“The Far Side” once had a female & male couple in a fall-out shelter, nuclear war having ravaged the Earth above them. They’re surrounded by canned goods stacked floor-to-ceiling. The caption is one saying to the other: “I told you to pack a can opener!”

Planning has been absent during the pandemic. Federal level: the soon-to-be-former occupant of the Oval Office has cheated at golf while over 300K have died. Indiana: planning has not been much better.

First responders are critical to our fight against COVID. They should be right at the top of the list of people to get vaccinated. It seems that Indiana has used licenses of health care providers to contact people about shots. Problems: not all license holders are “active.”

One such person, inactive in health care but still licensed, contacted me and said she had been notified that her shot was available. There should be little difficulty in contacting ERs, nursing homes and other places for lists of people we really need vaccinated.

Those names are on computer files, and even the Commodore 64s, apparently the machine en vogue in some Hoosier counties, can access those names, as well as the names of teachers, grocery store employees, servers in restaurants - to name a few other groups who need shots.

These people have helped us who are alive maintain our lives. The flip side to this is that shots await - in storage and very cold - but still await. One person who works in drugs said the doses are safe, but not being used.

I’m an idealist, but in a pandemic, the lists of people who should be vaccinated first should be a priority. Getting out the shots should be high on that list, too. At least we have SOME priorities straight: funds for expansion of the Convention Center had to be front burner.

Indianapolis plans for the future, by embracing an economic model from 30 years past. The State seeks to save lives by relying on outdated lists. At least the freezers in which the shots are stored still work.