Hey, Washington state? Do we have enough vaccines to start dropping that age limit way, way down for the COVID vaccines? Alaska already beat us to it! They announced this week that essential workers over the age of 16 years* can get their shots squared away. How 'bout them lower age apples for us here, too? Don't get me wrong, I still wear my mask any and everywhere, but still, I'm ready to take that vaccine so we can all stop wearing them and get back to living our lives to the fullest.

Click here for the Washington state Phase Finder Tool. You can see when/if you are finally qualified to get the vaccine. If you are not, they allegedly will text you the moment you become next on the list.

Beginning March 22 in Washington state, the DOH says pregnant persons and people in agriculture, certain elements of the vast food industry, prisons, public transit services, first responders, and those who work in large groups as "high-risk critical workers" will be next in line to get the COVID vaccine. The rest of us just get to hurry up and wait.

WA State COVID Vaccine Phases
WA Dept. of Health
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I feel like yelling, "We want shots! Shots! Shots!" (No, I"m not talking about the drinking kind this time!)

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There are many states still struggling to get coronavirus shots to keep up with the demand, but Washington surely has a big stack of vaccines coming, don't we?

I have been waiting impatiently for my turn to get the COVID-19 vaccine. I keep hearing stories of folks afraid to get the shot and I can see why. There was the horrifying Tuskegee Experiment that left a nasty taste about getting vaccines in the mouths (and minds) of many people, particularly Black Americans. Others locally may be feeling like the vaccine really won't prevent them from catching The 'Rona.

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We have been dealing with a pandemic quarantine and going through all of these Phase openings and I know I am not the only one who has gone batty trying to deal with our "new normal". While there are many things about being in quarantine that I have come to embrace, like staying at home to attend staff meetings, board meetings, concerts, movies, and Girl Scout meetings virtually, there are so many things I miss from our old life and I want them to come back YESTERDAY!

I need to be next on that list and so do the rest of us because I personally cannot wait to take my 10-year-old child on a Disney cruise to see Princess Tiana at sea. I yearn to grab a beer and yell at the top of my lungs at an NHL Seattle Kraken hockey game when they open up. Hanging out with my girlfriends without needing to wear a face mask would be wonderful. Flying out to Tennessee to visit my mom and my favorite cousins would cure my bouts of being homesick. Offering up my home so that Willow can have a sleepover party is next on my list of things to do once we can tame the pandemic beast. I bet there's a scroll of a list you have of the things you want to do.

I am likely to be last on the list to qualify to get the vaccine. Please hurry up, Vaccine People. We want our old lives back!

*In addition to Alaskans with severe health issues and/or over the age of 55, homes without adequate water access, and who live in "multigenerational families". Get more info here.

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