While the place where I work does involve a good deal of interaction with people, or it can, it is not considered essential enough to be in the early roll out groups for the Covid-19 vaccine in my state. However, there is a vaccination clinic on site at my work, and because I do physically come into work 3 days out of 5 each week, I got onto a wait list.
I thought the wait list would just mean that when my eligibility group came up, whenever that may be, that I’d be in line for an appointment on site. Nope. Turns out the wait list I was on was one of those where if they have extra does that need to be used within a certain time frame, they’d call me and ask if I’d like one.
It was funny, because I actually missed the first call and called back. They told me that since I hadn’t answered the phone, they would have continued down the list and I had missed my chance. But I told my husband about it, and he said, well, whenever they call, you just go.
They called back right after he said that. Someone else didn’t pick up, and since I’d already indicated I was near my phone by calling back, I was offered a chance to get the vaccine.
And I took that opportunity.
I’ll take it as the universe co-signing my decision that as I drove to the appointment, the radio played The Offspring’s “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)”, which features, in the chorus, the line “Give it to me, baby.”
There’s a part of me that wants to feel bad that I might be taking a vaccine out of the arm of someone more deserving vis-à-vis eligibility groups, but I don’t think that part of me has really thought things through. If this dose didn’t make its way into my arm, then either someone else whose group isn’t up yet would get it, or, much worse, NO ONE would get it. Far better to get it into a ready and willing arm than to throw it away.
I’ve got a second appointment set four weeks from the first, and I’m really stoked that I was able to get it. My husband’s age will put him in an eligible group as of Monday, so we’re getting close to having a vaccinated household. Well, closer than we were, at least.
