World health authorities are heavily emphasizing the need for practically everybody in the world to get a Covid-19 vaccination. Multiple vendors, such as Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson are working around the clock to produce as much vaccine as they can, and to ship it to vaccination sites around the world. You would think that, with the full weight of authority of national governments around the world, and the technical expertise of the pharmaceutical giants that are doing the production, that getting a vaccination when it is your turn to get one, would be a smooth process.

Not so much.

I live in Oregon, USA, so I went to Oregon’s Covid Web site to see what to do. I discovered that there is a mega-vaccination site at the Oregon Convention Center in downtown Portland. I logged on to their Web site and answered a questionnaire that determined that, because of my age and other factors, I was eligible to receive a vaccination as soon as I could schedule one.

Great! I checked availability at the Convention Center site and found that there were no appointments open for at least the next three weeks. That did not seem too cool. I wanted to get vaccinated so I could come out of self-enforced isolation and resume my life, at least semi-normally.

Then I found out about vaxxmax.com, the National Vaccine Availability Web tool. It showed me where doses were available. Right now, as I am writing this, it shows no vaccine available at Walgreen’s pharmacies in Oregon.

Oops. Wait a minute. The site updates every ten minutes and now it shows vaccine availability in Salem, McMinnville, Albany, and Woodburn. I guess you need to check this site at the right time. I was lucky, two days ago I was able to reserve an appointment in Portland, only 16 miles from my home.

The drive to the Portland Walgreen’s was no fun. It was raining and the traffic was heavy. I’m glad my wife Joyce offered to drive me, on the off chance that I might have a negative reaction to the shot (that’s “jab” in British). I got there just in time for my appointment. They were running a little behind, as there were two people who received their vaccinations before I did. I sat and waited, while Joyce also occupied a socially distanced chair near the vaccination station.

Oops. Now those appointments in Salem, McMinnville, Albany, and Woodburn are gone. You have to be both vigilant and quick if you want to get one.

In due time, I was called, counseled to wait fifteen minutes after the injection to make sure I would not suffer a delayed adverse reaction, and then hung up my coat and long-sleeved shirt. Wearing a T-shirt, I sat down and looked away from the person who was about to stick me. She swabbed off my upper arm with alcohol, and then gave me the shot.

I hardly felt it. Great. The deed was done. She handed me a card with the information about what I had received (Pfizer), and bid me adieu. I put on my shirt and coat and sat down about eight feet away from my waiting wife. I really appreciate Joyce’s willingness to help me with this ordeal. She did make use of the time spent waiting, by reading a book on her Kindle.

Now that I am vaccinated, I still must do all the things that I have been doing already, to protect myself and those around me. Immunity takes time to kick in. In addition, I need to get a booster shot in 4 weeks. I imagine it will be just as challenging to get to that  second appointment as it was to get to the first. At least I have an appointment and know the drill now.

It’s really important that we all get vaccinated as soon as possible, to achieve herd immunity as soon as possible. For as long as the virus is out there, it is mutating, and some of those mutations are going to be more problematic than the ones that are already circulating in the wild. We need to stomp down hard on this, for everybody’s sake.

Yes, getting vaccinated is not easy. It’s a hassle just getting an appointment for a vaccination. It may not be easy to get to the location where the vaccine is available. But it is important to do whatever it takes to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Over two and a half million people have already died of Covid-19 around the world, and more than half a million of those have been Americans. That’s more than have died in any other country, by far. This is a record for which I would just as soon not have the USA be the world leader.

BIO:

Allen G. Taylor is a 40-year veteran of the computer industry and the author of over 40 books, including Develop Microsoft HoloLens Apps Now, Get Fit with Apple Watch, Cruise for Free, SQL For Dummies, 9th Edition, Crystal Reports 2008 For Dummies, Database Development For Dummies, Access Power Programming with VBA, and SQL All-In-One For Dummies, Third Edition. He lectures internationally on astronomy, databases, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He also teaches database development and Crystal Reports through a leading online education provider. For the latest news on Allen’s activities, check out his blog at wwwallengtaylor.com or contact him at allen.taylor@ieee.org.