Cooperation, planning made vaccination effort efficient

 

This post was published in the Wilson Times Jan. 22, 2021.

 

            The path to COVID-19 virus vaccination began at home. We saw the notices about a mobile vaccination event at Fike High School Tuesday, Jan. 19. The question, “should we or shouldn’t we?” took a while to sort out.

            The organizers of the Fike drive-through vaccination plan were reassuring in their careful details for getting thousands of Wilson County residents inoculated against the virus that has killed 400,000 Americans in less than a year.

It was never a question of whether to be vaccinated. The debate, which continued to Tuesday morning at our house, was whether we wanted to spend hours and hours in line for a shot in the arm or postpone a vaccination and risk our health. Our children urged us to get vaccinated NOW.

            Our slight reluctance about joining the event at Fike was based, at least in part, on the four hours we spent waiting to cast our vote on the first day of early voting back in October. The instructions from the Health Department to bring water and snacks, as if you’re going on a very long hike, didn’t reassure me.

We discussed strategies for dealing with the expected long lines. A WRAL aerial video showing a long line of jammed traffic approaching Fike nearly scared us away. Later, we heard that someone, in his eagerness to get the vaccine, had had gotten in line at 3:30 a.m.

            Our tentative strategy for the vaccination clinic was to wait until the first wave of patients had time to get through the procedure. With luck, I thought, the first recipients of the vaccine would leave the Fike parking lot by 10 or 11 a.m. So we packed enough food and water to keep us hydrated and nourished through late afternoon.

            We left our house, less than a mile from Fike, about 10:30 and were pleasantly surprised to see that the expected traffic jams had not reached Nash Street. After a quick debate over the best route to Ward Boulevard, we fell into line behind a string of cars just past the traffic cones and the police directing cars to Harrison Drive.

            I kept a log on my phone that shows we reached Harrison Drive at 10:44. At 10:53, the line was moving slowly. I’ve seen worse traffic jams on I-540. Much worse. The car radio was tuned to NPR, which was interviewing a 12-year-old about how to heal America’s divisions. Really? I thought. (Please forgo your “OK Boomer” responses.) At 11, we reached the Fike property, and at 11:10 we switched the radio to 89.5 FM; the station provided helpful instructions to people headed to the vaccination clinic. The instructions were clear and simple.

            We put on our facemasks as we approached volunteers checking on participants .At 11:15, we had our first contact with the volunteers and public employees running the clinic. Each of us received a green wristband, signifying we would get the vaccine. We put on our facemasks. A volunteer in his fluorescent vest pointed to a discarded paper facemask on the sidewalk and made known his disgust for the litterer. At 11:20, we entered the parking lot and could see a beehive of activity ahead of us. At 11:30, our arms were checked for the wristband. We knew we were getting close, and we relaxed as we listened to an NPR story about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby.”

            At 11:40, we received our vaccinations. The only difficulty was in extracting my upper arm from the warm clothing I wore, having expected to be trapped for hours in a cold car. I wriggled free from three layers, and we continued on through the parking lot, following instructions along the way. At 11:55, we were checked for any negative reaction from the vaccine. None noted. We departed Fike onto Harrison Boulevard at noon.

            In October, we had stood in a four-block line to vote. It took about four hours. In contrast, we got our vaccines and were back home in less than two hours. The entire event was well planned and coordinated with law enforcement, the Health Department, EMS, and dozens of volunteers working together to make the clinic safe, efficient and pleasant. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when we all work together! Thanks to all who participated and made this much easier than I ever expected.

            We have appointments for our second dose in February. We look forward to more of the dazzling cooperation, efficient planning and helpful assistance we experienced with the first dose. It was easy to protect ourselves and others from COVID-19. I recommend it to all.