We went for our second shot of covid vaccine today. Our city is using a downtown stadium as one of several vaccination sites and it was where we went today.
There were about 2000 people getting their second shots in the morning, and then the afternoon was for others getting their first shot. Lines were long but fast moving, so our wait wasn’t excessive.
One of the reasons for the long lines (which snakes up and down stairs and spanned two levels) was social distancing, and they had cute entertainment-themed signs to remind us where to stand.
It was quite a sight to see the floor of the arena (that we’d been to before for wrestling shows) converted to a vaccination clinic. Even the led signs up on the seats had vaccination messages on them!
And then, very quickly, we got our second jabs and joined the crowd of ‘fully vaccinated’ (yes I know technically it takes 10 more days…)
A quick wait just in case of side effects and we were good to go.
Speaking of side effects some people get them and some don’t, and they’re more common after the second shot. I read the rate is about 55%, so statistically one of us will wake up feeling crook tomorrow (since the side effects are more common the next day)!
Albany has done a good job with vaccinations, and we are above the national and state rates. But as with most parts of America supply has now exceeded demand and theres still many that haven’t yet become vaccinated. Some just need a gentle push toward a clinic, but there’s a non-trivial amount of Americans that say they’ll never get the vaccine (and even still deny covid) which will seriously hamper this country’s ability to overcome covid.
Let’s hope they understand this and go and get a shot soon. It’s easy, it’s free, it’s fast and it’s safe. And it’s what we all need to do to move on from this pandemic.