So, February 8th is my appointment for my second Moderna vaccine dose. It will take 2 weeks after that for full protection. I’m not going to run out in public without a mask or a have a big party, but I am going to finally stop feeling the existential dread I have been feeling for the last year. I’ve seen COVID up close and personal. It’s not abstract for me, and it’s one fucking scary monster.
What I will do is finally feel safer. I’ll still mask up in public and still take all my normal precautions, because I care about others as well. We don’t know if being vaccinated prevents you from still potentially infecting others, and while the vaccine is 95% effective, it’s not 100%. So until the majority of the population has immunity, it’s no time to let my guard down. However, I think I will feel significantly safer.
I’ve done this before. I grew up during the height of the AIDS epidemic, and until Prep came out, I never felt truly safe. Again, Prep isn’t 100% effective, but it’s pretty darn effective. For the past 30 years, I’ve always had that nagging worry in the back of my mind, and Covid is no different. It’s not an unusual feeling for gay men. I guess we are just used to it, and maybe we handle it better because we haven’t had any choice for a long, long time.
It’s going to be a while before enough people get vaccinated to put this pandemic in the rear view mirror, and the viral mutations are concerning, but I have little doubt that it will happen. Life will get back to normal at some point later this year.
Also, it’s been unbelievably pleasant not having to read the news each morning wondering what damage the Cheetolini has wrought that day. Normalcy is quite pleasant. It’s scary how fragile democracy really is, and I don’t think we quite yet know how far that bastard actually went to subvert it (farther than we know, I have no doubt).
So, life is looking like it might get back to normal in 2021, what with the vaccines coming online and Mr Biden in the White House. And Georgia, I fucking love you!
Have patience, my friends. We have a ways to go, but we will get there!
-Doc