One of the things that’s been really nice about the past week: all of the naysayers have finally shut up for two seconds. President Joe Biden had a plan and he had a goal for a huge, comprehensive economic stimulus package which would help working class families and the middle class. He wanted to pour money into getting everyone vaccinated by the summer, and he wanted the American economy to avoid a pandemic-recession. And he got it done. He was methodical and he knows how sh-t works. He also understands the power of the presidency. Which is how we’re here: ahead of the Biden administration’s own rosy projections for vaccinations!! The vaccination schedule has been sped up because so many vaccinations are happening! And now President Biden says that by May, every adult who wants a vaccine will be eligible for one. He spoke about that and a lot more in his speech last night marking the one-year anniversary of the declaration of the pandemic.
Biden never said Donald Trump’s name, although there were some backhanded references to the Trumpian denialism that murdered thousands of Americans. Biden isn’t saying the pandemic is over, and he seemed to emphasize that we can’t get complacent, that the pandemic is still happening and that there is still a need to wear masks and wait for our vaccines and all of that. But there are also reasons to be really hopeful. The part about being sort of back to normal by Independence Day was lovely!
"We'll have enough vaccine supply for all adults in America by the end of May," Pres. Biden says.
"We're mobilizing thousands of vaccinators," Pres Biden adds. The WH will call on active duty military, FEMA, retired medical professionals and administrators to deliver the shots. pic.twitter.com/zPIihdMbGv
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) March 12, 2021
Biden says Asian Americans who are facing a spike in hate crimes against them, have been unfairly “scapegoated” and it must end.
He said: So many of them are on the frontline … and still they are forced to fear for their lives. It’s wrong. It’s unAmerican. And it must stop.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) March 12, 2021
It is so nice to have an empath instead of a psychopath.
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) March 12, 2021
Joe Biden:
"You, your families and friends, will get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood and have a cookout or a barbecue and celebrate Independence Day."
And we'll celebrate having a president who's a democrat not an autocrat, a republican not an authoritarian.— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) March 12, 2021
President Biden to Americans: “I need you to do your part. I need you,” as he pleads with Americans to get vaccinated when it’s their turn. This is the national unity message we didn’t get for a year.
— Joy-Ann Pro-Democracy & Masks Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) March 12, 2021
Biden slammed for taking credit for COVID-19 vaccine, not thanking Trump https://t.co/jV4wq4sZsV pic.twitter.com/ykj5JYKFlH
— New York Post (@nypost) March 12, 2021
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
Every time I listen to him speak, I tear up with relief. I was late to the Biden party-but now fully recognize what a good person he is and how he’s the perfect person to be leading our country out of this nightmare.
Same here. It’s such a relief to have someone competent and compassionate in charge.
I’m SO EXCITED for my vaccine. I’ve never been so excited to get a shot in my life, lol. My parents have gotten both their doses (someone asked my mom in the waiting room if she was there for the Trump vaccine; my parents are very liberal and my mom worked in vaccine development and research for most of her professional life, so she says she “gave him a brief history” of the vaccine that I dont think he was expecting, LOL). My brother and SIL have theirs. My best friend got hers. I want mine!!!!! Come on May!
HA! I’m glad the one person in America who apparently actually tried to make “Trump vaccine” happen tried it out on your mom!
I was very emotional when I managed to find slots for myself and my parents on Sunday and overexcited to realize the appointments were in two days. We all got our first shots of Moderna on Tuesday and I almost cried when I got mine. I literally grabbed both my parents and made them go through VAMS (CT is one of the states using VAMS which is where I live) so we all got adjacent slots so we could all go together. My dad was being grumpy because he didn’t want to go 30 minutes away and was happy waiting for availabilities closer by to open up. My mom told him to shut up and that he was getting vaccinated asap and to be grateful I found appointments LOL. I’m so excited to see family and friends I have been unable to see for nearly a year.
Of course TODAY HR sent out a company wide announcement that the medical clinic that is part of the nonprofit I work for is administering vaccines next week to all employees who want one. I work for a nonprofit based in NY and Cuomo just announced all consumer facing nonprofit employees in NY become eligible on March 17th. So even if I hadn’t got my shot this week in CT (I asked HR to give me a letter saying I was an essential worker and they gave it to me which is how I was able to get one in CT), I would have become eligible next week thanks to New York State mandates. Had I known I would have just waited a few days.
