The New York Times ran an eye-opening post yesterday entitled Find Your Place in the Vaccine Line.
With the COVID-19 vaccine being rolled out as early as next week, a lot of people (including myself) are wondering how soon we can all get the shot. As you’ve probably read, health officials are considering vaccine timelines to give some Americans, like essential workers and the elderly, priority over others (as they should).
RELATED: The Health Tool You Need at Home and on the Road
According to the New York Times article, “to put this in perspective, we worked with the Surgo Foundation and Ariadne Labs using their vaccine tool to calculate the number of people who will need a vaccine in each state and county — and where you might fit in that line.”
So how does it work? First, you’ll have to answer four quick questions:
1 How old are you?
2 What county do you live in?
3 Do you work in these professions?
Health care worker
Essential worker
First responder
Teacher
None of these
4 Do you have COVID-related health risks? (These include conditions tied to increased risk of COVID death, like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity or other immunocompromised conditions.)
Yes
No
And then click SUBMIT. Click here to actually try out the tool.
I played around with the tool to see the difference in outcomes based on different responses. For instance, when I entered in that I didn’t work in any of the professions listed and I didn’t have any COVID-related health risks, the tool believed I was “in line behind 268.7 million people across the United States. When it comes to California, we think you’re behind 31.0 million others who are at higher risk in your state. And in Los Angeles County, you’re behind 7.9 million others.”
I did it again and answered ‘yes’ to the question about COVID-related health risks because I have a history of asthma. The wait was reduced drastically and the tool believed me to be “in line behind 23.0 million people across the United States. When it comes to California, we think you’re behind 2.6 million others who are at higher risk in your state. And in Los Angeles County, you’re behind 2.8 million others.
Obviously, you can’t just jump the line as I’m sure your doctor will help to determine your health risks but I’m definitely excited about the prospect of a vaccine and am looking forward to getting it so that we can get on with our lives, see and hug our loved ones and of course, travel again.
FYI: To boost public confidence in the vaccine, three former presidents (Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton) are volunteering to be vaccinated for COVID-19 on camera.
