When Georgia expanded vaccinations for COVID to people 65 and older, I was like, yes! Now I can get my dad vaccinated. He moved in with me after my mom died, and while I've been able to work from home, I still have worried about him. He's had doctor appointments. I've been out to get groceries and I could bring something home. I just didn't know.
But trying to get him a vaccine was beyond frustrating.
First, there were no instructions on how to get him on a list. The extreme lack of communication was beyond aggravating.
Second, he got an email from the Veteran's Administration, but no instructions on how to get vaccinated. (We found out at the end of February that his VA clinic was doing vaccinations every Wednesday, something that would have been nice to know.
Third, when I finally saw that the GROCERY STORE PHARMACIES were doing online vaccination appointments, I tried and tried and tried to get him an appointment. Everything was full. Every time.
After weeks of trying, I finally got him an appointment--45 minutes away from where we live. And because I forgot to put in his Medicare number, I lost the afternoon appointment I had clicked. We ended up with a 7:20 pm time slot.
Nothing like driving to a city that I've never been to before and then driving home in the dark. And the 45 minute drive? Make than 90 minutes because we had to make it in rush hour. At least I had daylight when we headed that direction.
So this grocery store is in an area that's still pretty rural, so of course, a ton of people are not wearing face masks. Do not get me started on how selfish this is. I had to maneuver my elderly father away from the these people, including one who was sitting in the waiting area for the people getting vaccinated. All over the age of 65. Really, dude? Really? He, BTW, was not getting vaccinated. He was waiting for his wife who was wearing a mask and was grocery shopping.
We had to wait about 15 minutes afterward to make sure my dad didn't have any reaction and then I drove him home in the dark on roads with no streetlights. It was really rural for a while, too, so I was worried a deer would run out onto the road or something.
And four weeks later, we did it again.
Still, despite the stressors, it was worth it to get my dad vaccinated. He still needs to stay at home until more people are able to get inoculated, but now I don't have to worry so much about him. Now if I could get vaccinated, my COVID stress would be pretty much gone.
