I got my Covid booster shot today.
I got the first shot in March and the next shot 28 days later, in April. Then six months went by and I saw on the news that the CDC had okayed a booster shot. So I went to the CVS store where I got the first two shots, and I told them I would like to get a Covid booster. No dice. They said they had no Covid booster shots and I had to come back. That was two weeks ago.
Today I went back for the booster shot. The pharmacy assistant said the pharmacist was busy and that I had to make an appointment.
"Okay," I told her. "I guess the sign at your front door, the one that says 'Walk-Ins Welcome', is what made me think I didn't need an appointment."
"Yeah," she replied.
I drove home and I sat at my computer and I made an appointment—with the Walmart Pharmacy. First I checked the appointment times at CVS, and the next appointment was at 4PM. Then I checked appointment times at Walmart, and the next appointment time was at 2:20PM. So I made the earlier appointment. I wanted this booster shot "over and done with."
I drove to Walmart. I went to the pharmacy and told them I was there to get a booster.
"Do you have your vaccine card?" the pharmacist assistant asked.
Dang it, I had taken my vaccine card to CVS, but when I went home I left it on the fireplace mantle. I didn't have it with me.
"No," I told her.
"You'll have to come back with it. We have to have it before you get your booster."
"I have a photo of it on my phone. Will that be okay?"
"Yes."
So I took out my phone and thumbed through my photos and I found it. I handed my phone to the pharmacist assistant and she used it to enter my previous shots, which I had gotten at CVS, into the Walmart computer.
After a few minutes, the pharmacist came out and gave me the shot. I didn't feel anything. Literally, it was the most painless shot I've ever had.
"You will have to come back with your card if you want to have the booster shot recorded on it," the pharmacist told me.
"Okay," I replied, "but can't you take a blank card and record the booster shot on the line labeled "Other" and leave the first two lines empty?"
"I can do that!" he answered, and a minute later I had my new card with the booster shot information written on it.
And here's a word to pharmacies (and stores of all kinds): you can tell a customer he has to come back when it's more convenient for you, but given extra time to think about it, the customer may decide to go where it's more convenient for them.
2 comments:
Congratulations! However, I don't understand how come the Government, clinics, doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, etc. have been advertising everywhere to encourage the people to get the vaccine and suddenly you showed up to the pharmacy and you were told that you needed to schedule an appointment and the pharmacy probably was not full. I bet that they even don't know that there are five million people dead in the world because of Covid-19, but probably they don't care either.
In my country 70% of the population have received the vaccine and now the nurses are moving into the schools to give the shots to the children that are twelve years old and older. The other 30% don't believe in Covid-19. What other proof do they need? I feel pity for them.
Great post to show us how people still care about their health and want to stay alive. Excellent!
TA
Greetings
Thanks for the info regarding how we should proceed with the booster shot -- nothing is made easy and rarely do the advertisements we see/hear translate to the staff knowing what to do. It always seems to be like that --
Like the pictures of the food on the brochures/hotels and you get there and they look nothing like you expected --
So your point is make an appt, take your vaccination card and have a photo ID -- surely we've missed something.
Great blog --very helpful.
Best, LL
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