looking in the mirror

I might almost believe the pandemic was over, as busy as I have been of late...

almost, but not quite.

That's because all of the events have been via a 15-inch screen, not in person.

Even those events which have been live, like the performance of "Alice In Wonderland" a few weeks ago, have left me feeling as though I were watching television...

but with people I know on the screen.

Since then, I've deliberately scheduled more zoom events, hoping to acclimate my mind to this facsimile of reality, as the pandemic will be persisting longer than hoped by many.

I'd like to be proved wrong on this, I really would.

Sigh.

C'mon, folks, get the vaccines when they become available for your age group!

Even then, continue to practice the three W's, bearing in mind that vaccinating 70% of the population of the USA is going to take most of the year, as it all has to be done one person at a time, one dose at a time... and then has to be repeated for each person.

So, for 328,000,000 people, that means there will have to be 656,000,000 vaccinations, with each person taking up roughly 15 minutes per visit... so, for 70% of the total to be made safe by the vaccine, that will require 15 minutes X 459,200,000 visits, for a total of 6,888,000,000 minutes. 

Don't like the look of that number?

Okay, let's make it hours, so that would be: 114,800,000 hours.

Now, let's say the vaccination visits are being scheduled for 12 hours per day, that means the process would take 9,567,000 days to accomplish, if only one place was doing the shots.

Fortunately, there are many more places that are doing so.

However, to get the necessary herd immunity benefit going in our favor by June - and to prevent the massive increase in infections seen last year - just how many places would need to be dishing out anti-COVID shots?

Well, including tomorrow, we have 98 days until June 1st.

That means the United States of America would require 97,623 locations to be distributing the vaccines into arms, 12 hours per day, weekends included.

Now, what if each site had three people administering the shots, working those 12-hour shifts, how many vaccination locations would be required?

Well, then we're down to 32,541.

Of course, all of that would depend on the manufacturers of the vaccines keeping up with production in order to keep those sites fully supplied.

It would also depend on the people with appointments arriving timely and departing just as timely so the next people can get in.

Even so, each center, with three people administering shots, every 15 minutes, for 12 hours per day, would only be able to vaccinate 144 people per day...

and that's hustling, keeping a steady flow of people in and out...

with the manufacturers producing 4,685,904 doses per day....

and getting them distributed to those 32,451 vaccination sites.

It is truly a logistical nightmare.

That's why I know, as a scientist and analytical chemist, that the pandemic will be persisting through the summer months and into the fall.

The numbers bear that out. 

Please, someone, prove me wrong.

I'm not saying that vaccinating people is not a good thing...

because it truly is a most wondrous thing...

but, it is a slow process when there are so many people.

Patience is still needed before life can ramp back up again -

before concerts, theatres, and sporting events can have live audiences again -

before bars, gyms, salons, and restaurants can be full and profitable again -

before students can have teachers close enough to touch again...

patience.

So, I continue interactions with others via Zoom and Vimeo and YouTube and facebook.

Patience.

That's not particularly a trait I am known for possessing...

but, I am trying to acquire more of it.

Sigh.