The Vaccine

Our school got word that educators were eligible to receive the vaccine at the Oakland Coliseum and we immediately sprang into action to get appointments. Our community came together to keep hitting refresh and find appointments for teachers who weren’t able to get through. I think at this point, the majority of our faculty and staff either got vaccinated today or over the weekend!

I arrived at the Oakland Coliseum at 11:24. The FEMA, National Guard members, and firefighters were leading the show. Cones were lined up and rows of cars were funneled into order. It was a well oiled machine. 

As I mazed through the cones, I had to show my ID twice to prove I had an appointment and they never scanned my bar code. It was super easy. 

When I got up to the vaccination tent, 6 cars pulled up to groups of volunteers with coolers. They checked my name and ID and asked me some health questions. From there I gave consent to receive the shot. Both volunteers were very nice and very chatty and when I told them I am a nervous shot receiver, they immediately had a colleague go to my passenger window and talk to me so I didn’t even notice I got the vaccine. I was very appreciative and it was painless. 

From there, they gave me my vaccination card and asked me to pull forward and wait for 15 minutes to make sure I didn’t have a reaction. They said to put on your hazards or honk your horn if you started to not feel well. 

I pulled forward, waited, waved to my friend Christine who was behind me in line, and then I was cleared to go at 12:00 sharp. 

Christine took this photo of me a few rows away! 

It was a very positive experience and my second appointment is March 12th, exactly a year to the day that we closed our school for Covid. What a journey this has been! My arm is a little sore, but today feels hopeful. Can’t wait to welcome our students back to Mercy and see our friends and family soon!