Classic Mr NYC

It's hard to believe but it's already been two years since the COVID-19 vaccine began rolling out en masse. The world was still reeling although beginning, slowly but surely, to recover as millions of needles jabbed millions of arms.

This was before the dark anti-vax forces began to wield their disinformation weapons, aiming squarely at the ignorant. 

No, in this period of time two years ago, brief though it was, most (sane) people were scrambling to get an appointment to get the vaccine. This included, here in NYC, a mass vaccination site at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.

Beth Fertig, then a reporter for WNYC radio, got her shot there and filed a radio story putting the vaccine and the vaccination effort into historical context, and what a great achievement it was. It was a simple but powerful story, and I blogged about it at the time -- and now, two years since the vaccination rollout and three years since the pandemic hit, it's amazing to see how right she was.  

A Monument for Our Time

This morning I heard what may be one of the best pieces of radio commentary I've ever heard. It's by the WNYC reporter Beth Fertig recounting her experience getting her COVID-19 vaccine shot at the Javits Center. 

I won't try to summarize or explain it because that would ruin it -- you must simply listen to or read it to appreciate its power.

What happily surprises me, however, is how much it reverberates with my previous blog post about how, in these seemingly nihilistic times, we must look to and celebrate the helpers, the healers, the creators, the builders, people who seek to improve and enrich our world in time when so many others seems determined to ruin it. How the vaccines and their distribution is, in many ways, a monument to humanity's great ability to hope for a better future.

And that this is why NYC has changed and thrived for over 400 years --- and will for another 400 years.