Hello friends,

Great news. I received my COVID-19 vaccine yesterday. As a teacher in Connecticut, the vaccines became available to me on March 1. Our school district quickly established a vaccination center in the gymnasium of our high school and scheduled all teachers for vaccines.

Simple, efficient, and easy.

Though I almost didn’t receive my vaccine. When I was asked it I had any allergies, I told them “Bee stings and mustard.”

“What kind of reaction have you had to bee stings?” the nurse asked.

“I died once and was brought back to life via CPR.”

This caused a bit of concern. Many questions were asked, and many people were consulted. Ultimately, I was injected with the vaccine and placed in a holding area while a nurse watched me carefully for 30 minutes.

I feel so fortunate to be vaccinated. I was speaking to a client in South Korea earlier that same morning. He told me that they won’t be starting vaccinations in South Korea until October.

Then again, South Korea responded appropriately to the pandemic and squashed the disease. As of March 6, 2021, South Korea has reported a total of 1,625 deaths due to COVID-19.

The United States has reported more than 1,625 deaths due to COVID-19 every single day since November 24.

525,000 in all.

Science won the day in South Korea. Stupidity, arrogance, and pretending were the champions here in the United States.

Nevertheless, I want to be sure that we recognize how astounding it is that we are now getting vaccinated. Prior to the COVID-19 vaccine, the fastest vaccine ever developed was for the mumps, and that took five years. We still don’t have a vaccine for the HIV despite decades of trying.

But thanks to the sequencing of the virus’s DNA and a new platform for developing vaccines, the COVID-19 vaccine was developed in record time.

In fact, Moderna designed its vaccine in just two days in January, before most people had even heard of the coronavirus. The delay in distribution came from testing for safety and efficacy, but the actual vaccine was created in less than 48 hours.

Scientists kick ass.

Vaccines were first invented back in 1796 when Edward Jenner discovered that dairymaids who suffered from cowpox also had immunity from smallpox. In May of that year, Jenner found a young dairymaid, Sarah Nelms, who had fresh cowpox lesions on her hands and arms. On May 14, 1796, using matter from Nelms’ lesions, he inoculated an 8-year-old boy, James Phipps, making him the first intentionally vaccinated human being in history. Subsequently, the boy developed mild fever and discomfort. Nine days after the procedure he felt cold and had lost his appetite, but on the next day he was much better. In July 1796, Jenner inoculated the boy again, this time with matter from a fresh smallpox lesion. No disease developed, and Jenner concluded that protection was complete.

The word “vaccine” comes from “vacca,” which means cow.

This was not perfect, of course. Protection from smallpox was not guaranteed through this imperfect process, and many people died in these experiments. Jenner also continued testing his theory on children, which seems barbaric by today’s standards.

But 225 years ago, a scientist began a process that culminated for me on the gym floor of a local high school when I was injected with a vaccine that will soon end this global pandemic.

I felt like I was standing on the shoulders of history as that needle went into my arm. Untold numbers of scientists, each taking one small step forward, ultimately led to my injection.

Hesitancy to get vaccinated is also dropping. Just 13% of American adults said in September they would get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it was made available to them. That jumped to 27% in early December to 43% in early January. Now, 57% say they have already received the vaccine or will get it as soon as possible.

57% is still a stupidly low number.

Anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists are more than willing to enjoy a world absent of smallpox, polio, tetanus, Hepatitis A and B, rubella, haemophilus influenzae, measles, whooping cough, pneumococcal disease, rotavirus, mumps. chickenpox, and diphtheria, all of which have been mitigated or eliminated thanks to vaccines.

They will likely free-ride again on the COVID-19 vaccines. Herd immunity will eventually kick in, effectively eradicating this disease, and once again, the anti-science, anti-vaxxers will benefit from the reasonable, informed, intelligent decisions of others.

It’s infuriating.

It takes about two weeks for full immunity to kick in following the injection, and we still don’t know if being vaccinated means I can’t also spread COVID-19 to others (though signs are pointing to yes), so I will continue to practice social distancing and wear a mask until I can be sure that my decisions will not endanger others.

The governors in states like Texas and Mississippi disagree with this bit of decency. The’ve removed all such restrictions from their states, allowing all business to return to normal, which is stupid and dangerous, but opposing science has become popular amongst a certain segment of our population. South Dakota governor Kristi Noem recently attacked Dr. Fauci and took a victory lap while speaking at C-PAC, touting her rejection of CDC guidelines throughout the pandemic and praising her state’s success.

South Dakota ranks #2 in infections per capita and #8 in deaths per capita, and since July 1, South Dakota is #1 in both categories.

Yet Governor Kristi Noem brags about how well her state has managed the virus.

If you’re not vaccinated already, I hope it will happen soon. Experts predict that the United States will achieve herd immunity sometime between April and October, which is fantastic news. We are closer to returning to normal faster than anyone could’ve ever imagined, thanks to science.

I know it’s been a long, painful, and for many, heartbreaking journey over the last year, but the light at the end of the tunnel is real and getting brighter every day.

Hold on a little while longer if you can.

And if you know a scientist, in any field of research, or a science teacher, thank them for their work today. They are the true saviors of our planet.

THIS WEEK'S LESSON

Don't say the thing then describe the thing.

This was a refrain that I offered in a workshop recently that I thought was worthy of a mention. So often storytellers will tell what happened and then proceed to explain what happened, but this is the wrong order to present things. 

For example:

The fish was bad, and the results were disastrous. It started with an odd burbling in my stomach, followed by a series of burps. I thought that I had problem eaten too fast, but then I felt a shooting pain, emanating in the very pit of my stomach and radiating out. In seconds, I was sweating...

I could go on until things get ugly, but you get the point, I hope.

By opening with "The fish was bad, and the results were disastrous," you've given away all of the suspense and wonder of the moment. Rather than recreating the fear, discomfort, and concern that you experienced in the moment, you opened with a topic sentence that presents information that you did not possess when your stomach first burbled.

This is a mistake.

As storytellers, we should strive to recreate the scene for our audience in the same way we experienced the moment, absent any after-the-fact understanding.

Remove that first sentence, and your audience becomes emotionally involved in your story, hoping and praying that you won't be sick. They are on your side, wondering what is about to happen. 

Include the first sentence and everything that follows is essentially a foregone conclusion.

Don't say the thing then describe the thing. Just describe the thing.  

If you want to learn more or hear some great storytelling, I have the following workshops and shows coming up:

• March 20: "Weddings Behind the Scenes" (7:00 PM EST)
• March 22: Moth GrandSLAM (7:30 PM EST)
• April 21: Humor in Storytelling (4 weeks): How to be funny while telling a story
• May 15: Storytelling Workshop (beginner) 9:30 AM-4:30 PM EST)