Vaccines are finally rolling out and at-risk populations are receiving them. Understandably, this process has been a little chaotic. However, there are unnecessary additional risks for those getting the vaccine.

Earlier this week, my mom took my grandma to get the vaccine. My grandma had an appointment, she did everything right. But guess what? My elderly grandma still had to stand outside, in a long line of people for at least 45 minutes in below freezing weather on potentially icy grounds.

Now, this happened in Johnson County, but if it’s happening there — it’s probably happening in other places too. Not to mention there might be different or other unforeseen dangers depending on the location.

I’m beyond pissed off. There are so many “what-if’s” that I could think of. What if she slipped and fell? She could break a hip, or another bone. Something like that could’ve left her bedridden for a long, long time. What if she got sick standing in the cold like that? The health complications from just getting a simple fever at her age is something I don’t even want to think about.

I know trying to organize the vaccines distribution has not been an easy task. I have the utmost respect for those in healthcare that are trying to do their best to get everyone their vaccines. However, regardless of how chaotic things might be, more thought must be put into this.