By Kristine Porter

Hunting just isn’t a sport I ever took up. Well, unless you count hunting for bargains - the search through multiple stores, multiple clothes racks, and lately multiple websites. Comparing, contemplating and counting the costs, now that is a type of hunting that I know well.

When the COVID-19 vaccine became available in Pennsylvania to those of us between the ages of 16 and 64 with a comorbity, that’s when I started a new hunt.

It was January and my hunting skills were tuned up - just off Christmas shopping. I was ready to go. I started off with putting myself on the list with the health network I use, and waited, thinking I’d hear something soon.

After a few weeks, I created an account with the other health network and waited. I thought I was set. One of them would certainly be in contact with me. Wouldn’t they?

One week turned into two weeks, and the only sign of life I saw was a couple polite emails about they’re working hard to get the vaccine.

Waiting to be called for your turn is like putting chocolate in front of a child and telling him that he can’t eat it until you get back.

I couldn’t take the anticipation any longer. I had to venture out on my own and try to find the vaccine somewhere.

Like a hunter, I studied my vaccine prey. I learned how other people found it - who they called, when they called, how often they called. I Googled every pharmacy and grocery store with a pharmacy to find out who planned to have it.

Then I started to set my traps.

I bookmarked on my laptop the website of every pharmacy that I planned to check routinely throughout the day. I included those that although they didn’t have the vaccine in Pennsylvania yet, they were scheduling appointments in neighboring states. After all, it was only a matter of time before the chains would offer it here, too.

I also called several small, independent pharmacies and placed my name on waiting lists and completed their online forms. Still nothing.

Every day, I clicked on the links, answered the eligibility questions, and searched location after location only to repeatedly see “No appointments available. Please check back later.”

I tried different times of the day - morning, afternoon, late evening, crack of dawn. Crack of dawn seemed to yield the most, which strangely enough is usually when hunters are in the woods. I digress. The problem was that the appointments were all in other states. It was kind of like seeing nothing but doe in the middle of buck season.

Soon friends, family, neighbors and co-workers had bagged their trophy bucks, securing their appointments, but my hunting expeditions kept turning up empty. I was happy for them, sort of, and jealous at the same time. I so desperately wanted what they had.

News of more contagious variants and variants that might be resistant to the vaccine were beginning to stress me out. I needed that deer to get me through the winter, and 2 feet of snow was literally at my door.

Then one glorious morning (well the sun hadn’t come up yet), there it was, appointments still available in Pennsylvania. One thing I had learned from watching the appointments fill up in other states was that when they become available, they don’t last long. It was like throwing bread in the pond of a fish farm. If you didn’t act fast, you didn’t get any crumbs.

I sprung into action and clicked on the buttons to make an appointment. I was scared to death I would click on something wrong and have to start all over again, only to miss my chance. Amazingly, I didn’t make a mistake. It worked. I had my date, my appointment, my chance to survive this virus.

Stunned that it had finally worked, I shook myself to my senses and quickly got back on to get my husband an appointment. Success! I didn’t care that we had to drive two hours to a CVS. It was worth it. The weight of worry was finally lifting off my shoulders.

There is help for people also hunting for the vaccine. After I found my appointment, I heard about a supportive, compassionate Facebook group that has tips. Including it, I then found these pages:

• Lehigh Valley COVID Vaccine Info

• COVID Vaccine Hunters PA

• PA CoVID Vaccine Match Maker

• PA COVID-19 Vaccination Info

There is also a private group for people who want to help others find the vaccine.

• PA CoVID Vaccine Finders Group

And this one provides vaccine tips and support for those who are dealing with the effects of the virus.

• Eastern PA COVID-19 Support.