I have just finished reading an article on The Washington Post which showed me how naive I've been. I am in the DC/MD/VA area, and yet I had not realized how much of a mess has actually been going on until I read the article, which complained about people who live in one county being able to register for and receive vaccine injections in another county, people hopping from site to site all over the internet in search of websites upon which to register and hopefully maybe get an opportunity to actually schedule an appointment, etc., etc. IMHO it sure didn't help matters any when suddenly those who are 65+ were told they, too, could now register for and receive the vaccine. WTH???? All of a sudden a whole lot more people have been added to the mix. Not sure why that was implemented when already there was enough pressure to get the vaccine into the arms of those originally included in the 1b phase in the first place, and there are certainly plenty of us!
I simply waited until I saw news that my county health department was going to open up phase 1b, which includes people in my age cohort of 75+, and on the day the registration became available, I simply got online and took care of that, with the result being that a couple of days later I was notified that yes, I was eligible and approved and provided with the link to the scheduling web page. Did that and on the appropriate day went over there to the location and got my first dose. I do realize how fortunate I actually am. With news of no stockpile actually there that had been assumed was in place, significantly having an impact on what is available right now and will be over the next little while for distribution, that was concerning, but from what I've learned, nonetheless there is reassurance for those of us who have gotten our first dose that we will be able to get that second one when our appropriate time comes.
It actually never occurred to me to check with other places such as the pharmacy in my local grocery store because I knew that pharmacy personnel from chains such as Walgreens and CVS were dealing with handling inoculations for residents in local nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, etc., and so I ruled out local pharmacies altogether even though of course in the past they have handled administrations of the flu vaccine each year. I figured that the hospitals were all going to be busy innoculating their own personnel. I also guessed that private and group physician practices and even walk-in clinics would be low on the totem pole as far as receiving any vaccine to administer to anyone, so didn't bother checking any of those.
I am hoping for everyone's sake that with a new federal administration now in place that some things will be corrected and straightened out and organization and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines will begin to move more smoothly and expeditiously so that the goal of vaccinating as many people as possible in the US population can be achieved in good time.