, check back twice each business day, or find out when they drop new appointment times.
  
  
• A way to Register with them;  then wait for them to contact you.
    ◦  To maximize your chances of getting an appointment, check their contact method at least twice each business day.
  
  
• A statement that they are currently useless and irrelevant.
    ◦  Check back once a week or so.

People I know found COVID vaccination appointments via their local:

• Buddy who knows everyone and everything going on.  This (plus everything ↓ below) is what ultimately worked for us.
  
  
• County[?] health department.
    ◦  I think a relative is also trying the health department of a neighboring county.
    ◦  Near me, Kent County (Michigan) Health Dept > Schedule Now or 📱︎☎ 1-616-326-6992.
  
  
• Regional multi-county vaccine agency.
    ◦  Near me, Vaccinate West Michigan.
  
  
• State[?] health department.
  
  
• Your healthcare provider, via their patient portal, probably called MyChart.
    ◦  Near me, Spectrum Health (rebranding as Corewell Health, West Michigan) > Activities or Health > Questionnaires > COVID.  Which I learned from their website.   For years, we have been on our local healthcare monopoly's MyChart system, and use it to see lab results, and send non-time-critical messages to our docs.  Now, we added signing up for a vaccination.
    ◦  It took five weeks for any of us to get notified:  one by email, one by 📱︎💬︎ SMS text, and one of us is still waiting to be notified.  Of course, we hadn't waited here, we had continued with our …
  
  
• Other local healthcare provider's patient portal MyChart.
    ◦  I forgot we had a second healthcare monopoly;  guess that makes it a duopoly.  Got told we could create accounts on their MyChart system, too.  Turns out, we can!  Even though we have never been patients there!  Turns out to be Metro Health > Visits > button Schedule an Appointment.  Got a 📅︎ calendar-picker, no appointments available, but a webpage told me when they drop new appointment times, so I set alarms to check then.  Turns out you can also call Metro Health's call center at 📱︎☎ 1-616-252-6161.
  
  
• Still another local healthcare provider's patient portal MyChart.
    ◦  Got told this by a friend;  didn't know they were in this county;  guess that guess that makes it an oligopoly.   Mercy Health ※ > Quicklinks > Schedule an appointment > Find a new provider > Infectious Diseases > COVID-19 vaccine > tell your browser popup it is OK to tell it your location, or give it your ZIP Code > scroll down your choices until you see a site near you.
  ※ = If you lock your MyChart, call Mercy Health's MyChart Support Line  📱︎☎ 1-844-982-4278.
  For sister-organizations, see Trinity Health's other patient portals.
    ◦  Using this third MyChart, we got appointments for the very next morning!  Thank you for the hot tip, The Connector!
  
  
• Grocery-store pharmacy/​drug store/​chemist shop.
    ◦  Yours could be Kroger, or one of their local brands.
    ◦  Near me, Meijer Pharmacy.
  
  
• Pharmacy/​drug store/​chemist shop chain.
    ◦  Near me, CVS > yourState.
  
  
• Other pharmacy/​drug store/​chemist shop chain.
    ◦  Near me, Walgreens > COVID-19 Vaccine.
  
  
• Still another pharmacy/​drug store/​chemist shop chain.
    ◦  Near me, Rite Aid > yourState.
  
  
• Big-box store chains that have pharmacies/​drug stores/​chemist shops.
    ◦  Near me, Wal-Mart Pharmacy.
  
  
• Find leftover vaccines with social media, such as with 💉︎♐︎ vaccine hunter and Dr.B.

When we got our appointment, we were Registered and on waitlists at several providers listed ↑ above.  To reduce risk, we decided to keep our places in line, until the 💉︎💪︎ vaccine was in our arms.

How did the 💉︎💉︎ second vaccination go for me?

The 💉︎💉︎ second dose also went smoothly.  What now?

• After the second shot was in my arm, I tried to take us off the unused waitlists ↑ above.
    ◦  Failed completely.  They have no mechanisms to allow that.  Apparently, no alternative but to ignore invitations when they arrive.
  
  
• I MyChart-messaged our doc about that we already got vaccinated, with what, and how.
    ◦  For 14 days, no response.
  
