I Got Shot!!

I got the first Covid-19 vaccine shot last Saturday and what an accomplishment that was! 

A neighbor gave me a number to call to register.  I was on the phone a long time as I was transferred to different numbers, and given numbers to try.  

They also sent me to some websites.  http://stlucie.floridahealth.gov/   
The health department number is - 772-462-3800 - the neighbor said let it ring and ring and ring.  Someone will (might) answer.

My determination grew along with my frustration.  I had registered online more than a week ago but one operator said people registered multiple times and it crashed the website so, all the people who thought they were registered on a waiting line - ARE NOT!!!

One operator said that there was a vaccine clinic planned for January 19-20 at the Civic Center, which is very close for us.  I had friends who tried to register for that one but got the message that there were no appointments available.  

Well, another option appeared.   I learned that they had a walk-in (not a drive-thru) for Saturday 9:00 - 4:00, which means no appointments.  This was at a health center on Midway Road in Ft. Pierce.  I figured we could try our luck on Saturday and if we didn't get in, we'd try for January 19 or 20.

Jane Raymond and I left at the o-O-dark-thirty time of 7:00 a.m., which we thought was plenty early since it didn't open till 9:00.      Ha!

  Some people went at 5 a.m. and you can see their coffee, blankets, etc.

The line was all along the side and across the back of the building and was getting longer all the time.   It ended up spilling out onto the sidewalk beside the building and kept growing by the minute.

Mind you, the photo above shows only one leg (1/3) of the line at 7:20!

Thank goodness I had a chair in my car so Jane and I took turns sitting.  Also, the weather was slightly cloudy and about 65-70 degrees.

We were getting pretty exhausted by about noon but decided that we already had over 5 hours invested so we'd stick it out.   Finally, they took our phone numbers and had us wait in our cars.  They called us when we could go in.  When we did get in, the shot took seconds but the paperwork before and after took time.

I figure I spent about 2 hours on the phone on Friday and we were waiting about 10 hours on Saturday.   Oh, well, what's a day, anyway?

The happy ending is that we did get our first Covid-19 shot!!!!

The better news is that we have an appointment for our 2nd shot in 28 days.