From the vaccination front lines: People are doing their best
A recent Friday was my first day as a COVID-19 volunteer vaccinator with the state medical reserve corps at a nearby public high school. I had taken an online vaccination training course, but probably hadn’t given an injection since I was a medical resident in 1993, so I observed Frank, a retired nurse, for the first few clients. Then I injected the next few under his observation and then got my own table, working together with a data entry clerk named Reenie. We were given one vial of the mRNA vaccine at a time, each with 10 doses (“The pandemic’s end may be in sight, but not for these Marylanders who just lost a loved one to COVID,” March 17).
We were positioned in the large school gymnasium next to an entrance accessible to those with disabilities, so a lot of our clients were in wheelchairs or had walkers. Most were elderly and frail. Many were accompanied by an adult child or were older couples getting their injections together. They were slow-moving, some were confused, some were non-native English speakers from many countries around the world. To be more efficient, I learned early on to get them started taking off their layers of clothing at the beginning of the encounter.
They were delightful, grateful, hopeful. Most remarked about how smooth and orderly the process was, saying how the injection didn’t hurt at all, thanking us for volunteering, happy to tell us their backgrounds or asking about ours. Those getting their second dose said they had no problems with the first other than a bit of a sore arm.
While Reenie checked their data in the computer and filled out their vaccine cards, I asked them about any recent illnesses, other recent vaccines (14-day deferral), whether they had received COVID-19 antibody therapy (90-day deferral), or had any allergies to vaccines or other injections (30-minute rather than 15-minute post-vaccine observation period). I drew up 0.5 cc of the vaccine, disinfected the upper arm with an alcohol swab, gently pinched the deltoid muscle, inserted the fine needle at a 90-degree angle, and firmly squeezed the plunger to get every last drop. I used a freckle or other landmark to swab, inject and apply the Band-Aid to the same spot.
We were one of 18 vaccine tables. We vaccinated 40 people. The whole team vaccinated over 1,000. It was a remarkable enterprise: Traffic police out front, greeters helping with drop off and pick up of people with mobility impairments, registration staff, a pharmacist monitoring and distributing the vaccine supply, an emergency medical technician standing by in case of anaphylaxis (a rare event, none that day).
Working in medical research, lecturing and supporting COVID-19 research and response, I’ve closely followed the extraordinary speed of the vaccines’ development and their exceptional effectiveness. Actually helping administer them made it much more personal and real.
As a country, we are giving over 2 million doses a day. Vaccine production is ramping up by the week. A third vaccine was recently authorized by the FDA. Anyone (age 16 years and older in the U.S.) who wanted a vaccine should be able to get one in the next couple of months. The numbers of cases and deaths have declined but are still far too high.
If you have not yet been vaccinated, your time will come soon. Be patient. Be vigilant. Stay strong. We are far from perfect, but we are heading in a good direction.