I noticed something when I went for my first shot.

[byronius]

It was a well-run drive-through operation. Volunteers in orange vests holding clipboards guiding a long line of cars through a series of stops that ended in a quick innoculation and a fifteen-minute pause in a monitored parking lot. On the way out they handed me my card and a slip for my second shot three weeks from now.

I live in California. Maybe it's not the same everywhere. But the whole thing was professional from end to end. Seamless. The volunteers were dedicated and courteous. I felt part of -- a national endeavour. A World War II response to a public health crisis.

This kind of serious organization -- a group of Americans helping other Americans get beyond what's been a very bad year -- filled me with pride. We're back. America is real again, if that makes sense.

I was at the still-socially-distant Easter in-law grouping this morning. About half have been vaccinated, the others have appointments. We were talking to the kids about all of it, about the difficulty they've faced this past year.

One of them -- my fifteen year old nephew -- said that it wasn't this past year that he was traumatized by. It was the last four years. His anger at having to survive a presidency clearly designed to degrade the nation -- that's what he felt traumatized by. COVID was just a symptom.

It's been a good two days; a tangible effect of having an actual Federal government at work. Joe and Kamala are doing a better job than I imagined anyone could do given the circumstances.

I'm proud. Proud of my state and proud of the Better Part of my nation.

[magicarpet]

1. Yes there are very good ones among us in the USA.

(Others not so much.)

[Best_man23]

2. Prepare for shot 2

I had shot 2 (Pfizer) on Friday and got nearly all the symptoms (body aches, fatigue, mild fever, headache). It feels like its starting to subside, but the fact I'm up posting this late Saturday night tells how much I slept today.

That said, your experience may vary.

[Ms. Toad]

8. Pfizer #2 was limited to local symptoms for me -

red, itchy, swollen injection site. That's all.

[Treefrog]

24. A friend of mine got her second shot last week. She had no problems with either shot.

She was worried because she’d heard so much about it, but no problems at all.

[Rebl2]

30. I got

my second Pfizer shot on Thursday. Just a little more tired and sore arm for a couple of days. It’s interesting how differently it affects people. A cousin of mine has a daughter that is a teacher. After her second shot, she was tired and feverish for a couple days after.

[Irish_Dem]

3. I had the same sense of history when I got my first shot.

My daughter is in healthcare and got her first shot in January. I don't think she understood the historic nature of the vaccines. She is young. But I thought about WWII. History in the making. And we were part of it.

[xmas74]

18. Mine was in December

I got pushback here on DU when I posted it from some who said I was bragging or that I didn't deserve it. Irl I was informed that I was the guinea pig and theyd all consider it " in a few years".

I'm glad to here the reaction is better now.

[Irish_Dem]

22. I think we each had a responsibility to get the vaccine asap.

So if offered the vaccine, we should take it.

The more people vaccinated, the safer we will all be.
You did the right thing.

My daughter works in a hospital so all the staff was eligible in January.
You would not believe how many staff have refuse to take the vaccine.

[xmas74]

23. I'd believe it.

I work in a mental health facility with developmentally disabled adults. We had several deaths, both clients and staff. We still vaccinated under 25% of staff.

[Karadeniz]

4. What a precocious nephew! Most his age don't care to know what's happening!

[appalachiablue]

5. Glad to hear it, very positive report. Stay well B.

[brewens]

6. My shot hurt like hell and I know a good stick. I've donated blood and platelets over 200

times. I didn't say a word though. Even a clumsy stick is only so bad. I wouldn't say anything because others were in earshot and I wouldn't want to alarm anyone. One of them might have been really stressed out over it.

I normally barely feel a vaccination. Most times, if I were sleeping, it probably wouldn't even wake me up. It felt like she broke the needle off in my shoulder!

[liberal_mama]

17. I didn't even feel my first Pfizer dose, but the nurse who gave me the 2nd dose wasn't skillful

I have a huge bruise at the injection site!

[Mr.Bill]

7. My experience with both shots was so much like the OP,

we could be describing the same place. Mine was at our local hospital's Family Medicine Clinic, which my family doctor is the director of. I didn't even have to call for an appointment. They called me. I attribute much of it to living in a small town. Everyone there called me by my first name, didn't even ask for ID. I do volunteer at the hospital, or at least I used to until the Pandemic. I received no special preference because of that.

I see on the news people waiting in line for hours in baseball stadium parking lots and I'm glad I left the big city 30 years ago. Living in a small town has it's disadvantages, but it's nice for things like this. It's just easier to run a small operation, although they are doing 4-500 shots a day here.

[Hoyt]

9. Felt the same. Got mine in a mountain town. A 50 mile enjoyable rural drive.

At fairgrounds. It was run by state emergency management and National Guard. 25 minutes as well, including waiting to see if I stroked out.

Efficient, enjoyed speaking and waving to the staff, felt good seeing everyone else getting their vaccines, and it was like a Sunday drive for my Ladyfriend too.

I swear, I might cheat and go back for a 3rd one just to experience it again.

[Celerity]

10. you likely will need a 3rd one (and 4th perhaps) when the new variant tweaked boosters come out so..

[Hoyt]

14. I'm almost hoping. I enjoyed it that much, plus the feeling of contributing to fighting plague.

[More_Cowbell]

15. I wonder if we'll need to stick to the same vaccine in 2022 or 2023?

I have the chance to get either Moderna or J&J next week, and if I thought I'd always have to have updates of the same one, I'd go for the J&J just to not have to get two shots every year.

