Have you felt pangs of jealousy watching friends and neighbors get their vaccinations while you're still waiting for your turn?
It’s a new medical phenomenon born from how the government has handled - or not handled - the coronavirus pandemic.
From the very beginning of the crisis, there has not been a national strategy for handling COVID-19. That includes everything from wearing masks to closing schools, and now who’s eligible for any one of three vaccines approved for use in the United States.
While some states like California have very narrow eligibility requirements, Dr. Jody Gan, lecturer in the Department of Health Studies at American University, said some states like Mississippi have opened up vaccinations to anyone over 16.
But the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
"They still have 30,000 vaccines sitting around that haven’t gone utilized versus Santa Clara, for example, hasn’t had new appointments in the last three weeks, so really, really different," she explained.
That, Dr. Gan explained, has led to a rise in so-called "vaccine jealousy" that we really haven't seen before this pandemic.
You know what we’re talking about. It’s the endless stream of friends and family showing up in your social media feeds, posing with their vaccine cards after they’ve gotten the shot. It's caused some desperate people to stretch the truth to qualify for shots or even travel out of the county or state to get stuck.
"These decisions are up to states, so we see differing approaches from state to state and it’s really become quite in the spotlight right now as there’s a lot of vaccine jealousy among people and states where the eligibility requirements are still quite narrow."
If states, territories and tribes abide by President Biden’s call to expand eligibility for a COVID-19 vaccine, so-called "vaccine jealousy" will be a thing of the past in a few weeks.
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