Americans are jumping through hoops to get their second doses of coronavirus vaccine.
Lynn and Morales are among some of the people in the United States who have faced challenges with scheduling appointments for second doses of Covid-19 vaccine. « There is some confusion out there, » Lynn said. « I’m just telling my friends and people I know to stay focused and read what you can and empower yourself. » The three-hour drive When Lynn learned in January that the Publix supermarket chain was beginning to offer Covid-19 vaccinations in some of its stores in Florida, she immediately booked an appointment online for herself and her husband Mark Young. They are in the prioritized age group of 65 and older in the state of Florida, and Lynn said that she was « ecstatic » they were going to get vaccinated. However, getting to their appointments was a challenge. At the time, Publix was rolling out the vaccinations in three counties in Florida as a test, Lynn said, adding that her husband and she don’t live near those counties. « So, it did require a lot — a long car ride and a hotel stay, » Lynn told CNN on Monday. « The city that this was taking place in — Spring Hill, Florida — is over three hours away. I think my appointment was for 9:30 in the morning, and I didn’t want to risk it with a three-hour-plus ride that day. So we decided, we’re going to sleep overnight, » Lynn said. « We even did a test run that night to see where our hotel was in relationship to the supermarket. That’s how careful we were. » Lynn said that on the morning of their appointments, she thought the vaccinations were « very organized. » She said that she received a first dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine and was told she could visit any Publix location to get her second dose. The Moderna vaccine is administered as two shots,28 days apart. « This is when everybody was being very optimistic, thinking that there was just a ton of doses that are going to be coming through the pipeline, » Lynn said. Once 28 days passed, Lynn said that she made a reservation at a Publix location near her home to receive her second dose. « I was so happy, » Lynn said. « And then about an hour later, we got a phone call from the pharmacist from that Publix saying you can’t have that appointment. How come? ‘Because we have you down for going to Spring Hill, Florida. There’s a dosage, with your name on it. And that’s the one that you’re supposed to get.' » Lynn said that her husband and she drove three hours again to make their early morning appointments last Saturday. They stayed overnight in the same hotel. « It was like deja vu, making the same ride, going up to the hotel. This time we didn’t have to do a test run because we knew where the supermarket was, » Lynn said. Lynn said that her husband and she successfully received their second doses. She described the whole experience of getting those second-dose appointments as « topsy-turvy, » but worth the hassle. « This is life and death — and I just want to give myself all the advantages that I can, and I just hope other people feel that way too. And hopefully a story like this will empower people that you just can’t wait, » she said. Concern about misinformation Morales, based in New York, said that she felt strongly that her grandparents, who live in Florida, should get their Covid-19 vaccines. Her mother’s father,87, and her mother’s mother,85, were diagnosed with Covid-19 over the summer, she said, and her family does not want to go through that again. « His case was much more severe than my grandmother’s.
