Getting the vaccine
One couple’s experience in Plattsburgh
Saturday, March 6, 2021
My wife and I are both under 65 so we weren’t expecting to qualify for a vaccine any time soon.
But about three weeks ago, the state changed the rules to allow those with underlying health conditions to get vaccinated. My wife’s long battle with ovarian cancer qualified her, and because I take a medication that compromises my immune system, I also qualified. We both asked our doctors for letters to confirm we qualified.
On the Sunday that appointments opened to us, we went online and quickly landed appointments in Utica for March 17 and March 22. I later found another appointment on March 17 so we both could go together.
This past Sunday, I peeked at the site again and noticed Plattsburgh had posted dozens of new appointments for the coming week. My wife and I jumped online and both got appointments for Friday.
The 1 hour and 45-minute drive to Plattsburgh is always beautiful and it is easy drive.
We got off at Exit 36 for Plattsburgh International Airport, took a right off the exit and saw a series of electronic signs for the vaccine site, then took a right onto Arizona Ave. and ran into a line of traffic just outside the entrance to the site.
We were about 15 minutes early for our appointment. It took us about 30 minutes to weave through a variety of checkpoints where they checked our documentation, our photo ID, insurance card and took our temperature before finding ourselves in a line of cars in front of large warehouse with three enormous garage doors.
Once our garage door opened, we were directed to drive inside where we stopped as part of a line of eight or nine cars and shut off the car engine. Henry Ford would have been proud of the assembly line of vaccinations inside.
It was a beehive of activity with people directing traffic, checking paperwork to make sure we qualified and providing information on the vaccine and its possible side effects.
Everyone was pleasant and professional.
I asked the one nurse who was preparing my shot how many shots she gives out in a day. She said she had done 48 the day before. That worked out to about one every 10 minutes for eight hours.
When the woman was ready to give me my shot, I asked if I could take a selfie of myself as I got the shot. She approved.
After I was done, they brought a shot over for my wife and I asked if I could take a photo of her getting the shot. The nurse played along and raised the shot high over my wife’s arm as if she was about to impale her with a savage attack.
I don’t think we have ever had so this fun at the doctor’s office. Or maybe we were just so happy to be out of the house.
When we were done, they instructed us we would have to park outside for 15 minutes as a precaution in case we had a reaction to the vaccine. They gave us sticky note to put on our windshield with a time when we could leave.
We were also given a vaccine card that said we would be contacted by the state and assigned a date for our second shot in about three weeks.
From the time we got in line to the time we finished our 15-minute wait afterward, it had taken just over an hour.
Neither of us had any ill effects from the vaccine. If anything, it improved our mental outlook. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. We’re already thinking we might be able to visit our son later in the summer.
Could other trips be in the future as well.
Maybe a return to outdoor dining.
Reading menus
For most of my life I have been fortunate not to need glasses. Even now at 63, I have gotten away with using “cheaters” to get by. Dimly lit restaurants are the worst, but I ran into another problem this week - the Baseball Encyclopedia.
If you are familiar with this grand dictionary-sized volume, you know that the the type is really small. Since getting out of sports 22 years ago, I haven’t had a need for the encyclopedia much. Until this week when I found even with my glasses I was struggling to read the numbers.
While looking for a portable magnifying glass online, I learned that my iPhone can be used to magnify type. What a great feature to use in those dark restaurants. Here is how you do it: Go to settings, then accessibility and turn on magnifier button.
To use it the magnifying function, just click the home button three times.
Long time, no see
After getting a haircut, taking the trash to the transfer station and stopping at the convenient store, I was flat broke and I couldn’t remember the last time I had been to the ATM. So I checked.
My bank records show that I last made a withdrawal on Nov. 12. I had gone nearly four months without a withdrawal. It’s amazing how much money you can save if you just stay home.