Every three to four months means a trip to Dr. Elconin. And this time, we talked more than just about my health. Dr. Elconin is afraid we are headed toward another crisis. Firstly, it’s because there are still people who don’t take Covid-19 seriously despite more than 500,000 deaths in the United States. Remember, that’s more than 3 million worldwide. Secondly, the anti-vaccine trolls are still making a huge dent, peppering the population with misinformation that scares them from taking the vaccine. They even contact my doctor and others around the country, urging them to stop pushing vaccinations. My doctor won’t stop. 

The hospitals in Michigan are filling up to the point of crisis, she said. “I’ve got friends in the medical field who work in hospitals who are overwhelmed,” she said. “They are considering quitting the profession. There is only so much they can take.” 

Today, my doctor seemed to panic more than when the pandemic began more than a year ago. She said the anti-vaccine people are making a big impact. I don’t understand what their goal is. Some of the same people who discourage us from taking the vaccine to protect us from Covid are the same people that told us not to wear a mask. What is their goal?

 “I don’t know,” Dr. Elconin said. “Some people don’t know what they want. Their heads are filled with so much silly information that they don’t know what they want.” 

Then a few weeks ago, I told the world on Twitter that I got my second Moderna vaccine without all the side effects the anti-vaccine folks told me I would get.

No chills. No fever. And no sweating. I didn’t even get a sore arm.

Then there’s my friend Anne, and her vaccine story.

My friend Anne, who lives in Oklahoma, said she felt happy and liberated after receiving her second shot. The anti-vaccine people attacked her, calling her a dumb bitch, and predicted a premature death. Why? What is the point? “They don’t have a point,” Dr. Elconin said. My wife Adrienne is the female Dr. Fauci, and she has done everything she can to protect me. She wanted me to stay in the house, which became more and more difficult. The human spirit craves human interaction.

We need people. We need noise, and we need activity. 

Sitting in front of a computer or television all day becomes boring and stressful. Sometimes I snuck out to Bath and Body Works, not because I needed soap or a nice smelling candle, but because I wanted to see people. Giving my debit card to a cashier after buying more bath soap than I wanted became the highlight of my week. 

That’s really sad. 

Dr. Fauci has pulled back a little bit. Unlike before, she’s given the green light for the family to fly to the west coast to see my daughter Celine graduate from Stanford. The school said that each graduate could have two tickets for the graduation at Stanford Stadium after originally saying it would be a virtual ceremony. However, visitors must socially distance and will have pre-assigned seats. We must also bring proof that we got the vaccine and wear a mask. If I listened to the anti-vaccine people, I would not be able to see my daughter graduate. I am not a doctor, but I encourage everybody to get their vaccine.

We must somehow reach herd immunity which can only reach if 70 percent of the populous gets the vaccine. We are teammates. And we should selfishly take the shots to protect ourselves and take them to protect others. Sometimes we must trust science. We must trust the government. We must love and protect our fellow teammates.