March 14th marks at least two grim anniversaries. It was a year ago today that New York City recorded its first death due to covid-19 and within two weeks almost 700 more New Yorkers would be dead from the novel coronavirus. March 14th also happens to be the first day I experienced my first symptoms of the illness. A year later, the pandemic still rages. Rates of infection and death are, however, dropping dramatically (though they still exceed last summer’s peaks). March 14 also happens to mark another anniversary: it was exactly three months ago, on December 14, that the vaccine was given to the US public. Could we finally be seeing the end of all this?
A little over a week ago I found out from my doctor that I was eligible for the vaccine (let’s just say I enjoy the benefits of a high sodium diet). I found an available slot early Sunday morning on turbovax.info (the benefit of staying up late and surfing the web) and signed up. The appointment was for Monday, March 8.
The first side effect I experienced after getting the shot was hope. I received the shot at The Harlem Hospital. The operation was efficient. I arrived early for my appointment but I hardly had to wait. They had my name and information, they set the appointment for the second shot and then I received the actual first shot. They make you wait 15 minutes to see if the shot has any adverse effects, but it didn’t for me. I left after fifteen minutes and got on the subway home.
The trains are more crowded nowadays. Not like they were before the pandemic, but certainly more than in the darkest days. I actually had to stand up. I wanted to shout to all of the people on the train to get off, sign up and get the vaccine, ridiculous as it sounds.
For all the disaster and tragedy of the last year, this is an incredible time. The SARS-COV-2 virus was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December of 2019. BioNTech started working on a vaccine on January 10, 2020, the same day that China released the gene sequence of the virus. In February came the first known death of an American from SARS-COV-2. The WHO declared covid-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Less than a year after the discovery of the virus, the first members of the American public received doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Less than a year after covid-19 was declared a pandemic, I received my own first shot of the vaccine. We are admittedly still some distance in time from having to forego all precautions.
It is not quite time yet to throw all our masks away nor to end that six foot restriction in public places. But that time is coming sooner rather than later. The pace of recovery is accelerating. I can testify to it. And I can feel it.