So I am sure you will get a vaccine soon enough! Some clinics like in NYC have been doing waitlists where you can sign up to hear if they have extra doses at the end of the day. I dunno Becks if any clinics are doing that near you, but if you can find one, do it! You might be able to get a vaccine before waiting for May to roll around. Also your mom is the coolest!!! I would have loved to see that guy’s face as she lectured him about how vaccines are developed LOL.
Having a responsible grownup, who has hired responsible grownups, in charge is incredibly calming.
@lightpurple the competence!
I’m starting to get vaccine envy. I’m in the 1C group and I still can’t get no appointment. Meanwhile almost everyone in my family has had at least their first shot. I guess this is the one time being the youngest in the family is NOT a perk.
My youngest is also the only one in my family that doesn’t have it. Myself and my other 2 daughters were in priority groups, health care (my oldest), age (me), and medical conditions that can make covid worse (my middle daughter). I can’t wait until the rest of you can be vaccinated!
One of my friends is in 1A and her most recently communication from the county is that she’ll hear from them about setting up an appointment in about 6 weeks. That’s 1A. As I do work for one of the vaccine manufacturers, I’d be able to get vaccinated with my CDC group through work except for the fact I have a history of anaphylaxis and I did have a significant wheal after this year’s flu shot (when I’d previously not had any reaction) so they won’t touch me at work and I’ll need to discuss with my docs as to whether it’s even safe for me to get vaccinated 🙁
If you want to feel better: in my country (good ole germany) the rollout is so freaking slow, we’re expecting to get ours by the end of the year. Hooray.
The first thing I saw on Twitter this morning was a clip from Laura Ingraham and some shrill woman screeching about how Biden doesn’t get to tell her how to spend the 4th of July. The opposition is so relentlessly cruel and stupid. We do need to remain vigilant because trumpism is still raging as much as COVID.
On a positive note, fantastic news about the vaccines. This gives me some hope for autumn and the holidays. The possibility of a real light at the end of the tunnel is so refreshing and desperately needed. Biden is doing better than I expected.
The fact that the only thing the right wing has currently are their stupid culture wars over Dr. Seuss and yelling about the 4th of July continues to be both hilarious and disconcerting because so many dummies buy into it.
oh no, they have something else. Hannity was apparently pushing a conspiracy theory that Biden is FAKING HIS STUTTER.
the absolute lunacy of the right-wing news sphere is staggering. the REACH they have to perform to “find a scandal” for Biden while completely ignoring all of 45’s criminal activity…just disgusting.
LOL. So she’s just going to sit home alone on July 4th to spite Biden? OK. I’m sure he’ll be devastated.
She probably didn’t like the part where he asked people to not have huge gatherings, but small family and neighborhood celebrations. Those people are the worst – they have no ideas, just bile and tearing down everyone else.
My vaccine envy ends next week! I’m pregnant and am getting the vaccine through CVS. I stayed up all night two nights in a row to get my husband and I an appointment. I’m so excited to shed the fear! This weekend my bank account will get a direct deposit. We have a real President again. My body doesn’t know how to feel joy and relief-I keep crying.
I got the vaccine (in Canada) last week, I work in a medical office. I of course felt very relieved and had a spring in my step, while still following all recommendations and masks are still mandatory here.
Then a couple of days ago there was another outbreak in a nursing home in my town in which all residents and workers were vaccinated!!! Some already had both vaccines!! So we really can’t get complacent even with the vaccines, we still need to be vigilant!
This outbreak is definitely less debilitating and deadly but it really opened my eyes that we still must be careful out there and protect each other!
This is so important! My concern is that there will be outbreaks as people become overly lax. The vaccine seems to be just one layer of protection.
I’m getting my 2nd Moderna shot at the end of the month! So ready to not be so worried all the time.
I live in Fairfax County in Virginia. We are the only county who chose to do their own vaccine distribution instead of partnering with the state of Virginia. I found out yesterday that my county has elected not to accept the Johnson and Johnson vaccine because its efficacy rate is not high enough for their standards. They are only administering Pfizer and Moderna. I’m wondering now how much longer it might take my county to vaccinate its residents without the help of the additional vaccine doses from J&J. So maybe there will be enough vaccine doses for all adults by May, but will we all actually have access to them? I’m in group 1C, meaning I will be one of the last to get the vaccine, and I don’t care which one I get. But now I’m fearful my county won’t have enough for everyone in a timely manner. I do, however, appreciate the daylights out of our president.
