I was among the first to get the COVID vaccine

Me getting the COVID vaccine

I have said all along that when a vaccine is available I will be first in line for it. When I learned we would have the opportunity to get the vaccine, I was among the first to sign up for it. I was told I would be getting a call to schedule my appointment.

Several days later I arrived at work. It was on a Wednesday. My coworker told me she had time scheduled to get her vaccine. She said she was scheduled for Saturday.

"I didn't even get a phone call," I whined. "How did you all get scheduled and I didn't?"

Then I realized that I had missed a call two days earlier. There was a voice mail saying I need to call back the COVID hotline. And I did. And A lady answered the phone. 

I quickly clicked the phone to the speakerphone.

She said,  "COVID hotline. This is Sherry. How can I help you?"

"Hi," I said, "I would like to schedule my COVID vaccine." 

She said, "Sorry, you missed the cut." 

My coworker laughed. That was when I realized the lady was joking. 

She said, "I was just kidding. But I do not have any appointments available until next Monday." 

I said, "Oh, that's fine. I would just like to get it."

She said, "Oh, wait. They got the vaccines earlier than thought. They set up a clinic for today. So, you can get it at 6 p.m. tonight in the education room.  Will that work?"

I said, "Heck yes." 

And that is how I got to be the third person in my area to get the COVID vaccine. 

I said all along I'd be the first in line. Little did I know it would actually come true. I was even interviewed for the local paper. 

I don't think the paper planned on doing three interviews. But when she learned I was a front-line worker, she added me to her list. The two in front of me in line worked outside the hospital. I was the first person in line who actually worked on the front lines. So, she was curious to see what I had to say. 

Basically, I told her I saw a lot of COVID patients. We were prepared to back in April. But we didn't get hit until October. Since then, I have been in many rooms with COVID patients. At first, it was a little nerve-racking. But, now I feel pretty comfortable.

I said, "There are some days where every one of my patients are COVID patients. People have learned a lot about respiratory therapy through all of this. We typically work in the background as a profession, but this has brought us out a little bit."

Of course, I added, "I was excited to get the vaccine. It's neat to finally have it." 

Once the interview was over I asked some of my own questions. The journalist explained to me that the first clinic was supposed to be Saturday. She said that the hospital had no idea when the vaccine was going to arrive in Ludington. 

This was because there was a cyber threat. She said there were groups of individuals who had a device. If this device got near the vaccine it would make the vaccine useless. So, because of this, the packages of vaccines had to be mailed to each hospital without trackers. The trackers would allow the "bad guys" to track the packages. So, to keep them safe, they had to be mailed without trackers. 

They estimated the vaccines would arrive in time to have a clinic on Saturday. But, the vaccines arrived on Tuesday. This allowed them to schedule a clinic for Wednesday, the day I got mine. She said anyone who called on Wednesday was given the opportunity to get it early. 

So, that's how I got to be one of the first in my area to get the vaccine.