Clinic kicks off at Navy stadium
500 vaccinated as site ramps up to 3,000 goal
Justine Parrish wasn’t sure if she wanted to get vaccinated.
In May, Parrish suffered a stroke and fell into a coma for eight weeks. When she woke up and found her bearings, she saw people without masks and figured the COVID-19 pandemic must be over. Far from it, she’d soon learn she needed physical therapy, but the rehabilitation center would likely have coronavirus patients.
She and her son both have Type 1 diabetes. Her other son had cancer twice, and though in remission, is at greater risk if infected. Parrish decided to go home. She taught herself how to walk again using YouTube videos.
The Pasadena resident is one of 500 people who got a dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine on Thursday, the first day of the Annapolis clinic at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Despite her fears, Parrish wanted to get vaccinated to “do her part,” she said.
After her stroke, she purged pharmaceuticals from her life. The cause of the stroke is still a mystery, and what she puts in her body feels like one of the only things she can control, Parrish said Thursday. And yet, when her phone rang, and the voice on the other end offered her an appointment at the Annapolis mass vaccination site, she booked it.
“I just went because if someone feels like I feel, they should get it,” she said. “Just so we can get things back to normal.”
Until things do, the mass vaccination clinic will stay in place. The soft launch Thursday served as a training day for the 125 staff on site, who had been preparing
and learning the logistics of mass vaccination for weeks. Over the next week, the site will ramp up to provide 3,000 vaccinations, a combination of first and second doses. Staff will monitor the flow of vaccines in the next week before opening the site for walk-ups.
The clinic brought together a group of community partners, including the state health department, Anne Arundel County Fire Department, Anne Arundel Medical Center and Annapolis Police Department.
“Partnership is really what makes community efficient and helps us complete the mission,” said Fire Chief Trisha Wolford.
Staffers from different partner organizations wore neon yellow or bright red vests and directed the flow of traffic and people. Flaggers waved cars along a trail of orange cones and directed them each to a designated spot. People divided into two lines, with one for those in need of extra assistance.
Inside, patients answer screening questions, and staff directs them to a vaccination station.
“I was surprised; it didn’t hurt as much as I’d imagined,” said Parrish, who’d braced herself for the needles she’d seen on TV.
After being vaccinated, patients must wait about 15 minutes in an observation area in case they have a reaction to the vaccine and need medical attention. Allergic reactions are rare, according to CDC studies.
Nurses from Anne Arundel Medical Center will assist in withdrawing the vaccine and running it to administration stations for as long as the site is active, said chief operating officer Jen Harrington. AAMC will provide about 13 or 14 staff, including the nurses and a physician.
The site will operate through the summer and close either when demand dies down or at the end of the summer before the midshipmen return to the Naval Academy. It will be closed during the Army versus Navy lacrosse game on April 25 and during Commissioning Week.
To sign up for an appointment, go to https://onestop.md.gov/preregistration or call 1-855-MD-GOVAX.
Residents can use the Gold College Parkway bus route to reach the mass vaccination site for free. Residents age 55 and older or residents 18 and older with a disability can call (410) 222-4222 to schedule a ride to a vaccine appointment. Rides are $5.
Another option for county residents is calling the Office of Transportation at 410-222-0225 or 410-222-0047 to access the County Operated Vaccine Service and schedule a free ride to the vaccine appointment. Operators are available from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday to help residents arrange transportation to their appointments. This includes the Navy Stadium site or any other vaccination clinic in Anne Arundel County.