Greg Schatten is an IT professional from the Portland area. We spoke with him recently about his reasons for being vaccinated, what he’s looking forward to post-vaccination, and side effects. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.  

Why did you choose to be vaccinated?  

I wanted to feel like I was being responsible and setting myself at the lowest risk level. My base occupation is as a project manager and you learn all about risks, how to remediate them, and how to figure out the best way to manage your risks.  When you see the overwhelming data for most of these vaccines including the COVID vaccines it makes logical sense to just get vaccinated. Also, not being vaccinated makes me a higher risk to everyone around me. I don’t feel good being in that position.  

What are you looking forward to doing when you’re fully vaccinated?  

Going out to eat in a somewhat normal fashion again and traveling. I already have a trip to Europe planned for October that I’m hoping to be able to take. 

I’d like to be able to work back in the office again. I find I’m more productive when I’m there. At the office I find out things I need to know to do my job well, by checking in with people spontaneously. You lose that social connection to your peers. Maybe it’s because I live alone there’s no going into a room and shutting a door and saying this is my work space. My house has an open floor plan so basically, I’m going 10 feet from the couch to work. I also have a short attention span so working from home can be distracting.  

I walk a lot too. This whole thing about passing people on the sidewalk – the distance, the who’s going to hop off or move into the street first, all those unspoken rules – some people follow them and some people don’t.  It would be nice to be done with all that.  

Knowing that my risk of a serious COVID issue was heading to almost nil was a huge relief after a year of having to be scared of everyone’s shadow.  

Share your vaccine story with us by filling out our survey, either in English or Spanish, or by using the hashtags #MyVaccineReason or #MiVozMiVacuna when you share on your social media channels. As we learn more about when and where vaccinations are available, information will continue to be posted at covidvaccine.oregon.gov and vacunacovid.oregon.gov. 

This article first appeared in the May 4, 2021 issue of Oregon Coronavirus Update.