[BobTheSubgenius]

11. Another uplifting story!

The board has had quite a few of them lately. It's wonderful.

[SeattleVet]

12. We got our 2nd shot today, in Seattle.

Much the same experience as yours, but at a walk-in site, rather than a drive-through...super efficient, friendly, fast, and professional.

My wife uses a cane, and as soon as we got through the registration area and entered the main building a volunteer approached with a wheelchair to see if she wanted a lift (she didn't need it). We were directed to the next available station (they have 140 here - and can ramp up to 22,000 shots a day as vaccine supplies become available). Zero wait time - we had a 2:30 appointment and got there almost a half hour early, expecting traffic, parking, and lines, but there were absolutely none - and we walked back to the car about a half hour after we parked.

I thanked everyone we had any contact with, and told them that we REALLY appreciated how well-run the site was.

It looks like a lot of the locally run vaccination sites are doing a really great job!

[NH Ethylene]

13. Mine was nightmarish (the organization of it), and so was my husband's.

It depends on how well the state sets it up. We are living in Mass. until the summer and the rollout has been pure hell. And going to actually get the shot took 3 hours for me. Pretty much any state in the Northeast did a better job, as far as I have heard.

There are elderly people here who haven't even been able to get appointments yet and it is opening up for everybody soon. Some don't have computers at home, and the only way to make an appointment is online. I had to get up at 4:20 am to get an appointment - and I was lucky.

But the shot itself was fine. It didn't even hurt.

[yellowdogintexas]

16. Ours were well organized and took very little time

Texas does a lot of stupid stuff, but this county knocked it out of the park from the get-go.

I got Pfizer and my husband got Moderna

He had a reaction from shot #2, but he has had worse colds than that. I had nothing but a sore arm from both shots

[LetMyPeopleVote]

19. I got my first injection Jan 16

It was a zoo but they inoculated 6000 people. It too 3 hours. When I got my second shot it was very well run Ed

[Kablooie]

20. I experienced the same thing. Very smooth and professional.

I got my shots at Magic Mountain in the LA area.
But with the huge maze of orange cones it looked more like coney island.

[dalton99a]

21. The same setup is used in other states

[mitch96]

25. "the whole thing was professional from end to end. Seamless." Same here in west Central Fla

Both injections were seamless. Walk up to the line with your time slot, check temp, check ID, get barcode stickie, bare your injections site, INjection, wait 15 min and done bye bye... Could not ask for a better flow...
No perceived effects from the Pfizer injection... I'm a happy camper. Still masking/washing/distancing till the fat lady sings...
m

[diehardblue]

26. My hat is off to the Emory Healthcare System for providing the same organized

vaccine dispensing. It really lifted my comfort level. Our medical professionals and volunteers need to be constantly recognized.

[MyMission]

27. I had only one complaint when I went for my first shot

And it was about scheduling the second shot. I'm curious about your experience and the date for your 2nd dose.

Everything was streamlined at the UNC run clinic at the local community college, and the process took about a half hour. 1:30 appointment, 1:46 shot, 2:01 free to leave.

Upon arrival on Friday there was a table to check in. I was asked if I could return on 4/25 to get my 2nd dose, and if not I was told I'd need to reschedule this first appointment. There was no option to get it on a different day as they give 2nd doses only on Tuesday for this group. I work part-time, and if I get a reaction and need to stay home I will miss work and inconvenience my bosses. I was not happy I was forced to take this appointment date. My bosses are supportive and will understand, because it's important to get vaccinated.
Most people will make adjustments and change schedules (drop everything) in order to get the vaccine, including me.

Now that more doses are available scheduling the first dose seems to be much easier, less frustrating. They need to be more flexible with the 2nd dose, especially as everyone is now eligible and working younger people with or without families may need more options.

I understand why they want to do everyone in groups, but I think they should schedule 3 weeks or 4 weeks later on the same day of the week, but they are doing 25 days. Or when scheduling the first appointment let people know the second date. Would have done Monday and Friday which are my days off.

I did agree to coming back on 4/25 so I could get the first shot, but wasn't pleased that I would have had to leave and reschedule if I hadn't agreed. They should have made that clear when I called to schedule the initial dose. I feel like I've got to jump through hoops to get the second dose.

Otherwise the experience of getting the first vaccine was very easy and efficient.

[CTyankee]

28. I cannot say enough about my experience with the Pfizer two shot process.

and it is ALL GOOD. I expected pain getting the shot and then god knows what after. Neither of those things happened.

[myccrider]

29. That was our experience with vaccination, too.

We’re in Orange County, CA.

Getting signed up for the appointment was horrible. The online system was really primitive and buggy. It took 2 weeks just to get in their database, but that was back at the beginning of Feb, maybe it’s better now. Once we were in the system, everything went like clockwork. We were notified about possible appointments and given a range of dates and times to choose from.

Went to a super site at Soka University way down in south county about 25 miles from our home. The first time we parked and walked into their gymnasium where the floor was covered with individual stations for the shot and they set-up the second appointment while you were getting the first poke. There were virtually no lines, just a steady stream of people coming in and going out. It took less than 25 minutes from parking the car to driving out.

Three weeks later we went back to Soka for the second shot but they’d set up drive-thru vaccination by then. A bit more waiting in the car line, but we were done in less than 35 minutes with our cards marked for both shots. (It took longer to get my flu shot at the pharmacy this year!)

Both times everyone was helpful, cheerful and attentive. All directions were clearly marked with big signs/arrows plus a real human standing by to answer questions and help you figure out what to do next.

We were impressed.