It wasn’t too long ago that getting vaccinated against the coronavirus felt like winning the lottery or a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
Some city residents drove miles away outside the Chicago area to get jabbed. Others spent hours hunched over their laptops trying to find an appointment nearby, while cursing those who “jumped the line” and got their shots way before they were eligible.
Those days are well over now that the vaccine is widely available and the height of the COVID-19 crisis is behind us. No one wants to relive those dreadful moments. Pandemic fatigue is real and quite frankly, justified after our lives were upended.
But perhaps we need a jolt of the urgency and desperation we once felt to protect ourselves from the Omicron subvariants.
Only 144,000 Chicagoans — that’s less than 10% of eligible residents— have gotten their updated COVID-19 booster, the latest numbers from the city’s public health department show.
Residents who completed their initial vaccine series may have gotten lax because they know if they do contract coronavirus, their chances of getting seriously ill or dying are extremely low. Others may be holding off on getting their booster shots for the upcoming holidays, hoping their immunity will then be at an optimum level when they mingle with family and friends.
“There is still time” to get boosted, Chicago Public Health Commission Dr. Allison Arwady said.
But wait too long and COVID-19 cases can surge along with the expected spike of seasonal flu infections. Europe is already experiencing another wave, which means America is most likely next.
The vaccinated population who have been feeling a bit invincible should also take note that their original Delta shots do help — but their effectiveness against the Omicron strains isn’t always as strong.
Long-covid, which already affects million of Americans, is still also very much a threat. An extensive study conducted in Scotland found that 1 in 20 people did not fully recover six to 18 months after they got sick with the coronavirus. And almost half of the respondents— 42% — only recovered partially.
When expressing concern over the low booster numbers, Arwady said she was particularly worried about the Black and Hispanic communities, whose vaccine uptake has been sluggish, WBEZ’s Courtney Kueppers reported.
Chicago and Cook County remain at a “low” COVID-19 risk level, but that can easily change if we collectively drop our guard.
There are still too many adults and children who haven’t even gotten their initial vaccines.
Already, the average school vaccination rate at Chicago Public Schools dropped from 44.7% in the spring to 39.6%, according to Chalkbeat Chicago. The decline has been attributed to younger, unvaccinated students entering the system.
The parents of unvaccinated children now have no excuse. U.S. regulators approved vaccines for children as young as six months over the summer. And on Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention green-lit the new Omicron boosters for children as young as 5.
Those who still want to believe that the coronavirus is a hoax or are paranoid about getting vaccinated probably can’t be persuaded.
If the 1,057,975 Americans lives lost so far and the advice of medical experts can’t change their minds, we don’t know what will.
But those who have been putting off their initial shots or follow-up boosters out of a mere lack of motivation need to be reminded once again not to waste time in rolling up their sleeves.
Get vaccinated. Get boosted. It’s your best shot at staying healthy — and helping us all avoid a COVID-19 surge in the coming months.
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