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This is all great news. At the same time, it's important to stress here that we all need to have realistic expectations as to when each of us can expect to receive one of the vaccines. The dates listed above are solely dates when those falling into these categories will be eligible to register to receive a vaccine through the DC online portal.??? ?You're not going to be vaccinated on that day and it seems very unlikely that you will get a date for vaccination on that date. It only means that you will be permitted to register, answer some questions and provide contact information. You are not even likely to know what provider/location would give you the vaccine.?

Keep in mind that about 85,000 individuals were eligible for the vaccine in phase one A. Only a little over 20% have received the first of two doses of one of the two vaccines so far. There are over 300,000 people in the Jan 11, Jan 25 an Feb 1 groups listed above. It's going to take some time.

There are a lot of variables here. Some can be planned for. Some, not so much. Whether DC gets its supplies of vaccine doses as planned. Whether they come late. Whether they get less doses than anticipated at a certain time (or more). Whether other new vaccines become approved and available and what their schedule of doses and storage requirements are like. What, if any, impact the emergence of the UK COVID strain will have on vaccination strategies.? And the nuts and bolts of the delivery system and the capabilities/capacities of implementing partners giving the vaccines could, and (probably will) have glitches. The categories set by DC for prioritization could also shift/expand/contract based on any of this. Just think back to theCOVID testing capacities/criteria/strategies and how these shifted based on supply, demand, and other factors . The point is, it would be naive to think that this is not likely to be a road with bumps and detours along the way. But it is a road, and it is taking us somewhere.

Forgive me if I take the analogy a little bit further.? While we're all on this road we still need to wear our seat belts. We're all going to be wearing masks, social distancing, practicing good hygiene and being "careful" at least until next Fall and maybe for a good bit longer. The spread of the new strain may potentially make all of this even more important than it is already. And, even if some get the vaccines early on, while they may be protected from severe illness, there seems to be a possibility that they could still transmit the virus to others.

?I don't even know what to say about the other costs, in livelihood, lost opportunities, education and in basic survival that many have disproportionately faced and will continue to face. Except to say it's not going away and for lots of people, it's going to get worse and that we all need to find ways to take responsibility and share the load in any way we can.?

best, Steve Holtzman, 6B05

Postscript: For everyone who is not a health worker but still jumped into the "VaccinateDC" site and registered :? IIt bears noting here that in the past week, an indeterminate but probably large number of people in our city, regardless of whether they were eligible for phase 1A vaccine receipt, heard about the link, clicked on it and decided to fill out the registration questionnaire. The link was available in some online articles. Some of our local listservs had it posted. And it wasn't that difficult to just search and find it on the DC Health site. The site was explicit that it was only accepting registration from health workers right now. And the questionnaire was clearly designed initially only for that group. It didn't, for example, ask?questions about chronic medical conditions or occupation both of which are key factors in determining whether anyone is slated to get the vaccine in the next phases. ?But, the problem is that it still let anybody else access the registration, fill it out and submit it. I just checked. It still allows this. The fairly explicit request of the Mayor yesterday was that people who don't fit the current eligibility criteria should not register right now. It may be potentially slowing down the system. The questionnaire will be modified before the next phase so that it is structured appropriately for the next categories of those registering. For those who haven't registered but are still considering doing it regardless of guidance, the request is to please? be patient and wait.