I spent Friday volunteering at the Arlington County vaccination clinic, and learned a lot. I thought I'd share some observations. I hope that it’s helpful.
What You Can Expect. I talked to several people who were nervous about the vaccine. Sometimes they just didn’t like needles, sometimes they were concerned about the allergic reactions they’d read about. Sometimes they were nervous about being inside with so many people. The vaccinators and, indeed, all the people working the clinic, were completely lovely – putting people at ease, accommodating requests like privacy screens or a female vaccinator. Everyone is asked about allergic reactions in the past – not just to vaccinations. If you are allergic to anything at all, you’ll be observed afterwards for 30 minutes, rather than the usual 15. You’ll be personally escorted and handed off from one volunteer to another on the way to the observation room. There are medics on hand in case of anaphylactic shock. Anaphylactic shock is extremely unusual, but the preparation is in place just in case. Yes, there are more people inside than I’d been around since March. There’s yellow tape on the floor, six feet apart and all the staff and volunteers are very good about asking people to step back, spread out, adjust their masks. And the line extended outdoors with limited numbers allowed inside at once. I believe that when the vaccinations are opened to the elderly, they may be utilizing the garage because of the cold. I watched the vaccination stations and saw that they are wiped down with antiseptic wipes after each client, including the chairs. Masks and gloves are used by the vaccinators. Frankly, it felt safer to me than standing in line to get takeout. All of the nervous ones came out of the room with a big smile on their faces, saying that it wasn’t nearly as bad as they thought it’d be. Behind the Scenes. I am extremely impressed by the efforts of the county. The county is utilizing a standard emergency management structure – the same kind of structure that FEMA uses, or any jurisdiction in the aftermath or anticipation of a disaster. They’re extremely well trained in emergency management, from the EMS personnel to the Department of Human Services staff. There are people with dedicated jobs – operations, logistics, safety etc. Chain of command is in effect so random people like me aren’t making decisions on the fly. The vaccine clinics are lead by full-time personnel, some of whom have been working since March to manage the testing clinics, shelters for the vulnerable homeless, as well as county staff who have dropped everything to work 12 hour days, six days a week on this. They’re exhausted and yet still cheerful, dedicated and jazzed about being able to help out. And then there’s an army of volunteers – the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps. The MRC volunteers include many current or ex-medical personnel, such as military medics, or nurses. Oftentimes, they’re the ones who administer the vaccines. People like me stand in place directing traffic (I was an expert green paddle/red paddle wielder by the end of the day!). Others take information or watch over the clients in the observation room. All volunteers have to go through training to learn about these clinics and how they work. I didn’t get a good count, but I’d estimate 50-60 people there yesterday in total. That’s a lot of people – paid staff and volunteers. Just imagine trying to get enough people to staff the clinics, 8 hrs a day, 6 days a week, for weeks and months into the future. I can’t even fathom the logistics of scheduling and herding all those cats. Something that surprised me was how much ongoing calculation there is towards the end of each phase of the clinic (before lunch and before closing time). Each vial of vaccine is frozen and takes a certain amount of time to thaw out. And each vial only contains a certain number of doses (though the vaccinators took great pride in trying to get an extra dose out of each vial). So, how many vials of the vaccine should be defrosted in order to accommodate the number of people who are likely to turn up for their appointments? How many doses should be allocated for first shots vs. second shots? They have two sometimes competing goals: Vaccinate everyone with an appointment; and don’t waste doses. The rate of vaccination slowed down a bit at the end of each phase if they had to defrost some vials – it takes a bit of time to do that. So if things seem to stop for a while, that’s likely why. When it’s Your Turn. Don’t be afraid of the technology: You can keep an eye on where the various groups are in the queue here and pre-register there too if your group’s phase is in the “Vaccines Being Scheduled” or “In Pre-Registration” lists. After you’ve pre-registered, when your phase is up next, you’ll be asked to schedule an appointment via the CDC’s Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS). Alerts are sent via email or text, and there's even a clever system from the CDC for tracking after-effects. Here are a few tips and tricks for when you have an appointment for your vaccine. 1. Turn up! If you have an appointment, make sure you arrive before your allotted time. I get it, life happens. But honestly, folks, this is super important so do you level best to make it. 2. Wear layers that are easy to take off. I can’t tell you how many times we had to wait for someone to unzip and remove a puffy jacket, take off a scarf that’s long enough to tie around a small car, pull a sweatshirt over the head, fail at pulling the sweatshirt over the head, remove hat and glasses, try again, pull long sleeved T over the head, finally revealing a short sleeved t-shirt. Oy! Ditch the sweaters and sweatshirts, embrace the zippered cardigan or hoody and loose T's that can be pulled up or down to access the shoulder/top of your arm. 3. Before you get inside: Get your ID out. 4. As soon as you get inside: Start taking your layers off. 5. Need help? If your loved one needs language help, tell them to ask a staff member for help. There are vaccinators who speak Spanish and the county has access to a language phone line for all sorts of other languages. 6. When you’re in line: Be prepared to verify your name and date of birth a few times, but otherwise, enjoy the opportunity to chat with your fellow vaccinees and the volunteers. It’s a long and mostly boring day for us, so we enjoy the interaction. On Friday we vaccinated about 600 people. Onm Saturday it was 1,000, so you can see how important it’s going to be for everyone to be as efficient as possible. I didn’t encounter a single grumpy person, but I can imagine with double the number of people, some might feel a little frustrated. Remember that most of us are volunteers. And those who aren’t are hardly the most highly paid in the county. They’re working 6-7 days a week and will be for the next few months. Cut them some slack and be grateful you live in a county with the resources and the skill to put these clinics on. I hope this is helpful. Just my observations from my personal Day 1. I’ll be back next week and in the weeks after. I so enjoyed chatting with the EMT personnel and school workers (in Phase 1a). They all have very personal reasons for getting vaccinated. I heard about your kids in schools from teachers. I heard about travel to see elderly parents. I heard about mobile clinics that the EMTs will staff. One tiny little shot (OK, two for Moderna and Pfizer) is going to make possible so many good things in the coming year. |
| This was pinned on the board in one of the vaccination rooms and seemed so very appropriate since the vaccine will allow me to get from the left hand side to the bottom right. |
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