I gave it my best shot
On March 9, I received my second shot of the Pfizer vaccine to protect myself and, hopefully, others, from COVID-19. I am counting the days until March 23 when, according to medical experts, I should be fully immunized.
Oh what a joy it will be to feel a certain amount of freedom that has been missing from my life for a year.
Because of my age, I was in the 1A category, but I assure you no one called or emailed me to say, “Ah, yes, Bruce, you qualify. We can’t wait to see you. Come at such and such a time on such and such a date.
No, I am afraid it does not work like that, although, quite frankly, wouldn’t it be nice if it did?
With the rollout of the vaccine in December, I was interested in getting in line as soon as possible, but I kept reading and hearing these confusing messages about how to sign up, the limited amount of vaccine, procedural snafus, etc.
As December morphed into January and with clarity still elusive, I reached out to my family doctor for guidance. I received an email from one of his nurses, who told me that the Lehigh Valley Health Network with which my family doc is affiliated was out of vaccine, so no appointments were being set up.
She assured me, however, that since I had long ago signed up to the MyLVHN portal, I would automatically be contacted when it was my turn. I wondered how many of my generation without computers or family members to guide them through this maze would fare.
So I waited. One week, two weeks passed. I heard nothing. I was getting antsy, especially since I was hearing reports of younger friends who had gotten appointments and others who were somehow “jumping the line.”
Through all of this, I checked daily on the Lehigh Valley Health Network site to see whether there was any indication that appointments were being accepted.
Then, one day in mid-January, I saw that there would be a mass vaccination event at Agricultural Hall in Allentown. I tried to sign up, but all of the slots had been spoken for in a matter of minutes.
Back to checking the website. Two days later, there was an email indicating that about a half-dozen sites in several counties would be available for appointments. I tried my first choice - booked. Then, my second - booked. Then my third - Bingo! I had an appointment for Feb. 16 at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest.
I was ecstatic. It seemed to take forever for Feb. 16 to roll around. My appointment was for 11 a.m. The day before, there was a forecast for icy weather, so I was on edge Monday night prior to the next day’s appointment. Would my appointment be postponed because of the weather? If not, would I feel safe driving the 10 miles to the site?
Fortunately, the temperature rose above freezing, and by 10 a.m. when I left home, the roads were fine.
When I entered the hospital, I was greeted at the door by a shielded and masked employee who took my temperature (97.3) and asked me a number of health questions. I was feeling fine.
She directed me to an indoor pavilion about one-quarter mile away. The hospital provides transportation for those who can’t walk that far comfortably. I was happy to walk to take in the scenery.
When I arrived at my destination, there were two lines: one for those like me getting their first shot and another for those who were there for their second shot.
After I checked in and gave my name, and my appointment was confirmed, I was given several sheets of paper that advised me about the Pfizer vaccine, its possible side effects and what I might expect after getting the shot.
I was about 10th in line, but the line moved smoothly. I was directed into a large room with numbered stations. The person administering the shot asked me which arm I preferred for the vaccine. “Left, please,” I told her. A few seconds later, she said, “All done.” “What?” I said. “I didn’t even feel it.”
After getting the shot, I was directed to a “waiting room” in the corridor and told to remain for 15 minutes. If I had no ill effects from the shot, I could leave, which I did.
The only side effects I encountered were a slight muscle pain near the injection site and mild fatigue. Both occurred the next day but were gone within hours.
On March 9, three weeks later, it was the same procedure, except this time I was directed to the second-shot line, and there was no one in front of me. Contrast that to the 30 or so people who were in line for the first shot.
This time, I felt the slight needle prick when it went into the muscle in my left arm, but I had zero side-effects - no pain, no redness, no fatigue, nothing, either the same day or after that.
Getting the appointment was the toughest part of the process. The rest was a piece of cake. “It’s a matter largely of vaccine supply,” nurse Stephanie told me. “Appointments can’t be scheduled if we don’t have the vaccine.”
We’re being told that this bottleneck is being addressed, and things are slowly improving.
By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com
The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.