I ran some numbers quickly, and if it has not been proposed yet (there are people smarter than me certainly), I wish California, and likely the rest of the country at this stage develop, communicate, and follow an utterly simple plan to get vaccines out as rapidly as possible to the most vulnerable in an extremely easy-to-understand away.
I heard with a tad of relief and alarm that a friend of mine took his parents to be vaccinated, and the team simply vaccinate him too. The current 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 4-xyz, 5/1 L-23, 401K plans are, to me, ludicrous. In California, I sat down to look at, in San Francisco County #1 — how many vaccine doses are allocated to the city, and #2, when would my husband be getting vaccinated (he’s way over the age threshold). The information was both poorly structured, and contradictory. Par for the course with Covid.
Proposal
Design
I ran some numbers quickly, and if it has not been proposed yet (there are people smarter than me certainly), I wish California, and likely the rest of the country at this stage develop, communicate, and follow an utterly simple plan.
Starting, say, January 20th, If you were born on or before 1935, simply go to a public vaccination site, show your ID, and get vaccinated. Your V-Day is 20 January.
On January 21st, if you were born on or before 1936, go to a public vaccination site, show your ID, and get vaccinated. Your V-Day is 21 January.
As the month progresses, and more vaccines are distributed, the system keeps flowing with utter simplicity. It provides a clear structure and communication plan to everyone.
Two weeks later is your B-Day, using the same logic, for the 2nd “Booster” Shot. No registration, no online maze, just go to the same site and just get vaccinated.
Communication
I can call a number give my year and get my day. I can ask family and friends, and get a day. TV News can announce next week’s V-Days. I can text a date, and get my date. I can enter a year on a website, and get my day. I can plan.
Advantages
The most vulnerable are protected the fastest. I think that a 90-year-old deserves to be at the front of the line, in all cases.
Easy Acceleration: If more vaccines are available, then the year can be moved forward. On or before 1940 for 24 January can become on or before 1945, to slowly accelerate the program. Clear, easy communication.
Avoid the Registration nightmare, and all that entails — website registration, ‘call your healthcare provider’ (does everyone have a healthcare provider?), trying to snipe the last appointment somewhere, endless telephone calls and waiting, jumping the line, all gone. Simplicity.
No more overwhelmed sites. I calculated that in San Francisco, 10-15 sites (I believe they are in place now) can easily accommodate the vaccination per-hour rate needed to keep to this schedule. Each year’s number of people potentially to be vaccinated slowly grows, pretty much in lock-step with how vaccines will be slowly increased. No site gets overwhelmed.
Special Populations. If other populations need acceleration, they get a V-Day also. For instance, if you’re a Teacher and you were born on or before 1962, your V-Day is 25 January. Easy.
Later in Year, under-65. If you were born on or before May 1968 — add a month — your V-Day is 15 April. It easily accommodates expanding to very large age groups by adding a Month to the guidance.
Vaccine-Avoiders. As people who are nervous about vaccines decide its in their interest, they are always accepted easily, in their age-groups — the barrier to vaccination if their V-day is past is zero. They are the ones for whom the process should be simplest of all.
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Disclaimer as always: I’m not a doctor, though I have extensive training in science and math. The complete and ongoing failure at the federal, state, and county level to address Covid is incredibly distressing to me as it is to everyone. But it’s not too late to begin to fix it.