Joyce's KP Adventure mikepasini.com headlines
Half Vaccinated Twice
26 February 2021
We drove over to the University of San Francisco this afternoon for the first dose of our Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer. We parked in the soccer field's parking lot, which is where our old high school football team field house used to be.
The Line. A long line but Kaiser employees pulled people into the waiting area depending on infirmity and appointment time.
Walking out of the garage we were accosted by a huge German shepherd left in an SUV with Utah plates whose window was down. As Fran Lebowitz likes to put it, "Pretend it's a city." Pretend there are other people in the vicinity, in short.
We waited on the sidewalk (as shown above) for a few minutes before we were ushered into the waiting area of the big Koret gymnasium, which is on the site of my high school building.
Thrive. A mask and a reminder.
The gym is large enough for three full basketball courts side by side. It was marked off into various areas we were escorted through by several charming Kaiser employees.
We waited until our appointment time seated six feet apart (although Joyce and I were paired together in two chairs). Then we checked in together and were ushered to another waiting area to be vaccinated (shown below) separately.
They gave us a free souvenir mask and a polite little note about best practices for thriving together during a pandemic like this. And an appointment card to remind us to return for the second dose.
And, because I was "naughty," according to the check-in lady (and unhesitatingly confirmed by Joyce), I got a green sticker on my Kaiser ID card and another to put on my shirt. "Naughty" in this case meant I haven't seen my primary in over a year (although I think Joyce thought it meant something else entirely).
So I had to see a doctor before being let out of there.
But first we waited for our vaccinations. Fred gave me mine in the left arm. I didn't feel a thing.
We were escorted to the Scheduling area next and two ladies got us times for our second doses within minutes of each other on March 25.
Waiting. After check-in, Joyce is waiting to be vaccinated.
Then we were escorted to another waiting area because 1) you can't leave right away in case you have a reaction and 2) I had been naughty and had to see a doctor.
I was taken to see Dr. Serrano.
He asked how I was and I told him that, in my opinion, I was doing great. He observed I haven't seen my doctor in over a year and I explained I was taking care of two little old ladies so was minimizing my exposure.
That's good, he says. He checked my numbers from last time and said I was fine then but should do some blood tests two weeks after my second dose to make sure I'm still doing fine. As I'd arranged with my primary.
He said he had the vaccine himself and though he never has side effects, his arm was quite sore the next day, so don't alarmed. In his opinion, he added, we should all get T-shirts that say, "Survive 2020."
It's going to get better, he suggested. No need to pretend. And with that, he sent us on our way.