Collected Item: “Participating in a Mass Vaccination Event”
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Participating in a Mass Vaccination Event
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text story, photograph
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I was excited to get my vaccine as soon as the FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine. However, as a fairly healthy person who worked remotely, I was by no means going to be the first wave of vaccination. Truthfully, I thought I wouldn’t have a chance to get vaccinated until June or so, and I resigned myself to staying inside.
In early March, I got an email from my school—the United Center was hosting a mass vaccination event, and they had more doses than the original target groups could use. I hurried to sign up. It filled quickly; I had a few friends tell me they were unable to get in. I was lucky, and I went to get my first dose near the end of March.
Supposedly, Uber was offering free rides to/from the United Center (up to a certain amount, at least) for those seeking to get vaccinated. However, I kept getting error messages, so I made my way there by other methods. I panicked since I was almost late to my appointment for the first dose, but my worries faded when I arrived. The clinic volunteers kept the roped off lines going quickly and smoothly, though everyone was kept at least six feet apart. Once you’d been fully signed in—you showed your ID, your appointment voucher, got your temperature taken, and were issued an information packet—you waited to be sent to one of the FEMA people doing the vaccinating. I was called and got my first dose over with quickly and without any fuss, and then I was sent off to the tent where you waited to make sure you didn’t have any adverse side effects within the first 20 minutes. I was fine, so I went home with my vaccination card and instructions to return in 3 weeks.
I returned 3 weeks later (in mid-April), and it went even more smoothly! They had worked out even more kinks, and everyone seemed relieved. While I’d been tired and a little sick a couple days after the first dose, the second one presented no problems.
Later, I learned that a few of my friends were not only also part of the United Center mass vaccination event, but were there on the same days! I didn’t see them, but I’m not surprised given the efficiency of the process.
Over the summer, the United Center’s vaccination program closed after it slowed significantly. So while I will be getting my booster shot soon, it won’t be as part of a mass vaccination endeavor. I’m a little reticent, simply because I don’t know what to expect from going to a pharmacy for it!
In early March, I got an email from my school—the United Center was hosting a mass vaccination event, and they had more doses than the original target groups could use. I hurried to sign up. It filled quickly; I had a few friends tell me they were unable to get in. I was lucky, and I went to get my first dose near the end of March.
Supposedly, Uber was offering free rides to/from the United Center (up to a certain amount, at least) for those seeking to get vaccinated. However, I kept getting error messages, so I made my way there by other methods. I panicked since I was almost late to my appointment for the first dose, but my worries faded when I arrived. The clinic volunteers kept the roped off lines going quickly and smoothly, though everyone was kept at least six feet apart. Once you’d been fully signed in—you showed your ID, your appointment voucher, got your temperature taken, and were issued an information packet—you waited to be sent to one of the FEMA people doing the vaccinating. I was called and got my first dose over with quickly and without any fuss, and then I was sent off to the tent where you waited to make sure you didn’t have any adverse side effects within the first 20 minutes. I was fine, so I went home with my vaccination card and instructions to return in 3 weeks.
I returned 3 weeks later (in mid-April), and it went even more smoothly! They had worked out even more kinks, and everyone seemed relieved. While I’d been tired and a little sick a couple days after the first dose, the second one presented no problems.
Later, I learned that a few of my friends were not only also part of the United Center mass vaccination event, but were there on the same days! I didn’t see them, but I’m not surprised given the efficiency of the process.
Over the summer, the United Center’s vaccination program closed after it slowed significantly. So while I will be getting my booster shot soon, it won’t be as part of a mass vaccination endeavor. I’m a little reticent, simply because I don’t know what to expect from going to a pharmacy for it!
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Amber Mear
Give this story a date.
2021-03-26