I can now count myself as one of the 15 per cent of Canada鈥檚 population to have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Everything aligned perfectly for it to happen, and I took advantage of the opportunity to get a shot to 鈥渟tick it to COVID鈥�, as it were.
First the Saskatchewan Health Authority expanded the age eligibility for the vaccines, so I was finally able to sign up 鈥� but, before I could make the call, word came down of a walk-in clinic for vaccines to be held over the weekend, and then it became a two-day clinic at the Weyburn Curling Rink.
I have to be honest, I didn鈥檛 know what kind of lineups we鈥檇 be seeing for the vaccine shots, so I did a wait-and-see thing.
When I saw the lineup at 10 a.m., which was the start of the walk-in clinic on Saturday, it extended past the grandstands, so it was fairly long.
I had other things to do, so I decided to take a pass on that, at least for the morning. The lines were still a bit long later in the morning, but then, magically, after lunch there weren鈥檛 any lineups.
Clearly the SHA staff inside the curling rink were very efficient and quick in getting people through the line. I don鈥檛 know what the wait times were for those who lined up first thing, but when I went in, there was no waiting. I walked in, went through the procedures of giving my name and health card at the door and again to a nurse inside, and within minutes I was seated in the 15-minute waiting area.
While I was waiting, there was a sort of 鈥渟teady trickle鈥� of people coming in to get their vaccines, but not really any lineups in the time I was there.
I wonder if a part of the reason is the fact this was the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has received some very conflicting views from the government about what age group it鈥檚 suitable for.
I am not particularly worried about it, but some people seem to be excessively worried about it, and if they want the public to have any confidence about taking a vaccine, they need to be on board with it and not keep muddying the waters. My wife, Tracy, was able to get her vaccine, a Moderna shot, by appointment. She didn鈥檛 go for the walk-in shot, because her family actually has a history of blood clots causing problems 鈥� so again, some clarity would be appreciated by the health care professionals.
