It's a Fine Line for Queue Haters When It Comes to Food Shopping and Vaccines - Barron's

Philadelphia city employees line up to schedule their second Covid-19 vaccine shot this past week. Our columnist isn't among them.

Mark Makela/Getty Images

When I shop at Trader Joe’s there’s usually a line of people snaking around the front.  I walk right past them into the store.

There is an even more important line I’d love to bypass: the one to get vaccinated against Covid-19. This time, I plan to wait my turn. 

I’m not a line-cutter. Trader’s Joe gives priority to people over 60 years old and to the disabled for an hour twice a week because of the pandemic So, at 64 years old, I am entitled to bypass the line, and I do. In fact, the only time I go to the store anymore is during its senior hours.

I do feel a bit of guilt getting special treatment. One time I pulled the hood off my head just before entering the store so the people waiting outside could see my gray hair.  They didn’t look impressed.

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I’m not infirm. I’m a still a fast walker and can get around the store fine. And yet I bypass the line.

Just because I have the right to do it is it the right thing to do?

We spend our lives navigating between two opposite poles: self-interest and altruism.

People who think only of themselves are difficult to be around, sometime even dangerous.

And yet people who never think about themselves can create problems as well. It’s a balancing act.

Until a year and a half ago, I commuted every day into New York. If I saw a pregnant woman or an elderly person having trouble standing, I would offer my seat on the train or subway. If I were commuting again, I would do the same thing.

Why do I feel OK dodging the line at Trader Joe’s even if I’m perfectly capable of standing in it? For one, even seniors in good health are more prone to the virus. It’s comforting to be able to quickly enter the store all masked up, do my shopping, and skedaddle.

But there’s another factor: I hate waiting in lines.

I’ve been thinking a lot about lines and line-cutting as the coronavirus vaccination campaign rolls out. I am a big believer in vaccinations, and would like to get a needle in my arm as soon as possible.

Yet because I’m under 65 and not an essential worker, I probably won’t be vaccinated for a while.

I find this both frustrating and entirely proper. Those who are most vulnerable and or exposed to the virus through their jobs should be vaccinated first.

Indeed, our household has benefited from this policy. My wife and son both are both in high-risk groups that qualified them for early vaccinations. They got their first shots a couple of weeks ago. It was a relief.

I free-lance articles from home these days. I’m in a better position to wait this thing out than millions of other Americans.

So I’ll wait my turn in the vaccination line.

But I’m going to keep dodging the line at Trader Joe’s when I go. I may be going less often, however. Now that my wife is vaccinated, she says she should be the one doing the shopping. I can live with that. . 

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