Momentum. Kind of.

 

Due to the fact that I studied English at university, a subject that most students take with the goal of becoming a teacher eventually, and made quite a few friends during my studies, many of my friends are teachers. This means that as of last week, they are among the "chosen few" among the Austrian population who have received the first dose of their Covid vaccine. Not even my parents (aged 70+, with my father being in the high-risk group as well) even have a date when they will get their shots. 

What until recently seemed very abstract with me actually only knowing one person (my cousin, who is a doctor) in this country who has been vaccinated, is now becoming real and I feel that we're gaining a bit of momentum towards some kind of normality, eventually. There are days when rising infection rates, warnings by medical staff that ICU beds might again become scarce soon and news about yet another new virus mutation makes me feel powerless and afraid that we're now stuck in some kind of pandemic "Groundhog Day" situation forever. The fact that my friends are getting vaccinated (and reported no side effects at that) gives me a bit of hope.