A NY Times lede: "It took Matthew Phillips four hours to get a coronavirus test. Mr. Phillips, a 34-year-old Seattle resident, spent Wednesday morning refreshing dozens of websites on his laptop until he could find an appointment. And once he did get to a testing site, he spent another hour and a half in line before it was his turn. He is now hoping he will get a negative result in time for his flight to Houston on Thursday to see his relatives for Christmas."
Mr. Phillips should consider himself lucky.
My daughter is a Seattle resident. What she needed and wanted was not a coronavirus test but a booster shot. Days ago (she works days and works many evenings as well) she was finally able to book an appointment for one — for next Thursday. Then, of course, it will be 14 days before the booster is completely effective. She's not traveling for the holidays; she merely wants to be safe and safe toward others. But from beginning to end — from booking an appointment to full anti-viral effectiveness — such safety will require an approximately four-week delay.
I post this out of no little anger, which is always a bad idea, but ...
The CDC keeps blaring to the public, Get boosted! Then, even in major urban areas such as Seattle, appointments for boosters are long in the coming. I want someone to blame but there's no one. No single government entity is identifiably responsible for my daughter's situation and that of, surely, thousands of others — not the feds, not the state, not the municipality; it's all just one huge muddle of unaccountability. Hence anger turns to a kind of blind rage.
My anger becomes especially intense when I think of all those Americans who are trying to be personally and socially responsible but can't get boosted right away, while boosters sit unused in areas where vaccine indifference thrives.
Anyway, once again, Mr. Phillips, consider yourself lucky.