Suz, thanks for explaining. I had been taking a break from news after the inauguration here, though with my job I do hear some things so I'm never fully out of the loop. I had heard about Europe but didn't realize Canada had the same problem.

Update - the appointment went like clockwork at CVS on Sunday. You'd never know the preceding drama to get the appointment.

I'm personally not eligible yet; my husband is older than I am. I can't imagine what happens when they open the next eligibility group - isn't it 16 and older? Even if there is more vaccine available, it will be a tsunami of people hitting the servers to schedule appointments.

I think the differences in tone here have to do with some of us having a different risk profile. It’s comparatively easy to say sit back, be patient and wait your turn if you don’t aren’t of elevated risk or need a specific vaccine for medical or religious reasons. It’s hard if you have elevated risk but aren’t in a category the state picked for early vaccination, then it feels like nameless bureaucrats are playing Russian roulette for you. I am grateful my MIL and my stepmom are vaccinated, but we lost another fragile relative to the completely unnecessary Thanksgiving case surge, and to the fact that despite CDC guidelines to the contrary the State decided not to include his condition in the priority list. We will have lost so many of our elders!

Here's a concerning situation - I went to LabCorp today for bloodwork. I know one of the phlebotomists well from years of going to this location. She has not yet been vaccinated although she is eligible, because LabCorp will not give employees time off for this purpose! They have to "schedule vaccines on their off days" in her case, Wed afternoon or weekends. Unreal. You cannot pick and choose vaccine dates, times, and places right now - you have to go with the first available that is in reasonable distance! I am not sure if this is a LabCorp-wide stance, as she indicated that this was the direction from her supervisor. She works 5 days a week in a manually laborious job where she can't spend hours at a time web surfing vaccine site options. She tries to get an appointment during her breaks, and at night, but has not succeeded.

This person works inches --not 6 feet - away from many people every day, specifically with bodily fluids. Although of course she's masked and shielded, her risk is really high.

Cat2, my earlier post on this thread was of the "sit back and be patient" ilk.

I don't want to get into the nitty-gritty "woe is me" details of my own personal information, but just fyi I probably won't get a turn because any vaccine probably won't work for me (long story). All I CAN do is sit around and be patient and wait for everyone else to get their turn. And no, it isn't easy.

Unfortunately we've had 4 years of chuckleheads in power (here in the US) and now we all have to deal with it.

Laurie - that seems so shortsighted from the employer doesn't it! Incredibly frustrating and disappointing.

And on the flip side, the bakery is offering time off for vaccinations but wants everyone to be vaccinated in two weeks or you have to take leave! That is highly unrealistic. That’s a deadline that’s absolutely gonna be moved.

Sloper, thanks for the response, I appreciate the extra context. That must make all of the delays even more frustrating for you! We have been through so much with folks refusing to work together on what should have been a coordinated public health response. The politics of who gets the vaccine when, for those of us who are somewhere in the queue, is also really hard to deal with.

Cat2 - thanks for your thoughts. I feel I blew my trigger a bit quickly with my last post, so I appreciate your thoughtful and reasonable response. We're all on eggshells of some sort now.

I hope you and your family can find resolution soon.

Re LabCorp - seems to be supervisor-related situation. I know a senior exec on the technology side and brought this to his attn. He said it is not the corporate policy. Likely some young clueless supervisor who has not tried to get a vaccine appointment and has no idea what it's about.

I did not name my tech, or the specific location of the lab b/c I don't want to get her in trouble, but hopefully a wider communication might go out about this that will help those employees.

@Rachy - keep us posted. I understand your employer trying to incentivize everyone to get vaccinated, but it shouldn't be punitive under the circumstances!