By: Sam Travis 

Staff Writer

Email: stravis1@umassd.edu

Signs of worries, but also signs of hope. Starting April 16, all Massachusetts residents will be eligible for open enrollment vaccinations. It is already said that half of Mass adults have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, so the fact that all residents will be eligible in just several says is a sign of hope that the state may just be able to finally get this pandemic under control. It is definitely worth something to celebrate, but it is also not a surprise that many people may find this concerning at the beginning. 

Massachusetts is already well-known for staggering their vaccine enrollments for several months now. First, only the elderly and essential workers were eligible for their vaccines, which makes sense, since they were fighting this war with COVID from the very beginning. Then people with two underlying conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, were eligible. After that, people only needed one underlying condition to be eligible for their vaccine. By this time, many Mass residents were itching to get vaccines in their arms, checking websites and the news every day, wondering when it would finally be their time. But now it seems the time is finally coming around. 

So what are some of the concerns residents in Mass have? One of the biggest concerns is that if there will be enough vaccines for everyone. It is no surprise to anyone that getting a vaccine early this year has not been easy. There has been confusion trying to sign up on websites, in which it says appointments are available but then everything is taken. This may not sound too unfamiliar to the issues last year, when people had difficulty getting a COVID-19 test. Oftentimes, people need to take the vaccine appointments they can get, because then they might be quickly taken by someone else. 

Clearly, many people are concerned with getting their COVID-19 vaccine, worrying if they will not be able to sign up, or the concerns of no vaccines available. But what everyone needs to remember is to be patient. Vaccines will not be rolled out overnight for every single person in the state of Massachusetts. It is going to take time and patience from everyone for this to all go smoothly. People just need to be cautious and to also remember to see the bright side of this as well. The fact that every person in Mass will soon be eligible is a sign of hope that each day is one step closer to finally ending this pandemic.