Doses for any of the four COVID-19 vaccines currently in circulation are sought after around the world. Receiving a shot in the arm is a cause for celebration – it’s the most effective way for humanity to finally stop the pandemic that killed 525,000 Americans within a year.
It is understandable that people announce their vaccinations with joyful selfies and broadcast their triumphs to friends, family and the general public. But with vaccination selfies comes the question: How did you get the chance to receive your shot?
Even if the envy of vaccines is booming, this is not a question you should ask. The requirements for receiving a vaccine in the United States is well known at this stage: To get a chance in your condition, you must meet a certain age requirement or live with at least one of a number of comorbidities. Not everyone wants to know if they have a disease that qualifies them for a vaccine. And they do not have to.
Not everyone wants their disease public
Someone you know may have no detectable signs of illness, but he has had an illness all his life. Announcing a difficult diagnosis such as cancer is difficult enough if it is limited to friends and family. If someone has to explain to an acquaintance that he has been battling an illness for a long time, it can place an unnecessary emotional burden on the person receiving vaccination.
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Before COVID-19, people with chronic diseases already expected stigma to be eradicated and to the wider society. A 2011 study conducted by Yale researchers and published by the National Institutes of Health, investigated the link between stigma and chronic diseases.
The researchers noted how chronic diseases can permeate the lives of the afflicted people, often in ways beyond their control.
People diagnosed with chronic diseases report that they experience social rejection, termination of employment and poor health care due to their chronic illness. It is important that people living with chronic diseases can expect stigma. Expected stigma is the belief that prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping will be directed in the future by others themselves.
It is possible that the person receiving a vaccine is not enthusiastic about explaining how they qualify, for fear of being thought of differently or considered weak.
There is also the demand for the body mass index and the stigma of obesity. People with BMIs older than 30 qualify for vaccinations. This is a qualification that does not all who qualify through BMI is enthusiastic about, and it is definitely within anyone’s right to keep this information private.
If you ask you ask
If someone is not in your immediate family, or is a good friend, it is not really your health. On top of that, you run the risk of making them feel guilty. Although each dose is undeniably essential, it remains true that people who receive doses feel that they qualify through happiness, and that there is someone else out there who needs it more.
It is possible that you are alienating someone who is already struggling with the complicated feelings of vaccination. There are only a limited number of doses, although the United States is expected to have enough to vaccinate anyone who wants to shoot in May. Given the slow, difficult process of distributing vaccines, it is possible that someone who gets a shot may suffer from a case of vaccine debt, even if they have a cohabitation that they legally qualify for a jab while stocks last is limited.
The point is: Do not ask unless you have already agreed with the person where both can express openness and vulnerability with each other. If you do not have the conditions, congratulate the person on the vaccination. Not all diseases are visible. It is possible that someone you know has diabetes, or has an autoimmune disorder that enables them to qualify. And if they do not want you to know about their health, it is their right not to tell you.