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Julie Kirkpatrick: Why I took the vax and ask that you please take the vax too (we need to get back to hugs)


This has been a long and hard haul with COVID for everyone, I know.

With the arrival of the vaccines, I see light at the end of this long tunnel.

I was very excited to get an appointment and a follow up to receive the vaccine and without a doubt would have taken any vaccine they offered.

I know there is still skepticism and resistance to getting the vax and wanted to take a minute to let you know why I took it and why it is important not just for my industry but also for my family.

A few reasons I took the vax. . .

We are still a long way from normal but will be able to move into a new normal soon. We just need everyone to do their part. Governor Beshear has set a smart goal of getting 2.5 million vaccines into the arms of Kentuckians as a benchmark to allow our industry to get back to business.

I am a careful person and have been especially careful during COVID.

I’m glad to stop wiping down my groceries and happy to return to restaurants after a long season of carry out. Getting vaccinated has had a lot to do with increasing my comfort level.

I took the vax for a lot of reasons. Some of them are my husband (took the vax), my daughter who suffered a lung injury from vaping in 2019 (took the vax), and my son who is nine years old and awesome (will take the vax when he can).

I took the vaccine for my brother who had a kidney transplant almost 10 years ago and for my dad who had a kidney transplant a month ago, and my mom who had COVID last April.

I took the vaccine for my nieces and nephews that I missed desperately and am so happy that I can hug again.

I took the vaccine to be able to go back to church (hey Lakeside!), for the trip to Italy that I hope to take and the night out to see the Florence Y’alls play at their stadium.

I took it for the concerts that I miss, the experiences that I want to have again and the family and friends that I want to protect.

I took the vaccine for you.

And I hope that you will take the vaccine for me.

Trust me, I did a lot of research before taking the vaccine. I am sure some have hesitancy because of how fast the industry worked to produce the vaccines. Without a doubt, the science is solid behind these vaccines. Producing them in such an amazing time frame is one of the hallmarks of the incredible advances we have made in science in the last 50 years.

It took decades to identify the polio virus which, like COVID, was not deadly for more than 90% of the cases, but for too many was a deadly disease. The wide adoption of the polio vaccine made it possible for us to eradicate polio.

The COVID vaccines, based on new technology — using mRNA instead of live or weakened virus or genetically modified virus — are our generation’s moon shot. We have a chance to stop possible decades of suffering from wave after wave of disease. I think that is awesome and my research showed it was safe to take the vaccine even though it was “new.”

We have a chance to get back to the joy of enjoying life.

That is why I want to help Get Out The Vax, joining many others in this regional effort — great organizations like the Northern Kentucky Chamber, meetNKY, The Regional COVID Communications Center, the Cincinnati USA Chamber, our entire tourism industry plus many more.

As a Southerner and part of an industry that is built on being welcoming, I miss giving hugs. Hugging and giving comfort is what we are known for in the South.

And if getting out the vax is the surefire way to bring back hugs, I am all in. Please get your vax and Get Out The Vax today!

Julie Kirkpatrick is President and CEO of meetNKY, the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau. She is also a wife, daughter, mom, sister and friend.


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