February 12, 2021
Dear Everyone:
Naturally, everyone wants to get the
vaccination for Covid-19. I
had received various unsolicited email announcements from healthcare
organizations, plus Safeway and the national pharmacy chains.
I decided to look a little closer to home.
Specifically, Contra Costa County, which is the county in which I
happen to live. Not
surprisingly, the county has a website devoted to Covid-19.
I found an online form that I could fill out with reasons why I
felt I should be getting the vaccine as soon as possible.
I was (still am) between 65 and 74 years of
age. Up to that point, only
those persons lucky enough to be over 75 were considered “qualified” for
the vaccine. I don’t
remember seeing any other choices to indicate any “co-morbidities” like
diabetes, severe chronic pulmonary issues, and so on.
In any case, I filled out the form and clicked on “Submit”.
And that was that.
A day or so later, I received a link to
“MyChart”, with instructions to log in and set up a profile.
(Oh, great! Another
login ID and password to remember.
Number 153, to be exact.)
So, I did.
I was relatively familiar with MyChart.
I have a MyChart with my local physician group, John Muir.
It keeps track of my medications, visits, test results, etc.
Evidently this is a software solution marketed by a company
called Epic Systems. It’s
just a coincidence that both John Muir and Contra Costa County Health
use the same application.
According to MyChart, I already had an
Appointment for the vaccination in place.
The appointment only needed to be scheduled.
This concurred with the instructions that had accompanied the
link. The only problem was
that when I tried to schedule the appointment, there were no time slots
available.
Big surprise there.
The instructions advised to check frequently
for any slots that might become available.
I made sure to indicate that any location would do.
I was perfectly prepared to drive all the way to Richmond if
necessary.
Each morning, around 5:30 am, I would go to
MyChart and login to try and schedule the appointment.
(Another great reason for keeping a small laptop in the bedroom.
Nickname, “Ganymede”.)
Then, last Friday morning, I logged in and voila!!!
Suddenly there were lots and lots of time slots to choose from.
I didn’t even need to go to Richmond.
I could go up the freeway to Diablo Valley College in Pleasant
Hill. I even knew where
Diablo Valley College was.
It was right across the freeway from where I
used to work in Concord.
(The freeway is the demarcation line between Concord and Pleasant Hill.)
In fact, just to be on the safe side, I drove up there earlier
this week to scout out the area.
I found exactly how to get to “Parking Lot #7” and how to find
the “Business and Foreign Language” Building (BFL) where the
vaccinations would take place.
It makes sense to use the community college
since they probably don’t have a lot of in person classes going on right
now. Hence, lots of
available parking and room to keep people six feet apart as needed.
MyChart also facilitates “eCheckin” for
appointments. Again, I had
encountered this before when I was scheduled to get the Covid-19 test
prior to a procedure back in December.
(FYI, the test was negative.)
By checking in early, rather like checking in on an airline
flight before leaving for the airport, one could answer all the routine
questions in advance, thus expediting the process.
In this case, I had to answer a lot of
questions regarding routine medications, of which I have more than a
few. Fortunately, I have
them all together in a (what else?) database.
It was merely a matter of copying data out of one application and
pasting it quickly into another.
Of course, all this data is already in the MyChart used by John
Muir; but not in the Contra Costa County Health MyChart.
We can’t have everything.
In any case, this morning I “checked in” ahead
of time. When I arrived a
mere 45 minutes early for my 1:00 appointment, I found a large sign that
stipulated patients should stay away from the entrance until 10 minutes
before their assigned time.
Thus, I spent some quality time in my car reading a romantic thriller on
the Kindle until it was 12:50.
As soon as I got near the starting point, a
gentleman wearing the ubiquitous face mask and a brightly colored vest
began summoning those of us with 1:00 appointments, about a dozen or so.
We were all processed very quickly.
Clearly these people had been doing this for a while and had it
down pat.
One person took us in small groups to a
doorway. Another directed
people to colored circles on the floor.
By the time I reached my assigned colored circle, the nurse was
ready for me. In all, I was
through the whole procedure, including a 15-minute monitoring period
just in case of an “adverse reaction” in less than a half-hour.
And, for the record, I never even felt the
injection.
I still have to get a second dose, four weeks
from today; but things are definitely looking up.
Love, as always,
Pete
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