Mom Got the Shot
May. 11th, 2021 07:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerMy mom got her shot of the Coronavirus vaccine recently. Up until a few weeks ago she was dead-set against it, citing various conspiracy theories from the fever swamps of conservative TV "news". It turns out the big stumbling block for her was having to deal with anything involving a computer to get it. She explained that while she was driving the main road through town recently she saw a sign in front of the recreation center advertising the vaccine and encouraging people to stop in to make an appointment. Once she was able to get a shot in the good ol' 1950s way— no searching online, no using computer, not even having to make a phone call, just go to the right place— she did it.
It's tempting to point out this is an example of how expecting people to use online mechanisms is unfair to the elderly and the poor, who may lack skills or resources to use the Internet. It's tempting but not entirely accurate because my mom lives with one of my sisters, who is Internet savvy and begged Mom for months to let her set up an appointment for her. Mom is in the sad zone where lack of computer skills intersects with belief in conspiracy theories. I believe she looked at it as, "If you can't get the vaccine just by walking into a clinic, it's a scam and it's not important."
Either way, I'm glad she's on Team Vax now.
It's tempting to point out this is an example of how expecting people to use online mechanisms is unfair to the elderly and the poor, who may lack skills or resources to use the Internet. It's tempting but not entirely accurate because my mom lives with one of my sisters, who is Internet savvy and begged Mom for months to let her set up an appointment for her. Mom is in the sad zone where lack of computer skills intersects with belief in conspiracy theories. I believe she looked at it as, "If you can't get the vaccine just by walking into a clinic, it's a scam and it's not important."
Either way, I'm glad she's on Team Vax now.
