It’s not every day you get called into a vaccination clinic with five minutes’ notice.
Yet that’s how I got my COVID-19 vaccination. I was about to take some photos of little league softball when I received a call and was told that if I wanted a COVID shot I had to go to the 100 Mile Community Hall immediately. Apparently, a lot of appointments had been missed and they had extra vaccinations that would spoil if they didn’t get into people’s arms.
Five minutes later, I was waiting in line with a group of other people who seemed to have been called out of the blue like I was. At 23, I hadn’t expected to get the shot until at least June. While I was worried that I was jumping the queue, the nurse who administered the shot assured me that if I was here, I deserved to get it.
I got the Moderna vaccine and called my mom. But while I’m happy to be on the path to safety, I can’t help but wonder about our approach to vaccinations.
For close to a year and a half now, we’ve all lived with the sword of COVID-19 hanging over our heads. 100 Mile House hasn’t seen an influx of COVID cases like other places in the world but it’s surprising to me there were so many no-shows that our local clinic had to scramble to find recipients.
Why did so many people miss their appointments? Was it just chance or does it point to increased vaccine hesitancy?
The fact that vaccines could be in danger of being thrown out, after the year we’ve had, is ludicrous to me.
My mom and dad both got the AstraZeneca shot and they are unsure about their second shot, due to the concerns raised about the vaccine’s safety. My mom expressed frustration at the mixed messages they have received, from one shot being fine to the idea of mixing vaccines or just not getting another shot at all. As they live in Alberta, protection against COVID-19 is far more pressing than here in B.C.
I’ll likely be getting my second shot in September, which seems to be a long time away. Canada has given out 19.1 million doses of the vaccines but only 1.45 million people - out of all 37 million of us - have been fully vaccinated. That’s only 3.9 per cent of the population.
While I’m happy I got my shot a little early, I hope that the situation that led to it is not repeated again. Hopefully, those who make their appointments will keep them.
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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