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Last month the governor of Ohio announced the timetable for the distribution of the COVID 19 vaccine. He said that those in my age group... 65 or over... would be eligible to receive the vaccine beginning the week of February 8th. I had previously registered my name with the county board of health, University Hospital (the hospital with which my primary care doctor is affiliated) and with Discount Drug Mart, an Ohio chain.
On Monday, I was up bright and early to start searching for appointments with several other pharmacies: CVS, Walgreen's, Giant Eagle, and Marc's (another Ohio chain). I got nowhere with the first two. Walgreen's was still only taking people over the age of 70. On the Marc's and Giant Eagle websites I had to wait in a queue. Initially they both said that there were no appointments currently available. I kept trying those two sites throughout the day. Fortunately the wait in the queue was not long. The Giant Eagle website gave me some ray of hope. As the day progressed, after waiting in the queue, instead of simply saying that there were no appointments, it asked me for my zip code. Then a couple times it actually came up with a store location. However, when I clicked on the store, it said that no appointments were available.
Meanwhile, I received an email from University Hospital. It was not encouraging. It said that there were more than 100,000 people registered with the hospital, and that so far around 8,000 vaccines had been administered. They were still working on people over the age of 75.
I was about ready to give up for the day, but around 6:00 P.M. I decided to give Giant Eagle one more try. It came up with a store in North Ridgeville, about twenty minutes away from me. When I clicked on it, a calendar appeared. There were three days marked... this Saturday, and Monday and Tuesday of next week. I clicked on Saturday... no appointments available. I clicked on Monday... no appointments available. I clicked on Tuesday and a list of times appeared. After trying a couple of different hours, I hit one that was still open. I had an appointment! And a few minutes later I had a confirmation email!
So on Tuesday, February 16th I get my first jab, and four weeks later (I assume that I will receive the Moderna vaccine) I will get my second shot.
I feel like I won the lottery!
Hooray! I'm glad you're able to get an appointment! A few weeks ago I got an email from one of my employers stating that because I work as a lifeguard, I was eligible to get vaccinated in the first phase with other health care first responders. That made my year! So I'm due to receive my second shot late next week (I received the Pfizer vaccine). The system where I live is a little different: I had to register with the county health department, and it was still sort of a lottery process to be selected to get vaccinated in any given week. They contacted me by email when vaccines were available and gave me a link to open appointment times. I feel very fortunate to have been able to get vaccinated! My parents (who are in their 70s) are still waiting for appointments, as far as I know.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that you are getting shot #2... that you are even ahead of me!
DeleteAre your parents computer savvy? Tell them that they should devote a day (or two) to repeatedly checking the Giant Eagle website.
We ECE people are still fighting to get in with the K-12 crowd in Ohio. Despite CDC recommendations, Dewine's people have decided that we don't need to be prioritized. A spokesperson from his office said that we may not ever be included in 1C with other essential workers.
ReplyDeleteI'm so pissed. We are essential workers. Let every child care center/home daycare close for 1 week and watch everything grind to a halt. ECEs are more likely to be people of color and lower income, both risk factors for severe COVID. Add to the fact that some of us deal with babies who have less developed immune systems. Yes, COVID is significantly less likely to affect infants and children in negative ways. But one baby gives it to me, I give it to another baby and that baby gives it to a grandparent/otherwise compromised individual. Unlike K-12 peeps, we CAN NOT do our job remotely. I'm so grateful for my K-12 collogues and I wouldn't want to be in their shoes. But acting like ECEs are second class helps nothing. It's bad enough we're considered little more than glorified baby sitters, but to tell us we're not essential is just a kick in the head.
I totally agree with you, and you have every reason to be angry!
DeleteWonderful news!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I wish that the roll out of the vaccine in Mexico were proceeding more quickly.
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