Getting a shot? Then take a bow!
Amid the strains of daily life in 2021 — a list that never seems to shrink, only to grow — Bay Area residents can at least feel good about this: Most of us are still taking the coronavirus pandemic seriously.
There are caveats, obviously. The current steps toward a more “normal” daily life raise the specter of yet another disruptive, deadly surge. But in comparison with other places across the country and around the world, this region is showing the power of a cautious approach.
Consider a new U.S. Census Bureau survey that puts the San Francisco area ahead of any other large metropolitan hub on vaccinations. We had the highest share of respondents who said they had been vaccinated, 42%, according to the COVID19 Household Pulse Survey conducted last month, and we were second only to Seattle in the proportion of adults who say they “definitely” plan to get their shots. In the Bay Area, 72% of residents surveyed were eager to get vaccinated if they hadn’t already done so; nationwide, ominously, the figure is 51%.
No doubt there are local residents convinced that vaccines contain government-implanted microchips, conspiracy buffs being everywhere. But they appear to be on the fringes in the Bay Area.
Equally heartening, the pandemic hasn’t dulled our sense of humanity. Case in point? The joyous, affirming music that fills the air at San Francisco’s Moscone Center as people show up for their first or second shot. Workers at the mass vaccination site put together the playlist — Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day” is one selection, and, yes, Gloria Gaynor belting out “I Will Survive” is another — with the implicit message that as bad as things might be, we can get through together.
The current quest for vaccines follows a year of vigilance that set the Bay Area apart from other American metropolises. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the area that includes San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley had a cumulative COVID19 death rate of 72 per 100,000 people. Other regions suffered as many as two or even three times as many losses per capita; Greater Los Angeles’ was a sobering 211 per 100,000.
We still need to show caution. It’s disturbing to see more and more people forgoing masks — or wearing them as useless chin guards. Whether you’re clueless or stubbornly selfabsorbed, it’s not a good look.
But at a time when entire states and nations act as though they can wish the pandemic away, most Bay Area residents seem to realize the importance of mixing optimism with caution. The longer we do so, the better off we will be.