I agree with your county’s decision. I want Moderna or Pfizer only. J&J isn’t good enough for me and would not alleviate my worry or stress.
My state is already out of J&J, no more for a few weeks.
I’m not a scientist, but my understanding is that all 3 are effective against serious illness and death, and that J&J was tested later against variants, which may have lowered the efficacy. That said, given the choice, I’d go with the other 2 first myself (I’m 1/2 with Moderna) and every expert out there is saying the best shot is the one you can get.
The one shot J&J is ideal for people who may have difficulty getting back for a second shot, and I think some areas are trying to reserve some for homeless shelters and such.
My husband has co- workers in northern VA who say people are driving to CVS and Walgreens in Southern VA to get vaccinated because they are vaccinating younger age groups there. One of them drove 6 hours to get the vaccine because his wife is pregnant. She was able to get hers locally.
I’m scared of needles and so I am getting equal parts scared and excited that I’ll be vaccinated in a few…weeks? We can measure this in weeks now, right?
Gotta say, when I got my second Moderna shot, the nurse told me she was all done & I couldn’t believe it! I didn’t feel a thing. I was still waiting for the shot. Just don’t look & it’ll be over quickly.
I got the Pfizer shot and it honestly didn’t hurt much at all! I’ve had much worse shots than this. 🙂 You got this!
My mother is deathly afraid of needles too and she was so done with this pandemic that I think it helped get her through the appointments and curtailed some of the anxiety that shots normally give her. Focus on the benefits/protections and not the needle. You can do it!
I received my first jab yesterday (Moderna), and barely felt it. Within two hours, my arm became mildly sore. My neighbor told me to keep moving it, which sounded odd but it worked. The intermittent soreness improved if I gently kept the arm moving. I had no trouble sleeping and had no other side effects.
Today the soreness is gone. I chose to use my non-dominant arm, in case the soreness was more pronounced.
I got the Moderna shot 3 weeks ago – I very much hate needles, and seriously, it barely feels like anything. Same thing w my flu shot last fall. I also needed my MMR shot when I was hired at a hospital here in NYC in 2019, and same thing with barely feeling the needle. Don’t be scared – it really is painless. I DID have a sore arm for almost 2 days and couldn’t pull up my stretchie pants LOL…Good luck!
I was incredibly lucky and got my first one, 2nd one in a few weeks. I’ve been trying to pay it forward by helping others with info and tips to schedule here.
My state is almost at 3 million doses given out, as tough as it is to find appointments, that’s pretty incredible in such a short amount of time. And all I hear is that the people working at the vaccination sites are pleasant, helpful, and kind.
The US is averaging over 2 million a day – we should hit 100 million shots by the end of the weekend! Going to blow past that 100 in 100 days and likely the 150 in 100 days update.
Got my first shot yesterday. Very efficient and organized process. Impressive. Also, never thought I would be happy to be 50. But since it’s the 50 yrs and older they just started vaccinating in my state, I am very lucky to no longer be 49. Younger members of my family are still waiting.
This thrills me. It actually feels like some level of normalcy will be able to begin by…end of summer, probably?!? Just a few months ago, that felt impossible. So thankful to the Biden/Harris administration for making this a priority and getting us the supply we needed.
NJ seems to be doing pretty well with distribution. I’m incredibly grateful to say I’m going for my second dose tomorrow (first round was super well organized), and both my parents have appointments as well. My teacher friends have gotten vaccines, as have my fellow high-risk friends and family members. It feels unreal that in a few months time, I’ll be able to gather safely with my loved ones again. It’s amazing.
I can’t tell you how much I love this man. He saved us from a fairy tale monster.
i just got the call from my Doctor office today. Got my first shot appt March 18. Thank you old age and High Blood Pressure. You finally served me well after all this time. And not for one moment do I think it would have happened so fast under Trump. He would be playing games with the Pharma companies for kickbacks and throwing roadblocks up in blue states.