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People Are Getting Vaccine FOMO After Seeing Friends Get The Jab

Kimberley Bond

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| Last updated 

People Are Getting Vaccine FOMO After Seeing Friends Get The Jab

Featured Image Credit: PA Images

The coronavirus vaccine is thought to be the tool in taking us out of lockdown and back to something that resembles normal life.

The jabs, which are being rapidly administered around the UK, are first being given to those who are older or more vulnerable due to underlying health conditions, as well as health workers and NHS volunteers.

People are starting to receive their vaccinations (Credit: PA Images)
People are starting to receive their vaccinations (Credit: PA Images)

However, the speed at which both the Pfizer and Astra-Zeneca vaccine is being shot into the nation's arms have seen nearly half the UK receive at least the first out of two jabs, with everyone over 50 having been invited to be vaccinated.

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While the UK government predicts all adults will have been offered the first shot by July, some of us are feeling increasingly jealous of our loved ones who have already been vaccinated.

And with Prime Minister Boris Johnson now reportedly considering a 'vaccine certificate' or coronavirus testing as a pre-requisite into entering venues such as pubs and clubs, many people are getting increasing amounts of FOMO about having to wait for the jab.

Over 29 million people have received at least one jab (Credit: Shutterstock)
Over 29 million people have received at least one jab (Credit: Shutterstock)

Naturally, people have vented about the long wait on Twitter.

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One woman wrote: "Getting vaccine envy. It feels as though I'll never get one at the rate my area is pushing them out."

Another said: "I have vaccine envy! Didn't even know this could be a thing... I'm envious of my vaccinated friends and family. So weird."

"I was so sure I wouldn't feel vaccine envy," a third said. "Turns out I really do and I am not doing well with it!"

People are feeling major vaccine envy (Credit: Twitter)
People are feeling major vaccine envy (Credit: Twitter)
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"I'm starting to get vaccine envy. Feels like most people I know has had it already," a fourth person moaned.

Are you jealous of the jabbed? (Credit: Twitter)
Are you jealous of the jabbed? (Credit: Twitter)

As it stands, 29 million people in the UK have had at least their first dose - meaning around half of us are looking enviously at our loved ones.

Many are experiencing vaccine Fomo (Credit: Twitter)
Many are experiencing vaccine Fomo (Credit: Twitter)
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And as vaccine envy is such an increasingly common sentiment around the world that the Germans have invented a word specifically to describe it: 'impfneid'.

Speaking about why vaccine envy exists, psychologist Lee Chambers tells Tyla: "It is no surprise that many people are feeling vaccine envy right now. It is worth reminding ourselves that the past year has seen our freedoms and control restricted, heightening our desire to make choices and cherish things we can control.

"The vaccine feels like a cure for our anxieties around our health and a signal that stability is returning. With each passing day being a risk if not vaccinated and continued talk of potential restrictions on those not vaccinated, our envy has become heightened.

"This is especially the case as we start to see more people we know having it, but still no definite date that we will for us to attach to. This anticipation is testing our patience, and without a clear order, it can feel unfair, which only fuels our envy."

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If you genuinely are struggling with 'impfneid', or vaccine envy, you can use this vaccine calculator which estimates when you will receive your vaccine.

Others are more optimistic about the rollout (Credit: Twitter)
Others are more optimistic about the rollout (Credit: Twitter)

Or, you can try and remain positive about the outlook, as this one Twitter user does.

"I do not have vaccine envy even though I will not be vaccinated for months," she wrote. "I love seeing people get protected and knowing that they are safe and that they are keeping others safe and that we are all closer together to a world where COVID doesn't kill so many."

Topics: UK News, lockdown, Coronavirus, Covid-19

Kimberley Bond
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