  
• We added "COVID-19 vaccine card" to our 📝︎ travel pack list — in case we need it in future ✈︎ travel.  And put scans of them on our 💻︎📱︎ computers and smartphones.
  
  
• Since we live in 🇨🇦 Canada, 🇺🇸 USA or 🇰🇾 Cayman Islands, we should probably sign up for SMART Health Cards.   Our country/state does not yet participate, but our local large healthcare system does.
  
  
• Each shot takes two or three weeks to reach its full effectiveness.  Together with the three or four weeks between injections (if getting an mRNA vaccine), that totals five to seven weeks.
  
  
• ✋︎ On the other hand, 💉︎💉︎ both [💉︎ three?] shots, 📅︎ fully soaked-in, maxes out at maybe 80% reduction in reports of being sick with the COVID-19 disease (was 94% against COVID classic strain ).
    ◦  Our ability to spread the disease to others is thought to be reduced, but still possible, percentages unknown.
    ◦  Good.  But not a total game-changer.
  
  
• ✋︎ On the third hand, the 🇺🇸 USA CDC says (see infographic ↗ above or to right, or links ↓ below) that for 👤︎ individuals who are 💉︎💉︎ fully-vaccinated (and 💉︎💉︎ updated?) and 📅︎ fully-soaked in, no masking is needed.  If:
    ◦  ⚰ death rate is down 96% (was 99.2% with the COVID classic strain ),
    ◦  ⚰💥︎🏥︎ severe disease is down 92–99.9%,
    ◦  🏥︎ hos­pi­tal­i­za­tions are down 92–96% (was 97–99% against the COVID classic strain ), and
    ◦  detectable symptoms are down 60–84% (was 94% against the COVID classic strain Wuhan-HU-1 ),
  on each of us, there seems little risk.  And in the 🇺🇸 USA, 99.5% of people who die of COVID are non-vaccinated.  Still, indoors in mixed groups, I am currently cautious.
  
  
• ✋︎ On the fourth hand, 🇺🇳 UN World Health Organization WHO, and LA
  County, say to 😷 keep wearing a mask indoors.
  Me, I think this is prudent, especially now that the very-communicable Delta and Omicron variants are everywhere.  But it probably depends on your personal situation, and your community's local COVID:
    ◦  positive-test rate and
    ◦  per-population case rate.
  Any significant values argue that 😷 a mask is still necessary.
  
• Supporting this, the 🇺🇸 USA CDC says that if your local level of community transmission is  Substantial  or  High  (scroll down), then you should also 😷 mask-up indoors.
  This is equivalent to either:
    ◦   ≥ 50 new cases per 100,000 persons in the past 7 days.
    ◦   ≥ 8% positive NAAT nucleic acid amplification test  (one of the diagnostic and screening tests ),  during the past 7 days.
  
  
• Personally, my criteria are a little tighter (toward the bottom of the  Moderate  level):
    ◦   ≥ 15 new cases per 100,000 persons in the past 7 days, or
    ◦   ≥ 6% positive NAAT during the past 7 days.
  
  
• 🇨🇦 In Canada, you can see your raw numbers at a dashboard for how your province is doing > set first dropdown to "Rate".
• 🇺🇸 In the USA, you can see your raw numbers at COVID Act Now > section All metrics > dropdown Locations add states, city metro areas, or counties (or country) about which you care > dropdown Metric = "Cases per 100K" or Metric = "Positive test rate".   If needed, set dropdown Past # of Days to short.

When You've Been Fully Vaccinated, from 🇺🇸 USA CDC Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People, from 🇺🇸 USA CDC

After getting the 💉︎💉︎ second vaccination, and informed by the above, we decided to:

• Continue 😷 masking up 100% in grocery stores, ✈︎ airports and airplanes (wheels-down), for the rest of my life.
  I like not ever catching a cold nor the flu!  Nice!  I'm not going back.

  If you can take an action with very little cost [to you], and with some gain [for you or others], why not do it?

