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Getting a Vaccination in New Hampshire
Thanks to all who shared their own experiences getting (or not getting) vaccinated.
Note Update below:
Yesterday, I got my first anti-Covid-19 vaccination. The whole process was well-organized.
I signed up for a vaccination January 22, and the next day, the state gave me the go-ahead to sign up for an appointment. At that time, New Hampshire was relying on a CDC site, and I had to answer the same health questions – which were extensive – on both a New Hampshire site & a CDC site. I have heard that New Hampshire has since stopped relying on the CDC site. There also was a facility for allowing people to get their shots at the same time another family member or partner was getting hers. I received confirmation notices of the time and place of my appointment timely. A week or so later, the state sent me a reminder and asked me to again confirm my appointment. The day before yesterday, I received another reminder of my appointment and had to complete an update of my health condition, but this one was shorter than the ones I had completed in January.
The vaccination was administered in the garage of a defunct Sears store. The only part the state could have made clearer was the location. The state gave only the street address of the site, and of course the street address is not plastered all over a Sears store in a shopping mall. I had to check the Internet to figure out exactly where the site was. The state should have included something like “former Sears garage” with the street address.
At the site, the National Guard seemed to be running the whole operation. It went very smoothly. (Really.) What with the site's being a garage, it was a totally drive-up operation. I would not have had to get out of my car had I not needed to remove my coat. There was a line of cars. Guardsmen (and they were all men) approached me at several “stations” to ensure that I had an appointment. They all wore masks, as did I (I was double-masked.). One of them said he had my name on his list. I had to show him a photo ID (my drivers license). BTW, it was 28 degrees here during the time I was there, and these Guardsmen were standing out in the cold. There were some who were directing traffic. Again, all very orderly. When I got to the technician who would administer the shot, he asked me health questions again. He also asked to see my photo ID again. He gave me a card indicating what vaccination I had received (Pfizer) and told me I should make an appointment a month from yesterday to get my second shot. After that, I was directed to an area – this one run by local firemen – where I had to wait about 15 minutes to make sure I had no adverse reactions to the shot. The total process, from start to finish, took less than an hour. I thanked every single person who approached me for coming out in the cold to help me.
Today, I received an e-mail notice that I had completed my first appointment and an opportunity to sign up for the second shot. The next appointment date was not until March 23, so that slips the target date by about a week. I signed up.
The shot itself was pretty painless. My arm hurts a tiny bit today when I move it, and the vaccination did make me sleepy, as the technician warned me it might. I took an unscheduled three-hour nap yesterday, and I was not otherwise sleep-deprived.
Based on a news report in today's Washington Post, it appears my second shot will not be my last. According to the Post, because the Pfizer vaccine does not work well enough against the South African strain of the virus, “Pfizer and BioNTech announce[d] they were taking necessary steps to develop a booster shot or updated vaccine.”
Update. Oops! A Glitch in the System. I sent a friend of mine a copy of this post, and she wrote back to tell me that she had heard that I shouldn't schedule a second appointment because the "suggested" date on the card the technician gave me actually was a hard appointment. I noodled around the Internet & found a news report to that effect. So I called the state because I didn't want to miss my second shot on account of misinformation. Sure enough, my friend was right, and I should have ignored the email that directed me to make an appointment for the second shot. The state said I was scheduled for March 17 (St. Patrick's Day, so easy to remember!) same time, same place. So I cancelled the March 23 appointment. I am pretty sure the problem resulted from the state's attempt to coordinate with the CDC. The email telling me to make a second appointment came from the CDC, not the state. Nothing is perfect.
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Reader Comments (9)
Marie,
Congrats on your shot. A well run operation? What does that tell you?
Neither Trump nor his drooling, hopelessly unorganized anti-science sycophants had anything to do with it.
Thanks for the run-down and glad that the procedure was so well wrought. My experience at Yale Health was similar plus everyone was cheerful and most helpful. My after effects were the same as yours although they say the second shot may cause more after effects; we'll see, won't we?
Congrats on being chosen for a vaccine shot. I'm sure many of the RC readers can remember listening to pop radio in the 1960s, where the tenth lucky caller to identify the song just played got a prize or tickets to a band concert. Here in Pierce County Washington getting a vaccine appointment is kind of the same thing - you get notified when a vaccination event will occur in your area and you can register for an appointment online the next day after 9:00 AM. Usually by 9:05AM all the appointments have been taken, that is if the website hasn't crashed, which happened last Tuesday. Maybe appointments are made directly for essential workers and people with medical conditions, but for me, like my younger self, with the last digit on the rotary dial phone cocked and ready to be released then the song starts playing - I'm logged in at 8:59AM with finger on the enter button hoping to get lucky this time with appointment.
I'm scheduled for my second jab on the 22nd, but haven't gotten my confirmation call yet. So between shortages and our erratic governor I'm unsure what will happen.
I'm glad to hear that went so well for you, Marie. Here on the coast of NH, my mother and her partner also got their first shots yesterday, but not on their scheduled day, which had been March 24. In their town, people who are eligible for the vaccine can call to get on a list for end-of-day vaccinations. My sense is that if they have more vaccines than arms, they refer to the list and start calling people. It's a "Can you get here in twenty minutes?" situation. My mother and partner called yesterday morning and got their shots. Their second shot is also scheduled, and it's for earlier than their original date. I had been worried about availability of vaccine doses for their second shot, since that would have been in April, so this was a huge relief for me.
I happened into a shot on Monday-- I had written an angry screed to someone-- the wrong person, actually--on our health portal for the the "hospital mafia" here-- Actually, we have access to four different hospital systems here, which is why it is so frustrating to try to find a shot at Rite-Aid, or Weis Markets...Anyhow, husband got two appts. for March 9, but all of a sudden, after the screed, I got an "invitation" to sign up, after a questionnaire, and a preregistration, but husband has not gotten one yet. Anyhow, it was very organized, I was there early, and they ran 20 minutes late, so a total of about an hour for me too. Did not hurt. Arm began hurting that evening, and Tuesday I felt a bit flu-ish, and arm hurt, but no "flu" effects yesterday or today and arm almost completely back to normal. All in all, good. They made an appt. for the second, Moderna, for a time on March 15. The "mafia" did well, and if I had not established a portal with the hospital, I would not have gotten an invite. The county commissioners are "planning" (yeah, now--)a large site at defunct Bon Ton or Sears opening in March.
On a hopeful note, PA is not TX, with its arrogant public officials and a private grid, a red-winged blackbird has shown up in the sleet/snow, tons of robins, and elsewhere in the county, tundra swans and snow geese, so spring IS going to come.
Got my 2nd shot Tuesday. Like Marie, I was in and out in less than hour, both times. The county runs the program. The appointment was a two hour window, which was done through Eventbrite. The Disney-like line move along nicely, snaking through rooms and hallways for the occasional change of scenery. I suspect that, like so many other vaccinations, booster shots will be offered soon.
My wife got her second yesterday. She received hers from a local clinic where my son works providing healthcare to the mostly uninsured Hispanic farmworkers...but the vaccine is available to everyone as long as supplies are available.
My second is scheduled March 2 at the local fair grounds site operated by the county health dept and volunteers where I also received my first.
Age doth have its privileges.
I'm glad to hear the vax train is rolling along. My wife got the second shot two days ago; she said it was more painful than the first. So, get your heavy lifting and chores done in advance of the shot.