Good morning, neighbor.
Let’s face it, the last year has been one of the toughest years many if not all of us can remember. The year started out like most others, but things quickly took a turn for the worse. We were all going about our business, making and breaking our New Year’s resolutions and planning for spring, something my friends and family start to think about and try to will into existence by late February or early March. It typically doesn’t turn out how we’d like, though we’ve had a few pretty nice days in the past couple weeks.
When the pandemic hit, there was a lot of confusion as local, state and federal leaders and public health officials tried to figure out just what we should be doing to keep ourselves safe. We received a lot of information and lots of times it was contradictory, but that was because everyone was trying to get a handle on this virus — how it was transmitted, how contagious it was, how deadly.
My thoughts were with many of you who had a loved one — or yourself — fall ill with the virus. Some didn’t even know it, others felt pretty sick but were lucky enough to work their way through at home, while still others had to be hospitalized. Franklin County nursing homes got hit the hardest, and we lost a lot of our older population, the parents, grandparents and great-grandparents of our neighbors.
In a couple weeks, the Greenfield Recorder will be running a series marking the one-year anniversary of when the pandemic hit Franklin County. I have been asked to talk with some of you about your experiences with the virus, especially those of you who lost someone dear to you. I know a few of you, but I’m sure there are more who would be willing to talk about who those loved ones were and what kind of lives they lived before they were stricken ill. If you’re willing to do so, please contact me on my cell at 413-772-9591 or email me at afritz@recorder.com. We can chat, and I promise I will be discreet. My heart is with you.
I continue to think about all of you, and I hope you’re staying safe, following the protocols, getting tested when necessary and waiting your turn for the vaccine. We are going to get there. I spoke with the head of the infectious disease division at Baystate Health last week, and he gave me hope.
“The future is bright,” Dr. Armando Paez told me.
He’s the same doctor I interviewed almost exactly a year ago. Last year, he said people should “prepare not panic.” He said if he had to go back in time, he would say the same, because doctors and scientists didn’t know any more than that about COVID-19.
“It has been a challenging, trying, sometimes heartbreaking year, though there is a light at the end of the tunnel,” Paez said.
It sure has been quite the year, but to know that our neighbors are being vaccinated — and yes, I know that has been a frustrating experience — is an indication the future is much brighter.
“People should celebrate the progress science and scientists have made, including producing a vaccine,” Paez said. “Still, people shouldn’t expect to see the virus disappear immediately, and it might not ever fully disappear, so we have to take precautions.”
Many of you have called me over the past couple of weeks to see if I know something more than I’ve written about how to get a vaccine. The answer, in most cases, has been “no.” But what I can tell you is everyone is doing their best.
There were glitches in the systems when Franklin County first started testing, and now public health officials and others dealing with the logistics of vaccinating everyone — they’re hoping by the end of summer or so — are facing some of the same challenges. Still, I haven’t heard anyone complain about not being able to get a test in months. I hope the case will soon be the same with vaccinating.
I know it’s difficult to be patient, but that’s what we all have to be. We also have to be tenacious. If it takes sitting by your computer, hitting the same button again and again or calling the number I give you each week for the Greenfield vaccine clinic, then do it, and do it again if you have to. You will get in eventually.
I had a woman call me almost in tears this past week. She had tried for hours to sign up for the vaccine. She was ready to give up when I told her that she had to just keep trying, that I’d heard the same stories over and over and many ended in success. I told her to call me if she was still having trouble, and I’d let her know if I had any updated information. I haven’t heard from her; maybe that means she’s got an appointment.
Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) Director of Community Services Phoebe Walker told me the state receives two orders for the vaccine for Franklin County each week — Greenfield and FRCOG — and they’re not sure how many doses they’re getting until later each Friday. Greenfield offers vaccinations every week at the John Zon Community Center, while other members, including clinics in Buckland, Bernardston, South Deerfield, Orange and Montague, rotate weeks. Walker said as soon as temperatures warm, drive-thru clinics will be held. She, too, said the future is looking much brighter.
So, hang in there and keep trying when you become eligible to get the vaccine. Until then, I’ll be writing my regular updates on our numbers, testing, vaccines and whatever other COVID-19-related information becomes available. I’m thinking of all of you and hoping for a much better year.
Stay safe, stay well and call if you need any information I’m not giving you — I will certainly try to get it for you. Until then, also call me if you’d like to talk with me and be a part of our upcoming series.
Senior Reporter Anita Fritz grew up in Franklin County after moving from Spokane, Wash., when she was just a few weeks old. She covers Greenfield and does regional and COVID-19 reporting for the Greenfield Recorder.