Hey Nerds,
Do you notice something different about me? It’s probably that I GOT MY FIRST COVID-19 VACCINATION!
I’m a little excited. Can you tell?
Real talk – I am so very relieved to finally have the first dose of the vaccine doing its thang inside my body. Science is the shit. If there’s a vaccine I can/should get, I’m going to get it. When I went off to college, I got the chicken pox and meningitis vaccines. In my early 20s, I received the HPV vaccine. Within the last year we were given the typhoid and hepatitis A vaccines for plans to travel to Panama. And now I can feel slightly better about having the first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine. Will I keep wearing my masks? Absolutely. The shot doesn’t make me invincible.
How was it?
I already mentioned in a previous post how I added my name to the waitlist. If you want to learn more about getting on the Tarrant County vaccination waitlist, check it out.
From the time I registered to when I learned I had an appointment was 38 days. The system advised it would take 3-4 weeks, but you have to remember that here in DFW we had a massive winter storm that knocked out power, gas, and froze pipes across the state. We personally were without power for 76 hours straight. No rolling blackouts, just continuous blackout. The roads weren’t treated, so even if the county had assigned me an appointment, getting there would have proven dangerous.
Yesterday, February 23, I received an automated call letting me know that I was scheduled for a window between 5-7 pm today at Globe Life Field. So a little over 24 hours notice. They also sent me an email with the same details. You had to confirm that you would make this time and then bring the email/identification with you on the day of your appointment.
Well-oiled machine
To make the beginning of the window, I started out from my home in Fort Worth at 4:30pm. If you’ve ever driven around the DFW metro area around the beginning of rush hour, you know that either direction on I-30 in Arlington is a beat down. It took me a little over half an hour to drive over. In the assigned parking lot, they had lanes set up directing you to police officers who were checking to make sure you were on the list. The officer was kind, handed me a card allowing me to receive one vaccination, directed me to park over by the ballpark, and that the Arlington FD and Navy would assist me.
After a quick temperature check, I was moved into a line where I received a sticker with a QR code and alpha-numeric code. You scan the QR code, enter the alpha-numeric code, and then fill our a questionnaire. EXCEPT my code didn’t work. Then my second code didn’t work.
I was handed off to another person who took me past the line to her desk to keep trying. A third code didn’t work… Finally, the 4th code did the trick. I filled out my questionnaire about if I had a chronic illness, any symptoms I’ve experienced recently, etc. and then moved along to the waiting area. There were 5 people ahead of me and I was placed in the first seat of the second row of the waiting area. In total, from the time I sat down to the time I was moved along to a station to get my shot, I waited 5 minutes.
But did it hurt?
Once you get to the table, it flies by. Two members of the Navy took my card, double checked my information, and handed me my vaccination card. Then I walked directly behind them and had David give me my shot. He was a vaccination ninja. I didn’t feel a thing. In. Out. On to the recovery area to wait 15 minutes.
The coolest part of this entire experience? There was a college baseball game going on at Globe Life Field! So while I waited, I was able to watch Texas State play Sam Houston State. Coolest vaccination experience ever!
Fun Fact: Free baseball is the best baseball.
At the moment, my arm hurts slightly at the injection spot. Otherwise, nothing to report. I received the Pfizer version, so my next appointment is in 3 weeks. Location TBD, but we’ll play it by ear!
To anyone waiting on the list, your day is coming! Eventually we will have enough people vaccinated that we can move towards our new normal. Keep wearing those masks and doing your part!
Cheers,
Head Nerd