Socialized Medicine

I got my covid-19 vaccination today!

I'm actually quite lucky.  Yesterday morning, I learned that the pharmacies in our local supermarket chains were distributing the vaccine, and I signed up on line.  Publix, my preferred and nearest supermarket, was unavailable, but Kroger's, the next closest, was.  I tried to make an appointment for that  day (yesterday) but they were full, so I made an appointment for today instead.  1:00 pm.  Easy as pie.

I showed up at my appointed hour, they took my Medicare card (gotta love socialized medicine!) and stuck me.  If not for the required 15-minute wait to make sure there was no adverse reaction, I would have been in and out in 5 minutes.

I got the Moderna vaccine (not that I had a choice).  I have to wait 28 days and get a second shot to be fully vaccinated.

I later learned how lucky I was to get an appointment on my first try.  All of my friends and neighbors have been trying all day, but over the past 24 or so hours, they keep getting a message that both Publix and Kroger's are fully booked.  But one of my more persistent neighbors found that on her 10th try, she was able to book an appointment for next Tuesday.  Apparently, you just have to keep trying until you get lucky.

Kroger's isn't taking appointments yet for the follow-on vaccination.  I'll have to try my luck again next month and see if I get as lucky then as I did yesterday, or if I'm patient and/or persistent enough to book a second shot.  We'll see.

But anyway, I'm vaccinated!  Maybe we're finally getting to the end of this long national nightmare.