• We will always have 😷 masks in our Everyday Carry (EDC), whenever 🚶︎🏠︎ we leave home.
  [When community transmission increased dramatically, I made sure this includes an N95-or-batter mask.]
• Not wearing a mask on 🚶︎🏠︎ walks in the neighborhood, 🏞 parks, or any low-density outdoor events.
  Although I will continue to track prevalence in the community (and any proposed travel).

And in the many months since then, we have!

And because local community transmission was Low at the time, we also decided to:

• Return to the ✂︎ haircut store.
• Start attending important indoor meetings.  And if a quality crowd (e.g., highly-vaccinated), opting for a 😷 lighter-weight mask.
• Return to the 💪︎🏊︎ gym.   Yay!
• Return to ✈︎ air travel.

When local community transmission increased dramatically, we reversed these decisions.  All of them.

We also came up with some criteria we expect visitors to abide by.

Maybe I will write up more differences of living in our brave new living-with-COVID world.

Thinking about it, us choosing to:

• not wear a mask much 🏞 outdoors,
• reduce our time indoors with non-vaccinated people (such as by shopping during "Senior Hours", or using the 💪︎🏊︎ gym when relatively quiet), and
• when sharing indoor space with non-vaccinated people, 😷 wear a mask whenever practical to do so (such as in 💪︎🏊︎ my gym before and during warmup, and after some point in the cooldown) (and the eating part of a rare restaurant indoor meal),

is an attempt to reduce our odds of catching COVID (while meeting our other goals), as expressed by my calculations up in Analysis.

Historical context

🇺🇸 In the USA, in the absence of federal guidance, every state or other jurisdiction handled 💉︎ vacci­nation differently.  In late-2020/early-2021, this process was so disorganized, it felt like us vaccine-seekers were participants in ♐︎ The Hunger Games.

Unlike a real vaccination effort in 1962 May–July, where our society vaccinated:

• 84%  of the entire population (versus 69% so far in this vaccination effort ), with
• 3 doses given to each person (versus 1 or 2 doses to be called vaccinated in this effort), in only
• 6 days spread over 3 months (versus 1190 days spread over 39 months in this effort). ^{[5] [6] [7]}

And in that operation, no one had to drive across the county to a stadium — they did it in high school gyms.  Everyone can get to their nearest high school.  OK, if the vaccine-athon can travel to high schools, it can also travel to 🏥︎ hospitals and 3-Stage Retirement Villages 3SRV / CCRC / LPC / LPRC / LTCF, to handle their specialized populations.  But why, this time around, did we have to reinvent every wheel, and do such a bad job of it?

OK, Public Health officials in 1962 had several advantages that we don't have this time around.  Still, their process was the exact opposite of what we are did here.

More applicable to today's situation is smallpox;  like COVID, it requires an injection.  Anthony Fauci has a great story about New York City vaccinating 5 million New Yorkers in a single week! ^{[citation needed]}

Fortunately, as 2021 progressed, we got much more organized.  Yay!

Yes, we really did know all this!

↖ Above or to left, view White House memo from 2020-Jan-29, White House Playbook from 2016, and videos from 2015 and 2006.

For full effect, select a video image, then icons ⛶⤢ full­screen, 💬︎ captions, ▶︎ Play, and ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads.

"'All Of This Panic Could Have Been Prevented':
 Author Max Brooks On COVID-19."
 Fresh Air with Terry Gross.  NPR.  2020-03-24. 🔊︎ audio

There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here,
it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

There is another theory which states that this has already happened.

    — Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

 ▶︎  Trailer.   For full effect, view the video ↖ above or to left by selecting the video image or link, then icons YouTube (if present), ⏯︎ ⊠ Skip Ads (if present), ㏄ captions (if you wish), ⛶ full­screen, and ▶︎ Play.

References

^[5]  Yes, my sister and I remember — we were there!  Personal communication, various dates, including 2021-01.

^[6]  "Cuyahoga County had best record in the nation for Sabin polio vaccine distribution".  Cleveland.com.  Jan. 13, 2021.   Accessed 2021-02-04.

^[7]  "COVID-19 Vaccinations in the United States".  CDC.  May 20, 2021.   Accessed 2021-05-21.